178 
RECAPITULATION. 
Toe Kaurt TREE. 
Largest Timber-tree in the World,—Investigation soon showed that 
the Kauri tree, in addition to its sterling qualities as a timber, was the 
largest timber-tree in the world—not the largest in outside measurements, 
but the timber-tree that has given the greatest volume of timber. 
The Mercury Bay tree, with 24 ft. diameter, which figured for long 
in New Zealand literature, has been allowed to be burnt before accurate 
measurements were recorded. 
The largest well-authenticated measurements on record are those 
of the tree called ‘‘ Kairaru,’’ in the Tutamoe Forest, of which the 
diameter was 22 ft. and the clean bole 100ft. high (Kirk’s ‘* Forest 
Flora ’’; H, P. Kavanagh, late Chief Inspector of Timber, Auckland ; and 
W. B. Buckhurst, Crown Lands Ranger, Christchurch). This tree cubed 
out to above 4 million sup. ft. taking its full volume, and rather 
below 4 million sup. ft. taking its quarter-girth volume, or its 
volume by the #-diameter-squared log-rule of the United States. The 
largest of the ‘‘ big trees,’’ termed ‘‘ Mother of the Forest,’’ in the 
Calaveras Grove had a gross volume, according to the published official 
measurements, of 140,619 board feet, so that the largest of the Calt- 
fornian ‘* big trees’’ contained less than half the timber of the recorded 
largest big Kauri of New Zealand. The big trees of California are 
decidedly higher than the highest of the giant Kauri trees, but there is 
not much difference in diameters, allowing for the very thick bark of 
the Californian trees, the thin bark of the Kauri trees, and the huge basal 
spread of the Californian trees. The New Zealand giant Kauri trees 
eclipse other large timber-trees on account of the little taper in the 
trunks. It is quite common, amongst photos of the old-time Kauri 
trees, to come across trunks with no taper at all. The largest of the two 
‘* Yellow-wood ”’ trees of South Africa (Podocarpus elongata) has a bole 
of similar shape. I know one other tree with the same form—the 
‘** Pillarwood ”’ of the equatorial highlands of Africa. Both these cube 
out to less than a fourth the maximum of the big Kauri trees. 
Kauri Resin or ‘* Gum.’’—The systematic resin-tapping of Kauri 
remains as a subject of investigation whenever a technical Forest De- 
partment is formed. So far as can be seen at present, systematic tap- 
ping of Kauri for resin is likely in the future to be an extremely lucrative 
business. It is possible that the resin from a Kauri forest may be more 
valuable than the timber, as is the case with Maritime-pine in France, 
and with some other trees that yield valuable resin. There is no 
reason to suppose that the resin-tapping of Kauri, if skilfully conducted, 
will injure the Kauri timber or appreciably affect the growth of the 
trees. In France it certainly improves the timber, and in moderation is 
thought by some foresters to stimulate the growth. It is possible that 
Kauri may be planted and a Kauri-resin industry established in various 
parts of the world’s wetter extra-tropics. The resin is peerless and quite 
unlikely to be replaced by any chemical product. The Kauri tree grows 
at much the same rate as the famous Maritime-pine in Gascony; the yield 
of resin is greater, and commands a higher price. The Gascony pine 
