TOTARA AND KAWAKA

Evening Post, Issue 47, 23 August 1935, Page 8

TOTARA AND KAWAKA

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—l read with interest a letter in your issue of the 12th inst. referring.to the close likeness of the ■ two New Zealand trees—totara ■ and kawaka; I noticed that some of the farmers have been sold totara posts and some have, on close examination, been found to be kawaka—a woqd which does not last nearly as long as totara. As they are so much alike in weight, structure of grain, and colour,' I found, "to distinguish the one from the other, the best plan was to burn a small piece of each. Each sample will throw out sparks, but totara burns readily and brilliantly, whilst" kawaka is almost the reverse and takes a good deal of encouraging to get. it to burn.—l ,am,', etc., . ■

ALFRED E. DUNN.

[An authority to whom we referred the matter, states that the. totara' and -the kawaka (sometimes .called kaikawaka, but not kaiwaka) are, as growing trees • utterly dissimilar. "You will" not find kawaka growing : near! Wellington. It has a foliage like a cypress! There is a superficial simi-! lariiy between the timbers of totara' and kawaka, and farmers often get i | taken in, but not badly, because i kawaka is reasonably durable though less strong than totara.' The inflammability test is a reasonable indicator jin a rough and ready way for anyone ' who can't distinguish the timbers. I otherwise."—Ed.]