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familiar pines, has foliage which consists of broad leathery green 

 leaves. The trunk has very little taper and it is the columnar-like 

 shape of the bole that gives the Kauri its unprecedented volume 

 of timber. The trunk, which is usually from 80 to 100 feet high 

 and 4 to 12 feet in diameter, has a smooth gray bark which is thick 

 and which on the older trees scales off in large flat flakes. The 

 scales of the cone become woody and closely overlapping form an 

 elegant cone almost spherical and nearly three inches in diameter 

 with a single-winged seed on each scale. The seed of the Kauri 

 does not retain its vitality for a long period and is very difficult 

 to obtain because as soon as the cones mature on the tree, as with 

 the true firs, the scales fall away from the woody axis and the 

 seed is thus scattered in every direction by the wind. If the 

 cones are picked before they are fully ripe it is a difficult matter 

 to obtain m.ature seed from them. 



The genus to which this tree belongs comprises about ten 

 species, distributed through the Malay /\rchipelago, Fiji, eastern 

 tropical Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. The Kauri 

 pine of New Zealand, Agathis australis, however, is confined to 

 a limited geographical range in the north half of the North Island, 

 where it is a lowland tree becoming rare at elevations exceeding 

 1,500 feet, and seldom occupies large areas to the exclusion of 

 other trees. The tree attains its largest dimensions in the mixed 

 forest zone at the higher altitudes and some trees have furnished 

 timbers 60 feet long and 60 inches square. It has been extensively 

 logged in the North Island of New Zealand. 



The Kauri pine, contrary to popular thought, is a fast-growing 

 tree, for its average diameter growth is nearly twice that of Euro- 

 pean forest trees and its height growth more than twice as fast. 

 The average Kauri tree grows one inch in diameter every four and 

 three-quarters years. 



All parts of the Kauri pine are exceedingly resinous and this 

 accounts for the remarkable soundness of its timber. The w^ood 

 is more durable than the best Baltic pine and is regarded as one 

 of the most durable among the timbers of the cone-bearing trees. 

 A Kauri tree can be resin-tapped w^ithout interfering wuth the sap 

 because all the large resin-ducts are in the bark and outside the 

 cambium layer and sap circulation. 



The color of the wood varies from yellowish-white to brown in 

 color. The wood, which takes a high polish, is straight-grained, 

 even, compact, firm, clean and silky and, while it is of great 

 strength, it has toughness and elasticity. It is tougher and more 

 elastic than American spruce, and while it is more easily worked 

 than the California redwood, it is without its brittleness. 



No other New Zealand timber is capable of being applied to 

 such varied uses. The wood is adapted to all the purposes of the 

 cabinet-maker where a light-colored wood is required. It is ex- 

 cellent for furniture and interior finish, is largely used for posts, 

 rails and shingles, for masts, boats, casks, rims of sieves, and is 



