to the forest, through which a varying amount of daylight filters to the ground. 

 Owing to the great height of the trunk, and the fact that the branches are usually 

 confined to the upper portion, and owing to the further fact that large trees of other 

 species seldom grow plentifully intermixed with the kauris of a particular grove, 

 the forest has an open appearance not usually seen in the New Zealand wood- 

 lands. Under the vaulted roof of branches the eye can penetrate far and wide 

 among the massive trunks, which have hence been compared to the pillars of some 

 vast Gothic cathedral. 



So much for the physiognomy of the kauri itself. But one of the most distinc- 

 tive features of a kauri grove of any size is the peculiar nature of the associated 

 vegetation. I have already said that few really large trees grow intermixed with 

 the kauri ; but smaller trees and shrubs do, together with certain herbaceous 

 plants and ferns. And wherever a clump of kauri exists these plants are also found, 

 or, at any rate, the greater portion of them. Space will not permit of a full account 

 of this most interesting association of plants, but it will be well to mention the names 

 of the most prominent species composing it. Of shrubs or small trees the most 

 abundant are Alseuosmia macrophylla, Dracophyllum latifolium, Senecio Kirkii, 

 Goprosma lucida, Phebalium nudum, Metrosideros florida and M. albiflora, Myrsine 

 salicina, Santalum Cunninghamii. Of non-shrubby plants the most noteworthy are 

 Astelia trinervia, Gahnia xanthocarpa, and Freycinetia Banksii. In many localities 

 the first of these constitutes the chief undergrowth, and is generally known by 

 the name of " kauri-grass." Among the ferns are Cyathea dealhata, Lomaria discolor 

 and L. Frazeri, and Lygodium articulatum. 



A young kauri — say, from fifty to a himdred years of age — differs entirely in 

 appearance from the mature tree. It has a narrow-conical and sharply pointed 

 outline, and is furnished for a considerable part of its height with a succession of 

 short slender branches inserted at right angles to the stem. As the tree increases 

 in size the lower branches are successively cast off ; but it is only by very slow 

 degrees that the bushy-topped shape of the adult is attained. It is a curious fact 

 that young kamis are not commonly found in the groves of mature trees. Pro- 

 bably the reason is that the amount of light is not sufficient for the growth of the 

 very young tree. The juvenile kauri is usually found on the outskirts of the forest 

 proper, and is accompanied by such trees as Leptospermuni ericoides, Weinmanniu 

 sylvicola, Persoonia Tom, Santalum Cunninghamii, Knightia excelsa, and others. 

 Such localities have very truly been called the nursery of the kauri. Granted suffi- 

 cient time, this mixture of young kauris and other trees would develop into a forest 

 of mature kauris, and in point of fact the intermediate stages can be observed 

 without much difficulty. The comparative absence of young kauri-trees in a mature 

 kauri grove is, however, somewhat suggestive, for it seems to point to the conclu- 

 sion that a particular kauri grove, if left to itself, would not maintain its character 

 through the gradual replacement of older trees by younger ones, as is the case in 

 many forests of Coniferce in other parts of the world, and as is evidently the case 

 with our own kahikatea. 



The probable age attained by a kauri -tree has not been investigated by previous 

 writers with sufficient care, and assumptions have been made for which there is really 

 no proof whatever. Even such a careful observer as the late Mr. T. Kirk hazarded 

 the opinion (" Forest Flora," p. 145) that the gigantic specimen at Mercury Bay, which 

 has a trunk 24 ft. in diameter, " must be considerably over four thousand years," 

 an estimate which is probably more than double the correct amount. Mr. Kirk was 

 also inclined to hold the view that the kauri forms more than a single cylinder of wood 

 during each year, which, if correct, would make the rings of growth of little value 

 for determining the age of the tree. On this latter point, however, direct evidence 

 has recently been obtained. In the year 1865 several kauris and certain New 

 Zealand Taxads were planted in the Auckland Domain. In 1905 it became necessary 

 to remove some of them, and, at the suggestion of the writer, Mr. J. Stewart, C.E., 

 obtained cross-sections of the trunks. In all cases the number of concentric 



