Page:Scented isles and coral gardens- Torres Straits, German New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, by C.D. Mackellar, 1912.pdf/121

Rh boat comes out from the mainland and he sells it at £7 a ton on the spot—the profit, therefore, is great; with his own yacht, the Mato, he expects to do wonders. He is naturally regarded jealously by the Germans who do not own Royal yachts. His yarns about his islands are unceasing. They are not actually his; I suppose he leases some of them—there are seven beautiful islands—for he tells me he wants to buy the splendid one Merité for £75.

About a ton of copra goes to the acre, and the trees come to maturity in eight years. [Copra now sells at from £13 to £25 a ton.] The trees are usually planted 30 feet apart, but now some plant them closely. Labour costs £10 a month. From 6000 to 7000 cocoanuts go to a ton of copra, and each tree produces 50 or 60 nuts a year. King Peter adopts girl children very young, trains them to work, and, when old enough, marries them to “wild” young natives who are thus enticed into working for him! He has brought back a new stock of “trade” from Sydney—beads, cloth, mechanical toys, concertinas, and the like. These big ears of mine, which appear so attractive to others that they must pour things into them, have the misfortune—or merit—of letting much pass out the other side, so that my memory does not retain all these yarns. Even if it did, I could not tell them again; aber “Leben und leben lassen” is a saying always to be remembered.

S.S. Stettin, THE STILLE MEER, Dec. 1900.

It is very hot—swelteringly so.

Pyjamas seem the most comfortable wear, yet we conform to public opinion, and if in white are still dressy. The Captain and officers are very