26 



" a tree being 700 to 800 years. It furnishes an excellent, 

 " remarkably durable timber, straight grained, and much in 

 "use for masts, boats, superior furniture, casks, rims of sieves, 

 " and is particularly sought for decks of ships, lasting for the 

 " latter purpose twice as long as the deal of other pines. It is 

 " also available for railway break-blocks and for carriages, and 

 " regarded as one of the most durable among timbers of the 

 " Coniferse. Braces, stringers and tie-beams of wharves re- 

 " mained, according to professor Kirk, for very many years in 

 " good order under much traffic. In bridge building also the 

 " Kauri- timber gave excellents results ; it can likewise be used 

 " advantageously for the sounding boards of pianofortes. Kauri- 

 " wood is also used for light handle of many implements, and 

 "for various instruments, including stethoscopes, for wool- 

 " presses, the bodywork of wagons, butter casks, brewers vats ; 

 " further in ship-building for bulwarks, and also for the sides 

 " of boats. In strength it is considerably superior to Baltic Deal 

 "Kauri ought to- be extensively introduced into our densest 

 " forests. Auckland alone exports about' £20,000 worth of 

 " Kauri-timber annually. It is easily worked, and takes a high 

 " polish, This tree yields besides the Kauri-resin of commerce, 

 " which is largely obtained from under the stem. The greatest 

 " part is gathered by the Maories in localities formerly covered 

 " with Kauri forests ; pieces weighing a ton have been found 

 "in such places. The value of this resin, as exported from New 

 " Zealand, in 1883 was £359,936 in 1885 it was £253,929, but in 

 " 1886 only £132,256, the London price being about £50 the 

 "ton. The varnish made from it is almost colourless. Hecent 

 "vast destruction of Kauri-forests through fire render the 

 " establishing of this tree elsewhere all the more imperative." 



Our trees of which we have two, are 80 feet in height, and 

 5 feet in girth at 6 feet from the ground, one of them has borne 

 seeds and plants have been reared and distribu ted for trial in 

 other localities. 



Dammara alba (D. orien talis Lambert,) 



Baron Mueller says of this tree : 



" Agath Dammar " Indian Archipelago and mainland. A 

 " splendid tree, up to 100 feet high, with a stem to 8 feet in 

 " diameter, straight and branchless for two- thirds of its length. 

 " It is of great importance on account of its yield of the trans- 

 " parent Dammar resin, extensively used for varnish." 



We have one tree bearing this name, it is about 70 or 80 

 feet in height, with girth at 6 feet from the ground of 3 feet 3 



