386 



JOURNAL Oy HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I Maj 15, 187S. 



yet he has his crops of roots cleared off and sold before his 

 Vines are in bloom, and this spring he has sold thousands of 

 Radishes at 7rf. per score, and Potatoes at 3s. per pound. That 

 is making a vinery pay without the Grapes, of which there 

 will soon be 400 to 500 lbs. ready to eat and sell. These 

 Vines are very tractable, and require no removiug from the 

 roof to break regularly. They stai't at the bottom first, and 

 when the bunches nearest the root are thinned and swelling, 

 those at the tops of the Vines are just setting their- fruit. I am 

 now interrupted, and will resume another evening. — J. Weight. 



THE FORESTS OF NEW ZEALAND. 

 The primeval forest has indescribable charms for the natu- 

 ralist. There generations of venerable trees hasten to their 

 decay, and more youthful saplings shoot joyously up around 

 the old moss-clad patriarchs. The almost death-like stillness 

 which prevails in these regions makes a deep impression upon 

 the mind. Not a sound is audible save from time to time the 

 dull thud of a falling tree or the shrill scream of a bird of 

 prey, for the song-birds enliven with their notes only the out- 

 skirts of the forest, and never visit its gloomy interior. Whilst 

 the deepest quiet reigns around the graves of the fallen trees, 

 the foliage of their living brethren is like a vast sea, continually 

 moved by the wind. 



Almost all the indigenous trees of New Zealand are clothed 

 with evergreen foliage; and as the colouring of the leaves 

 presents a great variety of hues, this peculiarity contributes 

 much to the beauty of the landscape. It is also to this cir- 

 cumstance that the comparatively great scarcity of timber- 

 yielding trees in New Zealand is 'to be attributed, since the 

 quaUty of the wood is deteriorated by the continuous flow of 

 sap. It is in spring, not in autumn, as in Europe, that the 

 New Zealand forests present the greatest variety of light and 

 shadow, for the budding leaves display far brighter colours 

 than those which have for some time attained maturity. Upon 

 the whole, the forest bears an exceedingly tropical aspect, and 

 unfolds its greatest beauties in the uuderwood, which possesses 

 those luxuriant forms of leaf and blossom, and that freshness 

 of colouring, which are only to be found in the warm zones. 

 It is upon the outskirts of the forest especially that vegetation 

 attains its highest development, and it is there that the plants 

 characteristic of New Zealand — viz., the Fern tribe, appear in 

 their grandest forms. There the graceful tree Ferns with their 

 deUcate trunks covered in the most uniform manner with the 

 triangular marks of the decayed leafstalks, attain a height of 

 20 or 30 feet before spreading out their picturesque crowns 

 with their finely shaped leaves. There the majestic Nikau 

 extends its Palm-like shade ; there the Tree Fuchsia displays 

 its gorgeous clusters of blossom and well-flavoured fruit ; there 

 flourishes the Laurel-like Kawaka, with its dark green waxy 

 leaves and bright yellow berries ; and there is the sweetly 

 fragrant Manukau and the slender Poroporo. 



The mountainous structure of New Zealand and its essen- 

 tially insular climate are the primary causes which render its 

 forests so devoid of variety in shape and formation. There 

 forest, and woodland, and meadow do not alternate as in Aus- 

 tralia ; there one does not perceive those isolated clumps of 

 trees which have, not inappropriately, been termed " wood 

 islands ;" and finally, the individual varieties of trees and 

 other plants have not there an opportunity to develope their 

 characters freely and uniformly. 



If the traveller desires to penetrate into the interior of the 

 forest he will find his progress attended by many diflicultiee, 

 if not altogether stopped by the density of the underwood, 

 through which in many places it is necessary to cut a way 

 with the hatchet. Innumerable varieties of leaves, twisted 

 into the closest network, stretch from tree to tree, forming 

 dangerous snares for arms and feet. Shoots of every species 

 mingled with strong runners, creeping plants with sharp 

 prickly leaves and thorns, rotten branches, and fallen trunks 

 — all these form natural barriers, which are only to be sur- 

 mounted by the greatest trouble and determination. In many 

 places the traveller will sink Icnee deep in the soil by acci- 

 dentally treading upon the grave of one of the forest giants. 

 Grasses and Mosses are rare, and only found upon open spots, 

 as their growth is choked by the Ferns, which thrive luxu- 

 riantly everywhere, even in places where the sun's rays never 

 fall. Forest flowers are never to be fouud upon the damp 

 overshadowed ground, but generous mother Nature has sup- 

 plied their place by a flora which, firmly rooted in the trunks 

 of the old trees, unfolds its gorgeous blossoms high over the 



earth. The kinds of Orchids are numerous and rich. Rai'e 

 indeed is the large tree upon whose trunk, they do not grow, 

 and from whose branches they do not hang down in green 

 garlands, enveloping their gay flowers in luxuriant foliage. 

 The immense tips of the trees and their density render it im- 

 possible for the sun, even in midsummer, to exercise its due 

 influence upon the atmosphere of the forest ; even at noon a 

 greenish twilight and a low temperature prevail in its depths. 



In opener places — i.e., where the parasitic plants have not 

 obtained a firm footing, and where the spectator has a wider 

 view, a stupendous spectacle is presented to the eye. The 

 thickly-standing trees with their massive pillar-like trunks 

 and their green peaked tops, give to the entire scene the look 

 of a huge old temple with an aijrial dome through which the 

 light of day but scantily penetrates. But, on the other hand, 

 a peculiar uncomfortable feeling takes hold of the spectator. 

 The whole atmosphere seems impregnated with damp, and the 

 earthy smell and cold slimy temperature produce an oppressed 

 feeUng in the chest, which is only to be removed by sunlight 

 and warmth. 



The majority of the trees shoot-up straight and branchless 

 for a considerable height, and then spread out more or less 

 regularly their huge crowns, which are always composed of 

 the densest foliage. A strange peculiarity is presented by many 

 trees which divide into branches either far surpassing, or, at 

 least, equalling in size the parent trunk ; this feature gives 

 the tree an unnatural appearance, and by no means tends to 

 beautify it. 



Although amongst the forest trees of New Zealand there are 

 at least forty kinds which at a certain strength of growth 

 attain a height of 100 feet and above, yet, as has been said, 

 there are comparatively few among them which deserve the 

 name of timber trees, and as such possess a high value. These 

 I will briefly name before proceeding to a description of the 

 more useful and better-known kinds ; — Aka, Akeake, Kinau, 

 Kahikatea, Kauri, Kawaka, Kohai, Kohekohe, Maire, Mangiao, 

 Manukau, Mapau, Matai, Miro, Puhutukawa, Pukatea, Puriri, 

 Rata, Rewarewa, Eimu, Tanekaha, Taraire, Tawa, Tawhero, 

 Tawhia, Tipau, Titoki, Titongi, Tortoa, Totura, Towai, and 

 Uharangipu-on. 



The Kauri (Dammara australis), is from its majestic appear- 

 ance justly styled the giant and king of the New Zealand 

 forests. Its usual height varies between 99 and 1G5 feet, but 

 it has frequently been met with as high as 198 feet. The 

 thickness of its trunk is in symmetrical proportion to its 

 height; a diameter of 8 feet 2 inches, or 9 feet 10 inches, is 

 by no means rare. What lends the tree its greatest beauty is, 

 that its trunk, usually as straight as an arrow and imdis- 

 figured by any excrescences or decaying branches, attains more 

 than two-thirds of its height before putting forth its colossal 

 boughs. Like the Pine tree it is usually met with in extensive 

 forests, but it is also frequently found amongst other trees in 

 the primeval forest. From the summit of a high hill the 

 traveller may see the conical tops of these trees rising hke 

 islands from the green sea of foliage. The bark of the Kauri 

 is quite smooth, lA inch thick, and of a silver-grey colour. 

 The leaves bear a striking resemblance to those of the Box 

 tree, are of a dark green colour, which becomes yellowish upon 

 the reverse side, and are IJ inch long by 1 inch broad. They 

 grow pair-wise upon the ends of the small twigs. The tree 

 bears cpnes from 2 to 4 inches in length. These are simul- 

 taneously found in the most different stages of development, 

 so that it is impossible to assign the flowering season to any 

 particular mouth of the year. It is the only indigenous Conifer 

 of New Zealand. All parts of the tree contain large quantities 

 of a pecuUar kind of rosin, which when it flows from the wood 

 is quite transparent, of a white colour, and strongly opalescent ; 

 with age it acquires a beautiful amber colour. The rosin is 

 rather brittle than hard, is easily crushed, is of a bitter as- 

 tringent taste, and possesses a very small specific gravity. It 

 is very inflammable and burns with a bright flame, giving forth 

 thick clouds of smoke. This Kauri gum, as it is called, is fre- 

 quently found in large quantities at a depth of 3 or 9 feet 

 underground, upon the eastern slopes of the hUls, which in 

 early times must have been almost all clothed with Kauri 

 forests. 



Of late years this gum has become an important article of 

 exportation for New Zealand, as it is much employed in the 

 manufacture of varnish, and in this respect has entirely super- 

 seded copal. Its price in the European markets, of course, 

 depends wholly upon its quality, and varies between £10 and 

 £120 per ton. These high prices have naturally made gum- 



