BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 301 
undescribed individual of Laurinee, living plants were sent to 
England, which I assisted to gather and to pot, by my friend 
Mr. Busby; they went in two cabins. I named the species 
Laurus Victoriana. It grows 30 feet high, in the woods of 
the interior. 
* A phial contains some fruits, in spirits, of a new species 
of Myrtacee, which seems rare. The inhabitants prize this 
fruit, which is well flavoured; and spreading their blankets 
under the shrubs, which they shake, soon procure a tolerable 
supply. I have seen some gallons thus obtained. In the 
fresh and mature state, the fruit is of a beautiful orange 
colour; those which I send, having been gathered by me 
and brought from some distance to Paihia, in a travelling 
box, have lost this brilliancy, and assumed a dull appear- 
ance. 
* The king of the whole lot is my new Pine, from the high hills 
near the eastern coast. For many years I had heard of this 
tree from the aborigines, but could never obtain a specimen, 
no one knowing where it was to be found. They had heard 
of such a Pine, and some of the oldest chiefs had occasionally 
seen it, when hunting or shooting in the forests; but all 
agreed that it was very rare, only growing singly. The reason, 
too, for its unfrequent occurrence was this: Tag, one of 
their illustrious Demi-Gods, hid it! Still it existed-—a 
distinct tree—which never rotted! As a proof of all this, 
the people, wherever they could find one, reserved it for a 
coffin to hold the remains of a chief. 
“ "These statements, you may well suppose, only inflamed 
my desire to possess this wonderful tree. I sought and 
sought, but all in vain, wherever I went, making inquiries 
and offering rewards for it, until I actually gained a name 
among the natives for doing so. At last, rather early in this 
year (1841), after a toilsome march through unfrequented 
spot and jungle, to the spot where I had been informed that 
one grew, I found it! I will not attempt to describe my 
Satisfaction, which was much increased by observing that the 
specimens I had acquired were in fruit. The tree (for o 
