CoLENSO. — On the Vegetable Food of the Ancient New Zealanders. 27 



always made a first-rate dish, when in season, for visitors. The Maoris had 

 even an old proverb as to its superior excellence— showing that it was well 

 worth being roused up out of one's sound sleep to eat it freshly cooked — 

 which, I suspect, arose in a great measure from its large, solid, heavy 

 puddiug-like mass — a kind of " cut-and-come-again " dish! of which they 

 had not another such among all their vegetable messes. The rats, in the 

 woods, were very fond of its seed or kernel. Often have I, in travelling 

 through the forests, picked up the nuts, and have been astonished at the 

 patient gnawing of the rats, always made at one end, to extract the kernel, 

 which they also invariably did through a very small hole ! the shell of the 

 nut being excessively hard, and the kernel itself very small. I scarcely 

 ever found a sound nut on the ground, all had been gnawed. 



4. The next is the puwha, or common sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus, var., 

 or two varieties, exclusive of the later introduced British one). This was 

 only used fresh as a vegetable, and gathered daily, or twice a day, as 

 required, and steamed with then- other food in the earth-ovens. Only the 

 tender young leaves and unexpanded flowering tops of the plant were used ; 

 and the succulent stems of these were sometimes roughly bruised and 

 washed in running water to get rid of the bitter milky juice before cooking. 

 This plant was largely eaten, especially with fresh fish in the spring and 

 summer, and it was greatly liked. It is a very good and wholesome 

 vegetable ; often have I gathered it for my morning or evening meal. 

 Though everywhere common, yet in some places, as in the woods and on 

 the di'y open plains in the interior, both myself and travelling party have 

 not unfrequently, when hungry, sought for it in vain ! 



5. The roots of the j^ohue, the common convolvulus or bindweed (Con- 

 volvulus sejnumj, were also carefully dug up and cooked for food. These, 

 however, were not greatly esteemed ; partly, I am inclined to believe, from 

 the trouble of digging their long thong-like roots, and the small quantity 

 obtained for the amount of labour expended. 



A. great peculiarity here to be noticed, is, that the roots of this plant, 

 said to be identically the same species as the British one, are here in New 

 Zealand edible and wholesome ; while in England and elsewhere they are 

 highly purgative (a few grams being sufficient), and were formerly there 

 used medicinally. [I early pointed this out to the late Sir W. Hooker.] 



6. The fine frond-stems {stipes) and trunk of the koraii or mamaku, the 

 black tree-fern (Cyathea rnedullaris), were also baked and eaten, and were 

 greatly liked. This excellent boiled sago-like substance was certainly one 

 of their very best wild vegetable productions, so easily, too, obtained ; but it 

 could only be used occasionally from its comparative rarity, as the plant 

 being slow of growth required several years to bring it to any size, and when 



