334 A MISSION TO VITI. 
Viti Levu, but I have not been able to learn whether 
the natives are aware of its containing strychnine. A 
kind of Upas tree (Antiaris Bennettii, Seem.), commonly 
termed “ Mavu ni Toga,” probably because it has been 
introduced from the Tonga islands, was formerly planted 
about heathen temples, and is even now to be found in 
towns and villages. It is a middle-sized tree, with a 
thick crown of dark foliage, oblong glossy leaves, and a 
fleshy fruit of the size of an apricot, covered with a vel- 
vety skin of a most beautiful crimson colour. A gum 
exuding from the stem and branches is used for arrows. 
The exact nature of its poisonous properties has not 
yet been ascertained. That they are not equal to those 
ascribed to the true Upas tree of Java (Antiaris toxi- 
caria, Leschen.) is proved by the manner in which the 
natives handle it; but it is impossible to say ‘whether 
one of the reasons for its cultivation near temples, and 
its probable introduction from Tonga, may not be found 
in its yielding a poison of which the heathen priests 
may have occasionally made use. Sir E. Home gathered 
it in Wallis Island, and Dr. Bennett, of Sydney, found 
it cultivated in Tucopia for making bark-cloth. 
Amongst the trees most dreaded by the natives on 
account of their noxious qualities, the Kau Karo, lite- 
rally itch-wood, occupies a prominent place, and seems 
to act somewhat like Rhus venenata or Semecarpus Ana- 
cardium. My. Pritchard and myself first heard of its 
existence during our visit to the southern shores of 
Viti Levu, in July, 1860, and on the banks of a river 
were fortunate enough to obtain specimens of the tree, 
proving it to be the Oncocarpus Vitiensis, A. Gray = 
