324 A MISSION TO VITI. 
orange-coloured, and has, though a tart, not a disagree- 
able flavour. The natives share a partiality for it with 
the wild pigeons, which flock to it in numbers. The 
wood of the shrub is very hard, and used for making 
those peculiar pillows (Kali) of the country, which the 
Fijians doubtless invented in order to prevent the de- 
rangement of their enormously large heads of hair, 
curled and dressed as they are with infinite care. 
The national beverage is the Kava, or, as the Fijians 
term it, ‘““ Yaqona,” prepared from the root of the Piper 
methysticum, Forst., or, as its modern name is, Macro- 
piper methysticum, Miq., a species of pepper, of which 
there are six varieties, distinguished by the height of 
the entire plant, the length and thickness of the joints, 
and the more or less purplish or greenish tinge of the 
stem and leaves. The best Yaqona, for this name applies 
to the plant as well as to the beverage extracted from 
it, grows from 500 to 1000 feet above the sea-level, and 
in the islands of Kadavu and Viti Levu. The plant is 
cultivated throughout the group in small patches, and 
isolated specimens are frequently noticed around public 
and private houses. It is propagated by offshoots. The 
highest shrubs are about six feet, and their stem from 
an inch to an inch and a half in diameter; the leaves 
are cordate, and either green or more or less tinged 
with purple. The root and extreme base of the stem 
are the parts of which the drink is prepared; they are 
preferred fresh, but are nearly as good when dry. After 
the roots have been dug up, they are placed in an airy 
spot, generally on a stage over the fireplace. In order to 
prepare the beverage, it is necessary to reduce the roots 
