European axes--and it generally has a handle at one
or both ends. It is not decorated with carving in any way. The common
form of handle is merely a simple knob about 3 inches long and 1 1/2
inches wide. But it is sometimes less simple, and I have a dish one
of the handles of which is divided into two projecting pieces about
7 1/2 inches long and joined to each other at the end. The handle
is always carved out of the same piece of wood as is the dish;
never made separately and afterwards attached. The wooden forks
are simply bits cut from trees and sharpened at one end, and they
are without prongs. Their use is only temporary, and they are not
permanently stored as household utensils. The cassowary and kangaroo
bone implements (Plate 25, Fig. 3) are also merely roughly pointed
unpronged pieces of bone, and otherwise without special form. When
eating _en famille_ they do not always use these pointed wooden and
bone sticks, but very commonly take the food out of the dish with
their hands only; but if the family had guests with them they would
probably use the sticks more, and their hands less. The men and women
often eat together, sitting round the dish and helping themselves
out of it, though, if there are too many to do this conveniently,
pieces will be handed out to some of them.

Various Implements.

Besides the cooking and eating implements above described and
other things, such as weapons of war and of hunting and fishing,
and implements for manufacture, agriculture and music, which will be
dealt with under their own headings, there are a few miscellaneous
things which may be conveniently described here.

Bamboo knives (Plate 51, Fig. 5). These are simple strips made out of
a special mountain form of bamboo, and are generally 8 to 10 inches
long and about 1 inch wide. One edge is left straight for its whole
length, and the other is cut away near the end, very much as we cut
away one side of a quill pen, so as to produce a sharp point. The
side edge which is used for cutting is the one which is not cut away
at the end; and when it gets blunt it is renewed by simply peeling
off a length of fibre, thus producing a new edge, bevelled inwards
towards the concave side of the implement, and making a hard and
very sharp fresh cutting edge. The point can of course be sharpened
at any time in the obvious way.

Pig-bone implements (Plate 51, Fig. 2). These are the implements
which are often used as forks, but they have