280 ^, 



mys. 



commonly adulterated;* tlie bark o£ the houhere {Solieria po^ulned) as a 

 demulcent ; the fragrant herb Mentha cunninghamii as a diaphoretic ; the 

 aromatic leaves of Angelica roscefolia as a diuretic and remedial in syphilitic 

 cases ; and the roots of Taraxacum dens-leonis as an alterative. 



(2.) Those lohich, from their Jcnoion natural affinities, are helieved to he 

 valuable; from such the following are selected: — The spicy bark of the 

 horopito {Drimys axillaris), a species ranking next to the well-kuovsTn 

 D. ivinteri of Cape Horn, which produces the valuable Winter's bark ; the 

 intensely bitter bark of the kowhai {Sophora or Edwardsia grandijiora^ — it is 

 worthy of notice that both African and East Indian hino is produced by 

 plants of an allied genus of the same sub-order ; the leaves of the wharangi- 

 pirou {Melicope ternata) — as ?Jlied naturally to the genus Diosma, species 

 of which genus produce the well-known huclm leaves, which the New 

 Zealand Melicope also resembles in taste and smell ; the kawakawa (Piper 

 excelsuiii) — many closely allied species of this genus (and of the next genus 

 Cuheha) are extensively used as medicines in various parts of the world ; the 

 aromatic succulent stems and roots of various species of Fanax, and of Aralia 

 — of which genera several species are used in medicine — and the roots of 

 P. quinquejvlium (a plant closely allied to some of our JPanaxes), are sold by 

 the Americans to the Chinese for real ginseng root (P. ginseng) ; the 

 astringent bark and diuretic seeds of Sapota costata ; the roots of the two 

 mountain gentians, which are just as purely bitter as those of the officinal 

 Gentiana lutea ; the aromatic bark of the tawa {Nesodaphne taiod), a plant 

 belonging to the same natural order with those producing the cinnamon, 

 cassia, sassafras, benzoin, and camphor of commerce ; and lastly, the wai- 

 watua {Euphorlia glauca) may also prove useful as a medicine, seeing so 

 very many species of the same genus have long been medicinally employed. 



31. Although the fitness and suitability of many parts of the North 

 Island for producing all cereals and edible roots and vegetables, and most 

 European fruits, have long been well known, and its great fruitf ulness proved 



* Such is tlie demand for sarsaiDarilla, and tlie limited area wliere ifc grows, that (as is 

 well known) it is greatly adulterated. The true sarsaparilla is obtained from Smilax 

 sarsaparilla, but several distinct species are used, known in commerce as producing the 

 Peruvian, Brazihau, Lisbon, and Jamaica sarsaparillas, and perhaps really but httle 

 inferior. Another kind, Smilax gJycypliylla, has also of late years been introdiiced into 

 medical use from New Holland; while the roots of three sedges {Carex arenaria, liirta, 

 and intermedia) are collected to make German sarsaparilla. The J^few Zealand plant 

 {Mhipogonum jparviflorum) is not only very nearly aUied to the genus Smilax, but was by 

 its first discoverers, Banks and Solander, and subsequently by Forster, classed under that 

 genus, from which it only slightly differs. From its having been successfully (privately) 

 used in New Zealand, and from its natural affinity, it is confidently hoped it will prove a 

 useful and yaluable article of export ; at all events, a far better substitute for the true 

 earsaparilla than the three German Carices. 



