Eutland. — On the Begroivth of the Totara. 327 



vast trunk branching at a height of 20 ft. into eight main 

 boughs, each as large as a large tree, and spreading so far 

 that they need to be supported on props. This tree is men- 

 tioned in ' Domesday Book ' as being famous for its size and 

 antiquity. Now, ' Domesday Book ' was written in 1085-86, 

 so that, allowing only two hundred years for the Knightwood 

 oak to have attained a growth that made it famous then, it 

 must now be more than a thousand years old, yet it is full 

 of life and vigour, and to all appearance is sound at heart. 

 It makes each year a good deal of dead wood owing to the 

 enormous stretch and interlacing of its branches, but with a 

 little skilful trimming it may flourish for centuries to come — 

 always, of course, barring storms and lightning. Close to the 

 Knightwood oak are several groups of gigantic beeches un- 

 doubtedly belonging to the same period with the oak, before 

 the forest was laid out. These magnificent trees seemed to 

 have formed a small plantation by themselves, and probably 

 belonged to some religious house, or perhaps to the dwelling 

 of some Saxon thane, the history of which is forgotten. They 

 are not the only instances of the kind, for in several other 

 parts of the forest are groups of trees, or distinctive planta- 

 tions, which evidently belong to an age before the Conquest, 

 and which were carefully preserved and planted in by William's 

 men." 



In the portion of Marlborough north of the Wairau River 

 care is necessary to prevent the land taken from the forest 

 being overrun with brambles, briars, St. John's wort, manuka, 

 tawhinau, and other woody plants, none of which spread on the 

 natural grass land of the adjacent Awatere district. Possibly 

 the tendency of the forest country to revert to an arborescent 

 vegetation might be turned to account. The low lands, to 

 which the mixed bush was chiefly confined, cannot be spared 

 for timber-growing, but there are within the forest country 

 large areas of hilly land unsuitable for pasture now being over- 

 run with fern and other troublesome plants owing to repeated 

 fires. If this land could be replanted with useful trees with- 

 out a great expenditure of labour it would be a positive gain. 



Like our totara, many of the European and North American 

 Coniferce reappear after the forest has been destroyed by fire. 



Probably some of those trees suitable to the situation and 

 climate might be propagated by sowing the seed on the ash- 

 covered ground after bush-tires. One of the Australian hakeas 

 which I introduced from Nelson some years ago can be grown 

 in this way. 



