The Journal of Agriculture. WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. 20TH AUGUST, 1917. THE INDIGENOUS TANS AND VEGETABLE DYESTUFFS OF NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XV, Issue 2, 20 August 1917, Page 55

The Journal of Agriculture. WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. 20TH AUGUST, 1917. THE INDIGENOUS TANS AND VEGETABLE DYESTUFFS OF NEW ZEALAND.

I. HISTORICAL AND INTRODUCTORY.

B. C. Aston,

Chemist to the Department.

npHE utilization of the products of forest land other than millI able timber is a problem which has not yet received a . satisfactory solution ,in this country. Although ■ timber

besides that previously ■ considered marketable, such as tawa, rata, mangeao, &c., is now finding a market, there is . still' much left which is not .utilized after the . sawmillers have gone through a block of country. This is to some extent perhaps unavoidable in a new, sparsely settled country where manufactures' are few and the outlet for such by-products of the destructive distillation of wood as acetone, methyl-alcohol (wood-spirit); acetic acid, charcoal, and wood-tar and its products is strictly limited. Oxalic acid, previously made from, wood sawdust, is now largely made from another source. Acetic acid was made ' into vinegar, but. this is now ; prohibited in most countries with enlightened public-health aws, and the term “ vinegar ” is restricted to a product of fermentation. .Again, in .thickly' populated. countries there is an outlet for sawdust for packing, for bedding animals, for manufacture into various articles, fuel briquettes, - and a host of

other uses.* Much of the smaller timbers would find useful applications in a larger country where competition is keener. One would certainly not see such, valuable woods, as kohekohe, or New Zealand mahogany JDysoxylum), carted about and sold as firewood, as is now done in Wellington. .

If we except the " beer ” made from the rimu for his scurvystricken sailors by Cook in Dusky Sound, perhaps one of the first forest by-products utilized by Europeans was the bark from certain indigenous trees used for tanning the leather required for the infant colony. It is here intended to introduce the subject of the utilization of forest by-products by a study of the Maori methods of producing colours, the permanency and brightness of which were the admiration of all in those days ' in which ..vegetable and animal colours ; were ■ almost universally used. In this connection J. C. Andersenf . quotes from page 71 of the Official Catalogue of the New Zealand Exhibition, 1865, that "minute information is much required connected with the method and, substances used in dyeing the flax with these brilliant fast colours in which the Maoris have excelled,” from which he concludes that even so late as 1865 the Maori people excelled us both in the preparation of the flax-fibre and the dyeing of it.

In a future number of the Journal the use in later days of indigenous tans will be dealt with.

DYES OF THE ANCIENT MAORI.

(1817) relates how he observed near a Maori dwelling a capacious vessel in the shape of a flat-bottomed boat, in which was steeping the bark of a tree called " enou,". from which the Natives extract a black colour that serves them to dye their flax with. By

“ enou ” is no doubt meant hinau [Ela&ocarpus dentatus), a common tree in lowland forests in the North Island and extending as far south as Catlin’s River in Otago. This tree is that most often mentioned in early books on New Zealand in connection with Maori methods of dyeing. Craik§ (1830) says, Among those trees which the Natives principally make . use of is the ' henow,’ from which they extract a black dye." Yate|| (1835) states that hinau makes an excellent dye, either a light-brown or puce colour or a deep black, not removable by washing. The 'Natives use the outer skin of the

bark for the purpose of dyeing the black threads of their garments. The bark ; only requires to be pounded and thrown into ■ water and the article to be dyed immersed in the solution. Of course, according to strength is the deepness of colour. Polack* (1840) makes a general statement that dyeing is much used by the females, but from white to a red and deep jet black are the sole colours obtained by steeping the prepared flax in water with the bark (sometimes crushed) of certain trees ; and he makes the interesting remark that the process is so rude as to rot and damage the texture of the article in some degree.

. Wadef (1842) mentions the tanekaha (Phyllocladus, trichomanoides), which is used as a red dye for the ornamental parts of the Native kaitaka, their best bordered garment, the bark being first cut off in pieces, beaten .with a stone pounder, and when so softened put into cold water in a kumete (a kind of trough resembling a short, ill-shaped canoe) along with the muka, or prepared flax. Stones . made red-hot are then thrown into the, water until it boils, the process being continued until the muka is' dyed red, when it is finally taken out and dried. For making a black dye hinau-bark is used in the same way, with the exception that when the muka has reached the drying stage and has been hung up and dried, and is now of a red colour, it is steeped in the black, mud of a swamp, and. then left for a short time in 1 a heap of mud. He states that if left too long it will lose its colour. By testing a portion from time .to time by 'washing off the mud in the nearest water the operation is known to be completed by the flax remaining perfectly black. An. anonymous writer J (1842), after saying that the “ inau ” tree yields a beautiful black dye, makes the novel statement that a fine scarlet dye may be procured from the orchilla, a species of lichen found between Waikato and Taupo.

Dieffenbach§ (1843) mentions the very durable and jet-black dye which the Maoris obtained from the- hinau, and gives the further interesting information that in the process a greenish mud which is obtained from the rivers, and probably contained “ muriate of iron,” is macerated with the bark of the tree and the flax. Dieffenbach’s mention of muriate of iron is , interesting. It is the natural speculation that would occur to a chemistnamely, that a tannate of iron or ink is formed in the - tissues of the fibre by the Maori process. After stating that all the 'tanned leather then' used in New Zealand was either tanned at the Bay of Islands or at Port Nicholson (he infers with native barks), he goes on to describe the Maori process of using tanekaha. and hinau . bark as given under Wade. He states, that both hinau and tanekaha are used for: tanning, and the production of mimosa-bark of Tasmania having fallen off as an export to Sydney, tanners there were looking to New Zealand for supplies, as much as

£2O per ton having been , offered for good New Zealand native bark, and draws attention to the fastness of New Zealand colours from hinau-bark, -which compare favourably -with the black dyes then used in the cloth industry of New South Wales, which of all colours were the most fleeting. ' .

The New Zealand Journal ”* (1846) states that tanekaha yields a black or brown dye from the wood and bark; hinau, tupakihi (tutu), and tuhuhi yield a black dye from the wood and bark ; mako (Avistotelia racemosa) yields a black dye from the wood and bark ; and whakou [Eugenia. maive) yields a blue dye from the wood and bark. This, article states that the best two dyes for domestic purposes are mako and whakou. “Tuhuhi” is possibly the same as “ whakou.” The same journalf in 1848 quotes -Mr. Bennett in describing the method of dyeing with tanekaha as already described, and states that the boiling is continued for some hours. ‘ McKillopJ (1849) states that the tanekaha yields a black or brown dye, the tuhuhi a blue-black, and the mako a blue-black from the wood and bark the whakou also yields a handsome blue. Shortland§ (1851) says that the wood and bark of the tutu (Coviavia savmentosa) furnish a good black dye. - Thomson]] (1859) state's that dark dye is extracted from six plants, and reverses the order in which the flax to be dyed is placed in the mud i.e., it is placed in the mud first and in the dye afterwards. He also states that a yellow colour is given to flax by holding the fresh leaves over fire.

■■' John states that the bark ’of. tanekaha or toatoa is powdered and placed in a kumete with water, - which yields a yellowish pink or ■ red dye for the flax of ’ the kaitaka, and other mats. To make this dye a good pink the weed called kakariki is taken and bruised into a pulp and placed in the dye. To make the dye a good yellow the bark of the puriri -(Fife# littoralis) is bruised, and put in the dye, or the bark of the tree is steeped in water in a kumete, and the flax used in making the mats is steeped in it to a. brownish-yellow colour. To make it a good yellow, some of the bark of the tanekaha is used with the puriri. This is the first occasion that the puriri is mentioned by writers on Maori lore, which is somewhat remarkable. It may here also be mentioned that the puriri dye is the only native vegetable dye the chemistry of which has been investigated with any pretence to scientific accuracy. White's, notes also contain * reference to the following dye-plants : Kakariki is a small creeping plant, rough to the .touch, and having a delicate scent. It is bruised ' into a pulp, and put in the kumete with the

tanekaha-bark to make a good yellow dye. It is also rubbed on the hands with tutu-juice made from tupakihi to give the hands a blood-red appearance; as also in war the young untattooed men mark the faces with a little tutu mixed with the juice of the kakariki to give them a brave and wild lock, in imitation of the moko (tattoo) of the warrior. Makomako. (Aristotelia racemosa) yields a bark which is bruised and steeped in water, and used to dye the flax a blue-black. Tuhuhi, which is supposed.-to be the same as the whakou, maire-tawhake, or whawhakou (Eugenia maire), is a swamploving tree which produces from bark and young twigs a blue dye. Hangehange. (Geniostoma ligustrijvlium) is a shrub yielding. a bark which, pounded into a pulp, was placed in the kumete with water to dye flax black. Pokaka (Elaeocarpus Hookerianus) was used in the same way as the hinau-bark to make a black colour. Makamaka (Ackama rosaejolia) bark was used as a dye ’to produce a dull red or brown.

Colenso* (1868) states that black dyes were obtained from the bark of the hinau. and pokaka, and also from the makomako, and a red dye from the tanekaha or toatoa. Hughesf (1870), in a note on “ tutu (Coriavia ruscijolia) as a dye wood,” relates the following experiment : Some woollen, silk, and linen were boiled for a short time (half an hour, to. an hour) with some chips (the wood of the tree afterwards treated with' a hot solution of copperasferrous sulphate). , The colours were pure, varying in intensity according to the number of times the material was treated with the decoction of the wood. The dye is superior to - that of logwood, inasmuch as it is pure. Woollen materials, take it readily and. well. Silk is mot so readily affected, and linen takes more time. The wood of the tree may be used as a substitute for logwood. Skey, in an editorial note to this paper, considers that the dyeing properties of juices of the tutu-plant are due solely to the abundance of tannin they contain, and are not analogous to the special dye principle of the logwood (haematoxylin), for which reason he does not think that it can be used for dyeing any shade to which tan bark ■is not equally applicable. Smith’s J (1878). paper enumerates as native trees which contain tannin only the tawhero (synonymous with towai, Weinmannia racemosa), whinau or hinau, toatoa, tawai (Fagus Jusca and F. Menziesii), makomako, and yellow kowhai (Sophora tetr altera). He states that tannin in the native trees certainly does not abound, but it is made up for by the introduction of the numerous varieties of Acacia from Australia, and advocates the cultivation of them extensively in New Zealand. It will be noticed that the Weinmannia,

Feigns, and Sophora are here in the present paper mentioned for . the first time. In the discussion which followed Smith's paper at the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, Colenso related that the first use of the barks of New Zealand trees for tanning purposes,' which took place at Ngunguru (between Whangarei and the Bay of Islands) in the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, had come under his special notice while living at the Bay of Islands, and often travelling in that district.’; This was the first place in New Zealand where hides were tanned for leather, and the whole process was particularly primitive. Extracts of these several barks there used, with specimens of the trees producing them, he had sent to Sir W. J. Hooker, the Director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, long before New Zealand became a British colony.

Colenso* (1881) describes the Maori ' black dyes as being strikingly deep, pure, brilliant, and lasting. All their earlier European visitors were astonished at the intensity of -this colour used as a dye among them. For dyeing black their flax (Phormium) and their toii (fibre from . Corline indivisa, or giant . cabbage-tree) garments he mentions only hinau and pokaka bark used in conjunction with a mordant composed of aluminous clay, also the tutu-shrub, to produce a blue-black. For colouring wood black they used a charring process. Colenso’s statement regarding aluminous clay being used as a mordant is interesting as advancing another theory as to-the reaction of the hinau decoction in the fibres to be coloured.

' Elsdon Bestf (1898) says, Two very good and fast dyes were used by the weaving fraternity 'of the whare par a. They were red and black. The black was used for dressed and undressed flax, and its use is still common. The red dye is now but little used, for two reasons : first, the practice of taniko is almost obsolete ; "and, secondly, because the Natives are beginning to use European dyes, which, I take it, is the death-knell of the ancient whare pora. Black dye : For this purpose there are two processes through which the fibre has to pass. It is first soaked in water in which certain barks have been steeped,, and afterwards it is placed in a certain black mud. For this black dye the bark of either the hinau, tawai, tawhero, or hinau puka is used. The bark is placed upon a stone and beaten with a wooden mallet of maire wood shaped like a thick pestle until the bark is all bruised and broken up., . ... When thoroughly crushed a portion of the bark is put info a wooden trough hollowed out of a log. ’ A layer of crushed bark is placed in the bottom of the trough, and on this is placed a layer of fibre, then another layer of bark, ,and so on. The trough is then filled with water and the fibre left to steep in the dye thus formed for twelve or sixteen hours. When taken out the fibre is sticky to the feel and by no means black but of a dirtybrown colour The fibre is then steeped for twenty-four hours in a peculiar black mud such as is found in a white-pine swamp and in which is seen a reddish exudation. Such swamps are famous places and have

been used for centuries. An example is that at Rakau Whakawhitiwhiti, near Te Umu-roa. This mud renders the fibre a deep black—in fact, it is the black dye, while the dark sap of the bark sets the dye of the mud.

Red dye : This was obtained , from the .. bark of the toatoa (or tanekaha). The bark is pounded and broken up. ' . . ~ The crushed bark is placed in a vessel, which is then filled with water and placed on the fire, where it is allowed to boil for some time. In ancient times the bark was placed in an oko and stone-boiled, but now iron pots are used.' After being' allowed to boil some time the fibre to be dyed is placed in the vessel, the water in which is now coloured with the red sap of the toatoa-bark. After being boiled for some time a bed of hot white clean ashes is prepared, the fibre taken out and placed in these hot ashes, which are raked over the fibre. A stick is used as a poker to separate the fibre and keep turning and raking it so that every part may come into contact with the hot. ashes and yet not be singed, burnt, or discoloured by the heat thereof. This process is to set the dye and prevent it from fading. The fibre is then again boiled in the dye for about ten minutes, after which it is hung up to dry and is then ready for use.

Hamilton* (1899), in the volume dealing with the dress and clothing of the Maori, says that for dyeing the flax black it is soaked in water in which. hinau-bark or towai has been placed. The further details are practically those given by Best, but he makes the statement that the colour is a very permanent one, but seems to destroy the flax, as in old mats the black portions fall into dust, the black being much more brittle .than the rest of the mat. Hamilton states that to dye flax brown demands more skill and knowledge, and he describes the methods of using tanekaha or toatoa. bark previously quoted from Best. He says that a curious old-gold colour is made from the bark of the karamu (Copvosmd), and a brighter yellow ..from raurekau (Coprosma grandipolia). They also used the bark of ' the tutu (Coriaria ruscipolia) to. obtain a blue-black, which' was sometimes used for fancy , and ’ ornamental work, and in weaving graceful little baskets. It had a very peculiar tint. . ,

<■ Te Rangihiroaf (1911) thus describes the dyeing of the flax-fibre by the Maori: — - ■ ,

Black colour : The prepared, washed ' unbeaten fibre is used in all cases. The bark of the ' hinau, tawai, or takou (species uncertain) is pounded and boiled. The boiling in ancient days was done by . putting red-hot. stones into a kumete or vessel containing water, or placing the kumete containing the - bark and water in a hangi. The kumet& was elevated on a small whata or platform to prevent it being scorched. Cold water could be used, but the bark had to be thoroughly pounded and the fibre -soaked for a considerable time. . . . The soaking of the fibre is. to prepare it for receiving the dye and to fix the colour. The fibre must be. thoroughly dry before staining or the stain will not hold. The stain is obtained from certain swamps known as repopa/rapara. The toi mats and some of the rain-cloaks are trodden into

the mud, but the fibre for the finer mats was carefully rubbed with handfuls of the mud several times. Without treating with the waitumu [i.e., boiling or heating, or steeping with cold water) the stain would not hold. It is now washed and dried, and remains a deep black, which never washes out. Mr. Hamilton mentions in -“Maori Art that the fibre is apt' to rot. This is the. reason the fibre for good . mats is not trodden into the mud, as it would be much more liable to decay. . The black fibre is known as. karawai, and' also as para-para, from the mud. ’ . Red-brown colour : A red-brown colour was obtained from the bark of the toatoa. .The bark is bruised and boiled as with the hinau, and the fibre soaked in the boiling mixture.. It is frequently looked at until it reaches the desired colour. , The next step is to squeeze out the water and tawhiu the fibre in the powdered charcoal of some toabark. This deepens the colour. Tawhiu is to turn or draw the fibres through the charcoal. In these days the charcoal is -prepared by burning the bark in an iron pot.- The dyed fibre takes the name of “ toa ” from the bark. The bark which gives the deepest dye is obtained from the older trees with a thick bark which grow in sunny sites. - . Deep-golden colour : The bark of the Coprosma gives a deep-golden colour, especially the older shrubs growing in sunny places. The karamu raunui or large-leafed Coprosma, known on the East Coast as raurekau {Coprosma grandifolia), is the species used for dyeing. The smallerleaved Coprosma or karamu rauriki is not. used by the Whanganuis. The bark is boiled as with toa {Phyllocladus) , but the tawhiu process is not used. This' completes the list of Maori colours.

SUMMARY

From the foregoing we learn that the ancient Maori obtained the vegetable colours he needed to ornament his clothing from the following trees and shrubs : . • -

Pure-black colours were < obtained from the hinau small- tree [Elaeocarpus dentatus) and the pokaka [E. Hookerianus), and to a less extent from , the towai or beech trees [Nothopagus pusca and N. Menziesii), the tawhero-tree einmannia racemosa and W. sylvicola), and hange-hange-shrub eniostoma ligustripolium).

Blue - black colours were got from the tutu or tupakihi shrubs {Cofiaria ruscifolia) and the mako-shrub [Aristotelia racemosa).

Red-brown colours were yielded by the toatoa or tanekaha tree [Phyllocladus trichomanoides) and makamaka-shrub [Ackama rosaepolia).

Yellow, golden, or brownish - yellow colours were got from the karamu-shrub {Coprosma species, probably C. lucida or C. robusta), raurekau-shrub {Coprosma grandifolia), and puriri-tree \Vitex littoralis).

A blue colour was said to have been obtained from the whakoushrub or small tree {Eugenia maire). .

It is significant that in the majority of cases the colouring of the fibres was effected by the aid of plants which are known to be extremely rich in tannin or closely allied compounds —an aspect which it is hoped to say more about in a subsequent portion of Part I of this article. '

(To be continued.)

* The utilization of sawdust and wood-waste in thickly populated countries maybe classified under the following heads: (i) Employment' as fuel; (2) dry . distillation to make wood spirit, wood- acetic acid, acetone, ■ and charcoal ; (3) chemical treatment to produce cellulose (wood-pulp), vinegar, alcohol, sugar, gum, and oxalic acid; (4) usage for production of artificial wood; (5) employment in the manufacture of explosives; (6) usage as a diluent to.produce porosity and lightness in manufactures; (7) usage by gardeners and intensive, farmers to produce hotbeds, composts, and manure; (8) a. variety of miscellaneous and minor uses. . ' f “ Maori Life in Aotea,” p. 324. ’ J “ Narrative of a Voyage in -New Zealand,” vol. i, p. 340. § “The New-Zealanders,” p. 175. || An Account of. New Zealand,” p. 49. •

* “ Manners and Customs of,the New-Zealanders,” p. 177. t “ A Journey in the North Island of New Zealand,” p. 42. J “ New Zealand Journal,” p. 279. § “ Travels in New Zealand,” p. 302. - .

* “ New Zealand Journal” p. 210. f “ New. Zealand Journal,” p. 214. J “ Reminiscences of Twelve Months’ Service in New Zealand,” p. 162. § “ The Southern. Districts of New Zealand,” p. 314. ■ '|| “ Story of New Zealand,” vol. i, P-19- If John White, author of “ Ancient History of the Maori,” 1887-88 (MS. in Dominion Museum). ,

* “ Essay on the Botany, Geographic and Economic, of the North Island of the New Zealand Group,” Vol. i, Trans. N.Z. Inst. f “ On certain Properties of the Tutu-plant. "Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. iii, p. 243. J" On certain New Zealand and Australian Barks useful for Tanning Purposes.” Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. ii, p. 571.

* “ On the Fine Perception of Colours possessed by the Ancient Maoris.” Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. xiv, p. 60. f “ The Clothing of the Ancient Maori.” Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. xxxi, p. 650.

* “Maori Art,” p. 272 : “ Dress and Clothing of the Maori.” f “ On the Maori Art of Weaving Cloaks, Capes, and Kilts.” Dominion Museum Bulletin No. 3.