270 



TUTIRA 



Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), another plant that could only have 

 reached Tutira by deliberate carriage, manages, after half a century, 

 still to retain its trim compact shape. On Maungaharuru and 

 elsewhere the original rows were, until lately and may yet be, if 

 not grubbed by pig distinct on the ancient garden - plots of long- 

 deserted native villages. The seed of thyme, like the seed of tansy, 

 never germinates in turf; no beast eats it. When met with, the 

 plant is a sure and certain indication of bygone settlement. 



Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) grows plentifully on many parts 

 of the run, but especially prefers sheep -camps on conglomerate out- 

 crops. Under certain conditions the plant acts as an aphrodisiac. 



Spearmint. 



Horehound. 



Thorn-apple. 



Twice I have noticed that rams pawing and nosing the leaves have been 

 stimulated as by the proximity of a ewe eager to mate. On each 

 occasion I believe the discovery was a chance discovery, but having 

 been experienced, persistence in the bruising of the plant was prolonged 

 with visible results. 



Thorn - apple (Datura stramonium), or, as it is still called in 

 Hawke's Bay, " Priests' Weed," has on two occasions appeared at 

 Tutira. As a plant likely to be of use in pulmonary affection, it 

 was distributed in early days throughout the pas of Hawke's Bay 

 by the Rev. Father Regnier of the Meanee Mission Station. It offers 

 yet another example of the esteem in which medicinal herbs were 

 held in the early years of last century. 



