NATIONAL BEVERAGES. 327 



qona," and either consists of a piece of Kava-root, or 

 any other article that may prove acceptable. Drinking 

 Kava being peculiar to all Polynesian tribes, Thomson 

 ( 4 Story of New Zealand:' London, 1859: vol. i. p. 193) 

 expresses surprise that the Maoris of New Zealand 

 should have forgotten the art of extracting it, " seeing 

 that the plant (Piper methysticum, Forst.) grows abun- 

 dantly in the country." But the Piper found wild in 

 New Zealand is not, as Dr. Thomson supposes, the Piper 

 methysticum, Forst. (the true Kava plant), but the Piper 

 excelsum of the same author (Macropiper eoccelsum, Miq.). 

 Hence it can form no surprise that a genuine Poly- 

 nesian people should have forgotten the art alluded to 

 during the long lapse of time intervening between their 

 departure from Samoa and their discovery by Europeans. 

 They have, however, preserved the name of " Kava," 

 which they have transferred to their indigenous pepper 

 (Kawa-kawa), and also to a beverage (Kawa) made of 

 the fruits of the Coriaria myrtifolia, Linn., by them 

 termed Tupa-Kihi, Tutu, or Puhou. Kawa-kawa, ac- 

 cording to Colenso's statement in J. D. Hooker's ' Flora 

 of New Zealand,' signifies "piquant." Thomson at- 

 tempts to trace Kawa, Kava, or Ava, as the various Poly- 

 nesian dialects have it, to the Sanscrit " Kasya," which 

 seems to be a general term for intoxicating beverages.* 



* The medicinal properties of the Kara-plant have of late claimed some 

 attention. In the French translation of Golding Bird's work on Calculous Af- 

 fections, Dr. O'Rorke has inserted, amongst others, the following remarks: 

 " The Xava-plant is the most powerful sudorific in existence, and its 

 stimulant qualities render it applicable in those cases in which colchicum 

 is prescribed. . . . The intoxication it produces is not like that caused by 

 spirituous liquors, but rather induces a placid tranquillity, accompanied by 



