43 
dark, splits freely, and is very durable. It is used for spokes, and for 
Carpenter's work ; and would no doubt be more extensively used if it 
were of larger dimensions, and more easily obtained. 
(vii.) The Tanekaha or Toatoa, (Phyllocladus trichomanoides,) is also 
a timber tree of the same Natural Order as the last five trees, but very 
different from them in size and appearance, It is one of the “ Celery- 
leaved Pines,” and being an ornamental tree of regular growth, often 
has a very handsome appearance. It is plentiful on dry hilly lands in 
the North parts of the Island, but scarce in its more Southern parts. 
Its average height is from 45 to 50 feet, and from 2 to 3 feet in 
diameter. It is used for all kinds of outside work, as posts, rails, and 
floors of verandahs, and is greatly preferred for decks of vessels. The 
wood is rather too heavy for spars, although it has been occasionally 
used for masts and booms. In colour it is a darker yellow than the 
Kauri, has a closer grain, and a turpentine like smell. It is a very 
valuable wood, but, from its small size and not being easily accessible, 
it has not been so largely used as it deserves. 
95. Those other large timber trees which are commonly split for use, 
or chopped, or sawn into short junks, (rarely into boards, or planks) for 
the market, are six in number, and comprise the following :— 
(i.) The Puriri, or New Zealand Oak, or Teak, ( Vitex littoralis, ) is a 
large tree of irregular growth. It grows to the height of from 50 to 
60 feet, with a clear trunk of 20 feet, or more, and varies from 
12 to 25 feet in circumference. Much larger trees, however, are 
occasionally met with. Several are often found growing near each 
other, forming a handsome dark ereen clump of wood. It is confined 
to the North parts of the Island, (see par. 13, § ii.,) where it prefers a 
rich soil, and is sometimes met with overhanging tidal rocks and 
beaches. ’rom its earliest growth this tree is subject to the borings of 
a large larva like insect, which makes long clean cut holes throughout 
the hardest part of the wood, large enough to admit a man’s small 
finger. Of course this gives the wood a most unsightly appearance, yet 
itis but little injured thereby. The wood is heavy, of an olive, or 
brownish colour, close in the grain, splits freely, and works well; it is 
extensively used for knees in ship-building, for piles in house-building, 
for gate and fencing posts, and for every purpose where solidity, 
strength, and exemption from rot is required. _ It is estimated as being 
about equal with English Oak, in stiffness, strength, and toughness, 
