CoLENSO. — Bolany of tlic Kortli Isla7ul of JSfeio Zealand. 269 



beautiful polish. Its detriment, however, as a wood is its great tendency 

 to shrink and contract in length as well as in breadth, and this it does, 

 however old or seasoned, when freshly planed. It is largely used by the 

 shipwright, the house-builder, and the cabinetmaker; two-thirds of the 

 houses in the North Island, and all the many vessels and boats, are mainly, 

 if not entirely, built of this timber, and from a time long before the date of 

 the colony, many cargoes of kauri spars were taken to England for the 

 purposes of the Soyal Wavy. The demand for this timber is very great, 

 and has ever been increasing. The quantity exported from Auckland and 

 the northern ports of the Auckland Province in 1863 was — of spars and 

 rickers, 270 tons, value £1,953 ; of sawn timber, 1,552,636 feet, and of 

 squared wood 1,641 loads, the value of the two last items being £16,000. 

 Although confined to the northern parts of the North Island — see par. 13, 

 (2) — it grows in all soils, and at several altitudes from the sea-side to 

 1,500 feet, preferring, however, the dry and sterile clays of the hilly dis- 

 tricts. It is still very plentiful, and is likely to meet all demands for fifty 

 future years ; although, as a matter of course, it is yearly getting less 

 accessible. Many miles of valuable kauri forests have been from time to 

 time thoughtlessly consumed by fire ; which fires, it is sincerely hoped, v/ill 

 not hereafter be so frequent as they have been. There are few sights more 

 impressive of grandeur than an untouched forest of this stately tree ; few 

 more impressive of misery and devastation than a worked-out and aban- 

 doned one ! 



(2.) The next valuable tree of this class, and scarcely less so than the 

 kauri pine, is the totara {Fodocarpus totard) ; which, while generally found 

 throughout the North Island, abounds in the Provinces of Hawke Bay and 

 "Wellington, where it forms fine forests. It often attains the height of 

 120 feet and upwards, with a clean trunk of from 50 to 60, or even 

 70 feet, without a knot ; having a diameter of 5 or even 6 feet, tapering 

 gradually to 20 inches. It is not generally found near the sea (although it 

 has been met with overhanging the tidal rocks), and flourishes most on rich 

 alluvial levels. The wood of this tree is hard, and generally of a dark dull 

 pink colour, resembling pencil cedar ; it v/orks freely, and when polished is 

 handsome, and very suitable for massy ornamental interior work. In the 

 southern parts of the North Island (particularly Wellington), the better 

 and more durable houses, churches, &c., are generally built of it. It is the 

 best New Zealand wood for bridges, wharfs, piles, &c., as it possesses the 

 valuable property of resisting rot, more especially in wet situations. It 

 splits well, and makes excellent shingles for roofs, and is very extensively 

 used for posts in fencing. The heavier articles of furniture are sometimes 

 made of it ; and tbe portion of its wood which grows under a knot (or 



