THE KARAKA.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7360, 12 July 1889, Page 2

THE KARAKA.

At this season settlers in the feat* districts, who have not long been oa tieii farms, are pretty sure to run short of ftM for dairy cowj. In bush districts itji especially hard to secure hay, whtts mangolds and carrots, if grown, tre «J to run out before tho end of the wlz,t« Now Is the time, when those who hy't them, may well turn their attention to the Ikaraka trees as most valuable v. sis tantß in the production of first eh%, butter*

I will mention a few of the qualities« this tree for the imformation of ■«) comers and those who live upon plain. where trees are few and far between. *

The karaka grows to a height of aW M 50ft in the bush, but in more open ipou §| such as the steep banks and ravines ne? Ithe seas, from 30ft to 40ft would prohibit B be nearer its altitude. It is averyhatilt some tree, covered with heavy darkgßea f? leaves and so like a large Portugal huutj Eg. in both wood and foliacre that it reqalntt R close observer to distinguish any oUfta&fe ff at a short distance, but a comparison d ii the leaves shows considerable differenes I in the veining and edges. !

The karakaisthe only native tree whld) : the Maoris cultivate around their pahs; | and the only one much valued aa a food I producing tree ; indeed, so highly vat It I esteemed, that I have heard of more"tha. f one quarrel, ending in tribal warfare' - which arose over the disputed pwnersilp \ of a grove of karakas. The fruit ia ». [' bright orange yellow colour, soft and | pulpy on the outside, sweet, insipid, _,1, pleasant to smell, but it was eaten Is L large quantities by the boys and girls fn | the early days of the colony, wheaEoglklj I . fruit was not yet grown. It wasalway. [ ' esteemed very wholesome; I never heard * • anything against it, except the smell, the' \- kernel ia white inside the tough, bulky..; shell, which is much like a large olive, If 1 J remember right. Cattle and pigs are)o|| fond of the kernel that it is useless to look m under the trees for them where thess p," animals are at large, for they smell thenjij from afar, and pick up every seed. M kernels are much too bitter to eat raw, not g should I think it possible to eat thorn, bn,S the fact of stock eating them so eagej*y|| makes mc doubt their being polßonouJ,M H has been asserted; I fancy they are simply | nasty enough to poison any one if hecsmd | eat them, but as no one cab, they aw ray | harmless. The Maoris used to pick them 1 up in large quantities, and bake them tn 1 great ovens for three or four days, tto I soak them in black mud holes, suck-** ri may be found in bush swamps, for monttti, I - till they became nicely putrid; then, when I much like rotten soap, if there is such'» | thing, they were greatly relished, They W are much esteemed on a journey; ready If cooked, the husk weighs little, and all to* f■■ is carried is eaten, a great consideratioaln 1 the long journeys on foot which these 1 people took. The natives say that, ooto | lug " etands by them" so long as tin i karakas—it is as lasting as »<**t# I after the karakas comes the taro, which | is also of a soapy, greasy mature to cut or I bite. Why are not these taros mors (nwa 1 by Europeans? I knew one fajnilsf wbo § « constantly purchased them from t&a Maoris, and place d them on the table as a regular thing, and although they •**•(, good deal of company, every one who tte the roots relished them. They MS » | delicious vegetable and well suited to tk»i i their natural climate. ■ ' ' I But lam straying from mysubjeok,« : various accounts have been pahUsltes | the manner in which karska kentejsjw I ' prepared for food, allow xneto say tasti 1 1 have seen the ovenß in which tbsy ««W 1 cooked, soon after tbe berries ww* *? | moved. They would be About tea« | twelve feet in diameter, and hold u» I two to three tons. I have seen tbe *«*»* f in the black mud of the bush «W9»f» | where they are soaked in kits, andindiH ; taken them out of the kits and <*J» | them, for they are not so bad as rtWCTS [ corn, and I have often been glad to W * [ few when hungry and travelling, £ i BAraka wood is wretchedly po«*{ i ' soft; it soon rots In the ground, wwl** ] It will not burn if it can help «,•»* t mixed with good wood-it burns, aaflM might make a woollen rag burn; It «bw j a most unpleasant small; I iWf* °"~ seen people wondering where the smbi came from, which pervaded the , pointed out the cause In someof tnisww* was made In«« «§jjj settlers turned their attention .» .*« natural productions lo* the. *?j«m supply its place. The from his labours in the home loaded with S cow. and the farmer would boy and sons with sharp lop the tops and branches t*W How eagerly the eowsweuld contew^ | hawk, it would soon wnvlto.»W» I thelrapprovalof this « *g£S milk at once increases in qmmfc « assumes a richer colour, tbe W* j easily wade and of better } Two yeaw after a tree has andtopped.it will| gpJJ a dense mass of foliage ef «» -*g j quality, and now the J branches may be stripped »***£*• I hand, as they freely come »*»Jk*-%& I trunk and butts of large I j were left on when the tree «sjj£ 1 I The second stripping by no mW«% I the tree, which will be again ejjjj 1 youngshoots and branches in <Vg&o § Thoee who notice tbej f»£&\ karaka produces upon grown not be surprised to hear that %*?£*s § most «tf*JJSf I mix with tbe calvw'snia.*gL fc s| nourishing and a sure cure 1 disease from which f*"*" \a* J I ably lost than from aU other cwew g a early days had, I should 1 I karaka trees on It. »/»JS | 1 the sea and therefore the j I the gullies, were small. I * ft ™.J«i '(o*l I the manner in which we I I enatlvTvalued highlyJ»&wl_»| 1 winter food for cows, and im & 1 I StrTaiX^ffi"^"? to beat off the bertes I»wjgyt{ h 1 long poles, as the fruit &**»* \ 9 wf A 1 entf of the branches ;He *T I pick it up from the 1 JooraalaTench as tt« v _?2| I a very large circulation among *£• s I eetthTrsiar the.bask ■•fi^**J% r S . I thayaw forwarded bj 1 Uvea, and copies arej stgei~ I and Wghiv appreciated, a&gii f donbteT tfiat as 1 overcome their tl "^ t V^uWo ßct * '| I copies w£l not meet their i AsO"** 5 I - Wanganui, June 2B» ■ t i I

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