Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. Nga Rtwai Maori - Maori Potatoes. A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Ethnobotany at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Graham Francis Harris 2001 i Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my mokopuna - Meremaihi Raana Jackson and Te Rauhina Gray Jackson Riwai with Kete 11 Abstract It is generally accepted by scholars, that potatoes were first introduced to New Zealand in the late 18th century by Captain James Cook and the French explorer, Marion du Fresne. Further introductions of potatoes from a variety of sources, including possible direct introductions from South America, followed into the 19th century. Maori were quick to recognise the advantages that these new introductions had over their traditional food crops including kumara (Ipomoea batatas) and taro (Colocasia esculentum) both of which they introduced from east Polynesia some 800-1000 years previously. Potatoes soon became a staple item in the Maori diet and an important trade commodity, and by the mid 19th century they were growing thousands of hectares of potatoes for that purpose. The various cultivars that were introduced were given Maori names and many of these early types are still grown by Maori today, having been passed down through families for many generations. With their deep set eyes, often knobbly irregular shape, "open" leaves and colourful tubers these "Maori Potatoes" are quite distinctive in appearance from modern potatoes and some retain many of the features of Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena types. This thesis introduces a brief history of the development of the potato in South America and in Europe prior to its introduction to New Zealand and adoption by Maori. The effects and consequences that the potato had on Maori society are investigated and Maori potato production techniques and associated cultural operations such as storage methods are examined. Relict potato cultivars still grown today by Maori communities and individuals are described from observations made by the author of a cultivar collection maintained over several years. The claim by some Maori that potatoes were introduced to Aotearoa by their ancestors is examined and evidence is presented to indicate the possibility that several potato cultivars were developed by Maori by lll selection from seedlings and somatic mutations from cultivars introduced by Europeans. Key words: Maori potato, relict potatoes, rzwaz, Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena, foliar index. iv Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful to Poai Pakeha (Sonny) Niha who first interested me in this subject and also to his whanaunui at Motatau in Northland - in particular the late Ema (Nanny Ema) Tipene who contributed much useful miitauranga. Also a special thanks to the many other Maori people including my parents-in-law Paratene and Rauhina Carter who contributed to this study in many ways. Na koutou i homai ki ahau nga purapura matauranga 0 ratou kua wehe kite po. Tena koutou me enei taonga whakamaharahara. A special thanks to my supervisor, Professor John Flenley who provided useful guidance and comments during the writing of this thesis and also to Associate Professor Peter Matthews of the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan for a detailed and extensive commentary on my working paper from which this thesis evolved. For encouragement and critical comment I would like to thank numerous colleagues at the Open Polytechnic including Dr Raymond Young, Richard Drummond, Solomon Tipene, Wayne Taurima, Mike Burtenshaw, Bruce Treeby, Dr Jane Clendon and Dr Claire Matthewson. Useful comments and advice were also contributed by Dr Harry Orsman of Victoria University, Professor Jack Garrick, formerly of VUW, Dr Foss Leach and Dr Janet Davidson of Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand. Other individuals who provided valuable input include Kevin Prime, Nga ti Hine, Dr Doug Yen, University of Hawai'i, Dr Gavin Ramsay and George Mackay, v Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dr Ellen Forch, Auckland University, Dave Para, Department of Conservation, Sue Scheele, Landcare Research, Professor Margaret Purser, Sonoma State University, Dr Murray Parsons, Landcare Research, Kay Baxter, Koanga Nurseries, Russell Genet, Crop and Food Research, Nick Roskruge, Massey University, John Keating, Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Ireland and Professor Massimo Angelini, University of Genova, Italy. Thanks also to the following people who sent me potato tubers - John Maddocks, J. J. Nichols, Betty Wilton, Russell Smith, B. L. Brasell, Kerry Marshall, Ann Montague, Ernie Day, Dave Hapuku, Eleanor Jolly, Jock Edwards, L. S. Mayhew, Matt McGhie, Tori Tuhaka, Bill Blaine, Jack Garrick. vi Contents ABSTRACT 111 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v CONTENTS vii LIST OF FIGURES IX LIST OF TABLES XI CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2 - METHODOLOGY 9 CHAPTER 3 -THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE POTATO 14 Origin of the potato 14 History of the potato in Europe and the United Kingdom 20 Introduction of the potato to Europe and the United Kingdom 20 Early development of the potato in Europe and the United Kingdom 21 Potato cultivars available in the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries 24 Post-blight development of the potato 26 CHAPTER 4 - INTRODUCTION OF POTATOES TO NEW ZEALAND 27 Introduction of potatoes to New Zealand 27 Pre-European potato introductions 34 Maori-developed cultivars 38 CHAPTER 5 - THE ADOPTION OF THE POTATO BY MAORI 43 The Adoption of the potato by Maori 43 Effects on Maori society 43 Introduction of the potato to the South Island 45 The potato as a staple food 47 Maori gardens and production systems 48 Storage methods 55 Cooking methods 60 The potato as a trade commodity 62 The early 20th century 67 vii CHAPTER 6 - THE MAORI POTATO TODAY 70 Characteristics of Maori potatoes 70 The Maori potato today 74 Commercial exploitation 77 Names of Maori potatoes 79 Generic names 79 Varietal names 82 CHAPTER 7- OBSERVATIONS OF A CULTIVAR COLLECTION 86 Establishment of a cultivar collection 86 Description of cultivars 88 The Urenika-Congo relationship 98 Crop observations 100 Yields of Maori potatoes 100 Aerial axillary tubers 103 Stolon length 105 Foliar index 109 CHAPTER 8 - RELICT POTATO CUL TIV ARS IN OTHER COUNTRIES 117 CHAPTER 9 - SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION REFERENCES APPENDICES Botany and morphology of the potato Correspondence Articles and papers PremioSlowFood Award 121 128 138 138 146 156 167 viii List of Figures Figure No. Page Fig.1 Some of the Maori Potato cultivars collected by the author. 13 Fig. 2 Papas nativas (native Andean potato cvs) labelled with their Quecha names. 15 Fig. 3 Quecha Indian farmers tending their potato crop in the high Andes. 19 Fig. 4 The first potato picture to be published. 22 Fig. 5 Three of the common potato cultivars grown in Ireland at the time of the famine . 25 Fig. 6 Potato berries and seed. 39 Fig. 7 The cultivar 'Kowiniwini' is possibly a "sport" which arose from 'Peruperu' . 40 Fig. 8 The kumara and aruhe (bracken fern rhizome) were the main food of Maori . 44 Fig. 9 'Defrichement d'un champ de patates' ('Digging a field of potatoes'). 51 Fig. 10 Two types of fences used by Maori to protect gardens from pigs. 54 Fig.11 A fenced potato garden adjacent to a fortified pa (1845). 54 Fig. 12 Fern covering potatoes in storage. 56 Fig. 13 Ruapuke village in 1844, showing numerous whata or raised food stores. 57 Fig. 14 2 sketches of whata. 58 Fig. 15 A Maori storage platform (whata) in dense bush with seed potatoes. 58 Fig. 16 Maori bargaining with a Pakeha for a kete of potatoes at Kororareka. 64 Fig.17 Preparation of potatoes for cooking at a Maori community. 68 Fig.18 Group outside a cookhouse in Parihaka preparing potatoes for cooking. 69 Fig. 19 Karupoti flesh. 71 Fig. 20 Urenika flesh. 71 Fig. 21 Three Maori potato cultivars shown with a "modern" cultivar. 73 Fig. 22 Jayden Whetu Carter with a kete of riwai grown by his grandfather. 74 ix Fig. 23 An unnamed potato cultivar brought out from England in 1842 on the "Phoebe". 77 Fig. 24 Generic names of Maori Potatoes in New Zealand. 81 Fig. 25 'Urenika' plants growing wild near Turangi. 92 Fig. 26 Flowers of 'Urenika'. 93 Fig. 27 Maori potato cultivars 94 Fig. 28 Maori potato cultivars 95 Fig. 29 Tubers from 'Urenika' plants growing "wild" are much smaller than those from cultivated plants. 97 Fig. 30 'Congo' tubers are generally larger than those of'Urenika'. 99 Fig. 31 Informal trial plots. 101 Fig. 32 Some Maori potato cvs such as 'Urenika' develop small tubers in the leaf axils. 103 Fig. 33 Stolons of 'Urenika'. 107 Fig. 34 Foliar index. 110 Fig. 35 "Open" leaves of'Urenika'. 112 Fig. 36 "Closed" leaves of 'Maori'. 112 Fig. 37 Foliar indices of 18 Maori cul ti vars and one "modern" cultivar. 114 Fig. 38 The relationship between leaf indices and stolon length. 115 Fig. 39 Professor Massimo Angelini with relict potatoes collected in the Genovese mountains. 119 Fig. 40 Morphology of the potato plant. 140 Fig. 41 External appearance of a potato tuber. 141 Fig. 42 Longitudinal section through a tuber. 142 Fig. 43 A typical potato leaf. 143 Fig. 44 The cymose inflorescence of the potato. 144 Fig.45 Parts of the potato flower. 145 Fig. 46 The ovary of the potato flower has two locules. 145 x List of Tables Table No. Page Table 1 Characteristics of Maori potato cultivars. 96 Table 2 Yield per plant (kg) averaged over 3-yearly crops of 8 Maori cvs and one 'modern' cv. 102 Table 3 Stolon lengths of 18 Maori cultivars and one "modern" cultivar. 108 Table 4 Foliar indices of 18 Maori cultivars and one "modern" cultivar. 113 xi Chapter 1. Introduction. Introduction While the term "Maori Potato" is in common usage in New Zealand, little research has been undertaken to determine or define exactly what a "Maori Potato" is or to establish the relationship and association of this crop with Maori people. Dr Douglas Yen (2000 pers. comm.) Aim of the thesis This thesis aims to provide a definition of Maori Potatoes and to define the relationship and association of the crop with the Maori people. Although Maori Potatoes are often referred to by both Maori and Pakeha, a search of the literature showed that no serious attempt has been made to define the term and very little has been published on the subject, although a general-interest paper on Maori Potatoes was published by Yen in the Potato Journal (Yen 1961 / 62: 2-5). Orsman (1997:686), in The Dictionary of New Zealand English, referred to Maori Potatoes, giving a selection of situations in which the term has been used. However, he has since requested a definition from the present author for inclusion in a revised edition of the dictionary. This study of a crop plant and its intersection with an indigenous people is essentially an ethnobotanical study which, in addition to its botanical and anthropological foci, includes elements of matauranga Maori (traditional Maori knowledge) history, geography and horticulture. The common thread that is woven through each of the chapters outlined below is the need to provide a definition of the term Maori Potato that incorporates a range of perspectives. The lack of academic research and an apparent wide general interest in the subject which, until now, has been a conceptual impasse, presented an opportunity for an exploratory study that would provide a definition of the term Maori Potato. Such a study must necessarily be multi-faceted and interdisciplinary and needs to 1 examine the subject from a range of different perspectives including a brief history of the development of the potato prior to its introduction to New Zealand, its introduction to New Zealand and its adoption and production by Maori. The impact of the potato on Maori society is investigated as are Maori attitudes to the potato and the strongly held belief of some Maori that the crop was introduced by their ancestors prior to settlement by the Pakeha. An examination of the generic and varietal names conferred on potatoes by Maori was undertaken to provide further insights into the significance of the potato to Maori. Establishment and maintenance of a collection of Maori Potatoes provided an opportunity for close examination of the morphological features and characteristics of each cultivar and allowed observations from a botanical and horticultural perspective to be made. Background I have long been interested in ethnobotany - the scientific study of the relationship between plants and people. This interest stemmed from my background in horticulture and my close association with Maori communities over many years, which initially arose through family and ancestral links. I have previously published several papers and articles on Maori food crop plants. At a conference in Whangarei in April 1996, I met Poai Pakeha (Sonny) Niha. We discussed food plants of the Maori as, at the time I was undertaking studies of the huperei, (Gastrodia cunninghamia) a leafless orchid, the rhizomatous tubers of which were considered to be a delicacy by Maori and of rengarenga (Arthropodium cirratum), a lily with fleshy rhizomes which provided a source of nutrition for Maori when other food sources were scarce. Sonny's whanau, who are Ngati Hine, had been growing Maori Potatoes in Tai Tokerau (Northland) for many years. Sonny sent me a selection of the types that his family were growing and my interest in these vegetables was kindled. The potatoes were planted in Martinborough in the Southern Wairarapa and they 2 created considerable interest among the Maori community in the district. Two additional cultivars were given to me by an elderly man from Pirinoa. He said they had been grown by Maori in the district for many generations. I maintained contact with Sonny Niha and his whanau and we continued to exchange information about Maori Potatoes and other traditional food crops of the Maori and in April 1997, we travelled around Northland and talked with Maori people who were growing these potatoes. We listened to their stories and collected several more varieties. Many of the older people we visited preferred to speak in Te Rea Maori, and Sonny provided the translation. I continued to collect information about Maori Potatoes and added to the cultivar (cultivated variety) collection which I maintained by growing annual crops. In 1998 I sent Sonny, tubers of all the cultivars I had collected so he could maintain an identical collection. Publication and response In order to publicise the study and obtain feedback and information for inclusion in this thesis, general interest articles (see appendices) on Maori Potatoes were published by the author in the New Zealand Gardener, The Garden (the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society) and Te Karaka - the Kai Tahu magazine. The response to these articles from Maori and Pakeha in New Zealand, and also from overseas, indicated that there was wide general interest in the subject. Some of the people responding to the articles sent in potato tubers to add to the collection or for identification. An article, published in July 1998 in the Dominion newspaper, illustrated with photos of 16 of the cultivars that were collected, prompted a large number of responses. In 1999, information that had been accumulated, was written up as a "work in progress" which was published by the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand in its Working Paper series - Te Whakatu Korero. Sonny Niha was invited to be a co-author of the paper. Previous knowledge and understanding of the subject Prior to this study, what was known about the Maori Potato and what was the 3 general understanding or perception of the term? The limited published information available and anecdotal evidence indicated that the generally accepted explanation is that they are potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars that were introduced by European explorers, settlers and sealers and whalers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and perpetuated by Maori. However the term also appears to have a wider usage, and the term Maori Potato is also used to refer to more "modern" potato types that have been "adopted" by Maori in more recent times. Some of these have a particular association with specific Maori communities or can be related to an event such as the "modern" potato cultivars which were distributed by the New Zealand Government Native Affairs Department to Maori in the North Island following the potato blight epidemic in 1905 which destroyed their crops and had a devastating effect on Maori communities. Some Maori use the term to refer to old types of potatoes that they believe were brought to Aotearoa by their ancestors. The term Maori Potato has also been used to refer to the edible bulbs or rhizomes of two orchid species; Gastrodia cunninghamia (Given 1959:1) and Orthocerus novae­ zealandiae (Batley nd: 52), and often the kilmara or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is referred to as a Maori Potato. Research objectives To more accurately define the Maori Potato and to determine its significance and relationship to Maori, the following research objectives formed the basis of this study: 1. To investigate the cultural and social significance of the potato to Maori from the time of its introduction to New Zealand and adoption by Maori to the present day. This includes an investigation of anecdotal evidence that Maori introduced potatoes to New Zealand prior to European arrival and the possibility that Maori developed potato cultivars from European introductions. A study of the generic and varietal names that Maori gave to potatoes is undertaken to provide further evidence of its cultural significance. 4 2. To review historical and ethnological literature relating to the introduction of potatoes to New Zealand and their impact on Maori society, and to put this literature into context, to review the origins and early history of the development of the potato prior to its introduction to New Zealand. 3. To establish and maintain a cultivar collection of Maori Potatoes in order to collect data and record information about each cultivar and compare their characteristics with those of modern potatoes, and to determine which are likely to be relicts of early introductions and which are likely to be more "modem" types. 4. To investigate the extent to which Maori Potatoes are grown today and determine reasons for their continued production when much higher yielding "modem" cultivars are available. Thesis outline and relationship of the chapters The first of the eight chapters in this thesis that follow this Introduction, is a Methodology chapter which details methods used to obtain and interpret the information and data included in this thesis. This chapter includes a section which explains how matters relating to matauranga Maori (traditional Maori knowledge) were considered and complied with according to established guidelines relating to the intellectual and cultural property rights of indigenous peoples. Chapter 3 is titled The origin and history of the potato. Thousands of years of development of the potato had taken place before the potato was first introduced to New Zealand in the late eighteenth century by European explorers. The potato originated from wild tuber-bearing Solanum species in the Andes of South America and was developed by indigenous people of that region prior to its introduction in the late sixteenth century to Europe and Britain, where it was further developed. By the time the potato reached New Zealand it was a complex hybrid defined by botanists as a "compound species". Chapter two reviews the origin of the potato 5 in South America and its evolution in Europe, including the development of the cultivars that were available in Britain at the time of the first potato introductions to New Zealand. The potato blight epidemic that devastated the Irish in the mid 19th century and the subsequent development of new "blight resistant" potato cultivars is briefly discussed in order to clearly show that the earlier potato introductions to New Zealand in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century were substantially different from those introduced from the mid to late nineteenth century. This discussion provides a perspective and background for Chapter 4, Introduction of potatoes to New Zealand which investigates the first reported introductions of potatoes in the late eighteenth century by European explorers and the further introductions in the nineteenth century from numerous sources, including whalers, traders and colonists. The widely held belief by Maori that their ancestors introduced potatoes along with the kumara, yam and taro is examined. The possibility that some cultivars were developed by Maori by selection from seedling and somatic mutation variants of European-introduced potatoes is also discussed. Chapter 5, The adoption of the potato by Maori, details the very significant effects of the potato on Maori society. It looks at the spread of the potato throughout Maori commiunities in New Zealand and its adoption as a staple food by Maori - supplanting the kumara and aruhe (bracken fern rhizome). Maori gardening methods and potato production systems are described, as are storage systems and cooking methods. Maori resourcefulness and enterprise in the development of the potato as a trade commodity is examined in detail. This enterprise, at its peak in the mid 1800s, saw thousand of hectares of land in production, to supply developing European communities as well as markets in Australia. Reasons for the demise of Maori horticultural enterprise in the mid to late nineteenth century are considered, as is the dependence of Maori on the potato as a major food source into the early twentieth century. Chapter 6, The Maori potato today, looks at the characteristics and features of the Maori Potatoes which are still grown in Maori communities today. It looks at the 6 extent to which they are grown and at reasons for their perpetuation and continued production when modern cultivars which produce a much greater yield are available. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the generic and varietal names that were conferred on the potato by Maori and are still in use today. Chapter 7, Observations of a collection of cultivars, describes how the various cultivars in the author's collection were acquired and provides a description of each cultivar. The most widely and commonly grown cultivar, 'Urenika', is described in more detail and its relationship to the British cultivar 'Congo' is investigated. Yields of several cultivars are compared with that of a modern cultivar, and the tendency of each cultivar towards either the relatively undeveloped subspecies andigena or the modern subspecies tuberosum is determined using a foliar index as a discriminant function. Corroborative evidence is provided by an analysis and correlation of stolon length data. This investigation provides empirical data which, together with the other information and evidence gathered and collated during the course of this study, is necessary to provide a botanical perspective in the process of determining an accurate description and definition of the Maori Potato. The penultimate chapter, Relict potato cultivars in other countries, gives an overview of other countries or regions in other countries where similar types of relatively undeveloped potatoes have been perpetuated and recorded in the literature. The final chapter is a summary and conclusion which, in addition to surveying the topic again in the light of the research undertaken, looks beyond the bounds of this work to possible directions for future research. Cooperation and support This project provided a unique opportunity to study a subject in which no previous academic work had been undertaken. The interest generated by the study was particularly rewarding and stimulating. The dialogue and often 7 thought-provoking exchange of information with people in New Zealand and also from overseas provided encouragement and motivation to complete this study, and the cooperation and support from the Maori community was particularly gratifying. Kevin Prime, a Ngati Hine kaumatua who is a well­ known environmentalist and conservationist, wrote in a letter of support - "I would like to encourage Graham Harris to preserve remnants of our cultural heritage, which modern technology is causing us to abandon." 8 Chapter 2. Methodology. Methodology As discussed in the previous chapter, this is a multi-faceted study which explores the subject of Maori Potatoes from several different perspectives, and in order to obtain the information included in this thesis, several different methods were used. Much of what could be described as "methodology" is described and detailed in the Introduction and in Chapter 8 which details and discusses observations of a cultivar collection and the collection and analysis of data. In undertaking this research, I was aware of the principles and ethics of cultural and intellectual property rights. The principles of ethical conduct as stated in He Tikanga Whakaaro - Research Ethics in the Maori Community (Te Awekotuku 1991) were followed as well as those stated in The Mataatua Declaration on Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples 1993. I recognise that some of the information in this thesis is Matauranga Maori (traditional Maori knowledge) and hence the aims of this study and the intention to include the information in a thesis and for publication were conveyed to the informants at the time it was collected. Some of the potato tubers were given to me on the understanding that they were not to be commercially exploited but were solely for the purpose of academic research. This principle has been applied to all information gathered in the course of this study. The key methods used to obtain and process information were - Korero kanohi ki te kanohi or "face to face" discussions. Information such as the extent to which Maori potatoes are grown today, the cultivars grown, their names and meanings and traditional knowledge associated with the potato could only be gathered by personal communication with Maori individuals and communities. Because this project involved 9 collection of matauranga Maori it was necessary and appropriate to talk to Maori people face to face. This concept was discussed by King (1999:110) who, in writing about his frequent contacts with older Maori people while undertaking research, explained that many Maori trust and absorb information conveyed by oral discussion rather than by correspondence. He quoted Koro Dewes - 'A face seen is an argument understood - a letter is simply a piece of paper.' The initial contacts were with iwi in Northland where many cultivars of Maori Potatoes are still grown by Maori communities. As mentioned earlier, I was assisted in this by Sonny Niha who accompanied me on a journey around Northland in April 1996 to visit Maori people and listen to their stories and observe their potato crops. It was appropriate that we should first meet with Sonny's Ngati Hine people first since he had first interested me in the subject. Because Sonny had family connections to many of the people we visited, they were much more responsive and forthcoming than they were likely to have been if I had attempted the undertaking on my own. For many of the older people we visited, Te Rea Maori was their first language and Sonny was able to translate. My own family and ancestral links with Maori and a long association with Maori people also helped in establishing a rapport with the people and establishing a trust which gave them an assurance and confidence that the information they were sharing with me was not being used for inappropriate purposes. To ensure that all those people we visited were asked similar questions, the following standard set of questions was prepared. 1. What is the general name you use for potatoes? 2. How many varieties do you grow? 3. What are their names? 4. Do these potatoes have any special significance to you in addition to their value as a food item? 5. Where did you get them from? 10 6. Why do you grow them? 7. How do you grow them? 8. How do you store them? 9. Do you also grow modern varieties? These questions were not presented as a questionnaire - their function was more of a checklist to ensure that key questions were not overlooked during the course of conversation. In most situations it was appropriate to have korero (discussion/ conversation) about other matters first before these questions were included in the discussion. Most of the information gained this way was from a limited number of mainly elderly people. It was obvious that much of this matauranga relating to crops and traditional gardening methods was becoming lost. Care was taken to ensure that all those people who were "interviewed" were informed as to the purpose of the study, and permission was sought from them to publish information. In addition to personally visiting Maori people, some were contacted by telephone or by letter and some responded to articles about Maori Potatoes published in newspapers and journals. Literature and archival search and review. While there is little written information available about the Maori Potato per se, the adoption of the potato by Maori and its dramatic effects on Maori society and culture are well documented in the literature and archival material, and are reported and discussed in this thesis as is other relevant historical material concerning the evolution and early development of the potato prior to its introduction to New Zealand. Publication of articles and papers. As detailed in the previous chapter, several articles were published in the media including newspapers and magazines and in trade, professional and tribal journals, to encourage dialogue on the subject of Maori Potatoes. Later in 1999 part of the study was published as a "work in progress" in the Open 11 Polytechnic's working paper series Te Whakatu Korero, once a significant proportion of the work had been completed. There were several reasons for publishing in this format - 1. Considerable information on the subject had been gathered and it was thought necessary to publish a much more detailed paper than would be likely to be accepted by a journal. 2. For maximum effect it was necessary to publish numerous coloured photographs which a journal would be unlikely to publish. 3. Because one of the aims of publication was to promote discussion and feedback, it was necessary to circulate the paper widely and to target recipients representing Maori communities, and academics from a wide range of disciplines including agricultural / horticultural science, anthropology, geography, botany, history and Maori studies. It was also important to send copies to members of the general public who had responded to earlier published articles. 4. As no academic work had been published before on the topic, it was important to publish quickly as publication in a journal could take over 12 months from acceptance. This method of obtaining information by stimulating discussion and feedback about Maori Potatoes proved to be effective as outlined in the Introduction. Interviews with newspaper reporters on the subject were avoided after an article published in the Evening Post 1997, incorrectly stated that I believed that it was likely that Maori brought potatoes to New Zealand prior to their introduction by Europeans, however the article while creating some embarassment, did have the benefit of a reaction from the public which stimulated useful discussion. A summary of correspondence on the subject, mainly generated by publication appears in the appendices. 12 Chapter 3. The origin and history of the potato. Observation of a collection of cultivars. From 1996, an annual crop of Maori Potato cultivars was established, maintained and added to so the plants could be examined from a botanical and horticultural perspective. Accessions to this collection were obtained from numerous sources. By 1998 there were 18 named cultivars in the collection. Each cultivar was described and key morphological features and characteristics were recorded. A range of data for each cultivar was collected and comparisons with "modern" cultivars were made. Observations and comparisons including methods of analyses are described and discussed in chapter 7. Fig. 1 Some of the Maori Potato cultivars collected by the author. 13 Origin of the potato Salaman (1987) and Hawkes (1990) have written extensively on the origins of the potato. They agree that the potato originated in the Andes of South America, from Peru and Colombia. Hawkes (1990:11) noted that at the time of the Spanish conquests of the Americas (in the sixteenth century), the potato was widely distributed throughout the Andes from Colombia to Peru. Salaman (1987:159) wrote that in South America, the original home of the potato, a great variety of potatoes are cultivated today (see Fig. 2). He noted that there were almost as many varieties in cultivation at the time of the Spanish conquest, which is not surprising considering that there is evidence that the potato was being cultivated 2,000 years ago in Peru (Wilson 1995:11). Prior to cultivation, tuber-bearing Solanum species were being utilised as a food source by people in Peru and Chile. Ugent and Peterson (1988:3) wrote that the dwellers of the Pleistocene coastal lands in Peru probably made use of the several wild relatives of the potato and Ugent (1997:903) wrote of the remains of wild potatoes (Solanum maglia) that were excavated at Monte Verde in Chile and dated at approximately 12,500 years old. Hawkes contended there is little doubt that the first potatoes introduced to Europe were Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena from the Andes, and that they were very probably from Colombia. Howard (1970:3) wrote that an earlier hypothesis proposed by the Russian botanists Juzepczuk and Bukasov in 1929 suggested that they came from the coastal regions of southern Chile. Their main reason for proposing a Chilean origin was that potatoes from this latitude tuber well under long-day conditions such as exist in the European summer. It was pointed out by Salaman (ibid) however that the potato was known to be in Spain by 1570 and that at this date Chile had not been settled by the Spaniards. He therefore suggested that the first introductions to Europe came from the Andes region of Peru or Columbia. 14 'Phaco Kahua' 'Alq' a Pina' .· r~~-:-~;)~~1i.~:- ~-'~ 'r -~ 'Puka Pina' 'Cjachi Chuccan' 'Salamanca' 'Puka Tanna' Fig. 2 Papas nativas (na tive Andean potato cvs) labelled with their Quecha Indian names. International Potato Centre Salaman (1985:160) noted that the original potatoes which reached Europe were themselves varietal hybrids or compound species, while Mackay (1997:564) stated that the potatoes which reached Europe were the culmination of thousands of years of evolution in South America. He recorded 'It is now believed that the first introductions [to Europe] were of a species (still cultivated in the Andes) known as Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena .' 15 Sauer (1993:147), wrote that Solanum tuberosum (including subsp. andigena) is tetraploid, ( 4x=48) having four times the haploid number of chromosomes. He described S. tuberosum as a 'genetic sponge' because of its capacity for hybridising with other species and Hawkes (1990:495) considered that it was 'highly likely that it absorbed genetic diversity from other wild species through hybridisation and introgression.' Ugent (1970:1162) considered S. tuberosum arose from two diploid ancestors - S. stenotomum which is a primitive cultigen derived by human selection from S. leptophyes, and S. sparsipilum which is an aggressive weed occuring naturally in the potato fields of Peru and Bolivia. He was also of the opinion that a number of other species contributed to the genetic makeup of S. tuberosum and that - 'there were probably a number of independently acting, but genetically interconnected, lines of evolution that were simultaneously involved.' Johns (1990:122-123) noted that wild species of potatoes have long been exploited for food although the toxic levels of glycoalkaloids in many species limited their usefulness. On this basis he suggested the progenitor of the potato may well be Solanum cardiophyllum - a species naturally low in glycoalkaloids. Under prehistoric Indian cultivation, Solanum tuberosum evolved into two geographically widely separated subspecies, a highland low latitude subspecies in the tropical Andes and a lowland subspecies in cool temperate Chile. The Andean potato was called S. tuberosum subsp. andigena while the Chilean potato was called subsp. tuberosum. Sauer (1993:148) considered this nomenclature to be untenable because Linnaeus gave the name Solanum tuberosum (with no subspecific epithet) to the Andean cultigen, however the classification seems to be generally accepted. Of the origin of the Chilean subspecies Sauer (ibid) wrote - The derivation of the Chilean subspecies is something of a mystery. There is a gap of about 800km between the northern limit of its cultivation and the southern limit of highland potato cultivation. In the center of this gap are the world's driest .desert and some of the world's highest mountains. It is possible that several thousand years ago, migrating Indians simply carried the Andean potato south (Hawkes 1990:14) and the Chilean subspecies evolved by natural and artificial selection with the end result that the subspecies became 16 adapted to long day conditions similarly to the. process by which the Andean potato evolved and adapted after being introduced to Europe. It is considered however (Sauer ibid) that the Chilean subspecies has additional germplasm from an unidentified diploid - possibly S. chacoense or S. maglia. Over time, by unconscious and conscious selection for higher yield, the short-day tubering forms of Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena that were originally introduced to Europe from South America were gradually developed into the day-neutral, high-yielding European Solan um tuberosum subsp. tuberosum (Mackay 1997:563). This transformation was compared by Swaminathan (1958:13) to the evolution of the domesticated horse from the shaggy, sturdy pony of paleolithic times. The origin and development of the potato can be summed up in this statement by Genet (1983:49) - It is now generally agreed that S. tuberosum originated in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia. These potatoes are short-day types and constitute the subspecies andigena. Man subsequently introduced them to Chile and after many generations of selection, long day types evolved which are now classified as subspecies tuberosum. The early introductions to Europe were most likely subspecies andigena and as in Chile, seedlings more adapted to the long day conditions of Europe were selected. The long-day adapted Solanum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum which developed independently in Chile and in Europe from S. tuberosum subsp. andigena, is comprised of two separate types with the Chilean subsp. tuberosum having distinct genetic differences from subsp. tuberosum which developed in Europe, however under the generally accepted nomenclature system for the potato, no distinction is made between the two types. Both Salaman and Hawkes (1949: 82-83) and Simmonds (1964: 54) have attempted to estimate the time at which selection in Europe changed the andigena introductions into tuberosum types. Simmonds from an examination of herbarium specimens and old varieties and using a method of leaf shape analyses suggested a date of about 1850. Salaman and Hawkes suggested an earlier date and were of the opinion that the process was well advanced by the mid-eighteenth 17 century. Simmonds wrote that Salam.an and Hawkes' opinion was 'no longer tenable' and that the evidence he produced 'strongly suggests that the European potatoes changed very little from Andigena for 200 years and then, during the nineteenth century, changed very rapidly indeed, being transformed into modern potatoes in about 100 years.' While the natural home of the potato is in the region of the tropics (Salam.an 1987:68), Wilson (1995:11) pointed out that tropical heat and high humidity are unfavourable to the potato plant. Indigenous potatoes are grown in the Andes at very high altitudes (c.2,800-4,SOOrn) where temperatures and humidity are much lower than at sea level (Hawkes 1990:11). This meant that while it was able to grow in the climatic conditions of Europe, the haulrns were damaged or killed by frosts and until the potato was adapted to tuberising in long day conditions, the tops were often killed before tubers had formed. This apparent dichotomy whereby the potato, originating in a region where frosts are frequent yet the plant being damaged by frosts when introduced to Europe was explained by Salam.an (1926:130) who noted - In its native Andean home, although within the tropical zone, the great altitude at which it is found renders the climate quite temperate. The potato is cultivated at La Paz at a height of 3730 metres and the mean temperature is 10° C. The nights are very cold, the temperature sinking below freezing point, but owing to the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, the growing plants do not freeze. 18 Fig. 3 Quecha Indian farmers tending their potato crop in the high Andes. International Potato Centre 19 History of the potato United Kingdom • In Europe and the Introduction of the potato to Europe and the United Kingdom Of the introduction of potatoes to Europe, Hawkes (1990:30) noted - It is a generally accepted fact that the potato arrived in Europe some time towards the end of the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, the exact time of its introduction and the details of its arrival remain obscure and will probably never be fully elucidated. He went on to state that the available evidence suggests that there were two early introductions of the potato into Europe. The first was into Spain about 1570; the second into England between 1588 and 1593, with a strong suggestion that the actual year might have been 1590. Wilson (1995:11) noted: the arrival of the potato in Britain remains shrouded in mystery with legends involving Raleigh and Drake however most authorities agree that the date of introduction was likely to have been in the 1590s. Phillips and Rix (1993:136) noted that there is a suggestion that the English potatoes were probably a separate introduction from those which reached Spain. 20 Early development of the potato in Continental Europe and the United Kingdom Because the Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena potato that was introduced to continental Europe and the United Kingdom was of tropical origin, it was adapted to the short day conditions1 that are normal near the equator. The reaction of these plants to growing in the long summer days of northern Europe and the United Kingdom was to set tubers very late in the season, as the days shorten in late autumn (Mackay 1997:563). Other characteristic features were very small tubers which developed at the end of long stolons, numerous inflorescences and occasional shoots growing up above ground from the stolons (Hawkes 1990:39). All these characteristics which distinguish early introductions from the potato of today were described by Salaman (1987:67) as 'the reactions of a short-day plant doing its best to survive in a long-day environment.' He also noted 'a constant feature of these early potatoes was the irregular knobbly appearance of the tubers and the great depth of their eyes'. The potato was not readily accepted as a food source in Europe and the United Kingdom. Rhoades (1982:687) wrote: 'When introduced to Europe, the potato was cursed as an evil food. The Scots refused to eat it as it wasn't mentioned in the bible.' Wilson (1995:12) noted: 'For several years the only potatoes growing in Britain were in the gardens of botanists interested in the plants, rather than the small knobbly tubers.' It was recognised that the leaves of the potato were poisonous, and that the tubers became green and bitter when exposed to light. Wilson (1995:13) noted that these features caused much consternation and that 'much illness and sickness was attributed to the potato.' 1 the "short d ays" referred to are in fact 12-13 hour days and are in reality, neither long or short 21 Fig. 4 The first potato picture to be published. (John Gerard 1597) Note the small tubers and numerous roo ts which indicate a short-day adapted plant grown in the long summer days of England. Hawkes 1990 Phillips and Rix (ibid) noted that the European potatoes were selected and bred from those forms that happened to arrive in Europe at an early date, not from forms that were selected for being either generally superior or likely to do well in northern Europe. It was because these potatoes were not well suited to cultivation in northern Europe that the potato was slow to become an important crop. Because these types set tubers late in autumn, crops grown in England and northern Europe often had their top growth killed by frosts before tubers had fully developed. By the early eighteenth century some development had been undertaken to improve the potato as a food crop. Salaman (1987:160) wrote - 22 In the early days of the potato in Europe, fortuitous methods at first held sway, but it was not long before skilled cultivators purposely planted the seed from the naturally formed berries, selecting from the resultant seedlings those plants possessing the characters they sought, early or late maturity, long or round, coloured or colourless tubers. Wilson (1995:13) noted that although the potato was considered to be less important than the radish in 1716, it later came to be accepted as an exotic vegetable for luxury use. By the mid-eighteenth century it was a well-established and accepted food crop. By this time the potato had adapted to the long European growing days and offered real commercial potential. Phillips and Rix (ibid) referred to records showing that growers in the Manchester region in the 1760s repeatedly raised new varieties from seed and competed with one another to get saleable tubers earlier in the summer. By 1770 there were a number of named varieties available but, as noted by Salaman (1987:163), the practice of giving several local names to the same variety meant there were actually fewer different types available than the range of names indicated. One of the consequences of this fairly rapid evolution from limited initial importations was that the European potato of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had a narrow genetic base (Mackay 1997:564). When late blight, a fungus disease, arrived in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century it decimated potato crops in Belgium, Holland, France and southern England. It then wiped out most of the crop in Ireland in 1845, and almost the entire crop the following year, and again in 1848. These catastrophic events occurred because there was insufficient genetic variation within the available cultivars for some to resist infection. Consequently, the entire crop was uniformly affected. Keating (1996:8) noted that the effects of the blight in Ireland were particularly tragic because the majority of the population depended almost entirely on the potato as a food source. Almost total dependence on the potato is possible as Balick and Cox (1996:90) noted that the potato, when eaten in sufficient quantities, supplies a complete complement of amino acids including lysine which is absent in grains such as maize. 23 Potato cultivars available in the United Kingdom in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries By the latter part of the eighteenth century, at the time when the first introductions of potatoes to New Zealand were recorded, the following eight named cultivars were recorded as being available and commonly grown in the United Kingdom. These were listed and detailed with the year of their introduction in the United Kingdom by Wilson (1995:15): 'The Howard' 1765; 'White Kidney' c.1765; 'The Irish Apple' 1768; 'Red Nosed Kidney' c.1775; 'The Manly' c.1776; 'The Yam' c.1771; 'Early Champion' c.1787; 'Ox Noble' 1787. Keating (1996:26) recorded, with their year of introduction, the following potatoes as the main cultivars grown in Ireland at the time of the famine resulting from the potato blight in the mid-nineteenth century. 'The Block (pre 1730); 'The Apple' 1768; 'The Cup' (pre 1808) and 'The Lumper' 1808. 24 Fig. 5 'Lumper' 'The Cup' \ \ ) 'The Block' Three of the common potato cultivars grown in Ireland at the time of the famine in the mid-nineteeth century. Photographs reproduced courtesy of the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Dublin, Ireland. 25 Post-blight development of the potato The catastrophic potato blight epidemics which affected the crops of Ireland and much of Europe in the 1840s and the subsequent famines stimulated the scientific world's serious interest in the cultivation of the potato and in the creation of new varieties. Salaman (1987:164) noted - No spectacular development took place in variety raising until after the crisis caused by the pandemic blight (Phytophthora infestans) of 1845 and 1846. The failure of any of the existing varieties to exhibit the least resistance to this new and devastating disease gave both the stimulus and directive force to a new era of plant breeding. The collapse of practically all of the most used varieties led to a search for new and resistant varieties and it was the Chilean subspecies that provided the crucial source of new germ plasm during this period. The best documented and most consequential potato introduction did not arrive direct from Chile however, it arrived in North America via Panama. Salaman (1926:7) wrote that in 1851 the Reverend Chauncey Goodrich of Utica, New York obtained clones of Chilean origin from the U.S . consul in Panama. From the original clone which Goodrich named 'Rough Purple Chili' he raised in successive generations a series of offspring which Sauer (1993:153) described as "astonishly successful". These included 'Garnet Chili' , 'Early Rose' and 'Beauty of Hebron' and Salaman (ibid) wrote that the "blood" of these soon found their way into the British breeds. Hosaka (1993:55) wrote that at this time a great turnover occurred and that 'almost all previously existing varieties were lost by the late blight attack and then replaced by Chilean subsp tuberosum, namely 'Rough Purple Chili' and its descendants.' Hosaka described a method of determining which of the potato cultivars in the Japanese heritage collections were relicts of early (pre 1850) introductions (from Europe) by using Chloroplast DNA (ctDNA) restriction analysis. He determined that A type ctDNA is present in the pre-blight types of Andean subsp andigena origin while those with T type ctDNA are of the later Chilean subsp. tuberosum origin. 26 Chapter 4. Introduction of potatoes to New Zealand. Introduction of Potatoes to New Zealand There are a number of reported introductions of potatoes to New Zealand in the late eighteenth century, and while scholars often disagree as to the most likely first successful introduction, from the available evidence it is probable that there was at least one successful introduction during that period. Listed below are details of reported introductions between 1769 and 1793. These are summarised in table 1 at the end of the section. de Surville 1769 It is often reported (Yen 1961/62:2; Smith 1995:85) that potatoes were first introduced to New Zealand by the French explorer, Jean de Surville, who arrived in Hokianga Harbour on 12 December 1769 on his ship Saint-Jean Baptiste. However, journals of that voyage (Dunmore 1981:43) indicate that while he introduced wheat, rice and peas as well as pigs and hens, there is no reference to potatoes. This fact was noted by Best (1925:279). Cook 1769 Thomson (1859:158) reported that during his first voyage to New Zealand in 1769, Captain James Cook gave two handfuls of potatoes to a chief in Mercury Bay, and that Maori recollection of this event indicated these were planted for three consecutive years before being distributed. Leach (1984:98), noted that 'this gift may well note the first successful introduction of a European food plant to New Zealand'. However, Best (1925:282) stated: ' there is no word of Cook having introduced the potato on his first voyage to New Zealand', and in the same paper he further observed 'Dr Thomson's [Thomson 1859] statement that Cook left potatoes with North Island natives during his first voyage is probably an error. He did not provide any further explanation. 27 Thompson (1988:182) wrote: 'We know the potato was introduced by James Cook and the recorded reminiscences of Te Horeta Taniwha gave an eye witness account of this introduction at Whitianga in 1769.' He also noted that at least one Pakeha historian (presumably Best) disputes the veracity of this record but that other scholars accept it. Marion du Fresne 1772 Leach (1984:98) noted that 2 years after Cook's visit, Crozet of the Marc Marion du Fresne expedition established the first European garden on Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands in March 1772. In Roux's journal of that expedition (in McNab 1914:399) it was recorded - As the natives are extremely intelligent, we were able to make them understand that the plantations we had made on Marion Island [Moturua Island], of wheat, maize, potatoes and various kinds of nuts, might be very useful to them .. . All these plants had grown very well, although it was winter. The natives seemed highly pleased, and informed us that they would take care of our cultivations, but I do not know whether they have preserved all these plants, which would be all the more valuable to them seeing that they have only the sweet potato and fern root. Leach commented that even though the Bay of Islands was going through a turbulent period, the fact that the potatoes were growing in a model garden would have improved their chances of survival. An early French missionary at Hokianga from 1838 to 1842, Father Catherin Servant, recorded that Maori of that time considered the potatoes they grew came from Marion du Fresne' s introduction. Cook 1773 Several authors recorded and commented on the gardens established at locations in Queen Charlotte Sound during Cook's second visit to New Zealand in 1773. (Bayly in McNabb 1914: 207; Begg and Begg 1969: 117,122; Beaglehole 1969: 287; Burney in McNab 1914: 197 and Barrat 1979: 38, 44, 83). On Cook's instructions, the crew of the Adventure (captained by Fumeaux), planted potatoes along with other European vegetables and grains at several locations in Queen Charlotte Sound. Cook recorded - 28 These potatoes were first brought from the Cape of Good Hope and had been greatly improved by the change of soil, and with proper cultivation would be superior to those produced in most countries. The potatoes that Cook's expedition procured from South Africa while en route to New Zealand were likely to have been of Dutch origin as stated by E. Joubert 1999 (pers. comm.) 'It can be accepted, with an amount of certainty, that the first potatoes for planting purposes at the Cape came from Holland and were in fact planted here as food for mariners.' When Cook revisited Queen Charlotte Sounds during his third visit in 1777, Best (1925:281) reported that he found 'not a vestige of the gardens remained and with reference to potatoes that ' though the New Zealanders (Maori) are fond of this root, it was evident that they had not taken the trouble to plant a single one.' However, this was disputed by Best who wrote - it is by no means assured that these potatoes were not perpetuated. Any natives · seen at the Sound by Cook must have been acquainted with the arts of agriculture and the potato would assuredly appeal to them more than any other of the new food plants. We cannot positively state that the potatoes planted by Crozet in 1772 at the Bay of Islands, and by Cook at Queen Charlotte Sound in 1773 were preserved and propagated by the natives, but it seems highly probable that at least those planted in the northern port were so perpetuated. W. Harris (1997 pers. comm.) noted that the timing of the Queen Charlotte Sounds plantings by Furneaux (April) would not have been conducive to the production of a potato crop in the Marlborough Sounds. However, Leach (1984:99) pointed out that the potato did survive in the Sounds - as in 1820 the Russian explorer Bellingshausen found that the Maori community at Ship Cove were growing potatoes for their own consumption. Leach also referred to a garden planted in 1773 at Pickersgills Harbour, Dusky Sound, on the instructions of Cook, although less than 20 years later Dr Archibald Menzies reported no signs of introduced European plants at this spot. 29 Anderson (1998:74) supported the view that the potatoes planted at Queen Charlotte Sound were unlikely to have survived and referred to Cook's observation. He also referred to Taylor 1959:191 who recorded that 'Heaphy was told by one of the few survivors of Ngati Tumatakokiri, who had inhabited much of the Nelson area at the time of Cook, that they did not obtain the potato until after the arrival of the Northern tribes in the 1820s.' Lt Governor King 1793 During his visit to New Zealand in 1813 the Rev. Samuel Marsden commented on the extent to which potatoes were cultivated by Maori, and stated that the official introduction of the potato was credited to Lt King, Governor of Norfolk Island, who visited the far north of New Zealand in 1793 and gave the natives various seeds and implements (Elder 1932:526). However, according to Best (1925:282), King's journals do not mention potatoes at all. Stivers? In a paper published in the Journal of the Polynesian Society, Richards (1993:27-34) wrote of a "Captain Stivers" who was reported by Kendall (1820:107) to have visited New Zealand before Cook and introduced potatoes. Richards considered that Kendall may have heard of Stivers from the missionary Samuel Marsden, who met an old Maori chief who claimed he had met Stivers many years earlier. Kendall was also thought to be responsible for the following comment about Stivers recorded in French by Duperrey (1826:405). 'Tasman does not seem to have had [land] contact at all, and this country was not visited [again] for a long time until a man named Stivers, probably Dutch, anchored at the Bay of Islands around 1766.' Richards (ibid) considered the possibility that Stivers was a Dutchman yvith the name Stuyvers or Stuivers. He also provided another explanation - that Stivers may have come after Cook and that he was an American or more likely an English whaling captain. He noted that 'Stavers' was a well known name in British whaling early in the 19th century and that it was often pronounced as "Stivers". 30 The Maori recollection of Stivers, reported by Kendall noted that Stivers gave to Maori in the Bay of Islands, a distinctive type of potato called taewa by the Maori after the name 'Stivers'. In his Dictionary of the Maori Language, Williams recorded the name taewa and its variants and wrote 'It is not improbable the word represents the name of one Stivers who is said to have visited the Bay of Islands before Cook'. He also wrote that the name means - 1. a foreigner; 2. a cold or catarrh; or 3. a potato, and that 'both the potato and a cold were introduced by the foreigner and named after him. ' (Williams 1971:357). Richards however, considered that if Stivers' potato was in New Zealand before Cook, it would be unlikely that they would have evaded the close investigations of Maori gardens made by the competent botanists in Cook's crew. Three years later when Marion du Fresne visited the Bay of Islands no mention of potatoes was made in his journals - evidence that if Stivers did indeed introduce a potato to Maori in Northland, it would have been after 1772. Richards concluded that it would seem to be highly "probable" that Marsden's and Kendall's "Stivers" was not Dutch, nor before Cook but rather, an English whaling captain named "Stavers" on an otherwise unrecorded visit, probably sometime before 1798 and that 'The key tangible evidence from Maori sources, the naming of the potato, definitely favours a visit by an English "Captain Stivers". 31 Table 1 Eighteenth-century introductions of potatoes to New Zealand, as reported by Leach 1984, Best 1925, Elder 1932. Year Name Location of reported introduction 1769 de Surville Doubtless Bay, Far North. 1769 James Cook Mercury Bay, Whitianga. 1772 Marion du Fresne Moturua Island, Bay of Islands. 1773 James Cook Marlborough Sounds and Dusky Sound, Fiordland 1793 Lt Governor King Bay of Islands 1766-1798? Stivers Bay of Islands Following these early introductions (or possible introductions) it is likely that many more potatoes of many cultivars and types were introduced well into the 19th century. Genet (1996:30) wrote that whalers and sealers introduced potatoes and often, because of the plant's ability to perpetuate itself and provide nutritionally good food, planted them as a food source for shipwrecked sailors. Yen (1961:2) noted that there were opportunities for considerably more introductions of potatoes from ' ... diverse and interesting directions' during the early settlement period in the nineteenth century and that - This South American plant travelled many routes to reach New Zealand. Not only could they have come with the settlers who would have brought established Western European varieties, but also some from South Africa (Cook's early introduction is recorded as being of South African stock). Perhaps the whalers who ranged the Pacific at this period had the opportunity of bringing the most interesting material. As ship's stores, potatoes could have been brought from North, South and Central America since Callao in Peru and Acapulco in Mexico were provisioning ports for whaling vessels, many of whose home bases were in the eastern U.S.A. Records of their chance introductions may never be discovered. 32 Potatoes were frequently brought as stores on ships bringing colonists to New Zealand. While these potatoes were usually sourced in England from districts near to the ports of departure, often additional provisions including potatoes were obtained en route from ports such as Cape Town in South Africa. Buick (1928:59) wrote about the settlement of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula by the French in 1840. One of the ships - L'Aube which brought supplies for the colonists, was provisioned at Brest in France. Buick wrote - 'A full supply of potatoes was taken in, a portion to be used against scurvy and a portion intended for planting in the new colony.' Buick recorded that the potatoes were planted on arrival at Akaroa resulting in a successful crop. Leach (1984:127), in writing of edible plants that have had a long association with New Zealand, wrote:' Although potatoes are residents of a mere 200 years standing, they are intrinsically interesting survivors of the days of exploration, whaling and sealing.' 33 Pre-European potato introductions While it is generally accepted that potatoes were introduced to New Zealand by Europeans, some Maori maintain that they were introduced to New Zealand by their own ancestors along with the kumara, although there is no firm evidence that this was so. Hammond (1894:237-8) recorded that Maori on the Pa.tea coast said they had several varieties and referred to an ancestor, Te Reke Tatairongo, who obtained a tuber from the 'hidden world ' which he cultivated and distributed among his people. Hammond noted that the Tatairongo potato was still cultivated (1894) at Pa.tea and WaitOtara. He also listed 15 named varieties which were cultivated before the introduction of European varieties. In a footnote to Hammond's paper (published in the Journal of the Polynesian Society), the editors noted that they had been told by Te Karehana Whakataki (living at Porirua) and by Rangipito (living in the Hutt Valley) that Maori possessed potatoes before the arrival of Europeans. Both men gave the names of several varieties of pre­ European potatoes grown by Maori. The editors however, noted - In giving this information, these old men intended to imply that the Maoris possessed these varieties before the times of Captains Cook and De Surville, but it seems to us questionable if they are not varieties produced from those brought here by those two navigators. Best (1925:284) recorded - In the Bay of Plenty district it is a popular belief that the araro and rokoroko varieties of the potato (Solanum) were cultivated there prior to the arrival of Europeans, but old Tutakangahau of Maungapohatu stated that they were obtained during the early years of intercourse with Europeans. In 'Song ofWaitaha', a collection of the teachings of lliaraira Te Heihana, Brailsford (1994) recorded several references to the Waitaha people's claim to have introduced the potato to New Zealand/ Aotearoa from Waitangi ki Roto, their ancestral 34 homeland. Along with the kumara and other introduced plants, he refers to ' .. . peru, the potato which went happily to new soils' (p. 136) and he recorded descriptions of several varieties (p. 143) - In the fine soils below makomako we planted the small black potato, the old one named peruperu that needs less water than the others. Its neighbour was the little yellow potato, the taewa that gave great energy to those doing heavy work. On the middle slopes were the small kumara and the big red potato called parete. This work of Brailsford' s appears not have been taken seriously by many academics including King (2000:29-32) who referred to the book as a 'serious misrepresentation of tangata whenua culture that it is not being promoted by professional historians' and that 'people such as Anderson [Atholl], Te Maire Tau and Tipene O'Regan have already demolished it'. Anderson (1998:8) described the book as a 'daft cryptohistory', while Tau (1995:6) in Song of Waitaha - a descendants point of view, was highly critical of the book and noted that 'The writer could find little that could qualify as authentic tradition.' Best (1925:284) doubted that Maori possessed potatoes before the arrival of Europeans and commented - If the potatoes planted in Queen Charlotte Sound by Cook in 1773 were perpetuated, then the tribes of Cook Strait must have cultivated them for nearly fifty years before the coming of whalers and traders. Little wonder they claim a pre-European potato. Biggs (2000) also doubted the presence of potatoes in New Zealand prior to those introduced by Europeans and wrote - There is a persistent belief that potatoes (Solanum) were present in New Zealand prior to 1769 but I do not know of any traditional references that would support this. The belief that Solanum was here before contact may have its origin in the transfer of indigenous names for other root-crops to varieties of potato. While claims of pre-European potatoes persist, and there is some anecdotal evidence as to their existence, some facts that indicate Maori were unlikely to have possessed potatoes prior to their introduction from Europe include: 35 1. The introduction of the potato from Europe in the late eighteenth century had an immediate and profound effect on Maori society (see 'Adoption of the potato by Maori'). 2. There is no scientific evidence (such as pollen records or the discovery of remnants of early carbonised potato tubers) to indicate pre-European potatoes. (B. F. Leach 2000 pers. comm.) 3. Early European explorers, whose expeditions included competent botanists who kept detailed records, found no evidence of pre-European potatoes. 4. There are no old waiata (songs) which make reference to potatoes. Roskruge (1999 pers . comm) wrote 'Another key fact which supports the later introduction of taewa to this country is the lack of old waiata which make any reference to them. So we can be pretty sure they did not arrive during the period of the migrations here .. . ' 5. Other plants introduced by Maori, including kumara Ipomoea batatas, taro Colocasia esculenta, yam Dioscorea alata, hue Lagenaria siceraria and aute Broussonetia papyrifera were from the warm, humid tropics (H. M. Leach 1984: 53). The potato, however, although of tropical origin, was a high altitude plant which would not have grown successfully in the warm humid conditions of a tropical east Polynesian homeland from where it is generally agreed that Maori migrated to New Zealand, some 900 years BP. (Irwin 1992:6; Davidson 2000). P. M. Matthews (1999 pers. comm.) noted that the potato has never been recorded archaeologically in tropical Polynesia nor in the accounts of early European explorers. There are several factors which would have precluded successful prehistoric potato production in the lowland tropical conditions that are found in the islands of east Polynesia and it is only relatively recently, through work undertaken by organisations such as CIP (International Potato Centre) and Cornell University, that it is becoming possible to grow potatoes at all under tropical conditions. In 1926 Salaman (1926:130) wrote - 'No variety of the potato flourishes under 36 tropical conditions. In its native Andean home, although within the tropic zone, the great altitudes at which it is found renders the climate quite temperate.' However Flenley (2000 pers. comm.) considered that the tropical montane climate of the Andes is not temperate - 'it is unique, with summer every day and winter every night with large daily temperature variation but small seasonal variation.' Midmore and Rhoades (1987:103) wrote - 'The introduction of the potato to the warm tropics is a recent innovation that has been gaining acceptance over the last decade' and Williams et al (1991:139) noted that despite recent work to develop the potato for production in the lowland tropics 'it remains essentially a crop of temperate or sub-tropical regions and high-elevation sites (1000-3000m) in the tropics'. Recent work which has made it possible to grow potatoes in the warm tropics includes: the development and selection of cultivars that will produce tubers under warm conditions. (Manrique 1989:277); the development of "true seed" production methods to avoid storage rots to which potato tubers are highly susceptible in the tropics (Malagamba and Monares 1988:27-31), and the development of programmes to control those tropical pests and diseases that affect the potato plant including the tubers, (Manrique ibid). 37 Maori-developed cultivars It seems likely that Maori developed some cultivars1 by sowing true seed of the potatoes that were available to them and making selections from the seedlings. This was reported by Colenso (1880:14), who noted - The northern tribes, especially the Ngapuhi, had more than forty years ago, obtained several new varieties of potatoes by sowing its seed; to which, however, they were first led by accident, having noticed some young plants which had sprung from self-sown seeds of the ripe potato berries and from them they had obtained several good and prized sorts. Yen (1988:39) also referred to the Maori development of cultivars. He noted that, while the many potato varieties grown by Maori are regarded as simply relicts of direct and early European introduction, a Mrs Henare spoke of 'potato apples with seed' in reference to her plantings of potatoes at Motatau in Northland. He suggested that, through Maori selection, these potato seedlings produced the Maori varieties. He described this as' a redomestication' . Salaman (1987:159) noted that this practice by native cultivators of intentionally raising new potato varieties by sowing true seeds from the potato berry, has been undertaken for many years, and referred to Colombian native people who collect potato berries, from the Andes mountains, 'selecting from the seedlings the better types and the heavier yields'. Raising potato plants by true seed also appears to have been a practice undertaken by Taranaki iwi, as Roskruge (1999 pers. comm.) referred to taakuru as the name for true potato seed and monemone - the name for plants raised by sowing true seed, as names used by Maori in that district. 1 In this thesis, the International code of nomenclature for cultivated plants (1980) is followed , in enclosing cultivar names, including those with Maori names in single quotes and leading upper case letter. 38 Observations by the present author while growing 18 varieties of Maori potatoes for three seasons indicate that few of these types actually set seed. While all varieties except 'Kowiniwini' produced flowers each year only four varieties ('Maori Chief', 'Maori', 'Poiwa' and 'Raupi') set seed during this period. Fig. 6 Potato berries and seed. It is possible that some of the potato cultivars grown by Maori were selections from seedlings . Salaman (ibid.) noted that in Europe (the source of potatoes introduced to New Zealand) fruit-bearing varieties were not common due to a dominant mutation which occurred after its introduction (to Europe and the United Kingdom), which inhibited the full development of the anthers while Howard (1970:90) wrote - 'The lack of pollen fertility in many established varieties can be a serious handicap in that many desirable crosses cannot be made.' An examination of the anthers of the cultivar 'Urenika' shows a complete absence of pollen, so in order to produce seed, this variety would need to be pollinated by a pollen producing cultivar and it could not be used as a pollinator. While it is possible that some of the potato varieties perpetuated by Maori resulted from intentional seedling selection, Yen's apparent claim that all or most of these varieties were produced by this method is unlikely, as there are no 39 records of the practice being widespread (it has been recorded as having been undertaken only by northern iwi and in Taranaki) and few seed-bearing varieties would have been available. The fact that crosses between Tuberosum varieties yield about one useful variety for every ten thousand seedlings raised (Howard 1970:92) adds weight to this argument. In a recent letter Yen (2000 pers . comm.) noted that he hadn' t meant to imply that all Maori varieties arose from seedling selection. One cultivar that is very likely to have been selected and perpetuated by Maori is 'Kowiniwini' - a cultivar that has a purple skin with very clearly defined bright yellow patches around the eyes, giving rise to the name, which means "many windows". A Northland kuia (Mrs E. Tipene 1997 pers. comm.) said that 'Kowiniwini' was one that was that was selected by Maori for its very striking appearance and that 'it arose from another variety' which suggests it may have arisen from a somatic mutation or "sport" rather than from seedling selection. Fig. 7 The cultivar 'Kowiniwini' is possibly a "sport" which arose from 'Peruperu' . It is well known that Maori had an appreciation of art and things that were aesthetically pleasing. This is evidenced by whakairo (carving), tukutuku panels, kowhaiwhai rafter patterns, taniko weaving, and other art forms used to decorate buildings, weapons, utensils and moko designs to ornament their bodies. Many of these forms of decoration represented aspects of the natural world such as the many forms of plants represented in kowhaiwhai patterns. (Harris and Lucas 1998: 50-52) 40 'Kowiniwini' has a particularly striking and almost "unreal" appearance as evidenced by comments when tubers have been displayed as part of presentations by the author at seminars, and it is not surprising that the appearance of these tubers made an impression on Maori. The cultivar shows the typical "spectacle pattern" described by Simmonds (1965:272-288) and Howard (1967:57-64; 1970:28-29). Salaman (1926:6) described the pattern as "parti-coloured". Other Maori potato cultivars which display less well defined spectacle patterns are 'Peruperu' and 'Karuparera'. Howard described spectacled tubers as 'having areas of periderm [outer skin or epidermis] and phelloderm [inner layer of skin derived from the cortex] around the eyes without pigment, the remainder of the periderm or phelloderm being intensely pigmented.' He noted that 'in some clones, spectacle is variable both in frequency and intensity of expression' . Heiken (1958:320) described this coloration pattern as a periclinal chimera arising from somatic mutation2 and Howard (1970:70) estimated the frequency of origin of this kind of aberration as approximately 1 in 180,000. Simmonds (1965:288) suggested that spectacle frequencies may be maintained by selection at various levels between 0 and 90 percent, which means that expression of the spectacle pattern is unstable to varying degrees. Experience with growing 'Kowiniwini' over a four year period has shown that approximately 20% of plants produce tubers that are less distinctly spectacled, with some reverting to a coloration pattern that looks very similar to 'Peruperu' giving rise to the possibility that 'Kowiniwini' arose as a sport of that cultivar particularly as many of the other morphological features of the two cultivars are similar. Plants tend to produce tubers that are either all typically patterned or all less distinctively patterned - they generally do not produce both types of tubers on the one plant. The cul ti vars 'Peruperu' and 'Karuparera' appear from Howard's descriptions of skin colour (1970:86-87) to be somewhere between the "splashed" 2 mutation of vegetative or asexual tissue 41 and the spectacled colour types. He recorded that the spectacled types have genes for "splashed' and "hidden-spotted" types and that reversion to the original phenotypes is common so the possibility of 'Kowiniwini' arising from 'Peruperu' and having a tendency to revert to that type lends credence to its possible origin. Because of the tendency of 'Kowiniwini' to revert to the less distinctive type, Maori must have maintained the cultivar by practising continuous selection - planting only the distinctively patterned tubers. 'Kowiniwini' is a cultivar which produces an inferior yield3 and it has poor culinary qualities4 so it appears likely that the main reason for its perpetuation by Maori was for its aesthetically pleasing appearance. 3 this may be partly due to virus infection 4 'Kowiniwini' flesh is floury and disintegrates when boiled 42 Chapter 5. The adoption of the potato by Maori. Adoption of the potato by Maori Effects on Maori society Maori were quick to recognise the advantages of the introduced potatoes over the kumara. They were easier to grow, yielded more heavily and were easier to store. Yen (1961:4), in referring to the introduction of the potato, considered that agriculturally the impact of the plant must have been spectacular. Best (1925:284), in reporting accounts of the voyage of the Venus (1836-39), wrote - the Maori certainly appreciated the potato and it is at the present time his most favoured food supply. When he found that it not only suited his palate, but was also most prolific and was capable of being cultivated to advantage at all altitudes and at all places occupied by the native people, he recognised its great superiority over the kumara, which requires much more care in its cultivation. The significant impact of this introduction on Maori society was recorded by Firth (1929:488), who wrote - The results of the introduction of the potato bring out with clarity, the manner in which new culture items affected the economic life and even the environment of the native. The potato is of such hardy nature that it can be grown in all districts and moreover it is prolific, yielding a plentiful return for the labour expended. Hence it was speedily introduced into districts which like Tuhoe had formerly possessed no cultivated foods and also tended to replace the kumara among other tribes. Again it effectively supplanted the aruhe, the fem root (Pteridium esculentum) as one of the staple vegetable foods. 43 (a) The krtrnara cultivar 'Taputini' (b) Anthe or bracken fern rhizomes Fig. 8 The krtmara and aruhe (bracken fern rhizome) were the main food plants of the Maori before the introduction of the potato. Firth also considered some negative aspects of the introduction of the potato on Maori society and on the environment. He noted that formerly the forest had been strictly conserved as a source of wild foods such as berries, birds and rats. However, following the introduction of the potato, this care became unnecessary and year after year more fores t was destroyed to make way for potato p lantations. Cameron (1964:98) wrote of destruction of ind igenous fo rests by Maori agriculturalists of the nine teenth century - The introduction of the pota to to New Zealan d a t the end of the eighteenth century caused considerable changes in Maori agriculture. There was a great expansion in shifting cultivation over forest land a nd there are records of Maori fires having destroyed very large areas of forest. Firth suggested that, because cultivation and production of the potato crop required less care and attention, there was more time for other less energetic pursuits. He considered that ' this contributed to a general decline in physical 44 fitness of the race1 .'Belich (1996:159) in writing of Maori warfare, considered that the introduction of the potato (and the pig) gave Maori a reliable surplus, helped in feeding long-range expeditions and meant that because less labour was required for food production, warriors were available to take part in warfare expeditions. He suggested that in 1818 acreages of potatoes and other crops may well have become really substantial and reliable among the Northland groups and noted that - 'Potato wars might therefore be more accurate than musket wars' - a suggestion that the potato's part in Maori warfare was at least as significant as the musket. Introduction of the potato to the South Island Potatoes were particularly welcome in the southern regions of the South Island where kumara would not grow. Records show that initially, potatoes grown by Maori in Otago and Southland were grown on mounds according to traditional kumara culture, and it was suggested (Leach 1984:99) that they were introduced to the south by Ngai Tahu from the Kaikoura region who were known to raise kumara. Leach wrote - If the potato introduction had been made through the non-horticultural Fiordland Maori families, it is most unlikely to have been treated as kumara. I suspect that the original source was one of the Queen Charlotte Sound gardens from which the potatoes had been removed. Taken in hand by kumara gardeners of Marlborough, and with their hardiness rapidly recognised, they were probably distributed to the south through the kinship links of the mobile Ngai Tahu who occupied much of the eastern and southern coasts of the South Island. Anderson (1998:73-74) disagreed with this explanation, describing _it as 'a provocative and widely held hypothesis developed by Otago scholars particularly in the 1960s.' He wrote that while it was possible that potatoes reached the south 1 In modem anthropological and biological understanding the Maori are not considered to be a "race". 45 from Marlborough 'there is no evidence that this occurred, let alone in the 1770s' referring to the reported failure of the potatoes planted at Queen Charlotte Sound by Cook in 1773 (refer to page 28). Anderson considered that it was more likely that potatoes were introduced to the south by Europeans. He wrote - It is more probable, then, that potatoes were introduced to Murihiku [Southland] when the seal colonies in newly-discovered Foveaux Strait, which was first mapped in 1804 by Owen Folger Smith, were opened to exploitation. Sealers were expected to spend long periods living on their own resources and habitually carried seed potatoes. A gang from the Fox, stranded on Solander Island in 1808 for four years, grew potatoes and cabbages and there were large potato plantations on the Snares by 1817. By whatever means the potato reached and was distributed around the South Island all European observations from the early nineteenth century onwards mention the cultivation and availability of introduced potatoes and Anderson (ibid) noted that the prolific and adaptable "white" potato had a profound effect on Maori economics in general. He recorded (pg 72) - This was especially so south of Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) where, until its arrival, Maori had lived beyond an agricultural frontier defined by prehistoric kumara cultivation. Some consequences of potato cultivation can be reasonably assumed. Seasonality of potato cultivation and harvesting required that cultivation occur in summer foraging territories, or that a greater proportion of village populations remained at home during the planting and harvesting seasons. In the 1840s, at least, both strategies were employed. There were potato gardens around villages, but also isolated gardens along uninhabited coasts or in the interior which were tended to as foraging parties passed to and fro. The food yield and value of potatoes especially in relation to labour expenditure, greatly exceeded that available from fem root and cabbage tree, so there was a substantial increase in the productivity of vegetable foods. Since these had been the limiting factor in prehistoric diets, especially in the south, nutritional status and population growth probably both increased during the early nineteenth century in southern New Zealand. 46 The potato as a staple food In writing of acceptance of new crops in Polynesia, Leach (1983:145) stated - Forty years after the Maoris' first exposure in Northland to European plants, the five pre-European food plants were still grown but had been joined in Maori gardens by two other root crops, potatoes and turnips, by a green crop cabbage and by the tall maize. The most successful introduction of all was the potato ... While it is well documented that by the early part of the nineteenth century, the potato was grown extensively by Maori, some writers contend that at this period they still relied principally on traditional food crops. Shawcross (1967:333) asserted that it was not until after 1820 that introduced food crops displaced fernroot (Pteridium esculentum) as the principal staple food item in the diet of the Maori. By the 1830s Hargreaves (1963:104) considered the potato was the basic food crop of New Zealand, 'preferred by the Maoris above all their traditional crops.' In writing of the introduction of new foods which subsequently became staples, to cultural groups unfamiliar with that type of food, Leach (1999:132) wrote 'It is hard to assess the extent to which the Maori valued Solanum potatoes as food, given the importance of the crop in trade throughout the country.' The same author (1969:56) recorded that fernroot remained in use into the 1840s in areas where large acreages of potatoes were grown and suggested that 'the potato was not the preferred staple for some 40-70 years after its introduction despite the ease with which it could be gathered and prepared.' Leach suggested that it became the staple source of starch not because of taste preference but because it was technologically undemanding and economically important. She noted that unlike potatoes, wheat was not accepted initially because the necessary equipment to process it into flour was not provided at the same time. By the late 1840s fernroot was not much eaten except (Anderson ibid pg 176) when potatoes were unavailable which sometimes occurred in early summer. 47 Maori gardens and production systems Because the method of propagation and production of the potato was similar to that of kumara, it was able to fit into the existing agriculture system of the Maori with little modification. Best (1925:99) described methods of planting potatoes that were identical to those used for kumara. He noted that the implements used for cultivation, and the ceremonial rituals, were also the same. It is however, unlikely that Maori initially accepted that the potato was a new variety of kumara rather than a new crop as suggested by Driver (1966) as there is no evidence to support this opinion. Maori traditionally planted tuberous roots2 of the kilrnara as a means of establishing a crop which is similar to the usual method of planting tubers to establish a potato crop. The modern commercial method used to grow a kumara crop is to plant "slips" or cuttings in the field from the previous year's crop. (Lewthwaite 1998:32) While Best and others have said that Maori adapted kumara production methods to growing potatoes, Cameron (1964:102) pointed out that this is not strictly correct. He noted that the two vegetables require different soil conditions with kumara growing best on warm, well-aerated soils while potatoes prefer cool moist soils. Maori horticulturalists soon discovered that potato crops grew best on freshly cleared land and would not grow well on the same soils year after year. For potato production new land was used at least every second year, and this made greater inroads into the forest than had kumara production which involved using the same piece of land for several years. The need to use new land for potato production was partly due to Maori refusal to use animal manure to fertilise the soil. Many aspects of gardening and crop production were regarded by Maori as sacred and Leach (1984:109) wrote that for this reason 'the use of animal dung was totally abhorrent to nineteenth century 2 The tuberous roots of the kumara are modified (tuberous) roots which differ from tubers of potatoes which are modified (tuberous) subterranean sterns. Kurnara tuberous roots produce adventitious shoots 48 Maori gardeners.' Leach recorded that William Williams of Poverty Bay had this to say of a poor potato crop he saw on the Wairarapa coast in March 1848 - The ground is poor and the potatoe crop has failed in consequence of the long drought. This would have been in great measure remedied if manure had been used in the culture, which would have advanced the crop before the dry weather came on, but the natives are indisposed to depart from their old customs. Colenso (1880:11) commented on this aspect of Maori gardening and wrote - One striking peculiarity, however should not be omitted - in which too, I think, they differed from all agricultural races - their national non-usage of all and every kind of manure ... But their whole inner man revolted at such a thing; and when the early missionaries first used such substances in their kitchen-gardens it was brought against them as a charge of high opprobrium. And even in their own potato planting in after years they would not use anything of the kind, although they saw in the gardens of the missionaries the beneficial effects arising from the use of manure; and, as the potato loves a virgin, or a strongly manured soil, the Maoris chose rather to prepare fresh ground every year, generally by felling and burning on the outskirts of forests, with all the extra labour of fencing against the pigs, rather than to use the abominated manure. Edward Wakefield who visited Kotukutuku in the central North Island in 1841 described a method (Wakefield 1908:418) by which Maori cleared forest and prepared the soil for potato cultivation - The underwood has been cut away, but the tall forest trees, chiefly matai or mai remain standing and still alive; the plantations and villages are disposed among their trunks, on the acclivity of which rises from the side of the lake to Pihanga. They grow all their potatoes here by throwing up the soil in heaps, about four feet in diameter, and a foot high; so the whole cultivation takes place above the soil in artificial beds. Maori often cleared areas of forest and scrub in preparation for potato gardens by burning the vegetation and Hargreaves (1963:103-105) recorded numerous instances of large areas of forest destroyed by fire for this purpose. Burning was also a practice used earlier in preparing areas of land for kumara gardens. 49 Gallagher (1986: 580) noted that burning in preparation for gardening was a well­ established practice in prehistoric agricultural production systems and recorded the benefits of burning existing vegetation and crop remnants - Burning kills surface insects and removes dead crop residue, weeds and litter from the previous season. The removal of this litter plays an important role in warming the soil by removing the layer of materials which block solar radiation. Burning also blackens the surface of fields, increasing the ability of the fields to absorb solar radiation ... increasing the absorption of radiation by as much as 15 percent. Working ash into the soil adds nutrients such as phosphorus and potash. Roberts (1913:231) in writing of Maori potato production in the 1850s in Southland described production of a commonly grown purple-fleshed cultivar which he named 'Mangamunga'. - 'They yielded the best crop when planted in bush land, on the surface of the ground, and held up with loose soil. We called the heaps "Maori hills". The yield was 'many tons to the acre.' Holmes (n.d.) wrote of Maori potato gardens in the Chatham Islands in the early 19th century noting that of the two classes of land on the islands - clear land and bush land, the latter was best for potato production. He described the method of establishing potato gardens - The bush land being the best and the natives having no implements other than axes and spades, the method used in growing potatoes was a bush garden. To clear an area of bush by felling all trees in the area selected, the fallen trees were cut up and built around the outer side for a fence, any big tree trunks were left lying where they fell, the tops and limbs being cut off and piled on the fence, the ground surface was cleared of sticks, chips and rubbish etc and planting began. These gardens were of all shapes and sizes. The planting was done with a spade or whatever they had. A hole was chopped through the tree roots wherever possible and a seed potato planted, they were not planted in rows as that was not possible because of the tree stumps. As the ground had no weed seed the potatoes grew with little attention until the garden was a mass of potato tops and continued to grow until they ripened in the autumn. The potatoes were then dug by or harvested by whatever means available, very often with a stick and hands. 50 Maori also developed innovative cultivation methods. Best (1925:285) recorded that the Maori became adept in the cultivation of the potato and adopted some methods not employed by European settlers. He wrote - in order to obtain a very early crop he planted seed tubers as early as June in scrub land or light bush, then felled the bush which was burned in early spring. The fire destroyed the haulm of the plants that had grown up through the felled timber, but a new growth soon followed, whereas exposure to frost would have spoiled the crop. This method is called w hakapara in the Bay of Plenty and w hakaota at Taupo. Leach (1984:109) in referring to new plant introductions including the potato, noted that by the nineteenth century Maori were using the new plants to great Fig. 9 'Defrichement d'un champ de patates' ('Digging a field of potatoes'). Women working with the ko, digging sticks. This lithograph by Louis de Sainson, published in 1839, derives from the voyage of the corvette L' Astrolabe to New Zealand in 1826-27. Note the seed potatoes stored on a whata to the left of the picture. The Hocken Library. 51 advantage and that the new plants and tools were slotted into place within the traditional systems. She described Maori gardening of the time as 'a robust and adaptable tradition.' By the early 1800s Maori were growing large crops of potatoes, and an area of 50 hectares in potato production was not uncommon. An article titled 'Historical records of New Zealand South,' in the Sydney Gazette, September 1813, records the visit that year of a flax dresser, named Williams, to the Bluff. Best (1925:285) quoted this article - The natives attend to cultivation of the potato with as much diligence and care as I have ever seen. A field of considerably more than 100 acres presented one well cultivated bed, filled with rising crops of various age, some of which were ready for digging, while others had been n