DURABILITY OE OREGON PINE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1909, Page 4

DURABILITY OE OREGON PINE.

PURIRI AND RBIU. {&? Tblegbapb. — Sr-EOiAx to Tub Post.] AUCKLAND, This Day. 'During the questioning of witnesses by members of the Timber Commission yesterday, as to the merite of Oregon, for building purposes, it was stated, on the c&uthority of the building inspector, that two houses constructed of the imported timber .forty years ago were still standing in Parnell, and showed practically no signs of decay. An interesting sample of puriri and jrimu timber was shown to the Timber Commission by Mr. Leyiand, with the object of demonstrating the superiority of the former from the view point of density and hardness, together with its more rapid growth. The samples had just been cut in blocks of 2in by 2in from puriri and rimu trees which were .planted at iPonsonby by Mr. Leyiand twelve years ago. Tho former had grown into a twin tree, and the measurements of its barrels 2ft from the ground were 7in and B|in respectively. The more rapid development of tho puriri trees gave circumference measurements of 29jin and 27in respectively. Each limu t)'oe had consequently an area of 2 by 2, as compared with the puriris area of Bby 6. The puriri had produced .six times as much timber.