240 Transactions. 



portion over is termed hamama (literally, " open, vacant "). 

 " Pae hia to rakau ? " (How man)'- pae is your tree ?) " Pae rua " 

 (Two pae) ; or, " Pae toru hamama " (Three pae and a space 

 over). 



Tree-felling. 



In felling bush, in order to make a garden or cultivation- 

 ground, three different methods are employed — viz., the autara, 

 whakapapa, and hapai tu. The first-named (autara or kairangi) 

 •consists in cutting down all small stuff and in lopping off all 

 blanches of larger trees, leaving their trunks (with the bases 

 of branches) standing. When dry the felled bush is burned 

 off and crops planted. The whakapapa method consists of 

 felling all trees, save perhaps a few very large ones, then burning 

 off, &c, as before. In some districts, where frosts prevail, 

 potatoes are planted just before the bush is felled. These 

 potatoes grow, protected from the frosts by the felled timber. 

 When the timber dries in the spring it is burned off. The 

 potato-plants are, of course, also burned, but grow up again 

 more vigorously than ever, the soil being enriched by the ashes. 

 By this method potatoes are planted as early as July, thus 

 insuring an early crop. This method is termed whakapara. 



In lopping off branches in the autara method every branch 

 must be so cut. If only those on one side of the tree are so cut 

 off it is unlucky — he aitua, he pouaru (an evil omen) — a widow 

 or widower; the workman will soon lose his wife, or will himself 

 die. Stone axes were employed for such work. 



The hapai tu mode is again different, for every tree is felled, 

 and all logs, branches, rubbish, &c, removed from the ground 

 — except perhaps some large logs — leaving the ground ready 

 to be turned up for the crop. Observing a patch of bush where 

 no big trees stood, I inquired the reason. The answer was, 

 ' ; lie hapai tu pea na nehera " (Maybe it is a hapai tu of olden 

 days). 



The usual term for tree-felling in this district is tope rahau, 

 but a better term is km rakau. Waere =■- to clear by cutting 

 ■down trees ; hence waerenga, a clearing. Para = to cut down 

 bush, &c. ; to clear. 



Stone Axes. 



The felling of a tree of large size, as when making a canoe, 

 obtaining timber for a large house, &c, was a serious under- 

 taking to the neolithic Maori. It was accomplished by means 

 of lire and stone axes. The process was an exceedingly tedious 

 one. The toki, or stone axes, might be better described as 

 adzes, inasmuch as they were helved as is an adze — or, rather, 

 the relative positions of head and helve were similar, lor in no 



