164 PODOCARPUS FERRUGINEA. 
seasoned state it is apt to split when nails are driven into it without boring, and 
in other respects it is less easily worked than kauri or rimu, which 1s probably 
the chief cause of its unpopularity. The proportion of sapwood is larger than 
in matal, 
Figured specimens are adapted to the purposes of the cabinetmaker, and 
may also be used for ornamental turned-work. It is also suitable for house- 
framing, except ground-plates, flooring-boards, and weather-boards, for all of 
which it has been sparingly used with the best results. For weather-boards it 
is probably superior to rimu so long as it is not allowed to come in contact with 
the eround. 
It seems of especial value for beams required to carry a great weight, if 
under cover, and for this purpose is superior to the beeches and to all other 
New Zealand pines. 
For marine piles it is of high value, as it is not readily attacked by teredo, 
It is already coming into demand in Southland for this purpose, and its value 
will be increasingly appreciated. Specimens used for marine piles in Southland, 
known to have been driven from twelve to twenty-seven years, are still sound 
and good: in view of the growing scarcity of totara, its value for this purpose 
cannot be too widely known. Although this timber has been underyalued and 
neglected in the past, there can be no doubt that it will be nghtly appreciated 
in the course of a few years: its general utilisation would be of special 
advantage to sawmillers in the South. 
DIsTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS. 
See under Podocarpus spicata, p. 5, ante. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES. 
Podocarpus ferruginea is generally distributed throughout the colony, but is 
less plentiful in. the North Island than in the South. It occurs in great 
abundance in the southern part of the South Island, and forms a large propor- 
tion of the forest on Stewart Island. 
In the Wellington District it is very common on the crests of the ranges at 
an altitude of about 2,o0oft., usually forming a spreading round-headed tree, 
with a short stout trunk rarely more than 15ft. long, and with close-set gnarled _ 
branches. 
It ascends from the sea-level to 3,o0oft. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Podocarpus ferruginea, Don. 
Hook., ‘‘ Icones Plantarum,”’ t. 542. 
A lofty, round-headed dicecious tree, 50ft. to goft. high. Leaves distichous, 
natrow-linear, din. to #in. long, falcate, acute, mid-rib prominent, becoming 
reddish-brown when dry. Male catkins solitary, axillary, equalling or exceeding 
the leaves, sessile. Female flowers consisting of a single ovule, solitary, axillary 
on a short scaly peduncle. Truit, a drupe, #in. long, red, glaucous. 
EXPLANATION oF PLares LXXXIV. anp LXXXIIa, (my Part.) 
LXXXIV. Podocarpus ferruginea, Don. 1. Specimen with male flowers. 
2. Specimen with female flowers. Natural size. 
LXXXIIa. 3. 1. Male catkin, natural size. 2. The same magnified. 
3. Side view of a connective. 4 and 4’. Upper and lower faces of a connective. 
5. Female flower. All magnified. 6. Mature fruit. 7. Seed. 8. Longitudinal 
section of a seed. 9g. Seedling. All natural size. 
