138 VEGETATION OP LORD HOWE ISLAND, 



pretty well tired out. The seeds are put into gunny-bags, and 

 all bags are conveyed down the mountain in the " cubby," a kind 

 of knapsack arrangement borrowed from New Zealand, for it is a 

 Maori device for carrying their children. The cubby is a sort of 

 parallel braces, and by its use the carrier of a load can have both 

 hands free. A load having been fixed up in the cubby, it is 

 placed on sloping ground, and the bearer lies on his back, places 

 his arms through the knapsack loops, and raises himself to an 

 erect position. 



Palm-seed if planted when just changing colour, will germinate 

 more readily (Edward King says three months earlier), than those 

 which are dead-ripe. A drawback to dead-ripe seeds is the 

 readiness with which they are attacked by weevil. Tt is recom- 

 mended to ship Thatch and Umbrella Palm seeds when yellowish, 

 as they carry best at that stage. 



Thatch Palm. — The leaves of K. Forsteriana are, as is well 

 known, used for thatching purposes; the stems, cut to four, were 

 at one time largely used for battens, but now they are rarely put 

 to such use as the trees are too valuable as seed-yi'elders. 



The largest trees of this sj)ecies are on the Boat Harbour flats 

 on the south-east side of the island. There they attain a dia- 

 meter of 18 inches or 2 feet and a height of 60ft. This species 

 grows in belts all over the island. 



This and the other two palms (the Curly Palm alone excepted) 

 take twelve months to mature the seeds after the flower ajjpears. 

 The seeds of the Curly Palm are greenish-black when ripe; those 

 of the other three species are red. 



Curhf Palm. — Kbntia Belmoreana will not grow on the coral, 

 sandy ground; it is always found on basalt. This species takes 

 three years to fully mature its seeds after the flower appears. 



Umbrella Palm. — Hedyscepe (Kentia) Canterburyana is the 

 largest-fruited palm of the island. It is called " Umbrella 

 Palm " owing to its rounded top. It does not descend below 900 

 feet, and forms a belt all round Mts. Lidgbird and Gower. 



Aware that the sjDatha was unknown, I made diligent search 

 and found one at the foot of a tree, while a boy " shinned " 



