196 TROPIC DAYS 



wading into an enclosed pool where fish are observed, 

 beat the mass (after dipping it into the water and 

 while held in the left hand) with a nulla-nulla. The 

 action is repeated until the bark and leaves are mace- 

 rated, and then the bundle is thrown into the pool. 

 In a few minutes the fish rise to the surface, gasping 

 and making extraordinary efforts to get out of the 

 infected water. Death ensues rapidly, but the fish 

 are quite wholesome as food. 



Another of the vegetable poisons is known as "Raroo" 

 (Carey a australis). The bark at the base of the trunk 

 and of the roots contains an effective principle, which 

 is released in a somewhat similar fashion to that em- 

 ployed with "Paggarra." 



The fruit of the handsome, shrubby tree known 

 botanically as Diospyros hebecarpa is also a most effec- 

 tive fish poison. It is oval-shaped, red when ripe, and, 

 as the name implies, covered with soft, fine hair. For 

 all its lofty title and attractive appearance, the fruit 

 is deceptive, for it bites and blisters the lips and tongue 

 like caustic, and on being bruised and thrown into a 

 pool on the reef, all fish are killed outright. 



A different and, for a black, singularly complicated 

 process is employed for the extraction of the noxious 

 principle residing in the plant known as "Koie-yan" 

 (Faraday a splendida}. This is one of the most rampant 

 and ambitious of the many vines of the jungle. 



It combines exceeding vigour with rare gracefulness. 

 The leaves are a light glossy green, ovate, and often a 

 foot long, while the flowers are pure white (resembling 

 slightly the azalea, but free from its fragility), large, 

 and with an elusive scent, sweet and yet indefinite. 

 The fruit, smooth and of porcelain whiteness, varies 

 in size and shape, and is said to be edible, though 

 blacks ignore it. A large marble and an undersized hen's 



