THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



wood.) Hardness Grade i, compare Ebony. Smell none when 

 <lry. Taste astringent. Burns with a long, crackling, smoky 

 flame and a tarry smell : some brown gum expelled by heat : 

 embers glow in still air. Solution olive-brown darkened by 

 potash, but no ppt. 



Uses, etc. " Good for turnery " (60). " A tree 40 to 70 

 it. high by 2-3 ft. diameter, said to be nearly as durable and as 

 suitable for heavy work as Lignum-vitae . . . framework for 

 wagons " (57). Saws hard but to a clean surface : not of the 

 flinty hardness of Lignum-vitae. 



Authorities. Laslett (60), p. 304. Ditto (61), p. 438. Kew 

 Guide (57), p. 35. Boulger (12), p. 418. Nordlinger (86), 

 vol. vii. p. 51. 



Colour. Light to dark brown, with streaks that are sometimes 

 black : heart- wood sharply defined from the pinkish-brown sap- 

 wood, which is from 1-3 inches wide even in the same tree : 

 heart excentric and irregular in contour. " Light brown " (86). 



Anatomical Characters. As those of Olea europea (No. 136), 

 including the excentric smoky zones, but with the following dif- 

 ferences : 



Pores. Few, 20-30 per sq. mm. 



Rays. Size 5-6 and 9-12 per mm. 



Soft-tissue. Encircling the pores, but not discernible with 

 lens elsewhere. 



Flecks. Numerous : narrow : very much lighter than the 

 dark heart-wood. 



No. 138. BLACK MAIRE. Olea Cunningham!. 



Hook., fil. 

 PLATE X. FIG. 87. 



Natural Order. Oleaceae. 



Source of Supply. New Zealand only. 



Alternative Names. Maire-rau-nui (91). The name Maire is 

 applied to other species of Olea and also to Fusanus. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 60-74^ Ibs. 

 per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 4, compare Maple. Smell none. 

 Taste bitterly astringent. Burns very well, ignites readily : heat 

 expels a brownish juice : no aroma : embers glow in still air. 

 Solution faint olive-green slightly deepened by potash. 



Grain. Fine, compact, dense and sinuous. Surface dull. 



Bark. Rugged, nut-brown, - inch thick, fissured, scaling 

 in irregular, crumbling fragments : closely adherent to and 

 difficult to detach from the wood : one layer : filled with large, 

 coarse and conspicuous hard, white bodies. 



Uses, etc. " Strong frame-work. . . . very durable, . . .not 



158 



