On the Flax of JSPew Zealand . 441 
Mo person, however, has ever yet attempted to as 
certain how far the fibres of the Fhormium tenax are 
superior in strength to those of hemp. This is the 
object of the present memoir, in which I shall com- 
pare their strength with that of the filaments of the 
aloe, of flax, and of silk. It is of the more impor- 
tance to examine the strength of the flax of New Zea- 
land, as compared with that of hemp in particular, 
because it might be substituted for the latter with 
great advantage in the navy, whereas the other sub- 
stances are too scarce and too dear, or much inferior in 
quality. 
The flax of New Zealand, which I submitted to 
examination in order to ascertain its strength, was 
given to me in exchange for toys by some of the inha- 
bitants of that extensive country, with whom we had 
an intercourse, towards its northern point, during the 
voyage undertaken in se arch of Perouse ; V entose 22d ? 
1st year of the republic. The plant which produces 
it is of great use to these savages; and when they 
approached us, the first articles they exhibited were large 
handfuls of its leaves prepared for various purposes. 
Even when at a considerable distance from us they waved 
them with a sort of enthusiasm, as if desirous to make 
known to us their value, and we soon found that we had 
properly understood this kind of language, for they set a 
very high price on them when they got on board our 
vessel. 
For my experiments I preferred these filaments to 
those produced from the leaves of the same plant raised 
in green-houses, where the fibres certainly do not ac- 
quire so much strength as in the open air; besides, 
the season proper for collecting leaves capable of giv- 
ing the strongest fibres can be known only by expe- 
rience. 
