Hamilton. — On some Bone Belies. Ill 



nettle kind, which I have seen about 8 ft. in height. It loses 

 its leaves in the winter. The natives believe that this grows 

 into the large tree known as houhi ongaonga, of which the 

 inner bark was eaten in times of scarcity ; also that it loses 

 its spines when in the tree stage. Now, I know the tree; it is 

 the houhi with short rounded leaves and thick bark, not the 

 one having long narrow leaves. I have no faith in the Maori 

 theory. The ongaonga (nettle shrub) has no leaves now 

 (August). Its branchlets are extremely tough. The tree, 

 houhi ongaonga, has a few leaves remaining at this time of 

 the year, but most of them have fallen. But the houhi with 

 narrow leaves flourishes the year round covered with leaves. 



Puruhi. — An old native informs me that this term is 

 applied to leaves eaten by birds. The pigeon eats the leaves 

 of the koivhai, akaaka, and houhi (both kinds), and its flesh is 

 poor eating at such times. Hence the term puruhi is applied 

 to all these leaves — " He kereru kai puruhi, kaore c momona, 

 a, ka hannga hoki nga kiko " (Puruhi-e&tmg pigeons are poor 

 iu condition and their flesh is offensive). 



A kind of worm termed ngaio is sometimes found in the 

 kokopu fish, and also in the entrails of the kaka bird. These 

 birds are thin when afflicted by this parasite. 



Abt. VI. — Notes on a Bone Pendant in the Form of a 

 Lizard(?), found on the Sandhills at Wainui ; and on 

 some other Bone Objects. 



By A. Hamilton. 



[Read before the Otago Institute, 11th November, 1902.] 

 Plates VIII. -IX. 

 The sand-dunes w 7 hich form the littoral of a large part of 

 the coast of New Zealand have been very prolific in relics of 

 the ancient life of the Maori, as in all suitable places there 

 were settlements from which the fishers went forth to reap 

 the harvest of the sea and to contribute towards the support 

 of the tribe. For miles and miles, especially in the North 

 Island of New Zealand, the winds disclose among the sand- 

 hills the middens of old kaingas, and as the wanderings of 

 cattle and the traffic over the sandhills increased, the binding 

 grasses and sedges were destroyed, so that sandhills which 

 have stood for centuries move on and perhaps disclose the 

 remains of habitations of which the names and history have 

 been utterly lost. Many of the relics thus uncovered are 

 soon destroyed by the action of either the sun or the frost, 

 or they may be again covered by the shifting sands. The 

 more common things to be found in the neighbourhood of 



