<J4 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



bullockR, anyliow, over and through tlie bush, breaking down 

 the thick undergrowth as they pass. The timber shrinks very 

 httle it cut at the dormant season. It is used for general 

 l)uilding purposes, — for liouses, bridges, wharves, and for boats, 

 masts, deck-planking, etc. 



The whole tree is extremely resinous. Even the leaves of 

 fallen trees shew small white patches of gum when they begin 

 to shrivel, while large nrasses often form m the forks of the 

 branches. Climbing for gum is a difficult and dangerous task. 

 The fact (if the barrel of the tree being so huge, and rising so 

 high with(.)ut a branch, renders the usual kind of climbing 

 impossiljle. A piece of weighted twine attached to a rope is 

 flung over the lowest bough, and the rope is haitled up over the 

 liranch and down the other side. The climber their ascends 

 the rope, gains a foot-hold, and cuts out the gmn from the 

 forks of the l)ranches. A good tree-climber is said to make i;8 

 or i'4 per week, but men sometiirres come to their death in 

 this dangerous work. The resin of the highest value, 

 however, is that which has l^een fossilized, and which is dug up 

 on lands where kauri bush once stood. This is the kauri gum 

 (jf commerce. Clear, transparent pieces command a high price, 

 aird are used in place of amber in the making of small 

 ornaments. The scrapings and dust are used in the 

 manufacture (>f fire kindlers ; the gum is used for varnish. 

 Sometimes clear pieces of gum are found in which are 

 embedded cones, leaves, small insects, etc. These specimens 

 are much admired. The colour of the gum varies from a pale 

 lemon-yellow to a. reddish-brown, or even black. When the 

 children of the settlers desire a little pocket money, they will 

 often ask permission to go gum-diggmg in some newly ploughed 

 [laddock, and are usually rewarded within a few hours by a 

 find of gum which will fetch several shillings at the store. 

 The price of tlie resin varies from i'liO to i'l'iO per ton. (+um 

 digging is the great resource of those who cannot find work 

 elsewhere, as a merely nominal fee is charged for digging on 



