What we saw of their agriculture, furnished sufficient proofs that they are not novices in that art. The vale ground has already been mentioned as one continued plantation of _taro_, and a few other things, which have all the appearance of being well attended to. The potatoe fields and spots of sugar-cane or plantains on the higher grounds, are planted with the same regularity, and always in some determinate figure, generally as a square or oblong; but neither these nor the others are inclosed with any kind of fence, unless we reckon the ditches in the low grounds such, which, it is more probable, are intended to convey water to the _taro_. The greater quantity and goodness of these articles may also, perhaps, be as much attributed to skilful culture, as to natural fertility of soil, which seems better adapted to them than to bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees; the few which we saw of those latter not being in a thriving state, which will sufficiently account for the preference given to the culture of the other article, though more labour be required to produce them. But notwithstanding this skill in agriculture, the general appearance of the island showed that it was capable of much more extensive improvement, and of maintaining at least three times the number of the inhabitants that are at present upon it; for the far greater part of it that now lies quite waste, seemed to be as good a soil as those parts of it that are in cultivation. We must therefore conclude, that these people, from some cause which we were not long enough amongst them to be able to trace, do not increase in that proportion, which would make it necessary to avail themselves of the extent of their island, toward raising a greater quantity of its vegetable production for their subsistence.