50 AGE OF THE GIANT KAURIS. 
where the powerful branches are twined 
hrough which, like golden stars on the 
into the dusk of the forest.”’ 
‘©The eye follows unimpeded to 
into a dense dark-green roof, t 
roof of a vault, the light of day peers 
Kaurt PARK AND CALAVERAS. 
Trounson’s Kauri Park (‘‘ Waipoua Kauri Forest, ”’ p. 52) is the Cala- 
veras Groves of New Zealand. There is still hesitation about acquiring it: 
this is onlv natural until the usual means of taking care of it—a Forest 
Department—is brought into existence. In the hope that both may be 
soon achieved I append an extract from the official letter to the Senate 
of the United States of America recommending the acquisition of the 
Calaveras Groves: 
I cannot express too strongly my feeling that these great national wonders, 
famed throughout the world, should become the property of the nation and be 
protected from intentional or accidental destruction as far as possible. It has 
taken thousands of years to produce many of these trees, and if once they were 
destroyed no skill or expense could bring similar wonders of creation into existence 
within a time represented by the known history of the world. 


The Calaveras Groves were acquired by an exchange of land plus 
£2,000 for expenses. 
Since the above was written Mr. Trounson’s princely gift to the 
nation of Kauri Park has been announced. It is about 60 acres in 
area, and the timber is valued at upwards of £10,000, or at the rate 
of £166 per acre. The Forest Department has not yet begun to be 
organized, so that herein lies a danger. Kauri Park may be burnt. 
AGE OF THE Grant KAURIS, 
_ If the Mercury Bay tree, 24 ft. diameter (= 12 ft. radius), be divided 
into three periods of 8 ft. its age might average out as follows :— 
Years. 
8 ft. diameter, or 48 in, radius, at 10 rings per | in. ARO 
29 3) 15 33 720 
3 s¢ 25 29 1,200 
2,400 
Kirk’s estimate of the age of this tree was ‘‘ considerably over four 
thousand years ’’—on the face of it an excessive estimate. This is the 
Kauri tree with the greatest diameter on record, but as its height to 
the first branch was 80 ft. and ‘‘ Kairaru’’ was 100 ft. the latter cubes 
larger. | 
Kauri grows so rapidly for some 400 or 500 years that, omitting 
the dominated heart, which is an accident of position, the outer rings 
for many centuries may be as broad as the inner ones, but after that 
the common rule must hold and the rings get narrower. They must 
get narrower for two reasons: (1) Each year’s carbon-fixation has to 
be spread over an ever-lengthening periphery ; (2) as a tree gets old 
and its vitality decreases it gets thin in the crown and Baaiilates less. 
All ee old BAS have very thin yearly rings. : 
nus, so Tar as one can judge from estimates, 2,400 years may be 
aes isk of the oldest New Zealand Kauri tree. But ceeee fe still room 
o hope that exact figures obtained from counting the rings may be 
obtained. The Mercury Bay tree-stump may be still in existence, and 
rah the heartwood part of the stumps of some of the other old giant 
rees, possibly even the stumps of Kairaru or of Nega-mahangahua, the 
other giant tree of the Tutamoe Forest. (Kirk’s ** Forest Flora,’’ p. 144.) 
