June 2, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRlCDLTURIST, 



929 



IN THE KAURI GUM FIELDS.* 



Sombre, solemn, and gi'and are the kauri forests of 

 Northern New Zealand. If you want beauty of mixed foliage, 

 of wide-spreading, branching trees, all interlaced with knotted 

 vines and tufts of rosy blossoms — forests where" the golileu 

 sunh'ght steals in delicately-divided rays through the exquisite 

 canopy of tall tree-ferns, to fall in radiant gleams on the 

 carpet of all Tuaunerof silver-backed and other lovely grouud- 

 ferns — you will find these in perfection wherever the griev- 

 ously "improWng" hand of the settler has spared the prime- 

 val bush. Alas, that we should have to say, such precious 

 visions of Eden are already few ami far between — only to 

 be found in the least freiiuente<l districts. 



But the kauri forests are a thing altogether apart; and 

 alas ! indeed, of these also we must say that they are rapidly 

 diminishing before the too busy axe of the lumberer. The 

 kauri is the pine-tree of New Zealand, the sole represent- 

 aciye of the coniferous family, and a very noble reiiresentative 

 it is, though by no means answering to our ordinary notions 

 of pine-trees, inasmuch as its foliage consists of leaves 

 instead of needles; but it is tall and straight as a mast, 

 and a very majestic mast, for these stately trees range from 

 fifteen to fifty feet in girth, and attain a height of from a 

 hundred to two hundred feet ere they commence throwing 

 out the branches which form their crown of sombre green. 

 This is a special industry peculiar to Northern New Zealand, 

 and the precious gum is a semi-fas.silized deposit which is 

 found buried at a depth of five or six feet below the surface 

 of the ground, ou tracts of open land, where in bygone ages 

 grew kauri forests which have long since disappeared. It 

 is thought probable that these forests have been burnt, and 

 that the exceeding; heat liquefied the resin and caused it to 

 flow more freely, for the digger is sometimes rewarded by 

 finding a lump as big as his own body, though more fre- 

 quently it lies buried in fragments from the size of an 

 egg to that of a man's head. 



The value of the gum varies with its colour, which is 

 sometunes of a rich brown, sometimes bright amber, and 

 occasionally almost like pale crystal. Sometimes it is clouded, 

 sometimes quite clear, revealing flies and tiny beetles which 

 perhaps for ages have been eusluined in its transparent 

 depths. The clearest and most crystalline pieces fetch the 

 highest prices, and are carved into orn.inients hardiv to be 

 distinguished from amber, but very much more "brittle. 

 WTien these extra fine pieces have been selected, the rest 

 is sold in the Auckland market at from .£:iiito£4n a ton, 

 and is purchased by English and American manufacturers of 

 varnish. The amount collected must be enourmous, as the 

 value of the annual export from the colony ranges from 

 £70,t»«i to .£20li,<X)n. None is found in the' Southern Isle, 

 nor, indeed, to the south of latitude of 37 ° 30', which is 

 the southernmost limit of the kauri. 



AVhether the special qualities of the lnui(iil gum are due 

 to old age, or to the possible action of fire, is unknown ; but 

 that which is obtained from the living tree is altogether 

 worthless for the market, being soft and sticky,— in fact, 

 simple re.sin. Large quantities in this conlition are some- 

 times found about the roots of growing trees in the forest: 

 but of this very httle can be turned to account. 



At one time as many as two thousand men made their 

 living as professional gum-diggers, but in these more settled 

 days other occupations are found to be more remunerative, 

 and a comparatively small number now adopt this as their 

 regular employment,— those who do so being for the most 

 part the unsc'ttled, roving members of the comnumity. They 

 are a mixed lot, — of very much the same stamp as an average 

 colony of gol(l-digger.s. Bohemians of every nation, European, 

 American, Australian, all fijid their way to the gum fields. 

 There men of all classes rub shoulders; and a white-hand- 

 ed "swell" lately, perhaps, an over-extravagant oflicer in Her 

 Majesty's service, or an unworthy member of one of the 

 universities, may deem himself fortunate shoul.l be chance to 

 fall in with some sturdy navvy who will accept him as 

 his pal. — Fharmacmtical Journal. 



WELLS' "rough on corns." 



Ask for Wells' "Hough ou Corns." Quick relief, com- 

 plete, permanent cure. Corns, warts, bunions. B. S. 

 Madon & Co., Bombay, General Agents. 



» Vnim Li j/pincott's Monthly. i;eprintetf~frotn "the Oi^ 

 Faint and Drmj Reporter, March aO, ltj»4. 

 118 



THE RED CROSS FRUIT-PRESEEVING COMPANY. 



One of the most interestmg exhibits at the Intercolonial 

 Exhibition is the trophy of the well-known Red Cross 

 Preserving Company, the Crosse & Blackwell of Australia. 

 Space has been allotted to the company close up to the 

 main entrance, their exhibits being the first to catch the 

 eye as the visitor comes through either of the entrances 

 from the ante-room to the main hall. The brightly labelled 

 tins containing the jams, jellies, and sauces made by the 

 Red Cross Company are built up in pyramidal and other 

 designs, and with similar business trophies claim attention 

 for a minute as specimens of the tasteful arrangement of 

 ordinary objects. Some of the exhibits, however, should 

 receive more than passing notice from those interested in 

 the development of colonial industries. These are tins of 

 canned fruits made up after the American fashion, so fully 

 described by Mr. T. K. Dow, the special correspondent for 

 the Australasian, &aimg his recent travels in the United 

 States. Recognising the value of an industry that should, 

 by reason of all natiu-al conditions, become a standard 

 pursuit in this country, the Red Cross Company have 

 obtained the services of Mr. G. Ward, whose Californian 

 experience in this particular trade has been obtained as 

 superintendent of the firm of Sol Waugenheim & Co., of 

 San Francisco and Sacramento River, and other firms, to 

 the magnitude of whose operations reference was made 

 by Mr. Dow in his American letters. Th.> means of turning 

 Mr. Ward's special knowledge to profitable account has been 

 attained by the importation of a complete preserving plant, 

 the machinery being of the most approved .Vmerican patterns. 

 The exhibits now shown are — outside any figure of speech 

 — the first fruits of their labours, but operations were started 

 too late in the year to permit of the company placing any- 

 thing like a stock upon the colonial markets. As already 

 stated, the industry is one altogether apart from the work 

 of jam and jelly making, which constitutes the popular 

 idea in the way of fruit preserving iu this country. All 

 except the larger fruits, which are cut into convenient sizes, 

 are preserved in their natural state, and a clear syrup being 

 used, they retain their colour and flavour in a remarkable 

 degree. Nearly all the ordinary fruits may be successfully 

 treated in this way, hut the popular sorts in America— and 

 taste here is apt to run in the same direction — are peaches, 

 apricots, Bartlett pears, and golden drop plums, with other 

 kinds in lesser quantities. Two of the most perfect of 

 the colonial fruits are figs and muscatel grapes, the flavour 

 of which seem to have been improved rather than other- 

 wise by the addition of the syrup. Another useful phase 

 of fruit-preserving is putting up the various thorued fruits 

 so popular for pastry. The syrup for these is not sweetened, 

 so that in preparing them for table dittereut tastes may he 

 studied, the manufacturers being able to retain the full flavour 

 of the fruit by immersion in the prepared hquid. The tin- 

 ning of green peas, beans, and asparagus for use in the interior 

 or on shipboard is also a prominent feature in the company's 

 operations, while that hybrid between a fruit and a veget- 

 able — the popular tomato — has also received a large share 

 of attention. The only preparation is peeling, after which 

 it is hermetically enclosed in the tin and preserved in its 

 own juice. All the fruits and small vegetables are put up 

 in 2h lb. and the tomatoes in 2 lb. tins, all running two 

 dozen tins to the case. When finally placed on the market, 

 each tin will be covered with a neat wrapper bearing a 

 coloured representation of the fruit contained inside. Thus 

 far the only difficulty has been to secure a supply of first- 

 class fruit at profitable rates, and no doubt fruit-growing 

 will extend rapidly with the prospect of a large demand 

 to meet the requirements of this industry. In some parts 

 of the JIurray VaUey alone peaches and' grapes might be 

 profitably grown in large quantities but for the difficulty 

 of findmga market for large stocks. Outside any consider- 

 ation of the prospective profits the Red Cross Company are 

 likely to receive from their enterprise, they are certainly 

 entitled to a great deal of credit for having taken the first 

 important step in the way of establishing a great industry. 

 Outside the especial feature iu their trophv just described, 

 the samples represent a stock of .some 60,000' cases of jams 

 and pickles turned out annually by the firm. "V^inegar 

 making has also become an important feature in their 

 work, and under the superintendence of Mr. S. Capper, soiao 

 3,000 gallons per day will be manufacture,— J Ki<fir/iwia«. 



