330 BOTANY. 



half-a-pint of an infusion of the root produces a happy 

 listlessness, similar to some of the narcotic effects of 

 the poppy or lettuce, the mind retaining a dreamy con- 

 sciousness, although the muscular power appears to be 

 no longer under the control of the will a state which 

 is not preceded by any excitement either of mind or 

 body. The long and excessive use of this drink pro- 

 duces mental debility, emaciation, and a peculiar scaly 

 or leprous eruption on the skin; for the abuse of 

 natural laws, by whatever means attained, is seldom 

 permitted to pass unpunished. At the Society and 

 Sandwich groups, where the use of this drink has been 

 abolished or superseded by ardent spirits, the kava-plant, 

 is almost extinct. At the first-named group, where it 

 grew so abundantly in the time of Captain Cook, I 

 was unable to procure a single specimen ; and at the 

 Sandwich group I noticed but one plant, growing on 

 the island of Maui. The Marquesans continue the 

 aboriginal use of the root, and the chiefs of Santa 

 Christina cultivate it largely. 



P. latifolium. Bastard Kava. This species re- 

 sembles the true kava, but is shorter and more bushy 

 in its growth. It is a dieecious plant, the male speci- 

 men bearing a yellow spadix, and the female a red or 

 purple. The Marquesan natives call the plant baka- 

 vatua. They are aware of the affinity it bears to the 

 true Jcava, though they do not apply its root to the 

 same use. I have more rarely noticed this species on 

 the lowlands of the Society Islands, where it is called 

 by the natives avavahai. 



P. betel. Betel Pepper. This is a climbing plant, 

 or " vine," with a slender, jointed, and crooked stalk. 



