234 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARDORETUM (vol. ii 



The trunk is clean, cylindric with no taper and from 50 to 75 or more 

 feet long and is clothed with gray bark which peels off in flakes of no 

 particular shape and form a large mound round the base of the tree. 

 Owing to the smooth, scaling bark no climbing plant hides the beauty 

 of the trunks which stand out above the forest undergrowth like marble 

 pillars in a vast cathedral. The undergrowth is fairly dense but not 

 tall and the Kauri trees tower far above the lovely Tree Ferns and associ- 

 ate plants. The largest tree I saw was about 37 feet in girth and the tallest 

 150 feet higli. The average trees are from 100 to 120 feet tall and from 

 15 to 20 feet in girth with clean trunks from 60 to 75 feet long. The 

 largest recorded tree had a trunk-girth of 66 feet and there are stories of 

 even larger trees. Owing to the perfectly cylindrical character of the 

 trunk the Kauri yields for its size a greater quantity of timber than any 

 other tree. Millions— young and old—of this magnificent tree have been 

 wantonly destroyed by fire and the fairest of forest scenes laid desolate. 

 The well known Kauri Gum exudes freely from wounds and collects in 

 the axils of the branches. It is also found underground where ancient 

 forests of the tree grew. 



The Totara, Rimu, White Pine, Matai and Miro are widely distributed 

 through the length and breadth of New Zealand. The Totara is being 

 rapidly cut out in all accessible places and the Matai and Miro do not 

 seem to be really common trees anywhere but the Rimu and White Pine 

 are still plentiful and on the west coast o! the South Island form extensive 

 and fairly pure forest. When young the Rimu is a beautiful tree with 

 long, pendent, light green branchlets but when old is merely a tall pole 

 supporting a small mop-like crown. In fact the same is true of all the 

 chief soft-wood trees of New Zealand when they grow old except the 

 Kauri. A young Totara resembles the common Yew except that its 

 foliage is a lighter green, and young White Pine is very like the Red Cedar 

 {Juniper us virginiana L.). The White Pine is best on alluvial river flats 

 where it averages from 120 to 140 feet and has a mast-like trunk buttressed 

 at the base. Its pure white wood is valued for making butter boxes and 

 for this purpose is exported in quantity to Australia. The wood of Rimu, 

 Matai and Miro are used in general carpentry and furniture-making. 

 That of Totara lasts well in the ground and is valued for telegraph poles and 

 the like. So too is that of the Silver Pine {Dacrydium Colensui Hook.), 

 a muclj rarer tree apparently confined to the west coast. The two species 



of Libocedrus are useful timber trees and so, too, are the PhvUocladus. 



Lihoccdrus Doniana Endl. is not found much south of the city of Auck- 

 land but L. BidwUlii Hook. f. is widespread from the southern part of 

 the North Island southward. 



The broadleaf trees are not considered of much commercial value, 

 though the wood of many is durable and will ultimately be in request. 

 Two of the most aggressive of these trees on the North Island are Beil- 

 schmicdla tarairi Kirk (Taraire) and Knightia cxcclsa R. Br. Very in- 



