Polack J. S. 1838. New Zealand: Being a narrative of travels and adventures during a residence in that country between the years 1831 and 1837. London, Richard Bentley.
Notes
Notes
Volume 1, p.140. At Tetaita, flax swamps. Records 3 large flax houses filled with scraped flax of various qualities. One house - "some tons of hungahunga or silken flax; the others with muka Māori or common native flax."
p.147 Eats rito, "palmtree hearts" - vegetable eaten uncooked makes a salad unequalled for its flavour. (cabbage tree. See Beever 1981)
Volume 2, p.370. Note on New Zealand flax. Polack described various flaxes. ..."flax plants to the northward, scarce attaining the height of 6"; others, I have observed to the southward, attained the height of 16" ... Common inferior sort = mooka, superior sort = hoonga hoonga. The latter term is rarely made use of". Polack gives description of uses, describes technique of separating silky fibre from leaf in detail. Use in cordage. Grown in Europe.
p.374 "saccharine juice of flowers esteemed by the native."
pp.387-400 note on timber trees and uses.
Related records
Bibliographic details
New Zealand: Being a narrative of travels and adventures during a residence in that country between the years 1831 and 1837.
