758 Hems ley. — On the Genus Corynocarpus , Forst ., 
to the same tests. Both give green precipitates of a tint 
very similar to arsenite of copper. . . . Taking all these facts 
into consideration I am inclined to believe that the bitter of 
the karaka nut is a glucoside, and that digitaline falls into the 
same class, though I have not known this character imputed 
to it before.’ 
Skey failed to find any alkaloid body in the nut (seed), 
and came to the conclusion that the bitter substance is the 
poisonous part, but he did not establish this by experiment. 
He also found that the inner bark of the tree is bitter, probably 
from the presence of karakine, whilst the outer bark is not 
bitter but astringent, from the presence of tannin. The leaves, 
the wood, and the sap are sweet. 
Kirk (Forest Flora, p. 171) states that the leaves are greedily 
eaten by horses and cattle, and its value as fodder has led 
to its almost total extirpation in districts. where it was formerly 
plentiful. 
In all the recent works cited or quoted, karaka is the only 
Maori name given ; but Bennett (Gatherings of a Naturalist, 
i860, p. 346) mentions kopi as an alternative name. Pos- 
sibly this may be the name of a certain part. Bennett also 
states that the colonists called it the ‘ cow-tree,’ on account 
of the fondness of cattle for the foliage. The Forsters record 
no vernacular name, and Banks and Solander write it chalacha. 
This spelling may be attributable to Solander alone, as an 
Englishman would almost certainly have employed k’s instead 
of ch’s for the hard sound. 
In conclusion I have the pleasure of thanking Miss M. Smith 
for the great care she has taken in drawing the dissections ; 
Sir William Thiselton-Dyer and the Bentham Trustees for 
defraying the cost of the drawings ; Dr. F. E. Fritsch for the 
anatomical details ; Mr. G. Massee for drawing the pollen ; 
and Dr. O. Stapf for kind assistance throughout 
I also have to thank Mr. Wyndham Fitzherbert, of Kings- 
wear, S. Devon, for his wide-seeking, though unsuccessful 
attempts to procure fresh flowers of C. laevigata in the West 
of England. 
