498 
MEANS OF SUPPORT. 
still lower, until the fowler either seizes them with his hand, 
or knocks them down with his stick. The kakariki , or small 
green parrot, is taken by snares; it is a delicious bird, and very 
abundant. The titi, or mutton-bird, a sea fowl, which goes 
inland at night, just as the light wanes, flies about in great 
numbers, and fills the air with its cries, to effect its capture, 
the natives select some spot on the edge of a lofty precipice, 
where they cut down all the trees which intercept the view, 
and there build a little shed close to the verge ; they then 
light a bright fire, behind which they sit, each armed with a 
long stick ; the titi are attracted by the light, and fly close 
by in great numbers, so that they are easily knocked down, 
and thus, in one night, hundreds are often killed, which, like 
the pigeon, are preserved in their own fat for future use. 
These are the principal birds upon which the New Zea- 
landers lived ; and, though there were many smaller varieties 
eaten, some of which are now extinct, it is not necessary 
here to enumerate them. The water-fowl, the wild duck, wio, 
pukeko, and several others, were more rarely captured, and can 
scarcely be said to have contributed much to their support. 
Fishing may be considered as being of two kinds — fresh 
water and salt. New Zealand is not rich in its fresh water 
fish, yet, such as they are, they are generally taken in large 
quantities, and all very good eating. The principal ones 
are the tuna, eel, the pijoiharau, lamprey, the kokojpu, and 
inanga ; the eel is much larger than the English, some 
are nearly six feet in length, occasionally as thick as a 
man's thigh, and extremely fat ; still, the general size is 
much less ; to take this fish, a weir is constructed in rivers ; 
a strong fence is formed with poles, two of which are 
wide apart at one end, and approach nearer at the other, 
where the narrow outlet is covered with a large net, having 
a bag or basket at the end, in which they are captured ; the 
small eels are often dried by being hung up in the sun, when 
they become like bags of rancid oil ; the larger ones are split 
open, and dried in the usual way ; the lamprey is taken in 
the same way as the eel ; properly speaking it is a salt-water 
fish, which enters the rivers in the spring to spawn ; from its 
