310 A MISSION TO VITI. 
take up their abode in the woods, where they have to be 
shot when required. If more Indian corn were grown, 
and these birds fed with it regularly, they would pro- 
bably preserve their domestic habits as thoroughly as 
they do in other countries. Hitherto no attempts have 
been made to cultivate our so-called European vege- 
tables in the cooler regions of the mountains, where 
they would doubtless thrive well. None have been 
raised except on the coast, where the heat of the tropics 
is not moderated by elevation, and the unchecked in- 
fluence of the sea air proves destructive to many kinds. 
Yet even here cabbages and turnips have been produced 
from foreign seeds, and parsley may be looked upon as 
a permanent acquisition. 
Bananas and plantains—understanding by the for- 
mer those Musas the fruit of which may be eaten raw, 
by the latter those which have to undergo some pro- 
cess of cooking before eating—are known by the col- 
lective name of “Vudi.” There are about eighteen 
different species, or rather say kinds (for the boundary 
between species and variety has never been determined 
with accuracy in this genus)—all of which bear distinc- 
tive names.* With the exception of one, the Soaqa 
(Musa Troglodytarum, Linn.), none are found wild, and 
this wild one even is occasionally met with in planta- 
tions. It grows spontaneously in the depth of the forests, 
* The following are the different kinds known to me:—Vudi ni papa- 
lagi (Musa Chinensis, Sweet [Cavendishi, Paxt.]), Soaqa (Musa Troglo- 
dytarum, Linn.), Balawa ni Rakiraki, Bati, Dreli, Buli, Droledrole, Gone- 
gone, Leve ni Ika, Mudramudra, Soqo, Tumoutala, Ura, Vudi dina, Vudi 
Kalakala, Vudi ni Toga, Waiwai Leka, Waiwai Salusalu, Waiwai Vula, 
and Sei. 
