Hurron.—On Maori Cooking Places, Shag River. 103 
amongst other things, the Moa was very fond of fern roots, and to procure 
it, a couple of Moas would soon scratch up and perfectly harrow one or two 
acres of ground. The Maoris would then kill the Moas, and plant their 
kumeras in the finely harrowed ground. From this, a small patch of culti- 
vated ground has come to be called a ‘‘ Moa.” 
9, Flint and obsidian knives were always used by the Maoris at the 
same time that they had the well-polished tools and weapons of stone. 
The polished tools were used for canoe building, making paddles, spears, 
clubs, agricultural instruments, ete., and were exceedingly valuable. The 
obsidian splinters were not worth the trouble of making into a regular 
shape ; the edge was as keen as a razor, but so brittle, that it could not be 
used for cutting wood to any advantage. These knives were used for 
cutting flax, flesh, hair, and for surgical operations. The edge soon came 
off, when another chip would be split off the large lump of obsidian, which 
every family that could afford it would have lying by the house, or con- 
cealed somewhere near at hand. These blocks were usually brought from 
the Island of Tuhua by the Ngapuhi, when returning from southern expe- 
* ditions, and were articles which fetched a considerable price in the way of 
barter. When I first came to the colony, in many inland villages the 
obsidian knife was still much used; it was merely a sharp chip, but when 
split off artistically, extremely sharp. 
Art. VIL.—Notes on the Maori Cooking Places at the Mouth of the Shag 
River. By Captain F. W. Hurton, F.G.S. 
[Read before the Otago Institute, 24th August, 1875.) 
Last summer I was very kindly invited by F. D. Rich, Esq., to explore the 
old Maori cooking-places on his estate of Bushy Park, at the mouth of the 
Shag River, and as the Museum Committee were fortunately able to furnish 
the necessary funds, I gladly accepted the invitation. Not having much 
time at my disposal, I secured the services of Mr. B. §. Booth, already 
favourably known to the members of this Institute, by his paper on the Moa 
swamp at Hamilton,* to conduct the explorations, and on the 28rd of 
January Mr. Rich and myself inspected the ground, and formed our plan 
of operations. 
The locality has already been well described by Dr. von Haastt as a 
low ridge of sand-hills, running north and south for about 400 yards 
* « Trans, N.Z. Inst.” Vol. VIL, p. 123. 
+ “Trans. N.Z. Inst.,” Vol. VII, p. 91. 
