POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
173 
this, the bark is laid and beaten with a heavy mallet 
of casuarina or iron-wood. The mallet is usually 
fifteen or eighteen inches long, about tw^o inches square, 
and round at one end, for the purpose of being held 
firmly. The sides of the mallet are grooved; one side 
very coarse or large, the opposite side exceedingly fine. 
One of the remaining sides is generally cut in chequers 
or small squares, and the other is plain or ribbed. The 
Tihitian Cloth Mallet. 
bark is placed lengthwise across the long piece of wood, 
and beaten first with the rough side of the mallet, and 
then with those parts that are finer. 
Vegetable gum is rarely employed; in general, the re¬ 
sinous matter in the bark is sufficiently adhesive. The 
fibres of the bark are most completely interwoven by 
the frequent beating with the grooved or chequered side 
of the mallet; and when the piece is finished, the tex¬ 
ture of the cloth is often remarkably fine and even, and 
the inequalities occasioned by the fine grooves, or small 
squares, give it the appearance of woven cloth. During 
the process of its manufacture, the cloth is kept satu¬ 
rated with moisture, and carefully wrapped in thick 
green leaves every time the workwomen leave off; but as 
soon as it is finished, they spread it to dry in the 
sun, and bleach it according to the purpose for which 
it is designed. The ore, or cloth, made with the bark of 
the aoa, is usually very thin, and of a dark brown colour; 
