its Character and Productions. 203 



Captain Cook remarked that the ground was so thick 

 with shrubs and plants for about two hundred yards from 

 the shore, that there was great difficulty in penetrating 

 further inland.* This great navigator noticed the striking 

 similarity in natural productions between this group and 

 New Zealand. This was doubtless the case at the time he 

 paid his visit: but since then, so many things have been 

 introduced, so many plants have been cultivated, abandoned 

 or suffered to grow wild, that it is no easy matter to determine 

 at the present day which are and which are not indigenous. 

 It will be well perhaps to describe the nature and economical 

 uses of the more remarkable of these productions. 



The most striking objects that meet the eye on nearing 

 the land are the lofty tops of the Norfolk Island Pine, the 

 Araiicaria excelsa of botanists. This, one of the most 

 elegant of the conifers, towers high above the surrounding 

 forest, or takes its position singly or in clumps on the very 

 verge of the ocean. It thus forms a characteristic feature in 

 the landscape. In height, it may formerly have ranged 

 from 150 to 200 feet, but of late years few trees of this 

 latter elevation have escaped the axe. This pine, compared 

 by some to those of Caledonia and New Zealand, resembles 

 the Norway Spruce, although the tiers of its branches are more 

 distant and regular. The timber is not of good quality, 

 as it soon rots when exposed to the weather, and fearful 

 ravages are made in it by the teredo or auger-worm, 

 when exposed to its action. The bullock-fences of the 

 island require renewal every two or three years. When 

 employed for building purposes, such as flooring in the 

 interior of houses, it is more durable. The knot of this 

 pine is compact, hard, and fine in grain, and, from its trans- 

 lucency and rich dark tint, is admirably adapted to hollow 



* Voyages, fol. edit., vol. 2., p. IAS. 



2d 



