15 



h 



3 lineas v. rariiis seniiunciam lata, utriuque plana, nitida, enervia, pallid^ viridia, basi latiusculaj vix an- 

 gustata (ut inZ), orientali). Amenta solitaria, in apice raninlorum axillariaj pedicello crasso brevissimo 

 suffnlta; mf/.m//G: cybndrica, erccta, tincialia, diamctro 2-bneari, vald^ compacta, iinbricata, duraj basi 

 nonnullis bracteolis rotundatis instruota: antheris in singula squamAS! pcndulis, sub pelta v, crista convexA 

 suborbiculata crassAosseA integcrrima adnatis, vix inter se coalitis, circa latus inferius columellfe dispo- 

 sitis, singulis poliinc sulplmrco tuTgidis, bilocularibus, diiplici riiiiA longitudinali dehiscentibus ; /(?minm 

 erecta, oblonga, uncialia, pedicello brevissimo crasissimoque ligneo sufFiilta. StroUU sparsi, in suinnio 

 ramulomm solitarii, tvirbinati, erecti, pedicellati: squamis brevibas, latissime citneatis, crassis, coriaceis, 

 arct^ imbricatis, intiis fenngineis, mai-glnc dilatatis undulatis atquc mcmbranaceis, extus versus apiceiii 

 crassioribus, ligneis, cartilagineis, Ixvissiinis, duris, plumbeo-cinereis, apice patulis acutis. Semina bina, 

 cuneata, fusca, apice ala tennissim^ membranacea integerritna obliquA pallida instructa. 



-. -W^ .^-* » ■** H K ^ 



When I published my former work on Pines ; although I was well aware that the Dammar would prove a 

 very different genus from Pinus; yetj as I had not then sufficient materials to enable me clearly to define its 

 characteristic marks, I preferred uniting it to that genus. Great credit is due to Mr. Salisbury, who, in his valua- 

 ble paper on the Conifem inserted in the "eighth volume of the Transactions of the Linntean vSociety," was 

 the first to separate it, and has there, with great accuracy, determined its distinguishing characters. The fine 

 species, of which I have here given a figure is a valuable addition to the genus, and will serve to illustrate and 

 establish with greater precision those important marks, on which the genus is founded. I have retained the 

 old name given to this genus by Rhumphius, in preference to that proposed by Mr. Salisbury. I am not dis- 

 posed to agree with that gentleman regarding the structure of the anthers, which he considers as being many- 

 celled ; instead of considering each as composed of three bilocular anthers very slightly cohering together. 



This latter is the view, which I am inclined to take respecting the structure of the anthers in Dammara, 

 and I am farther supported in this opinion, by the same structure occurring in Araiicaria, where the anthers 

 are still more evidently separate from each other. In Dammara the cotyledons arc two, and constantly undi- 

 vided, having none of those longitudinal lines of separation, which we find in Abietince Cupressincs and other 

 sections of the order Contfera, The Dammara Ausiralis may justly be ranked as one of the finest timber trees 

 which New Zealand produces, often rising to the amazing height of 140 feet, with a diameter, near the base,* 

 of 4 or 7 feet. Its trunk is straight and even-grained, rendering it very suitable for ship masts. The tree 

 yields, both by incision and spontaneously, vast quantities of a pure and limpid resin, which soon hardens on 

 exposure to the air. An extensive cabinet-maker has tried this resin in varnishing, and declares that it is 

 equal, if iiot superior, to the best copal varnish. This valuable resin is perhaps deser\ing of attention as an 

 article of commerce. For tlie branch, represented in the plate, I am indebted to the fi-iendship of John 

 Deas Thompson, Esq. Commissioner of the Navy. It was brought home by Capt. Downie, under whose 

 orders two ships were sent by Government sometime ago^ for the purpose of procuring timber fit for ship- 

 building. Captain Downie had the kindniess to present me with a large mass of the Cowrie resin, contained 

 in a box made of the timber, which, in grain, resembles the finest deaL* The Pinus Dammara^ which I pro- 

 pose to c^ll Dammara Orientalis, may be characterised as follows: 



* lamindebtedtomy friend JohnBarrow^ Esq.,Secretaryto the Admiralty, for the following statement of a comparisoiij which he made 

 between a piece of Cowrie and Rigqi Fir. 



A piece of Cowrie 1^ inch square, 3 feet long, suspended 10 inches from the cnd^ bore the weight of lewt. 2qrs. I5Ib3< at the other t;ndj 



r 



before it broke. The piece weighed lib. lOoz. 



A piece of Riga Fir bore the weight of Icwt. 2qrs. Ulb. The piece weighed^ lib. 8oz, 



I 



