398 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 



4 to 6 inches in diameter, which intertwine with the 

 brancheSj and, clustering there, render the whole a grand 

 and densely thick mass of rich foliage. 



The Kahikatea yields timber 12 to 30 inches square, 

 and 20 to 60 feet in length. The wood is white in 

 colour, light, straight in the grain, soft, and with little 

 of the horny texture observable in the outer part of 

 the concentric circles of the Fir and Pine species. It 

 resembles the Pinus Strobus, or Yellow Pine of Canada, 

 more closely, perhaps, than any other wood. It is easy 

 to work, but is inferior in quality, being neither strong 

 nor durable. 



The natives of New Zealand sometimes make their 

 canoes from this wood, as it is easily obtained. It does 

 not, however, wear well, and, except for its buoyancy, 

 and handiness upon the streams, has little to recom- 

 mend it to notice. It is not employed in buildings if 

 other timber can be readily procured. The Kahikatea 

 is liable to be speedily attacked by a small worm. I 

 found this to be the case with some specimens, after 

 being only about six months in store. 



The Kahikatea has sometimes been mistaken for the 

 Kauri, it being similar in dimensions ; when hewn, how- 

 ever, the quality is immediately seen to be inferior, and 

 quite unfit for mast purposes. The specific gravity of 

 the seasoned wood varies from 428 to 490, and averages 

 about 460. 



TANAKAHA {Podocarpus asplenifolius) 



is found scattered over a large portion of the northern 

 island of New Zealand, but is nowhere met with in 

 abundance. It arrives at its greatest perfection on a 

 dry soil and at a moderate elevation. 



