172 Essays. 



applied that may not be aecomplislied by having recourse to the indigenous 

 trees of the country. And it must not be forgotten that in most European 

 countries the timber which is operated on by the carpenter, shipwright, or 

 furniture maker, is either grown in the country, the produce of exotic species 

 naturalized, or else — as to take, for instance, the teak and mahogany — is 

 directly imported from foreign countries. 



Of the other substances useful to man which the vegetable kingdom 

 yields, comparatively little is known. The gum of the kauri (Dammara 

 aicstralis) is exported from the northern parts of the North Island in con- 

 siderable quantities, and its collection furnishes employment to a con- 

 siderable number of Maoris. Of the gums or extracts yielded by the 

 trees of this island hardly anything is known, for they have not as yet been 

 the object of any direct observation or experiment. 



In plants yielding fibre the country appears to be unusually rich. There is 

 the well-known Phormium tenax, which, though not yet utilized as an article 

 of export,— chiefly, in all probability, in consequence of the very high remu- 

 neration of labour that has hitherto prevailed, — is nevertheless daily applied, 

 in its crude state, to an endless variety of useful purposes, both by the 

 Maoris and the settlers. There is the ti of the Maoris (Cordyline), the fibre 

 of which is as strong as that of the Phormmm, while the leaf, when used green, 

 is considerably tougher and more lasting. On account of these qualities it 

 is the substance used by the natives in the construction of the sandals which 

 they extemporize upon a journey ; and various species of the natural order 

 of the Malvaceae, the Plagianthus, and the Soheria, termed by the colonists 

 ribbon-wood, yield barks admitting of being torn into strips of great tenacity, 

 and admitting, probably, of useful applications in the arts. "While upon this 

 subject, I may mention that when in the Province of Otago in the year 

 1844, I saw excellent strong fishing-lines which were made of the epidermis 

 which clothes the under surface of the leaf of the Celmisia cori.icea twisted 

 up into a string, and I saw at the same time another application of the same 

 material in the shape of an excellent pair of soft mocassins or leggings, of 

 native manufacture, which were made out of a cloth formed by using the 

 aforesaid string as a yarn, and rudely weaving it. The leggings had very 

 much the feel and consistence of soft buff leather. 



I hardly consider it necessary to apologize for mentioning this circum- 

 stance, as I am sure most people will agree with me that it is desirable to 

 place on record those little incidents of native habits and resources which 

 otherwise, o^\dng to the great changes that have taken place in the Maoris 

 within a few years, would soon be altogether forgotten. 



Of the native grasses of New Zealand several are considered by the 

 flock-owners to possess high nutritive powers ; but it is universally remarked 



