XXXVIIL] VARIOUS. . 311 



in New Zealand. It prefers an exposed situation to any 

 other, and requires but little soil for its nourishment. 



The bark is ragged in appearance, thick, reddish-grey 

 in colour, and yields a good brown dye. The tree is very 

 hardy, attains moderate dimensions, is crooked, misshapen, 

 and branchy, with not more than 10 to 18 feet in length 

 of clear stem. It has a thick foliage of dark green 

 glossy leaves of about I ^ inch in width by 2 inches in 

 length, and in December puts forth quite a covering of 

 large crimson polyandrous flowers. 



The Pohutukawa tree yields timber 9 to 16 inches 

 square, and 10 to 20 feet in length. The wood is red in 

 colour, hard, strong, heavy, and close-grained. In form 

 and quality it is admirably well adapted for the frames 

 of ships, or any other purpose where curved timber is 

 required. The natives speak of it as being very 

 durable. 



Specimen logs of this compass timber were brought 

 to England in 1843, and placed in store at Chatham 

 Dockyard, for use experimentally in ship-building, and 

 in 1869 i.e., twenty-six years later two or three pieces 

 were still there in a perfectly sound state. The specific 

 gravity of Pohutukawa, green or fresh cut, is about 1 200, 

 but after seasoning it is only about 858. 



THE PURIRI TREE ( Vitex littoralis) 



is common to nearly all the forests of New Zealand, and 

 flourishes in almost any situation, but the best trees are 

 those grown on a rich soil, and sheltered from strong 

 winds. 



The stems of these trees vary from straight to every 

 imaginable form of curved growth, and are seldom seen 

 standing erect. Usually they have a short clear bole or 



