The cocoa-nut, called niu, I was told by Whippy that the natives say they have three varieties, but I believe our botanists obtained no more than two, which are distinguished by the brown and green colours of the nuts. The two varieties of the tree are much the same in appearance, and frequently grow to the height of seventy or eighty feet; each of them bears from ten to twenty nuts. The natives are in the habit of collecting the sap from the flower-stalks when young, by cutting off the extremity, and suspending to it a vessel: this, when fresh, forms a pleasant beverage; it has a tartness that it acquires by the length of time it takes to run, but is in other respects very like the milk of a green or a fresh cocoa-nut. What all voyagers have said of this tree we found to be true; only instead of its uses being exaggerated, as some have supposed, they are in my opinion underrated: a native may well ask if a land contains cocoa-nuts, for if it does, he is assured it will afford him abundance to supply his wants. One circumstance, to which my attention was early drawn by Mr. Brackenridge, was the peculiarity of its growth, which would seem to point out something peculiar in its constitution: it does not thrive higher than six hundred feet above the sea. All those seen above that height had a sickly appearance; and the lower it grew, even where its roots were washed by the salt water, the more prolific and flourishing it appeared.

There was a use to which it was applied here that we had not before seen the kernel of the old cocoa-nut is scraped, and pressed through woody fibres; the pulp thus formed is mixed with grasses and scented woods, and suffered to stand in the hot sun, which causes the oil to rise to the top, where it is skimmed off. The residuum, called kora, is pounded or mashed, wrapped in banana-leaves, and then buried under salt water, covered with piles of stones. This preparation is a common food of the natives, and will keep for a long time; they prepare it as a kind of soup, which serves them (according to the whites) for tea or coffee. A large quantity of the oil is made and exported. Of this a part reaches the United States, where it is manufactured into soap, and again sent to Polynesia to be consumed. The wood of the cocoa-nut is only used for fortifying their towns, and as sills for their houses.

The ivi of the natives, (Inocarpus edulis,) otherwise called the Tahiti chestnut, produces a large nut that is eaten by them, and is the principal food of the mountaineers. This they store away in pits, in the same manner as the bread-fruit.

The papaw apple, (Carica papaya,) called walete, is in great abundance, but is not prized by the natives.

Shaddocks were in great abundance. Both the red and white kinds are indigenous.

The same bitter orange was found here as at the Samoan Group. The natives of Feejee call it moli-tiri. The trees grow to the height of forty feet. They give the name of moli ni papalangi, or the white man's orange, to the lemon and sweet orange. They were both introduced by Mr. Vanderford, (from Tahiti,) about the year 1823. Several new native fruits were seen. One of these, called taravou, is about the size of a plum. It grows on a large tree, and has a bitter and acrid taste: the natives are very fond of it.

The indava is also much esteemed, both by the natives and whites. The fruit is about the size and shape of a hen's egg, with the exception of being flattened at both ends: it has a glutinous, honey-like taste, has a kernel, and grows on a tree about fifty feet high.

The Malay apple, called kabita, was also found here, though it does not appear to be as plentiful as at Tahiti and the Samoan Group.

They have also several other fruits, which are only used in times of scarcity, and when hard pressed by famine.

The new species of tomato, (Solanum,) of which mention has already been made, may be almost classed with the fruits; it is cultivated by the natives on account of its fruit, which is round, smooth, and about the size of a large peach; when ripe, its colour is yellow; its taste was by some thought to have a strawberry flavour. We have made every endeavour to introduce the plant into the United States, by sending home seeds, some few of which have fallen into good hands, and been taken care of; but I regretted to find the greatest part had been distributed to those who had not taken any care in its cultivation. Fruit from these seeds has, however, been produced in Philadelphia. The plant will, no doubt succeed in the southern section of the Union. It is supposed to be biennial. There were also two smaller varieties of the same species, which the natives eat, and which are about the size of a small egg.

Mr. Brackenridge also found a nutmeg (Myristica) on the heights of Ovolau. The fruit of this, when green, is about the size of a pigeon's egg, with a round kernel and a large quantity of mace around it. He describes the kernel as having a greasy taste, and little of that aromatic flavour distinctive of the nutmeg known to us. From a wound in the bark of the tree issued a red acrid juice. We did not learn that the natives make any use of this plant.

Pumpkins, cucumbers, Cape gooseberry, guava, pine-apples, watermelons, and large red capsicums, are in abundance.

The chief proportion, however, of the food of the natives is derived

from yams (Dioscorea) of which they have five or six varieties. One kind is found growing wild on Ovolau. The season when they begin to plant their yams is pointed out by the blossoming of the Malay apple. This happens about the beginning of August. The old yam is cut into triangular pieces, of which from four to six are obtained from each root, according to its size. Care, however, is taken to notch each root on the top, in order that no mistake may occur in planting. Sometimes entire small roots are planted. One set is put into each of the hills, which are three or four feet apart. The yams are from six to eight months in coming to perfection, and the yamdigging season is in April or May. The crop is an uncertain one, and the product is from one to fifteen roots in each hill. In some places the yam attains a very large size, as in Somu-somu, where I saw some four or five feet in length that were very farinaceous. Around all the koros or towns are houses for storing the supply of yams, in which they keep them well aired and protected from the wet. In all parts of the group that were not at war, we found them in great plenty; indeed, they have already become an article of export, for cargoes of them have been taken to Sydney with profit.

There is another root called kawai, which resembles the Malay batata. The tuber of this is oblong and of a brownish colour; the outer skin is hard, and when cooked, peels off like the bark of a birch tree it is white and farinaceous, of a sweet and agreeable taste, and very prolific. The natives, in lifting the large tubers, usually allow the smaller ones to remain for the succeeding crop. Our horticulturist was of opinion it would be desirable to introduce this root into our country, which any vessel coming direct from the Feejecs could easily effect by bringing the small tubers alive: it would undoubtedly be a great acquisition.

At Rewa, a root called ivia is found in the marshy grounds, which is peculiar to that island. It is perennial, and if left to grow several years, reaches an immense size, becoming thicker than a man's body, and several yards long. It has many roots, which send forth others, all of which throw out leaves in various directions, so that a single plant will form a perfect jungle. When used for food, the outside is scraped or peeled off, and the inside, after being cut in pieces, is boiled; but, however well cooked, it is usually tough. It is also made into a mandrai, called mandrai sivi-sivi.

The Rewa people, in consequence of their possessing this root, never fear a famine.

Taro is grown here in vast quantities on the margin of streams, by which the patches are irrigated. When the root is ripe, the greater

part of it is cut off from the leaves; the portion which is left attached to them is at once replanted. These roots are prepared for eating by boiling, and when not properly cooked an acrid juice remains, which will smart the mouth and throat. They are also pounded into a kind of flour, that is preserved by kneading it up into large balls, which they make into puddings with cocoa-nut milk. Large quantities of taro are also stored away in pits, where it becomes sour, and is afterwards used by the natives as mandrai.

The natives also make use of the arrow-root (Maranta arundinacea), which is found in great abundance in a wild state. They pound it up into a kind of flour, for puddings. This plant might be cultivated extensively, and would prove a valuable article of commerce.

Sugar-cane is somewhat cultivated by the Feejees, who use it for chewing, for thatching their houses, and for arrows. It also grows wild in all parts of the islands.

The root of the ti (Dracæna), which they wrap closely up and bake contains even more saccharine juice than the sugar-cane, and is very agreeable to the taste.

The turmeric (Curcuma) also claims much of their attention. The natives dry it, and pulverize the part of the root below the bulb between stones. It is used by the women to rub over their bodies to promote health, and in their opinion beauty; from this habit they have a yellow oily appearance, and some are seen who are of a saffron colour.

Tobacco is cultivated in quantities, and smoked with avidity. They are exceedingly pleased with a gift of it; however small, it is always thankfully received; this, however, is the prevailing taste throughout Polynesia, and the farther west one travels, the more the natives seem to be addicted to its use.

We were told by the whites of a native nankeen-coloured cotton: of this we did not get specimens; but we found another, which produces a fine white cotton. They have also the cotton-tree (Gossypium herbaceum), which grows to the height of fifteen feet.

The Feejees carefully cultivate the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), from which they make their tapa-cloth, and which they call malo. The plantations of this tree resemble young nurseries. The plants are cut down when the stems are about one inch in diameter; the bark is taken off in as long strips as possible, sometimes the whole length of the tree, ten or twelve feet; it is next steeped in water, scraped with a conch-shell called kaku, and then macerated. When thus prepared it is laid on a log (nondatua) and beaten with a mallet (ike), three sides of which are grooved longitudinally, and the

fourth is plain. They always beat two strips of tapa into one, for the purpose of strengthening its fibres, and during this operation it is diminished one-fourth in length. The bark is always kept moist by water, which unites with the gluten. Although it contracts in length, a piece of two inches wide is not unfrequently beaten out to eighteen inches in width. They find no difficulty in joining the pieces together, for the sap is sufficiently tenacious for that purpose, and the junction is often so neatly done as to escape detection. After the tapa is made, it is bleached in the sun, as we are in the habit of doing with linen; and that which they desire to have figured, undergoes the following process, called kesukesu. Strips of bamboo, of the size of the little finger, are fastened on a board; on these the tapa is laid, and rubbed over with a sort of dye, or juice, from the fruit of the laudi, which only adheres to the tapa where it touches the bamboo; it is then washed with a thin solution of arrow-root, which gives it a kind of glazing. Tapa-making is the work of women, who are generally employed at it early in the morning, and a woman can make ten fathoms of cloth a day. The tapa is also printed after the manner which has been described in treating of the Samoan Group.

WOMAN BRAIDING.

The bark of the Hibiscus tiliaceus is much used in braiding bands, &c.; for this purpose it is first steeped in water, to make it soft and pliable; of it the women make their liku, which is a band beautifully braided, about three inches wide, where the ends of the bark project so as to form a fringe, which is dyed red or black. This is the only article the women wear to cover their nakedness. The band is so plaited as to be a little elastic, by which means only it is kept on. The manner of braiding it is by affixing it to the great toe of the right foot.

The Pandanus odoratissimus furnishes the materials for their mats,