WHITE MAIRE 



plentiful and not much used " (24). " Timber up to 70 ft. long 

 by 3-6 ft. in diameter. Celebrated for its strength and dura- 

 bility, . . . large engraving blocks, does not wear and bears 

 extraordinary pressure without injury . . . bridges, wharfs, 

 piers, . . . resists the teredo, . . . railway carriage building, 

 bearings, ships' blocks and every purpose where great strength 

 is required " (91). " Mill and wheelwork " (60). 



Authorities. Perceval (91), pp. 14 and 48. Laslett (60), 

 p. 311. Collinson (24). Kew Guide (57), p. 79. 



Colour. " Heart-wood deep brown, generally striped with 

 black " (91). Very irregular in contour and sharply denned 

 from the sap-wood, which is brownish-white streaked with pink 

 and about 2^-3! inches wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : 



Pores. Visible, size 4, uniform : irregularly distributed in 

 long tree-like, radially-straggling strings with poreless intervals : 

 few, 0-20 per mm. 



Rays. Need lens, very fine, size 5-6, uniform : equidistant : 

 many, 12-15 per mm. : straight, not avoiding the pores : white. 



Rings. Just visible : boundary a fine, white, gently undu- 

 lating line, usually interrupting the strings of pores. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant, imbedding and compacting the 

 strings of pores : white : perhaps also the boundary-line. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores, fine scratches, need lens. Rings, 

 clearly visible, finely-cut lines. Soft-tissue, just visible, fine, 

 white streaks. This probably gives the colour to the streaks in 

 the sap-wood, where it is, however, pink. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are minute lines 

 about o - 2 mm. high, which require the microscope. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of New Zealand. 



No. 139. WHITE MAIRE. Olea lanceolata. Hook. 

 PLATE X. FIG. 87. 



Natural Order. Oleaceae. 



Source of Supply. New Zealand only. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 53 Ibs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 5, compare English Elm. Smell little 

 or none. Taste rather bitter. Burns well with a crackling 

 flame : embers glow in still air and consume exceptionally slowly. 

 Solution faint brownish : a copious ppt. upon the addition of 

 potash. 



Grain. Fine, compact and dense. 



Bark. Brown, about inch wide, hard, rough, separating 



159 



