6o 



Mat and Basket Weaznng. 



Baskets of leie. — We are now to consider one of the two most distindlive 

 Hawaiian works in basketry, and one which, for solidity and durability of workman- 

 ship, I believe to be unsurpassed in this Pacific region, nor do my limited studies in 

 the field of basketry embrace any baskets of any region which may justly be accorded 

 a higher rank than pertains to the baskets made from ieie b}' the Hawaiians. Unlike 



Fig. 58. freycinetia leaves. 



Fig. 59. FREYCINETIA ROOTI.ETS. 



the pandanus, its near relative, the Freycinetia does not offer in its leaves its most 

 useful product, although these are similar in shape but smaller in size than those of 

 the pandanus. It is a slim, scandent plant, either making dense jungle with its partly 

 recumbent stems, or climbing high among the trees where its tufts of green leaves 

 enclosing in the flowering season the bright red flowering leaflets, among which the 

 three flower heads rise, always attract the eye of an observant traveler. From the 

 slender stems perpend long rootlets of almost uniform diameter which cling to the 



