242 TIMBER 



Silver Pine or Western Pine (Dacrydium westlandicum) 

 and Yellow Silver Pine (D. intermedium) both furnish a 

 dense white or yellowish white timber of great durability 

 which is useful for inside or outside work. Some of the 

 wood is beautifully marked. The first-mentioned is largely 

 used for bridges, jetty piles, and railway sleepers. These 

 are trees of 40 to 50 ft. in height. 



Weight 41 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Puriri (Vitex littoralis) is known as the New Zealand teak 

 and is closely related to the teak of India. It is the most 

 durable timber in the colony and in great request for 

 bridge piles, fencing posts, etc., whilst for railway sleepers it 

 ranks the first of all New Zealand woods, and is said to 

 have lasted twenty-five years on the track. It is only 

 found in the Auckland and Taranaki districts of the North 

 Island. The colour is dark brown ; it is excessively hard, 

 dense, and heavy, indeed suitable for any work requiring 

 great strength. In order to split it, it is necessary some- 

 times to use blasting powder or dynamite. 



Weight 62 to 76 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



There are several beeches, the Tooth Leaved and Entire 

 Leaved varieties being the most important ; the latter has 

 more sap and decays more rapidly than the tooth leaved 

 variety, though both are used for timber in wharves and 

 jetties, sleepers, fencing posts, etc. The wood is of red or 

 reddish brown colour with sharply defined light coloured 

 sapwood ; it is usually called by colonists the red birch or 

 beech ; is even in grain, compact, and of considerable 

 strength and toughness. The Tooth Leaved variety (Fagtis 

 fusca) was the only timber used for a stiffened suspension 

 bridge 200 ft. span and 20 ft. deep in centre spanning 



