272 Essays. 
although it has been occasionally used for masts and booms. In colour it is 
a darker yellow than the kauri, has a closer grain, and a turpentine-like 
smell It is a very valuable wood, but, from its small size and not being 
easily accessible, it has not been so largely used as it deserves, 
25. Those other large timber trees which are commonly split for use, 
or chopped or sawn into short junks (rarely into boards or planks) for the 
market, are six in number, and comprise the following :— — 
(1.) The puriri, or New Zealand oak or teak (Vitex littoralis), is a large 
tree of irregular growth. It grows to the height of from 50 to 60 feet, 
with a clear trunk of 20 feet or more, and varies from 12 to 25 feet in 
circumference. Much larger trees, however, are occasionally met with. 
Several are often found growing near each other, forming a handsome dark 
green clump of wood. It is confined to the north parts of the island 
(see par. 13, § 2) where it prefers arich soil, and is sometimes met with 
overhanging tidal rocks and beaches. From its earliest growth this tree is 
subject to the borings of a large larva-like insect, which makes long, clean- 
eut holes throughout the hardest part of the wood, large enough to admit 
a man’s small finger. Of course this gives the wood a most unsightly 
appearance, yet it is but little injured thereby. The wood is heavy, of an 
olive or brownish colour, close in the grain, splits freely, and works well; 
it is extensively used for knees in ship-building, for piles in house-building, 
for gate and fencing posts, and for every purpose where solidity, strength, 
and exemption from rot is required. It is estimated as being about equal 
with English oak in stiffness, strength, and toughness. 
(2.) The kahikatoa or manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is a tree 
common throughout the North Island. It grows in the poorest as well as 
in the richest soil, but prefers steep and dry hill sides. It sometimes attains 
to a height of 40, or even 45 feet, and to a diameter of 2 feet. Often a 
large patch or small forest of this tree will be found growing closely 
together, without any other tree among them. The wood is very hard, and 
of a dark colour, varying from yellow to red and dark brown, and is 
admirably fitted for the cabinetmaker and turner. It makes good axe- 
dles, and is extensively used as rails for fencing, for which purpose it 
is one of our best New Zealand woods. It is also excellent fuel, and 
many thousands of tons of it as firewood are annually used in and exported 
from Auckland. 
(3.) The tawhai and tawhairaunui, or black and red birches (Fagus 
solandri and F. fusca), often form large and sometimes handsome trees. 
Though plentiful in the south parts of the island, with one exception they 
are not found north of the East Cape; yet, where they flourish, especially 
