958 BEILSCHMIEDIA TAWA. 
Tue Conversion oF Tawa. 
For some years past large quantities of tawa have been worked up into 
dairy-ware, butter-kegs, &c., in Christchurch, the supply being chiefly obtained 
from the Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds: Christchurch must be looked | 
upon as the original seat of the industry. It has been utilised to a very limited 
extent in Wellington and Auckland, but the chief centre of the industry at the . 
present time is the Taranaki District, from whence several thousands of butter- 
kegs are shipped to Auckland and other parts of the colony every year. 
The logs are usually sent to the mill in from 6ft. to 15ft. lengths, and, 
preferably, from 16in. to 24in. or 30in. in diameter: as they are often unsym- 
metrical the proportion of waste in conversion is large, varying from 35 to 50 per 
cent. on the log measurement. Most of the logs are cut into 4in. or Zin. boards: 
the boards for heads are edged down to 1I2in. or 1I4in. in width, and those for 
staves are ripped into 3in. battens, which are passed through a mouldineg- 
machine or through a small planing-machine with special knives, which turns 
them out concave on the lower surface and convex on the upper. They are 
next cross-cut into the required lengths, 18in. for a 60lb. cask, 20in. for a golb. 
cask: they are next tapered by a finely-toothed circular saw, which removes a 
narrow triangular piece extending from each corner to near the middle of the 
stave, so that when finished the stave is 3in. wide in the middle and 23in. at each 
end. The heads are usually formed of a single piece, 1141n. to 134in. in diameter, 
according to the size of the cask: if formed with two or three pieces dowelled 
together the cask would be improved, but at an additional cost for extra labour. 
The staves and ends are now ready for the cooper, who can put from twelve 
to fourteen casks together per day, and earns about Ios. per dozen. Tawa 
prepared for the cooper sells at about I4s. per 100 superficial feet. Two 
knives fixed in a small planing-machine will enable one man and a boy to 
shape 4,000 superficial feet of stave-battens per day. Sometimes staves and 
headings are sold in sets, at 1s. 6d. for a 6olb. keg and rs. rod. for a golb. 
keg. ‘Tawa is not considered suitable for the heads of wine-casks, but tawa 
bodies with kauri heads are deemed excellent. 
The manufacture in Christchurch is languishing partly on account of the 
growing scarcity of tawa in the Cook Strait sounds, and partly on account of the 
saving in first cost by manufacturing in the place where the timber is grown, 
thus saving sea- and railway-freight. It is, however, remarkable that the manu- 
facture has not become established in various parts of the Auckland and 
Wellington Districts where tawa is abundant: large orders for butter-kegs are 
sent from Auckland to New Plymouth every year. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS. 
See under Beilschnuedia Tarairi, p. 71, ante. 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES. 
Beilschmiedia Tawa occurs from Spirits Bay throughout the North Island, 
sometimes forming the chief portion of the forest in hilly districts. In the South 
Island it is restricted to the Marlborough and Nelson Districts, but is only found 
in the near vicinity of Cook Strait. 
It ascends from the sea-level to 3,o00ft. 
