SEPTEMBER 6, 1918] 
The natural habitat of the olona is the lower 
and middle forest zone, lying on the mountains 
between elevations of 800-1,800 feet. It is 
strongly hygrophytic and shade-loying; it 
never occurs naturally in the open or in dry 
sections. The favorite habitats are deep, cool, 
gloomy ravines, or moist slopes that are well 
screened by forest cover. The olona belongs to 
that ecologic section of the Hawaiian flora that 
luxuriates in the dense moist shade of the 
montane forests. The zonal limitations of 
olona are clean-cut; it does not occur on the 
lowlands, nor at the higher levels. It inhabits 
all of the larger islands of the archipelago. 
Representative regions are the rain-forests of 
Wai-ale-ale, Kauai, Waianae and Koolau 
Ranges, Oahu; East Molokai; West Maui and 
Hale-a-ka-la; and the extensive forests on the 
island of Hawaii. It occurs in little patches 
or thickets here and there in the forest, but is 
nowhere abundant. It does not form continu- 
ous stands; reproduction is not vegetative but 
apparently always from seed. In any one spot 
the collector is not likely to find more than a 
few score individual plants. 
The Hawaiians formerly cultivated the olona. 
in a primitive manner. They did not prepare 
the land or plant seed, but merely searched out 
good patches of the wild plants. Such a patch 
was cleared of any obstructing vegetation, not 
disturbing, however, the large trees which 
shaded the plants. If the olona plants were 
too crowded they were thinned out. The old 
plants were pruned so as to give a number of 
young, straight shoots. 
At irregular intervals, as convenience or 
necessity dictated, the grove was visited and 
the crop harvested. This process consisted in 
cutting all the long, straight shoots that had 
reached a diameter of about one inch. The 
bark of such shoots was rich in bast fibers, and 
these were of maximum length. Six feet was 
an average length. The bark was carefully 
stripped from the wands, in one or more pieces, 
packed into rolls or bundles, and carried down 
to the settlements on the lowlands, where the 
final operations were performed. 
A suitable situation was found along a 
stream or irrigation ditch. The bundles of 
SCIENCE 
237 
bark were opened and spread out in the shallow 
running water, where they were allowed to 
partially macerate. This required several 
days; then the long strips were removed from 
the water and the remaining pulpy matter was 
scraped from them while still wet. The scrap- 
ing was performed on a long, narrow, hardwood 
board, specially devised for this purpose and 
known as “la-au kahi olona.”’ The scraper 
was made of pearl shell (Margaritifera fim- 
briate) or turtle-shell plate (Chelone mydas), 
and was called “uhi kahi olona kaw honu.” 
The prepared fiber was carefully dried and 
rolled into cordage of various sizes. 
In ancient Hawaii the olona was venerated 
as a sort of deity or lesser god. Before spin- 
ning the fibers the natives made libations, and 
offered sacrifices of hogs, fowls, ete. The fol- 
lowing excerpt of an old chant—the mele of 
Kawelo—vividly describes the preparation of 
the olona fish-net : 
I, as chief, willingly 
Cast my net of olona; 
The olona springs up, it grows, 
It branches and is cut down. 
(The paddles of the chief beat the sea.) 
Stripped off is the bark of the olona, 
Peeled is the bark of the yellow moki. 
The fire exhales a sweet odor; 
The sacrifice is ready. 
The bark is peeled, the board is made ready, 
The olona is carded 
And laid on the board. 
White is the cord. 
The cord is twisted on the thigh, 
Finished is the net! 
Cast it into the sea, 
Into the Sea of Papa; let him fall, 
Let him fall, that I may strangle the neck 
Of Uhumakaikii. 
Uhumakaikii was a legendary sea-monster, 
who could raise great waves and capsize canoes. 
Formerly every chief had in the mountains 
one or more plantations of olona, which were 
tended by his dependents and which supplied 
him with sufficient quantities of this valuable 
product. Taxes were not infrequently paid 
with olona, as the fiber was nowhere so abun- 
dant as to depreciate its exchange value. 
Among the Hawaiians it was put to a great 
