348 A MISSION TO VITI. 



used exclusively in thatching heathen temples, but now 

 also for common dwelling-houses. The flowers are small 

 and white, slightly tinged with purple, and the fruit has 

 a rough, woody outside, of a light-brown colour, con- 

 taining a large kernel, which possesses a scent much 

 esteemed by the Fijians, but in which we detect no- 

 thing remarkable either as regards strength or beauty. 

 The fruit of the Leba (Eugenia \Jambosa\ neurocalyx, 

 A. Gray), a middle-sized Myrtaceous tree, with large 

 flowers, considering the natural order to which it be- 

 longs, has much more to recommend it to the notice of 

 Europeans. It ripens about September, and its odour 

 gravitates between that of the apple and the melon. It 

 is roundish, strongly ribbed, often three inches long 

 and eight inches in circumference, of a dark purple, and 

 contains five large seeds, of an angular shape, and a 

 beautiful crimson colour. The natives wear a whole 

 fruit, or part of it, suspended around their necks, and 

 also use it for scenting cocoa-nut oil. 



Materials for the scanty clothing worn by the Fijians 

 are readily supplied by a variety of plants, foremost 

 amongst which stands the Malo or Paper Mulberry 

 (Broussonetia papyrifera, Vent), a middle-sized tree, 

 with rough trilobed leaves, cultivated all over Fiji. On the 

 coast, the native cloth (Tapa*) and plaitings are gradually 

 displaced by cheap cotton prints introduced by foreign 

 traders, a fathom of which is considered enough for the 

 entire dress of a man. In the inland heathen districts the 



* Tapa = Kapa of some dialects, I take to mean originally " covering ;" 

 Atap, the name for thatch in the Indian Archipelago, doubtless belongs to 

 the same set of words. 



