KAURI PINE

kauri pine, in botany, _agathis australis_, a conifer native of new zealand where it is abundant in forests in the north island between the north cape and 38 deg. south latitude. the forests are rapidly disappearing owing to use as timber and to destruction by fires. it is a tall resiniferous tree, usually ranging from 80 to 100 ft. in height, with a trunk 4 to 10 ft. in diameter, but reaching 150 ft., with a diameter of 15 to 22 ft.; it has a straight columnar trunk and a rounded bushy head. the thick resiniferous bark falls off in large flat flakes. the leaves, which persist for several years, are very thick and leathery; on young trees they are lance-shaped 2 to 4 in. long and 1/4 to 1/2 in. broad, becoming on mature trees linear-oblong or obovate-oblong and 3/4 to 1(1/2) in. long. the ripe cones are almost spherical, erect, and 2 to 3 in. in diameter; the broad, flat, rather thin cone-scales fall from the axis when ripe. each scale bears a single compressed seed with a membranous wing. the timber is remarkable for its strength, durability and the ease with which it is worked. the resin, kauri-gum, is an amber-like deposit dug in large quantities from the sites of previous forests, in lumps generally varying in size from that of a hen's egg to that of a man's head. the colour is of a rich brown or amber yellow, or it may be almost colourless and translucent. it is of value for varnish-making. kava (cava or ava), an intoxicating, but non-alcoholic beverage, produced principally in the islands of the south pacific, from the roots or leaves of a variety of the pepper plant (_piper methysticum_). the method of preparation is somewhat peculiar. the roots or leaves are first chewed by young girls or boys, care being taken that only those possessing sound teeth and excellent general health shall take part in this operation. the chewed material is then placed in a bowl, and water or coco-nut milk is poured over it, the whole is well stirred, and subsequently the woody matter is removed by an ingenious but simple mechanical manipulation. the resulting liquid, which has a muddy or _cafe-au-lait_ appearance, or is of a greenish hue if made from leaves, is now ready for consumption. the taste of the liquid is at first sweet, and then pungent and acrid. the usual dose corresponds to about two mouthfuls of the root. intoxication (but this apparently only applies to those not inured to the use of the liquor) follows in about twenty minutes. the drunkenness produced by kava is of a melancholy, silent and drowsy character. excessive drinking is said to lead to skin and other diseases, but _per contra_ many medicinal virtues are ascribed to the preparation. there appears to be little doubt that the active principle in this beverage is a poison of an alkaloidal nature. it seems likely that this substance is not present as such (i.e. as a free alkaloid) in the plant, but that it exists in the form of a glucoside, and that by the process of chewing this glucoside is split up by one of the ferments in the saliva into the free alkaloid and sugar. see _pharm. journ_. iii. 474; iv. 85; ix. 219; vii. 149; _comptes rendus_, l. 436, 598; lii. 206; _journ. de pharm._ (1860) 20; (1862) 218; seeman, _flora vitiensis_, 260; beachy, _voyage of the "blossom,"_ ii. 120. kavadh (kabades, kauades), a persian name which occurs first in the mythical history of the old iranian kingdom as kai kobadh (kaikobad). it was borne by two kings of the sassanid dynasty. (1) kavadh i., son of peroz, crowned by the nobles in 488 in place of his uncle balash, who was deposed and blinded. at this time the empire was utterly disorganized by the invasion of the ephthalites or white huns from the east. after one of their victories against peroz, kavadh had been a hostage among them during two years, pending the payment of a heavy ransom. in 484 peroz had been defeated and slain with his whole army. balash was not able to restore the royal authority. the hopes of the magnates and high priests that kavadh would suit their purpose were soon disappointed. kavadh gave his support to the communistic sect founded by mazdak, son of bamdad, who demanded that the rich should divide their wives and their wealth with the poor. his intention evidently was, by adopting the doctrine of the mazdakites, to break the influence of the magnates. but in 496 he was deposed and incarcerated in the "castle of oblivion (lethe)" in susiana, and his brother jamasp (zamaspes) was raised to the throne. kavadh, however, escaped and found refuge with the ephthalites, whose king gave him his daughter in marriage and aided him to return to persia. in 499 he became king again and punished his opponents. he had to pay a tribute to the ephthalites and applied for subsidies to rome, which had before supported the persians. but now the emperor anastasius refused subsidies, expecting that the two rival powers of the east would exhaust one another in war. at the same time he intervened in the affairs of the persian part of armenia. so kavadh joined the ephthalites and began war against the romans. in 502 he took theodosiopolis in armenia, in 503 amida (diarbekr) on the tigris. in 505 an invasion of armenia by the western huns from the caucasus led to an armistice, during which the romans paid subsidies to the persians for the maintenance of the fortifications on the caucasus. when justin i. (518-527) came to the throne the conflict began anew. the persian vassal, mondhir of hira, laid waste mesopotamia and slaughtered the monks and nuns. in 531 belisarius was beaten at callinicum. shortly afterwards kavadh died, at the age of eighty-two, in september 531. during his last years his favourite son chosroes had had great influence over him and had been proclaimed successor. he also induced kavadh to break with the mazdakites, whose doctrine had spread widely and caused great social confusion throughout persia. in 529 they were refuted in a theological discussion held before the throne of the king by the orthodox magians, and were slaughtered and persecuted everywhere; mazdak himself was hanged. kavadh evidently was, as procopius (_pers._ i. 6) calls him, an unusually clear-sighted and energetic ruler. although he could not free himself from the yoke of the ephthalites, he succeeded in restoring order in the interior and fought with success against the romans. he built some towns which were named after him, and began to regulate the taxation. (2) kavadh ii. sheroe (siroes), son of chosroes ii., was raised to the throne in opposition to his father in february 628, after the great victories of the emperor heraclius. he put his father and eighteen brothers to death, began negotiations with heraclius, but died after a reign of a few months. (ed. m.)