282 A MISSION TO VITI. 



Oil and vegetable fat next claim our attention. The 

 most valuable oil produced in Fiji is that extracted from 

 the seeds of the Dilo (Calopliyllum inophyllum, Linn.), 

 the Tamanu of Eastern Polynesia, and the Cashumpa of 

 India. It is the bitter oil, or woondel, of Indian com- 

 merce. The natives use it for polishing arms and greas- 

 ing their bodies when cocoa-nut oil is not at hand. But 

 the great reputation this oil enjoys throughout Poly- 

 nesia and the East Indies rests upon its medicinal pro- 

 perties, as a liniment in rheumatism, pains in the joints, 

 and bruises. The efficacy in that respect can hardly be 

 exaggerated, and recommends it to the attention of Eu- 

 ropean practitioners. The oil is kept by the natives in 

 gourd flasks, and, there being only a limited quantity 

 made, I was charged about sixpence per pint for it, 

 paid in calico and cutlery. The tree yielding it is one 

 of the most common littoral plants in the group, and its 

 round fruits, mixed with the square-shaped ones of Bar- 

 ringtonia speciosa, the pine-cone-like ones of the sago- 

 palm, and the flat seeds of the Walai (Entada scandens, 

 Bth.), are found densely covering the sandy beaches, a 

 play of the tides. Dilo oil never congeals in the lowest 

 temperature of the Fijis, as cocoa-nut oil often does 

 during the cool season. It is of a greenish tinge, and 

 a very little of it will impart its hue to a whole cask 

 of cocoa-nut oil. Its commercial value is only partially 

 known in the Fijis, and was found out accidentally. 

 Amongst the contributions in cocoa-nut oil which the 

 natives furnish towards the support of the Wesleyan 

 missions, some Dilo oil had been poured, which, on ar- 

 riving at Sydney, was rejected by the broker who pur- 



