NOTE ON THE "KEU" (1) OF THE MACLAY-COAST, 

 NEW GUINEA. 



By N. de Miklouho-Maclay. 



My last paper, " List of Plants in use by the Natives of the 

 Maclay-Coast, New Guinea," was already printed, when I discovered, 

 quite unexpectedly, amongst old letters a forgotten note of the late 

 Dr. R. H. C. C. SchefFer, Director of the Botanical Garden of 

 Buitenzorg, which referred to some matters communicated by me 

 in the above paper. As it was too late to make an addition to the 

 same, I found myself obliged to bring this addendum to the above 

 mentioned paper in the form of a separate note. 



I have stated in the " List of Plants of the Maclay-Coast," that 

 the " Keu " plant collected by me at that coast, has been identified 

 by Di'. Scheffer with the Piper methystictmi of the South Sea 

 Islands. The note of Dr. Scheffer referred to, brought to my 

 memory the fact, that some days after I received the leaves of 

 the P. methysticum ivom Samoa (in Dec. 1874 (2), and had given 

 them to Dr. Scheffer for comparison with the " Keu " plant, I 

 found in my ethnological collection some bundles of the " Keu " 

 which had been presented to me by the natives of the different 

 villages, on my departvire, as a supply of " Keu " for my own use. 

 The bundles consisted of young plants of " Keu " with roots, stems, 



(1) "K^u" is the name given m the dialect of Bongu of the Maclay- 

 Coast, to a species of Piper which is used for the prepai-ation of a stimu- 

 lating and somewhat intoxicating beverage. As it will be seen from this 

 paper, the name of "Keu " is applied to more than one species of Piper (of 

 which one is the Piper methysticum of Polynesia). The names for the same 

 beverage, as well as for the plants used for its preparation in the other 

 dialects of the Maclay-Coast are : — Keuva, Isse, Kial, Ayo, Segu and others, 



(2) Vide my paper : '• List of Plants in use by the Natives of the Maclay- 

 Coast." Proceed. Linn. Soc, N.S.W., Vol. X., p. 346. 



