HAKA AT COMPOST SOCIETY

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29239, 24 June 1960, Page 15

HAKA AT COMPOST SOCIETY

“Aid After Planting”

Probably the last thing that members of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Organic Compost Society expected at their meeting last evening was a haka. But the guest speaker, Mr H. Toka, whose subject was “The Maori way of life with special reference to agriculture,” demonstrated a haka that is claimed to encourage plants to take root when they have just been planted. Mr Toka had just explained that the early Maoris always planted their crops according to days prescribed by a calendar which ran in cycles according to phases of the moon.

The - moon affected the tides and, therefore, the right time to plant was when the tide was coming in and the earth exhaling. The combination of the right calendar time and the haka invariably worked, and the early Maoris were able to produce kumaras weighing up to 161 b. said Mr Toka. The Maoris had no need for compost; Nature provided her own from the forests, he said. The only thing the Maoris did was to burn trees and rushes on their plots so as to vulcanise the soil This killed all grubs and insects, allowing the plants to get a good start in the ground before they returned.

An auction of produce brought in by members was held to raise funds for the society.