124 PRIVATE PROPERTY. [PART I. 



implement is preferable to our spades, which cut, 

 but do not tear up ; those especially which are made 

 entirely of iron cannot be used by the natives, as 

 their feet are bare. Sometimes a hoe is used formed 

 of Lydian or green stone, fixed to a handle. It is 

 called e toki. The seeds are then put into holes 

 made with a stick of the wood of the manuka. All 

 the plantations are fenced in. The greatest labour 

 is bestowed upon the kumara-fields. They are kept 

 clear of weeds ; the kumaras are planted in regular 

 rows ; and the caterpillars of a sphinx, which feed 

 in great numbers upon the leaves, are at all times 

 carefully removed. In neatness such a field rivals 

 any in Europe. Every family has its own field, 

 and the produce is its private property. But the 

 head of a tribe, being as it were the father of a 

 family, often institutes a sale, to which all have 

 contributed their produce, and the receipts are 

 divided according to the contributions ; in this 

 proceeding there is, however, nothing compulsory. 

 Fishing is likewise carried on in common : an old 

 man acting as an umpire divides the fish which has 

 been caught into equal portions, according to the 

 number of families ; he then walks round, and with 

 a stick points out to whom each heap belongs. 

 Strangers who happen to be present, or a white 

 man who is settled amongst the tribe, receive their 

 share. An umpire divides also the property they 

 have received in exchange for land. 



