97 



Planting the taraioau is, according to Fijian myth- 

 ology, the occupation of the departed in a future 

 state. 



In addition to these, there are several other kinds 

 of fruit eaten by the Fijians, but not much re- 

 lished by Europeans. They are the lose lose (fiscus 

 vitiensis), the balawa (pandanus caricosns), the wild 

 bramble loagodra-godra (rubus tiliaceons), the bakoi 

 (eugenia richii), the sea (eugenia sp.), the naica- 

 nawa (cordia subcordata), the vutu hana (barring- 

 tonia excelsa) ; in fact, to a hungry Fijian scarcely 

 any kind of fruit, animal, bird, fish, or snake comes 

 amiss. 



Water melons are abundant in Fiji, and are much 

 esteemed both by Fijians and settlers. The bottle 

 gourd is also common, but not the sweet melon, which, 

 from some cause, is entirely neglected. The carica 

 papaya (the papaw, mamme apple, or mummy apple, 

 — as the settlers wrongfully persist in calling it), 

 is not uncommon throughout the group. The Fijians 

 eat it raw, but by Europeans it is cooked and eaten as 

 a vegetable or a preserve. " The leaves possess the 

 " property of making tough meat tender ; and the 

 " seeds are an efficacious vermifuge for children." — 

 (Seemann.) 



Of other exotic fruits that have been introduced 

 into Fiji, and thrive there, may be mentioned 

 the following, viz., the guavas, psicliums pomiferum, 

 pyriferum, chinensis, and cattleyanurn. The first 

 two are now quite naturalised in Viti. They are 

 most common in the vicinity of European settlements, 

 whence they will ultimately spread throughout the 

 colony. On the rocky soils near Levuka they have 

 grown into a dense scrub in some places. The last- 



Q 2019. G 



