Every part of it is useful--the cane pre-
eminently--the leaves as food for horses and mules, and the tassels
for making hats. Here and elsewhere there is a plate of cut cane
always within reach, and the children chew it incessantly. I fear
you will be tired of sugar, but I find it more interesting than the
wool and mutton of Victoria and New Zealand, and it is a most
important item of the wealth of this toy kingdom, which last year
exported 16,995,402 lbs. of sugar and 192,105 gallons of molasses.
{121} With regard to molasses, the Government prohibits the
manufacture of rum, so the planters are deprived of a fruitful
source of profit. It is really difficult to tear myself from the
subject of sugar, for I see the cane waving in the sun while I
write, and hear the busy hum of the crushing-mill.
I.L.B.
LETTER IX.
ONOMEA, HAWAII.
This is such a pleasant house and household, Mrs. A. is as bright as
though she were not an invalid, and her room, except at meals, is
the gathering-place of the family. The four boys are bright,
intelligent beings, out of doors, barefooted, all day, and with a
passion for horses, of which their father possesses about thirty.
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