OF NEW ZEALAND. 
45 
feet, and its diameter from eighteen to thirty 
inches. From the freeness with which it splits, 
it is of much use for paling-fence ; hut never for 
shingles, on account of its so readily twisting with 
the sun : indeed, the tree is not of sufficient mag- 
nitude to answer at all the purpose of shingles. 
It is durable for all inside- work, and would every- 
where be considered a handsome wood. 
Kawaka (Dacrydium plumosum) is a tree grow- 
ing about thirty feet high, and from one to three 
feet in diameter ; with a rough dark bark, and a 
foliage not very unlike the fern. It is a beauti- 
fully-grained wood, close and heavy, and would 
make elegant picture-frames, where they were 
required of a deep stain. It is, however, only 
the lower part of the trunk of the tree which is 
so dark and close in the grain : the higher you 
ascend toward the branches, the lighter, both in 
weight and colour, does the wood become, and 
consequently, for the purpose above mentioned, 
the less valuable. The v>^ood in the lower part 
of the tree much resembles the tulip-wood of 
Moreton Bay, New South Wales, though not 
quite so dark or heavy. I believe it is not much 
known, and has never, as yet, been sought after, 
to be applied to any useful purpose. 
Miro {Podocarpus ferruginea ) — This plant grows 
to the height of from forty to sixty feet, with a 
diameter of not more than thirty inches, except 
in extraordinarily large specimens. It flourishes 
in all the forests, and in every description of 
