by mists or fog, a person of knowledge among them would pluck up a stalk of fern, strip off the fronds thereof, and stick it in the ground, base uppermost. Splitting the upper part of the stalk as it so stood, he would place therein a cold of earth, reciting a brief charm, which would dispel the fog. Te Rapa a Hine-whati, a tawai tree near the Wai-horoi-hika Stream at Wai-kare Moana, is an uruuru whenua, as also is Takuahi-tee-ka, a rock in the Whakatane River, at the mouth of the Manga-o-hou Stream. Old Natives tell me that in their youthful days, when this custom was in force, a clear space was always seen round such trees or stones, the vegetation having been plucked by passers- by. Te Whanautanga o Tuhourangi, a stone near Mount Edgecumbe, is another of these mediums of the land spirits, as also was a stone named Tu-ki-te-wa, situated near the Rua-tahuna Stream. Another form of the charm repeated is,— Uruuru o tauhou Mau e kai te manawa o tauhou. While in “Nga Moteatea” we find the following:— Ka u ki mata nuku Ka u ki mata rangi Ka u ki tenei whenua Hei whenua He kai mau te ate o te tauhou. The author of “Te Ika a Maui” translates the first two lines of this last effusion in this wise:— Arrived at slippery point, Arrived at break of day. The slipperiness of that point must certainly have been excessive—far too much so for a denizen of the Tuhoean wilderness to attempt to pass. It is said that a person who had performed the uruuru whenua rite would be careful not to look behind him as he continued his way. In vol. iv. of the “Journal of the Polynesian Society,” at page 55, may be found some notes on this same custom as performed in Samoa and far-away Corea. In New Zealand it seems to have been performed at most of the tipua objects. Any stranger neglecting this precaution might die or be afflicted by illness, if a storm did not arise, or rain ensue, as a consequence of his neglect. These tipua were possessed of wairua (spirit, soul), according to some of my Native friends. When the Land Commission was sitting at Wai-mako, near Wai-kare Moana, two Natives visited the tipua rock known as Haumapuhia and pulled off some of the water-weeds growing