466 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



of the prepared leaves of some of the larger sedges. They 

 were prettily made, requiring both time and skill in their con- 

 struction, and much more resembled a bird flying than our 

 English ones. They always served to remind me of those of 

 the Chinese, as we see them in their own drawings and on 

 their chinaware. The old chiefs would sometimes quietly 

 spend hours amusing themselves in flying them and singing 

 {sotto voce) the kite's song, using a very long string.''' Kites 

 being flown at any village or fort was a sure sign of peace. 

 These, too, gave rise to proverbs, some being quaint and 

 highly expressive. A pleasing one I give as a sample : 

 "He manuaute e taea te tvhakahoro" = A flying-kite made 

 of paper-mulberry bark can be made to fly fast (away, by 

 lengthening the cord). Used by a lover, expressive of impa- 

 tience at not being able to get away to see the beloved one. 



2. Of tlieir Spun Fibrous Articles. — These were very nume- 

 rous in kind, size, and quality, according to the particular use 

 for which they were required ; and, while the larger number 

 of them were composed of scraped and prepared flax-fibres 

 there were also other fibrous-leaved plants used by the Maoris, 

 particularly the leaves of the erect cabbage-tree = tii {Cordy- 

 line austraiis) and of the kiekie, already mentioned. Here, 

 too, in this department, the different kinds or varieties of the 

 flax would be used for making the different sorts of threads, 

 cords, and ropes, some of the varieties of flax enduring much 

 greater strain when scraped and spun into lines than others; 

 and of such their deep-sea fishing-lines w^ere made. It was 

 ever to me an interesting sight to see an old chief diligently 

 spinning such lines and cords — always done by hand, and on 

 his bare thigh. The dexterity and rapidity with which he pro- 

 duced his long hanks and coils of twine and cord, keeping 

 them regular, too, as to thickness, was truly wonderful. 

 Some of their smallest twisted cords or threads were very 

 fine. Such were used for binding on the barbs to their fish- 

 hooks, and for binding the long queues of dog's hair to their 

 chiefs' staffs. One of those peculiar cords was a very remark- 

 able one ; it was a small cord, bound closely round through- 

 out its whole length with a much smaller one (something like 

 the silver or fourth string of a violin). I never saw this kind 

 but once, and that was at the East Cape, in 1838. A specimen 

 of it I shall now exhibit. This cord was used for a single and 

 particular purpose, attached to the small under-aprons of girls 

 — chiefs' daughters. 



Their larger cords and ropes were composed of several 

 strands, well twisted and put together. Besides their round 



* See an interesting historical tradition respecting such (Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst., vol. xiii., p. 48). 



