cease or be reduced to very small proportions. In 1909 Mr. W. C. Kensington, 

 whose official position as Under-Secretary for Crown Lands gave him unique oppor- 

 tunities of forming a reliable opinion, informed the Royal Commission on Timber 

 and Timber Industries that although the supply of timber generally would last from 

 fifty to sixty years, that of kauri at the then rate of consumption would probably 

 be exhausted in twenty years or thereabouts ; and this view is shared by other 

 experts. Under these circumstances, it is a matter for gratification that the Lands 

 Department have set apart the Waipoua Block, between the Northern Wairoa and 

 Hokianga, as a State forest reserve. It is without doubt the finest specimen left 

 of a really good kauri forest, and should be retained, with proper provision for 

 safeguarding it from fire, as an example of one of the most distinct and noble plant 

 associations that have ever existed. The present generation may not fully appre- 

 ciate the value of such an endowment, but those who come after us will regard it 

 as a priceless possession, and will fully recognize the enlightened foresight of those 

 who have assisted in preserving such a magnificent remnant of the former kauri 

 forests of north New Zealand. 



A few words should be said in reference to the resin of the kauri-tree, ordinarily 

 called " kauri-gum." In a fresh state every part of the kauri is filled with a trans- 

 parent turpentine, which exudes from the smallest wound. An injury to the bark, 

 a broken branch, even bruised leaves, at once cause a copious flow of this resin. 

 At first soft and viscid, and of whitish colour, it gradually hardens on exposure 

 to the air, and becomes more transparent, forming lumps ranging in size 

 from small tear-drops to irregularly shaped masses often many pounds in weight. 

 These pieces may be found in the axils of the branches or " forks " of the 

 tree, in hollows or depressions on the trunk, or concealed in the hugh mound 

 of debris which accumulates at the base of the tree. But in addition to 

 the resin to be met with in a living kauri forest, very much larger quantities 

 can be found buried at various depths on the sites of previous forests, although 

 these may have ceased to exist for hundreds or even thousands of years. This 

 older resin is much harder, and, as a rule, paler and more transparent than that 

 found in the recent forests. That these deposits are of enormous antiquity can be 

 proved by the changes that have taken place in the physical configuration of the 

 country since they were formed. Kauri-gum has been found under the beds of 

 shallow lakes ; it has been dug up in large quantities from considerable depths in 

 swamps ; and it has been excavated from strata overlaid by sand-dunes them- 

 selves of no very recent formation. As the kauri never grows naturally in low and 

 swampy situations, the presence of the gum in such situations incontestably proves 

 that great physical changes have taken place, involving a great lapse of time. An 

 additional argument in the same direction can be derived from the fact that in not 

 a few localities deposits of kauri-gum have been traced into beds dipping under the 

 present level of the sea ; and that on the Auckland Isthmus kauri-gum has been 

 found in strata distinctly older than the volcanic rocks so plentiful thereon. 



These facts lead to a conclusion of some little scientific importance. What 

 we know of the age of the kauri is sufficient to prove that the existing forests, which 

 contain trees ranging from a few hundreds to nearly two thousand years in age, are in 

 themselves of great antiquity, for we can hardly assume that the trees now living 

 were the first to occupy the forest. But in making tliis admission we go far towards 

 granting that the chief components of an important plant association may persist 

 from generation to generation for very long periods indeed. And when, as in the 

 case of the kauri, we have proof of the former existence of forests of immeasurably 

 greater antiquity than those living, we may commence to suspect that just as 

 individual species may persist for long ages, so also those groups of species which 

 give a peculiar physiognomy to the vegetation of a country or district may also 

 have an enormous duration in time. May we not reasonably surmise that the 

 kauri forests wliich clothed the north of New Zealand at the beginning of the 

 Pleistocene period were very similar in composition and appearance to those now 



