50 A MISSION TO VITI. 
(i. e. foreign Vauvau), from its close resemblance to the 
Bele, or Vauvau (Hibiscus [Abelmoschus| Manihot, Linn.), 
a cultivated species, the leaves of which are eaten as a 
potherb. It is true that when foreigners speak about 
“Vauvau” the natives of the coast know cotton is meant, 
but in districts where cotton has not yet penetrated, as 
for instance at Namosi, Viti Levu, one is sure to get the 
edible Hibiscus, if Vauvau, without adding “ni papalagi” 
(foreign), be asked for.* 
Yet, notwithstanding cotton being undoubtedly an 
introduced plant, and although until lately no attention 
whatever was paid to its cultivation, it has spread over 
all the littoral parts of Fiji, and become in some locali- 
ties perfectly naturalized. Six different kinds have come 
to my knowledge, all of which are shrubby, and pro- 
duce flower and fruit throughout the whole year, though 
the greater number of pods arrive at maturity during 
the dry season, from June to September. There are 
two kinds of kidney-cotton, one (Gossypium Peruvianum, 
Cav.) having naked, the other (Gossypium sp. nov.?) 
mossy seeds. A third kind (Gossypiwm Barbadense, Linn.) 
has disconnected naked seeds; a fourth (Gossypium ar- 
boreum, Linn.) has disconnected seeds covered with a 
greenish moss and long staple; a fifth is probably an 
inferior variety of the preceding one, and only differs 
from it in the length of the staple; and a sixth (Gossy- 
pium religiosum, Linn.), being the Nankin cotton, valua- 
ble only in certain foreign markets. The four first-men- 
* In Tahiti Gossypium Barbadense is known as “ Vavau,” a name evi- 
dently identical with the Fijian “ Vauvau.” Nankin cotton (@. religioswm) 
was found wild in Tahiti by Forster. 
