of Tonga; but as they claim the merit of the discovery, they are probably rather too profuse in praise of it.

Tetanus is not the only disease for the cure of which the operation of tocolósi is performed: it is adopted also in cases of wounds in the abdomen, upon the mistaken notion that any extravasated blood in the cavity of the abdomen is capable of passing off by the discharge from the urethra. Mr. Mariner saw the operation performed once in this case, and, as the man was considered in a very bad state, and notwithstanding got well, the cure was attributed to this remedy. It is also performed for relief in cases of general languor and inactivity of the system; but, in such instances, they only endeavour to produce irritation by passing the reed without any thread or artificial opening the present king had it thus performed on him for this purpose; and two days afterwards he said he felt himself quite light, and full of spirits.

The natives of these islands are very subject to enlarged testicles, and for this they sometimes perform the operation of boca (castration). Mr. Mariner's limited observation on this subject does not authorize him to speak with any degree of certainty in regard to the

VOL. II.

precise nature of these tumefactions. Their mode of performing this operation is summary enough a bandage being tied with some degree of firmness round the upper part of the scrotum, so as to steady the diseased mass, at the same time that the scrotum is closely expanded over it, an incision is made with bamboo, just large enough to allow the testicle to pass, which being separated from its cellular connections, the cord is divided, and thus ends the operation: they neither tie the cord, nor take any pains to stop the bleeding; but, if the testicle be not very large, and the epidydimis not apparently diseased, they perform the operation by dissecting it from that body with the same instrument. The external wound is kept from closing by a pledget of the banana leaf, which is renewed every day till the discharge has ceased, and the scrotum is supported by a bandage. A profuse hæmorrhage is mostly the consequence of this operation it was performed seven times within the sphere of Mr. Mariner's knowledge, during his stay; to three of which he was a witness : not one of the seven died. One of these cases was that of a man who performed the operation on himself: his left testicle was greatly enlarged, being about five or six inches in dia

meter, and gave him, at times, severe lancinating pains: two or three times he was about to have the operation performed by a native of Fiji, but his courage failed him when he came to the trial. One day, when Mr. Mariner was with him, he suddenly determined to perform the operation on himself; and it was not much sooner said than done: he tied on the bandage, opened the scrotum with a very steady hand, in a fit of desperation divided the cord and cellular substance together, and fell senseless on the ground: the hæmorrhage was very profuse. Mr. Mariner called in some persons to his assistance, and he was carried into a house, but did not become sensible for nearly an hour, and was in a very weak state from loss of blood: this affair confined him to the house for two or three months. There was one rare instance of a man, both of whose testes were affected with some species of sarcoma, to a degree almost beyond credit: when he stood up, his feet were necessarily separated to the distance of three quarters of a yard, and the loaded scrotum, or rather the morbid mass, reached to within six inches of the ground: there was no appearance of a penis, the urine being discharged from a small orifice about the middle of the tumor, that is to say, about a foot and a half below

the os pubis. The man's general health was not bad; and he could even walk by the help of a stick, without having any sling or support for his burthen: it was specifically lighter than fresh water, and considerably lighter than salt water, so as to produce much inconvenience to him when he bathed. He died at the island of Foa, about two or three months before Mr. Mariner left Vavaoo.

As to fractures, and dislocations of the extremities, it may be said that there is scarcely any native but what understands how to manage at least those that are most likely to happen; for they are very well acquainted with the general forms of the bones, and articulations of the extremities. They use splints made of a certain part of the cocoa-nut tree: for broken arms they use slings of gnatoo. In fractures of the cranium they allow nature to take her course without interfering, and it is truly astonishing what injuries of this kind they will bear without fatal consequences: there was one man whose skull had been so beaten in. in two or three places, by the blows of a club, that his head had an odd mis-shapen appearance, and yet this man had very good health, except when he happened to take cava, which produced a temporary insanity. Fractures of

the clavicle and ribs Mr. Mariner never saw there.

The most common surgical operation among them is what they call tafa, which is topical blood-letting, and is performed by making, with a shell, incisions in the skin to the extent of about half an inch in various parts of the body, particularly in the lumbar region and extremities, for the relief of pains, lassitude, &c.; also for inflamed tumours they never fail to promote a flow of blood from the part; by the same means they open abscesses, and press out the purulent matter: in cases of hard indolent tumours, they either apply ignited tapa, or hot bread-fruit repeatedly, so as to blister the part, and ultimately to produce a purulent surface. Ill-conditioned ulcers, particularly in those persons whose constitution disposes to such things, are scarified by shells; those that seem disposed to heal are allowed to take their course without any application.

In cases of sprains, the affected part is rubbed with a mixture of oil and water, the friction being always continued in one direction, that is to say, from the smaller towards the larger branches of the vessels. Friction, with the dry hand, is also often used in similar and other cases, for the purpose of relieving pain.