324 A MISSION TO VITI. 



orange-coloured, and has, though a tart, not a disagree- 

 able flavour. The natives share a partiality for it with 

 the wild pigeons, which flock to it in numbers. The 

 wood of the shrub is very hard, and used for making 

 those peculiar pillows (Kali) of the country, which the 

 Fijians doubtless invented in order to prevent the de- 

 rangement of their enormously large heads of hair, 

 curled and dressed as they are with infinite care. 



The national beverage is the Kava, or, as the Fijians 

 term it, " Yaqona," prepared from the root of the Piper 

 methysticum, Forst., or, as its modem name is, Macro- 

 piper methysticum, Miq., a species of pepper, of which 

 there are six varieties, distinguished by the height of 

 the entire plant, the length and thickness of the joints, 

 and the more or less purplish or greenish tinge of the 

 stem and leaves. The best Yaqona, for this name applies 

 to the plant as well as to the beverage extracted from 

 it, grows from 500 to 1000 feet above the sea-level, and 

 in the islands of Kadavu and Viti Levu. The plant is 

 cultivated throughout the group in small patches, and 

 isolated specimens are frequently noticed around public 

 and private houses. It is propagated by offshoots. The 

 highest shrubs are about six feet, and their stem from 

 an inch to an inch and a half in diameter ; the leaves 

 are cordate, and either green or more or less tinged 

 with purple. The root and extreme base of the stem 

 are the parts of which the drink is prepared ; they are 

 preferred fresh, but are nearly as good when dry. After 

 the roots have been dug up, they are placed in an airy 

 spot, generally on a stage over the fireplace. In order to 

 prepare the beverage, it is necessary to reduce the roots 



