IN A KAURI FOREST

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 18, 16 October 1907, Page 10

IN A KAURI FOREST

A BOTANIST'S EXPLORATIONS. :PLEA FOR A NEW RESERVE. "I have fiomo back froih the land of the gum-digger, of tlio Maori, and of the Kauri, and from'what has been called tlio ' roadless North,' but , what I call tlio wolj-roaded North, -becauso an .-icqunintanco with the ni,any.roads'of that region will remain impressed upon.my mind as strongly as they were impressed upon my clothing."

So remarked Dr. L. Cockayne, in the comfort of a civilised hotel on Monday evening, on his return' from making an extended study of the'great , "Waipoua kauri forest, between the •Kaipara • hud Hokiaiiga rivers, in the far north of Auckland. The investigation forms one'jVortiorii'of' a series of botanical surveys which „ he is .making for the Government, which .wijl.j'give. eventually a general idea of the virgin vegetation qf Now Zealand. To give some notion of the unutterable stnts'.'of these far northern roads, the doctor stated, that it took four horses eight hours to'drag'.himself, a driver, and tho doctor's luggage, a, 'distance- of ton miles. Walking, one sank' above tho knees in mud at any moment. '.'■"." Prehistoric New Zealand. " Pioneering," Dr. Cockayne concluded, "is-not-finished in New Zealand. In fact, in getting from Kaihu, whore the railway is left, to the magnificent 23,000 acres of the virgin Waipoua forest, one passes not merely to the margin of civilisation, but to prehistoric Now Zealand itself. Here tho only way to live in comfort is to live as do; tho Maoris. ' The ; rich' volcanic soil of. the Waipoua valley needs but scratching. to bring forth abundance of kumeras, potatoes, peas, cabbages, and other vegetables, while Mr. Maxwell, the caretaker- of the forest, possesses hens which lay'all the year round, bacon of the. most nourishing description, and milk of the richest quality." Unfortunately, the weather,during Dr. Cockayne's trip, was ■not altogether the most suitable for botanical exploration, as, it rained more or less every day; but this,.constant rain gave, a clue to tho origin of ;the vast forest, mass, and showed how.; in-.virgin Now Zealand forest, and not bare land, flourished. . , " The object, of the investigation, .which was undertaken; by direction of tho Hon. |R. M'Nab,' , , said, Dr. Cockayno, •" is to.put oh record in.as, popular a manner as may bo, hv accurate .scientific investigations, and hy the aid of tho camera and microscope, a detailed account for the iirst time of what a kauri forest is like, and of its natural history. Just as it is important to storo up examples-of our'fauna and flora in the National Museum, so is it of equally great, ■or even greater, importance to put on record what primeval New Zealand is like before it is all changed by the (land of man." . The Kauri. "To , those who have never seen a kauri 1 forest, the sight-of' these stately trees, their huge-■grey-shining columnar trunks, 'rising up fifty,' and'maybe' eighty feet wi>:ii.>.if a branch," as far "as the eye can reach; and dwarfing altogether the other treo hunks is tho sight of a lifetime. High above the general - forest'roof tower the great spreading branches, ■ themselves equalling forest trees in size; below, within the dim light of the forest, are- countless tree-ferns', hundreds of feathery palms, straggling young trees and shrubs of many kinds, hero and there the fantastic and irregular trunk' of' : the rata,- its base covered with translucent.'kid-ney-ferns, ratas or other species, white or red-flowered, clinging to the tree-trunks and finally emerging into tho pure air 'and sunshine of the forest roof! High -in the forks of the trees, are enormous birds'-nest -like masses of the : perching lily (Aste.lia solandri). The kauris themselves are very frequently accompanied by an undergrowth oMiuge tussocks; one kind of sedgo with leaves sharp as a razor, and the other, a second species of Astelia,. called by. the settlers ,kauri-gra.ss. Jn some places the forest reserve roaches ' a height of from 1500 to 2000 feet, and here the. kauri-tarari forest is replaced by one in which the rimu is the principal -tree.

"Here, too, is one of the most beautiful flowering trees of New Zealand, of which there is •.■npts'one example in any of our botanic gardens, Ixerba brcxioides. Speaking of garden'plants; I must also mention the juvenile form of Kirk's pine, which is something like a picea, and the most graceful plant conceivable. It is possible, that if cuttings wore taken from this juvenile plant the form might be made persistent, just as lias been done in the caso of the Japanese retinosporas.' . ■ ••' . . . A Great National Reserve "No one-can look at this last magnificent piece of ; forest," continued Dr. Cockayno ' without .thinking of the thousands and thousands of kauri trees which aro destroyed and that the kauri forest is doomed. Surely the country, at large should domand that a large area'of virgin; kauri forest should be set aside for ever. Such a national park would become as famed throughout the world, nay, more so, than our hot sprinps our cold.lakes, and our. fiords. These latter three are to'.be found elsewhere, but a kauritorest is the proud possession' of New Zealaud alone.". . . . . . .