pafte o f the bread-fruit by fermentation, which keeps for feverali
months, and is both healthy and palatable to thofe who are once:
ufed to its acidulated tafte. Now let- us- compare this to the greatelf
fertility in known countries'. In France * , on a fquare league,,
containing about. 4867 French acres (arpent's,) no more than 1390,
perfons can live by agriculture, and 2604 by vintage: in the firft
cafe, one perfon requires 3; arpents to live upon, and in the latter,
nearly two arpents muft be allotted for the fubliftence, o f one individual.
In O-Taheitee, and the Society-Ifles, about ten or twelve-
perfons live eight months on one Englifh acre,, which contains,
43,560 fquare fe e t ; whereas the arpent, containing 51,550 fquarei
feet Englilh. meafure, feeds but. one. perfon fix months-in France..
T h is calculation proves, that, taking fuch parts, as are beft cultivated
in both countries, thé population, óf. O-Taheitebiis to that of.
France, nearly as 17 to 1.. Moreover, let us fuppofe, that on the',
whole ifie o f O-Taheitee, 'there are no more than 140 fquare Englilh
miles o f land planted with bread-fruit trees, which fuppofition
certainly does not err in excels. E'ach mile confifts o f 640 acres,.,
and 4,0 miles, muft accordingly -contain 25,600 acres.: TeriJ óf
twelve men live ejght months on one acre ; conféquently thirty or
thirty-fix men can fubfift the fame time on three acres,, and twenty
or twenty-four men find food during a whole year on three acres;
6 con-
* Difc.ours fur les Vignes Dijon. 1756, iimo,
Gonfeqdently,. on the whole extent o f 25,600 acres, ïpo;66o per-
£ons, according to the. firft fuppofition, or 204,800 according to-
the fecond, can be fupported' yearly., But w d have feen above,.
that only 44,125 individuals are fuppofed-to exift oh O-Taheitèe;
according to our firft calculation, which is nearlylefs -by 28,535
perfons in the firft inftance, or 60,675 in the fecond, • than the ifie
can fupport, upon the moft. moderate calculation. - -Having-' thus
fairly ftated. the poflibility Of fo- great a population, we fliall cer--
tainly not be thought unreafonable in our eftimatef1 ■ ;
T e-A rjraboo has . ip or 20 di-ftriéts,and is equally w e ll cu l t i vated
and.populous^: for its-natives not only withftodd the whole,
power of the inhabitantsiof T-Obrebnob,-butfefen-beat their forces •
and ravaged their (bores. I t might therefore Be deethed'Very little,
i f at all inferior, in power and in numbers r B u t'wé will reckon
them to be* Only one half <of the populatton. öf T-Obfëonöb'j and.
the number o f its inhabitants will'bfr 40, 500. 1
iM E O . - i s la littlfe, but well-cultivated ifie, fubjeft'to the king o f
T-Obreónöo. According to the accounts of the 1 Tdhei tearfs, it op-
pofed-and beat: off the.whole force of Tc-Arraboo ; and the great
.armaments we obferved going forward in- T^Óbi-ébm)o, .- for thé re-
.duffion. o f Iméo, • prove that'they Mvë rib mean, idea of. their
ftrength; notwithftandirtg this,' (we fliall allow them no more than.
' O P Ü L A -
TION'.
one.