RATA 



short, noisy flame : embers glow in still air : pure white ash : no 

 smell. Solution with cold water red : none when treated after- 

 wards with alcohol. Potash gives a vinous-brown reaction, and 

 sulphuric acid a dark ppt. in a crimson solution. 



Grain. Fine and open. Surface dull. 



Bark. Rough, irregularly fissured, dark brown : one layer, 

 the outer scales marked off by a light-coloured layer enclosing 

 spindle-shaped strands of hard tissue : \ to \ inch thick. 



Uses, etc. " Remarkably hard : rafters, shafts, naves, spokes, 

 wheelwright's work : straight and lasting : rails up to 25 feet 

 long can be obtained " (80). " Very strong in every way, 

 especially laterally : handles, mallets, etc. : durable " (17). 

 Splits readily, saws easily and sweetly, planes easily, but pieces 

 rip out : brittle. 



Authorities. F. von Mueller (80), p. 12. Brown (17), p. 25. 

 Kew Guide (57), p. 70. 



Colour. Rich red, carmine, like Salmon Gum. Sap-wood 

 whitish, 1 to 1 J inches wide, well but not very sharply defined 

 from the heart-wood. 



Anatomical Characters. Identical with those of Salmon Gum 

 (No. 109), from which it is extremely difficult to distinguish when 

 the bark is not present. The greater fissibility, the tortuousness 

 of the grain in tangential section, and the greater number of 

 pores to the sq. mm. (16-35) ma y provide useful guides. The 

 rings are visible by the slight reversal in the direction of the 

 pores, and the soft-tissue is scarcely traceable. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Western Australia. 



No. in. RATA. Metrosideros robusta. A. Cunn. 



Plate VIII. Fig. 70. 



Natural Order. Myrtaceae. 



Sources of Supply. New Zealand, in the North Island only. 



Alternative Name. Northern Rata. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 6i£ lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 4, compare Maple. No taste or smell. 

 Solution, faint brownish, deepens upon the addition of potash ; 

 the chips if afterwards treated with alcohol yield no further 

 colour. Burns well with a noisy, spurting flame ; heat expels a 

 gum ; embers glow brightly in still air ; no aroma. " Ignites 

 readily" (24). 



Grain. Fine though open ; compact and dense. 



Bark. Red, £-£ inch thick, of two layers, the inner fibrous 

 and laminated, the outer covered with thin, brittle scales like 

 those of pine ; not very closely adherent. " Dark brown and 

 rugged in appearance " (60). 



129 k 



