THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Source of Supply. New Zealand only. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 62^-76 Ibs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 5, compare English Elm. Taste un- 

 pleasantly astringent though not strong. Smell not pleasant, 

 rather like leather and reminiscent of Indian Teak. Burns badly 

 with a spurting, explosive flame, ignites and supports a flame 

 with difficulty : embers glow in still air and consume very slowly 

 indeed to the ash. Solution faint-greenish or olive turning 

 brandy-colour upon the addition of potash : no ppt. 



Bark. Greyish-brown, about inch thick, hard and fibrous : 

 full of hard, whitish bodies. " Thin, smooth, greyish-white " (60). 



Grain. Rather fine, though open : dense, compact and even. 

 Surface somewhat lustrous. 



Uses, etc. " Fencing-posts, piles, sleepers " (57). " Timber, 

 9-18 ft. long by 6-9 ft. in circumference, . . . generally free from 

 defects, . . . very durable, suitable for the frames of ships " (60). 

 My specimen log is riddled with large wormholes. ' ' The strongest 

 and most durable timber supplied by the Colony, and in order 

 to split it, it needs blasting powder or dynamite. Suitable for 

 purposes where immense strength and great powers of resistance 

 are required " (91). Very tough and hard to work. 



Authorities. Perceval (91), pp. 14 and 46. Laslett (60), p. 310. 

 Kew Guide (57), p. 79. 



Colour. Heart-wood dull, greyish-brown with a greenish 

 tinge ; not defined from the sap-wood which is about i inches 

 thick (at least in my specimen). " Dark-brownish " (91). " Sap- 

 wood 2-3 inches thick, and of a yellowish colour " (60). 



Anatomical Characters. ' As those of Tectona grandis (Teak), 

 No. 149, with the following differences : 



Pores. Of the pore-ring just visible, widely separated and 

 scanty, never a continuous ring : 3-4 in a group : few, 6-10 

 per sq. mm. 



Rays. Size, 4-5 : 4-6 per mm. Rings obscure as is also the 

 soft- tissue. 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible, but not prominent. 

 Rays: scarcely visible, and in Tangential section require the 

 microscope. 



Type spe:imen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of New Zealand. 



No. 151. I-MIUGA. Halleria lucida. Linn. 



PLATE XL FIG. 96. 



Natural Order. Scrophularineae. 

 Synonym. H. elliptica. Thb. 

 Source of Supply. Tropical and South Africa. 



172 



