340 NOTES ON THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
chief has always to be discharged with them. Besides the Kalo, thére 
are at present under cultivation Sugar-cane, Sweet Potatoes, Water 
Melons, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Bananas, Pumpkins, and Coffee. No 
pains are taken with the Breadfruit, as the natives, unlike those of the 
Society Islands, do not eat it. Cocoa-nut Palms are grown on the sea- 
side, but do not thrive well ; they have evidently attained their northern 
limit. Under the old despotism, their fruits were reserved for the men, 
women not being allowed to partake of them; with the overthrow of 
the ¢adu system and the heathen superstitions, this custom, like many 
others, was discontinued, and Cocoa-nuts are now eaten by both sexes. 
Various vegetable substances are employed for miscellaneous pur- 
poses. The cloth (kapa) of which the natives make many of their 
dresses is obtained from the bark of two trees—the Wauke (Brousso- 
netia papyrifera, Vent.) and the Mamaki (Behmeria albida, Hook. et 
Arn.). Formerly much cloth was made from the Kilica (Morus Indica, 
L.), but as its bark is of inferior quality, it is at present, when Eu- 
ropean manufacture may be had at a cheap rate, but little used. 
Cordage is obtained from the Hau (Paritium tiliaceum, St. Hil.), and 
two Sedges, Akaakai and Ahuawa. The two latter go through similar 
processes of preparation as the Flax. The vessels out of which the 
natives eat their Poi, i.e. fermented Kalo (Colocasia esculenta, Schott), 
is called Zpu, and consists of the shell of Cucurbita maxima ; the network 
surrounding it is prepared from the bark of the Hau (Paritinm tiliaceum, 
St. Hil). The water-flasks, or Zuewai, are sometimes handsomely orna- 
mented, and are obtained from the Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). 
The kernels of the Kukui (Aleurites triloba, Forst.) are used for making 
oil, and are also employed instead of candles ; a number of them strung 
upon a stick will burn for hours, giving a clear and steady light. 
The Hawaiians display an intimate knowledge of the Vegetable 
Kingdom. They possess vernacular names for nearly every plant, and 
_ have almost invariably succeeded in discovering the uses to which the 
various herbs, shrubs, and trees may be applied. These they are always 
ready to communicate, with the exception of the medicinal properties. 
The knowledge of the latter is chiefly confined to the native physicians 
_ and the “ wise women,” who, deriving from it a lucrative return, observe 
. a strict silence on these points, and, if questioned, give an evasive 
answer. Their sovereign remedy seems to be a decoction made from 
the root of the Awa (Piper methysticum, Forst.), a plant cultivated in 
