although It does not take such a high hnish as the kauri. Its chief detect is 

 its brittleness, which, though not excessive, interferes with its use for purposes 

 where it is subject to heavy strains and stresses. It also suffers more from 

 wear-and-tear than either kauri or rimu. On the other hand, its greater 

 durability makes it valuable tbr telegraph-poles, house-blocks, window and 

 door frames, and particularly for any outside buildmg-work m contact with 

 the ground. It resists the attack of the Teredo better than any other indi- 

 genous timber, and in consequence is largely employed for the piles of wharves 

 and marine bridges — a position from which, however, the introduction oi 

 ferro-con Crete piles is now displacing it. Although very suitable for furni- 

 ture, its somewhat plain appearance and want of figure handicap its use in 

 comparison with kauri and rimu. A mottled variety, however, is- much sought 

 after for ornamental panelling, veneering, &c. 



Before the advent of Europeans the totara was the tree most highly valued 

 by the Maoris, or, as Mr. Elsdon Best appropriately puts it, was " the most 

 prized tree of the forest, the foremost of raJ^au rangatira." Its timber was 

 the best for canoes of all kinds, from the huge wala-tana, or war-canoe (often 

 from 60 ft. t^ 90 ft. in length, and capable of carrying a hundred fighting-men), 

 to the small river or fishing canoes used by but two or three. It was also 

 the timber chiefly used for the elaborately carved houses, of which two kinds 

 were usually seen in the larger Maori villages — the whare-whakairo, or guest- 

 house, with its highly decorated interior; and the pataka, or storehouse, 

 where the carved work, often exceedingly elaborate, was on the outside of 

 the building. Totara timber was also used for the huge carved gateways 

 (waharoa) of the fortified villages, or for the grotesquely carved posts placed 

 in the fence or palisading surrounding them. The bark of the totara was also 

 serviceable in several ways. With care it could be peeled off in long broad 

 strips, which were then employed as roofing; or were folded and tied up into 

 baskets or other vessels in which preserved birds, fruits, &c., could be stored. 

 With the single exception of Pliormium, it is probable that no plant was so 

 generally serviceable to the ancient Maori as the totara. 



The nearest ally of the totara is undoubtedly Podocarpus Hallii, or flail's 

 totara. In point of fact, the two plants are so similar that several botanists 

 efuse to admit their distinctness as species. This view is held by Dr. Pilger, 

 in the monograph of the Taxacece contributed by him to the " Pflanzenreich " 

 (heft 18); and it must be admitted there is much to be said in its favour. 

 Mr. Kirk, who first distinguished P. Hallii, relied chiefly on the weak flexuous 

 branches and larger leaves of its young state, the much thinner and more 

 papery bark, the longer peduncles of the male flower, and the more pointed 

 nut. I much fear that the last two characters are not trustworthy, the shape 

 of the nut in particular depending very much on its age, and the length of 

 the peduncle is evidently subject to variation. It is much to be desired that 

 some local botanist would make a careful comparison of the two plants in 

 those localities, such as the Waimarino Forest, near the base of Ruapehu, 

 where they are to be found almost side by side, and where their differential 

 characters can be easily examined. 



The geographical distribution of the genus Podocarvvs presents some 

 interesting features. It attains its extreme northern limit in Japan, from 

 whence three or four species are known. In China and India it is but spar- 

 ingly distributed; but it is plentiful throughout the greater part of the Malay 

 Archipelago, not less than eight or nine well-defined species having been 

 described. Coming further south, four species occur in New Guinea, two in 

 the Fiji Islands, and no less than seven in New Caledonia. Australia has 

 five species, and New Zealand seven. Altogether, from Japan to New Zea- 

 land, about thirty-eight species are known. In Africa the genus extends 



