34 
Mataii, or Totara. The Titoki (A lectryon excelsum) furnished handles 
for light axes ; and sometimes the Kowliai ( Edwardsia grandiflora) was 
used, particularly for the heavier ones. The Ake (. Dodoncm viscosa ), 
and the Maire,* (Sdntaluni Cunninghamii at the North, and Olea sp. at 
the South,) supplied hardwood for war implements, and for carved 
walking-staves; and of another hard wood, Manuka (. Leptospermum 
scoparium), husbandry implements, canoe paddles, and spears for war 
and taking fish were made. Long war-spears were also made of Rimu 
(Datrydinum cirprcmnum); but the very long bird-spears (30-36 feet) 
were made of Tawa ( Nesodaphne Tawa) : the working of which out of 
a large tree with only their stone implements, obtaining, as they did, 
but two spears from a single tree, was indeed a most patient and admi¬ 
rable performance, often taking two years for its completion! The 
hard-wooded Maire-tawhake, (. Eugenia Maire,) was also prized, and 
used by the Northern tribes (among whom alone it grew) for husbandry 
implements. The channelled stems of the Neinei (DracopJnjllum lati- 
folium), and the red young saplings of Toatoa, or Tanekaha ( PliylUh 
clados trichomanoides ), made valued walking-sticks. The long straight 
young trees of Manuka, and of Tawa, were used for battens for the sides 
and roofs of their houses; stems of the Kareao ( Rhipogonuum parvijlorum) 
and also Kekaho reeds (Arundo conspicua ), and slips of Totara timber, 
were often used for the same purpose. The creepers, Aka, (Meirosideros 
scandens ,) and Kareao or Pirita, (. Rhipogonum parvijlorum ,) were ex¬ 
tensively used for tying up fences, platforms, and the heavy frame-work 
of houses. Sometimes other creepers (Passijlora tetrandra, and Par- 
sonsia, sp .), were used, but not commonly ; and, among the Northern 
tribes, the creeping fern Mangemange, (Lygodium articalatum,) 
was generally used to bind the outward thatch securely on the 
roof of their houses. The Raupo, or large Bulrush ( Typlia angustifolia) 
was universally used to cover the frame-work of their houses; the outer 
thatch being Toetoe, (Cyperus ustulatus), or Rautahi (Co-rex temaria ,) 
or Ririwaka (Scirpus maritimus ), or of two kinds of Wiwi, or Rushes 
(Juncus maritimus , and cjfasus) ; sometimes, however, a hard- 
jointed rush, (Leptocarpus simplex ,) was advantageously used; 
being by far the best of all the Rushes or Sedges for thatching, on 
account of its durability. The leaves of the Ti, or “ Cabbage tree,” 
(Cordyline australis,) were also used for this purpose ; but, for the inner 
work of roofs, sides, partitions, &c., the large fronds of the Nikau, or 
* Sco par. 26 (viii.) 
