TREES 
49 
Torairi (Laurus macrophylld ) — This tree grows 
to the height of from fifty to seventy feet ; and its 
trunk measures, in diameter, not more than thirty- 
six inches. Its wood is light and spongy, and 
by no means durable. It grows in all soils, but 
seems to prefer those which are dry and gravelly. 
It flowers and bears fruit in September, October, 
and November. Its berries are black, exactly 
resembling the damson in size and appearance : 
they are fed upon with avidity by the wild pigeons, 
but are noxious to man : these berries have a very 
inviting appearance: their beauty, however, is 
only superficial ; for immediately under the sur- 
face is a hard rough husk, prickly to the touch, 
and disagreeable to the taste. Its bark is smooth, 
and inclining to grey. Its leaves are like those 
of the finest, largest and most brilliant English 
laurel ; and the tree is altogether one of the most 
splendid ornaments of the woods. 
Tawa (Laurus Tawa) is a frequenter of damp 
and deeply-shaded woods, with leaf and branches 
similar to those of the Mairi-tree ; the branches 
a little more straggling, and not quite so robust. 
Its wood is light, and, on account of the facility 
with which it splits, is used by the natives for 
their short fences : they use it by pointing the 
end, and driving it into the ground. It decays in 
the course of two years, and becomes perfectly 
useless ; but as the aborigines of this country 
seldom cultivate one spot for a longer period 
than two successive years, they do not experience 
