Ill 
USEFUL PLANTS 
195 
man the road to eternity would be destroyed for ever 
and the island annihilated. In the tussocks of grass 
on the sand-hills here the poisonous spider, Katipo, is 
principally found, though it is in other parts of the 
island as well. This is the only poisonous insect in 
New Zealand. At different periods of its age it varies 
in appearance. When young the stripe on its back is 
bright red. When full grown, a deep orange. The 
hills all round here are covered with toot — a low, 
broad-leafed bush, with long bunches of claret-coloured 
berries, which the natives make into wine, though the 
seeds and stalks are very poisonous and often kill 
sheep and cattle when eaten too greedily. Great 
quantities of flax grow in all the valleys and along 
the banks of the Snowy River line. It is all in 
blossom now, and the native children are very fond 
of getting honey from it. They will sometimes get 
half-a-pint from the flowers on one plant. At the 
root there is a kind of semi-liquid gum, which the 
Maoris eat and use as glue and sealing-wax. The 
leaves, with a sharp-edged shell, answer the purpose 
of writing paper ; they make fibre out of it for cords, 
nets, lines, etc. It is used in building their huts and 
canoes. The women make baskets with strips of the 
leaves, which serve as plates and dishes, and their 
beautiful mats and garments are all made from the 
finest variety, which is very silky and almost a pure 
white. It is far superior to the European hemp fibre, 
and is becoming every day a more important export. 
For dyeing black the natives use the bark of the 
Hinau tree, and for red the Tawaiwai or Tanekaha 
tree. 
Making an early start by the coach for Napier, 
I found, alas ! that the box seat had already been 
engaged by a little German doctor, as broad as he was 
