44 R. A, F. PENROSE, JR. 
a tendency to rise since its early production, on account of its 
increased use and the limited supply. In recent years the price has 
ranged from £50 to £70 per ton for the higher grades of gum. 
Kauri gum is used mostly in the manufacture of varnishes as 
a substitute for copal and mastic. Formerly it was shipped mostly 
to England and America, but later much of it began to be used 
locally in New Zealand. Some of the clear transparent or trans- 
lucent varieties are used as a substitute for amber in the mouth- 
pieces of pipes, cigar and cigarette holders, and a certain amount is 
used for carving small ornaments. 
Reports are often heard of the approaching exhaustion of the 
gumfields, but the production still keeps up. Many of the districts 
have been exhausted, but others have been discovered, and many 
of the forest regions in which ‘‘gumming”’ is prohibited on account 
of the injury it does to the timber, may become available later 
when the timber is cut. Itis probable that for many years to come 
gum mining will be an important industry in New Zealand. 
9 
