OF NEW ZEALAND. 43 
the inconvenience which must otherwise accrue 
from the rapid decay of the wood. It would 
make good lining for weather-board houses ; or 
would answer, in any situation, where not exposed 
to damp. It produces a berry, about the size of 
a small sloe ; which is eaten, when boiled, by the 
natives. The process of boiling extracts the 
poison which abounds in this fruit in its native 
state. 
Puriri {Vitex littoralis) — This tree, from its 
hardness and durability, has been denominated 
the New-Zealand Oak; and indeed it seems to 
answer all the purposes of tliat prince of trees. 
The wood is of a dark-brown colour, close in the 
grain, and takes a good polish : it splits freely, 
and works well ; and may be used with advantage 
for all outside work, as it does not injure from 
exposure to the damp ; and twenty years'* expe- 
rience has proved that in that time it will not 
rot, though in a wet soil, under the ground. For 
ship-building it is a most valuable wood ; as the 
injury which it has received, from being perfo- 
rated in various places by a large worm peculiar 
to the tree, does not essentially diminish its value 
for the timbers of ships or for the knees of boats. 
On first examining a Puriri log, you would be in- 
clined to reject it, on account of the many large 
holes that at once present themselves to notice ; 
but, on further examination, it is found that the 
perforations do not proceed from the rot, and that 
the wood which remains is of great value, though 
