480 Transactions. — Botaiiy. 



lichen-coated, and dropping to decay. The great coil of 

 twining roots are almost superficial, and fail to draw their 

 nourishment from the bare and hoof-trodden ground. 



Mountain Rata. — For the mountain rata of the South 

 there is a happier prospect. It is a true tree, better rooted 

 than its northern congener, and with its advantages of cli- 

 mate and situation will probably continue one of the most 

 conspicuous features of the alpine scenery. 



Puriri. — The puriri, as Mr. T. Kirk has noted, is the 

 on]}' tree which is able to resist the strangling pressure of the 

 rata, and it is one of the few which, in anything approaching 

 an adult stage, will survive the removal of the surrounding 

 bush. It will stand any amount of hacking and cutting 

 about ; and even when partly destroyed by fire — so long as 

 the bark is not burned round the root — it will renew its 

 youth by a fresh growth from the trunk and lower branches. 

 Unfortunately, the species is of limited distribution, being 

 confined to the upper half of the northern Island : and, as the 

 timber is in great request for railway sleepers, fencing-posts, 

 &c., all the best specimens are rapidly disappearing. More- 

 over, there is not much chance of its renewal, except in places 

 inaccessible to stock, as the seedlings are quickly eaten off. 

 Still, the puriri is a long-lived tree, and probably existing 

 specimens will survive for an indefinite period. An example 

 of its vitality may be seen in the old mission settlement of 

 Waimate, where several beautiful clumps have held their 

 ground against the cattle in enclosed paddocks for at least 

 fifty years. Even after death the purin is a noble object, as, 

 bleached to a snowy whiteness, it stands with all its branches 

 perfect long after every vestige of the surrounding bush has 

 disappeared, both above and below ground, apparently in- 

 sensible to decay. 



Kahikatea. —The kahikatea, or white-pine, is distributed 

 over the greater part of New Zealand, and is found in greatest 

 abundance in low and swampy situations, where it frequently 

 forms continuous forests of large extent. Specimens of a 

 harder variety are common in the mixed bush on higher 

 ground. Generally easy of access, and affording a useful 

 timber, it is being largely removed for mill purposes. The 

 kahikatea is a delicate tree, and does not long survive under 

 altered circumstances ; in fact, during the last few years 

 immense bushes have disappeared with marvellous rapidity, 

 their sites being now occupied by cabbage-tree, flax, and 

 raupo swamp, according to the comparative wetness of the 

 situation. In the drier portions the ground is often covered 

 with a close crop of seedlings, many of which attain a con- 

 siderable height. It is doubtful, however, if they will equal 

 the parent growth. 



