FLORA VITIENSIS. 307 
The Yam principally cultivated is the Dioscorea alata, Linn., which has a four-sided climbing stem with- 
out prickles. The natives distinguish a number of varieties, all of which are known by the collective name 
of “Uvi.’ Some have large, some small roots, of either a white or more or less purplish tinge ; and upon 
these differences, as well as their shape and time of maturity, the distinctions are founded. These varieties 
are called Dannini, Keu, Kasokaso, or Kasoni, Voli, Sedre, Lokaloka, Moala, Uvi ni Gau, Lava, Namula, 
Rausi, Balebale, ete. At Navua, in Viti Levu, Chief Kuruduadua showed us a lot of Yams six feet long 
and nine inches in diameter, perfectly mealy, and every part good eating; and specimens, eight feet long, and 
weighing one hundred pounds, are by no means rare in the group. Skilful growers maintain that in order 
to produce large and abundant roots the settings ought to be put into hard and unprepared soil. Aceord- 
ing to their notion the Yam ought to meet with resistance, or, as they sometimes express themselves, it must 
get angry ere it will put forth its whole strength. I even heard of a bet won by a woman who pursued 
this simple plan, and who fully made good her word, that she would produce a root large enough to feed 
twenty people; whilst the man who bet with her could only raise one that would not have fed one-third of 
that number, though he took great pains to pulverize and prepare the soil tor the reception of the setting. 
The general signal for planting is the flowering of the Drala (Erythrina Indica, Linn.). As soon as its 
blossoms begin to appear, which happens about July and the beginning of August, all hands busy themselves 
about it. The land having already been cleared during the previous months, hillocks, about two feet high 
and four or five feet apart, are thrown up; these hillocks are known by the name of * Buke," whence the 
highest mountain in Kadavu, for the first time ascended on the 6th of September, 1860, by Mr. Pritchard 
and myself, and resembling them in shape, takes its name of Buke Levu, or large Yam-hillock. There are 
no spades or any other iron implement for digging; all is done with staves made of mangrove-wood, and the 
bare hands. Pieces of old Yams are set on the top of these hillocks, and within a short space of time they 
begin to sprout out. In less than a month they require reeds for climbing, after which little else is needed 
than keeping the ground free from weeds. About February the first Yams begin to ripen, and in the 
heathen districts offerings of them are made to the priests. In March and April the principal crop comes 
in, and is stored in sheds thatched with Cocoa-nut leaves. As.the season advances the contents of these 
sheds require at least a monthly overhauling; the roots exhibiting any kind of decay bave to be removed 
to prevent their contaminating the healthy ones. Yams are eaten baked, boiled, or steamed, and the natives 
ean consume great quantities of them. Whole cargoes have occasionally been taken with profit to New 
South Wales and New Zealand, and whaling and trading vessels never touch at Viti without laying in a 
ood supply. ; 
e There is another species, the Kawai (D. aculeata, Linn.), also planted on artificial hillocks, though not 
so high as those for the Yam. The stem of this creeper is round and full of prickles, but it is not accom- 
modated with reeds as that of the last-mentioned species. It ripens about June; on the 27th of that 
month all the leaves were dead. According to the natives it never flowers or fruits, and I looked in 
vain over many a field in hopes of being able to disprove the statement. It is propagated by planting the 
small tubers or roots, which, like the old ones, are oblong, of a brownish colour outside, and a pure white 
within. When cooked, the skin peels off like the bark of the Birch-tree, as Wilkes expresses it. The root 
is very farinaceous, and when well cooked looks like a fine mealy potato, though of superior whiteness. The 
taste recalls to mind that of the Aracacha of South America; there is a slight degree of sweetness about it 
which is very agreeable to the palate. Altogether the Kawai may be pronounced one of the finest esculent 
roots in the world, and 1 strongly recommend its cultivation in those parts of the tropics still without it. 
Several species of wild Yam, such as the Tikau, Tivoli, and Kaile, trail in graceful festoons over shrubs 
and trees of nearly every wood. The Tivoli (D. nummularia, Lam.) has a prickly stem like that of the 
cultivated Kawai, and climbs very high; its roots are long, cylindrical, and as thick as a man’s arm. 
When engaged in the forest the natives will often dig up these roots with a stick, roast, and eat them on 
the spot, when they taste extremely well. The Kaile (D. sativa, Linn.) somewhat resembles the Tivoli 
in look, and is often found entwined with it, but its stems and branches are round and unarmed, and its 
roots, being acrid, require to be soaked in water previous to boiling. The dish prepared from them kas the 
appearanee of mashed potatoes, and is made so thin that it can only be eaten with spoons, which are’ 
either furnished by the leathery leaves of the Spoon-tree or Tatakia (Acacia laurifolia, Willd.), or any 
other substantial leaf that happens to be at hand. : 
The Kaile tokatolu (D. pentaphylla, Linn.) is sometimes cultivated, aecording to Mr. Storck, and the 
tuber is good eating. I have not been able to get specimens of the wild Yam which the natives term 
“Tikau,” but it is stated in the ‘ Fijian Dictionary’ (p. 323 and 324) to be different from the Tivoli, and 
the name to be used in some dialects of the group instead of the generic name of *Uvi." Can it be the 
same as D. pentaphylla ? or is it an additional species P The following is a key to the Vitian species :— 
2 Caule inermi— 
Aud. .d gn ee c M eb 
Tan, Se ..— 44 4 2 0M. hs. 
