626 
Kauri  Gum  Industry, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharra. 
Dec.  1888. 
KAUKI  GUM  INDUSTEY. 
By  Ralph  Robinson. 
It  was  a  fine  summer  morning  in  March  when  our  little  party  of 
two  ladies  and  one  gentleman  set  olF  on  a  trip  to  the  west  coast  of  the 
North  Island.  There  being  no  railway  or  other  conveyance  to  Kare 
Kare  we  had  to  do  what  others  do  under  similar  circumstances,  name- 
ly, walk  or  ride  (we  preferred  the  former)  the  greatest  portion  of  the 
way,  carrying  with  us  some  provisions,  tin  cans  for  boiling  and  cook- 
ing, tin  pannikins  and  plates,  a  few  other  articles  and  as  few  clothes 
as  possible,  the  wliole  fastened  up  lightly  in  rugs  or  blankets  and  sliing 
on  the  shoulders  knapsack  fashion.  Having  gone  as  far  as  we  could 
by  rail  we  alighted,  and  after  adjusting  our  swags,  as  this  kind  of 
luggage  is  usually  called,  we  commenced  our  journey  over  the  lofty 
ranges  separating  the  east  coast  from  the  west.  The  first  two  miles 
was  through  cleared  and  partly  cultivated  lands,  apples  and  other  fruits 
growing  to  great  perfection  on  this  clayey  soil.  Then  a  mile  or  so  of 
ti-tree  scrub,  L^ptospermum  scoparium  (Captain  Cook's  tea  tree),  bear- 
ing a  large  quantity  of  rosaceous  white  blossoms,  even  when  only  a 
few  inches  high.  It  grows  quickly  and  attains  a  height  of  twenty 
feet  or  more,  and  is  principally  used  as  fuel.  Here  and  there  may  be 
seen  a  settler's  wooden  house,  comfortable  enough  in  summer,  but 
misery  in  wet  weather  ;  fortunately  there  is  no  snow  so  far  north,  and 
no  frost  to  speak  of.  On  reaching  the  bush  proper  (j)rimeval  forest) 
a  scene  presents  itself  which  gives  the  impression  of  even  nature  having 
gone  wild.  An  undergrowth  of  almost  impenetrable  thickness,  in- 
terlaced here  and  there  with  the  supplejack  ropes,  Rhipogonum  scan- 
dens  (Maori  name — Kariao),  the  root  of  which  is  not  very  unlike  sar- 
saparilla,  and  is  sometimes  substituted  for  it  by  herbalists.  Then 
there  is  the  Corynocarpus  laevigata  (Maori  name — Karaka),  with  its 
glossy  green  leaves  and  yellow  berries ;  the  seeds  are  an  irritant  poison, 
producing  convulsions  and  contortions  of  the  limbs.  When  any  of 
the  Maori  children  had  eaten  any  of  these  seeds,  their  parents  used 
frequently  to  cure  them  by  administering  emetics  and  burying  them 
up  to  the  neck  in  earth,  to  prevent  contortions.  After  being  steeped 
in  water  several  weeks  the  seeds  form  a  portion  of  the  Maori  diet.  We 
also  noticed  several  tall  specimens  of  Dacrydlum  cupressinum  (Maori 
name — Rimu),  with  its  fern-like  foliage.  The  tree  yields  an  astrin- 
gent gum,  and  the  bark  is  used  by  the  natives  as  a  styptic.    In  many 
