THE TECHNOLOGIST. [Aug. 1, 1805. 
4 THE GKNUS ARAUCAHIA. 
A. excelsa is of all the species the most majestic, and the places of ita 
growth perhaps the most picturesque. It loves the mountain side, the 
overhanging precipice, the storm-torn rocks ; among these it firmly 
anchors itself with its twisting roots. These roots descend many feet 
into the ground and penetrate into every lateral crevice. They form 
wood of some thicknesss and of great density, of a deep red colour, from 
which the inhabitants make small articles of utility or ornament, such 
as candlesticks and the like. From the tremendous storms with which 
Norfolk Island is occasionally visited, the Araucarias surfer considerably, 
but chiefly in their uppermost branches ; in the valleys where they are 
most sheltered, therefore, the best formed and most symmetrical trees 
are to be found. They do not grow in very dense forests, other and 
smaller trees coming in and filling up the spaces between them, thus 
tending to give the forests a very ornamental appearance. The wood is 
free from any resin, but a sort of white milky juice exudes from the 
bark ; this has been tried for various purposes as a substitute for pitch, 
but found to be useless. A former governor (Governor King) of Norfolk 
Island was sojmrtial to this tree that he adopted it as his family crest. 
Another species of this group, and nearly allied to A. excelsa, is A. 
Cunningliami. This, which is called the Moreton Bay pine, was named 
by Aiton in honour of the indefatigable botanist and explorer Allan 
Cunningham. It is found on the shores of Moreton Bay, in lat. 14° to 
29° south, and on the alluvial banks of the Brisbane River, lat. 27° to 
30° south. It grows, however, in the greatest profusion in the brush 
forests, on the Richmond River. The trees seem to thrive best near the 
coast, attaining in such a situation their greatest height, often from 100 
to 130 feet, but gradually diminishing in height the farther the trees 
are inland. It would appear from this that the sea air has a great effect 
upon it. Other large trees of different genera are found growing 
amongst the Araucarias in dense woods. The Moreton Bay pine was 
discovered in 1770, by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander, and the first 
living plant did not arrive at Kew till 1824. 
From the time of the discovery of A. columnaris in 1774 up to 1824, 
the two trees were considered to be the same species, but in the latter 
year Mr. Allan Cunningham revisited Moreton Bay in companj with 
Mr. Oxley, and after a careful examination, came to the conclusion that 
A. Cunningliami " was a very distinct species, not simply in its habit of 
growth, which is very remarkable, but in the character of its leaves." 
The branches are much more drooping than those of A. excelsa, and very 
lax as compared with that species. On the young twigs the leaves are 
very minute, gradually developing themselves till they attain maturity, 
when they become slightly imbricated. The branches are given off in 
whorls of six or eight, in the young plants slightly bent upwards, but in 
those of greater age bending down in a very graceful manner. It forms 
a very straight trunk, frequently rising to a height of eighty feet before 
any branches are given off. The diameter of the trunk averages from 
