19073 Kauri Forests 



advice as to his duties, bringing a large sheaf of ex- 

 amination papers all ready for London. I said he 

 would better put them into the grate, but he did not 

 take my suggestion seriously. 



In the Auckland Club, as in the Warner Hotel at Fear of 

 Christchurch and the hospitable home of the mayor of '^'^pitdiim 

 Wellington, I was lighted to bed by tallow candles, a 

 primitive method still retained in sharp contrast to 

 much else that was modern and comfortable. For 

 although New Zealand is rich in water power, the 

 general distrust of corporations had at that time pre- 

 vented any utilization of it outside of Dunedin, which 

 city alone had electric lights. 



From Auckland I made an interesting excursion 

 with Mr. George George, head of the local vocational 

 school, into a forest of kauri — Dammara australis. 

 This most valuable of New Zealand trees, a noble, AnoUe 

 broad-leaved, small-coned evergreen which reaches a '"' 

 height of 180 feet, superficially resembles the Cali- 

 fornia redwood in everything but foliage, and yields 

 excellent, durable lumber. It is also valued for the 

 gum which exudes from its roots, to secure which old 

 stumps left by lumbermen have since been dug up 

 with great profit. Wishing to get some of the cones, I 

 stopped at a small, chilly schoolhouse where a young 

 woman was giving a spelling lesson. Learning my 

 errand, she lent me two lively boys eager to climb a 

 kauri, or anything else, to escape from the vagaries 

 of English orthography! 



In the matter of scenery and animal and plant life, 

 New Zealand offers the greatest possible contrast to 

 Australia. In lakes, fjords, and mountains the South 

 Island fairly rivals Norway, yet contains also great 



c 241 : 



