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east coast to Kawhia on the west. Although it will flourish in 

 almost all soils and situations save those which are exceedingly wet, 

 it prefers hilly and somewhat rugged localities and a poor and 

 clayey soil. Usually it forms little clumps or small groves rather 

 than continuous forests. These groves may contain from a dozen 

 to a hundred or many hundreds of trees. Usually they are separated 

 by forest tracts in which few kauris are present. Rarely the groves 

 may almost coalesce, forming a forest in which the kauri is the 

 dominant although by no means the sole tree. Nowadays such 

 instances are rare ; for the ravages of sixty years of sawmilling 

 have swept the forest out of existence, or very greatly changed its 

 appearance, reducing what was once a noble and magnificent spectacle 

 to a scene of utter ruin and desolation. 



FIG. ii. The Kahakaha (Astelia Solandri) growing on the smooth trunk 

 of the taraire. The climbing fern Blechnum filiforme covering 

 tree-trunks on the right. 



A kauri forest has a very remarkable and distinctive appearance. 

 Even when seen from afar it can be recognized by the manner in 

 which the trees stand far above the adjoining forest, by their 

 peculiar ramification, and by the dark, dusky-green colour of the 

 foliage. But it is from the interior of the forest that the kauri is 

 seen to the best advantage, and its majestic size and noble propor- 

 tions can be best appreciated. On all sides rise the huge columnar 

 trunks, sometimes towering up for more than 80 ft. without a branch, 

 and tapering but slightly from the base upwards, smooth, grey, and 

 glistening. At the base of the trunk is the large mound of debris 

 produced by the fall of the bark, which is regularly cast off in 

 large flakes. It is from this peculiarity that the bole of the kauri 



