170 



NATIVE COOKING. 



paling, &c. ; but when the fibres of the bark run 

 in a parallel direction, the wood of the tree is 

 also found to correspond, and the grain being 

 straight is readily split into rails, posts, or applied 

 to any other purpose that may be required 

 by the settler. The wood of the " box-tree" 

 {Eucalyptus marginata?) is considered very 

 durable for flooring boards, shingles, &c., and 

 the young trees for shafts of gigs ; for the latter 

 purpose it is considered by many persons not to 

 be surpassed by any other kind of wood in the 

 colony. 



The usual mode of cooking among the native 

 tribes, is by throwing the food upon the fire to 

 broil, or rather to get half-roasted, in which 

 state it is eaten ; or a native oven is made in the 

 ground, similar to those in use among the New 

 Zealanders, and throughout the Polynesian 

 Archipelago.* The remarks made on the cha- 

 racteristic features and intellectual capacities 



* At New Zealand a pit is dug in the ground, in which 

 some stones are placed, and a fire lighted upon them, and 

 sufiPered to remain until they are well-heated ; after the fire 

 is removed, water is thrown over the stones, and damp leaves 

 placed also upon them, which causes much steam to arise ; 

 the meat, potatoes, &c., are then placed into this oven, en- 

 veloped in leaves, and the whole entirely covered with earth; 

 it remains for nearly an hour, when the cooking process is 

 found to be completed. 



