NATURE NOTES

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22073, 22 April 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES

;/ TOTARA

|f-;' • ' (By L. W. McCaskill)

J&M&.to the New Zealand flax, tttpiUlara was probably the most JlßiiUy-Useful plant to the Maori •Jftif-'The white man has also WM itvuseful, but, whereas the wfiffipfcherished it and protected it 'fflpjtoias necessary to convert it aKKKftsW the pakeha persists in ? 'Sfim'» with little or no thought «*«»firving immature stands, or cut-over areas. gardens m ChristJKhave a small totara tree, and itttrt'atts some good specimens in flttirtoa Bush, and in the Botanic fittdtm. One or two large speci',«*«'are still to be found; in the ** pitches of bush left on the Port JB&Although Canterbury has so .Meliush left, it can lay clainvto ;m*lSssession of the largest totaras -ft 2fcir Zealand. No one who has \.tma. to, Peel Forest, could ever forStii majesty and grandeur of the (Stetaras growing there. -feSfertfoliage alone is not partifrwtor ereen colour. The densely-.-'pflM: leaves, firm, thick, and Appointed, stand out all round Ibetwij. But when growing at its 'Mfcttemassive trunk often devoid A* branches for 60 feet, the thick -,-lWk'; deeply furrowed, and the -Ittrt crown of spreading branches, .BWMt'cine of the noblest of forest -4Mtacles, [i The ,totara attains its greatest ■fctad luxuriance in deep, rich amrial DU t grows well, under a wide variety £ conditions, from North Auck■Bd to Southland. :;;ldng years ago it must have been .MttHful In many parts of Canter- ' gay, and North and Central Otago, -*» in those districts the early gwOT In the open country found < ganarotis logs on the surface of the pound, early days of settlement in , gWfc Zealand, totara was put to ■ SgT imaginable use, where duragwy , was essential. Bridges ~J3**a. poles, posts, floor joists. •«« ' pavements and kerbing, • gages and palings were made ™R ft. and the ease with which it "2™ y wor *ed. caused it to be in tor furniture. Particularly 22*0 for this purpose were the ~*Es'V* mottled and figured . «™r : ,knot Before the days of - SSSjfWHrate, totara was the best g"™al for marine piles, because SJP'P the action of the teredo ,ffj? wtter than other New Zeapohutukawa and S22£ alone excepted. Small Ss?*. trees, growing along the first-class knees for boats. But in reJars its high price has cono£ totara timber to , SH?*3?!?S , Owing to its remarkS*j™ojty and freedom from m^SsLz. &Mis special favour in of window and 'aafrt£"!!*& verandah posts, and 'iff-'sS?" which is reddish g^fflst.cut, turns a reddish The grain is gjgn™***"* is that it is very *£» IZLH* 1 il cannot be used ' MteJri *2L c ">ss strains are ex4*^Wfr«*9n^- great vir tue its *Sta,J?, h . old l n g screws firmly. WSnX'LS burns readily, it '''PSakSß?* ?"* i 4 j s not good A'llwSbf «r aori of old knew KM?*?**!? 1118 * sparking. "All ■*SSBBSV l,e forest assembled &*Sirs ♦ e L and discussed the BllP* mU > toe Nestor,

Rangi (the sky). The totara insisted that his legs would. The rimu said 'ho'—his legs would—and so oh they all spoke. Then the totara strove to extend his/ legs-to the sky, but failing to do this he was so ashamed that he groaned aloud." When the wood of the totara burns, a popping sound is made. That is the sound it made when it failed to reach the sky. The totara was, too, one of the trees into which Mahuika, the custodian of fire, fled when hard ,pressed by,Maui. Whenever possible, the Maori used totara in the construction of his canoes, from the waka-taua or

W canoe, w*ifh mI 6 M be 80 *eet stonf• > tf+h<» tree grew far from assistance if tne wee bj_ c " aklng fOJ . navigable water, besides making lor hnnvaricv once afloat. ij»suy, «» *« gSSability in:sea>ater ? the totara equal. . g Klsdon Best has tola us wi, wonderful foresight shown by the

Maoris in their treatment of trees destined in the far distant future for the construction of canoes. A strip of bark was taken from one side of well-grown young totaras in such a manner th.it as they grew a portion of the sapwood would be exposed. This part would gradually decay, and a hollow result, greatly assisting the work of fashioning the canoe, perhaps, a hundred years later.

The totara was also prized for the construction of buildings. It was the main timber used in the wharewhakairo, or guest house, and for the pataka, or storehouse, often highly ornamented with carving. Then the carved gateways in the fortined villages, and the carved posts set at intervals in the palisades were made, if possible, of the finest totara slabs. . The thick bark peeled off in long strips made a roof for the ordinary whare. Suitable pieces of bark

were made into vessels for holding water or preserved birds or rats. The fruits, consisting of a nut embedded in a bright, red or crimson pulp, provided nourishment when large fruits were scarce. ~. , Totara is very easy to cultivate. It thrives in the open and makes comparatively rapid Svowth. It grows so easily from seed or cuttings that more use could well be made of it as a hedge plant.. If closely clipped it makes an impenetrable hedge.