GIANT KAURI TREES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18952, 28 August 1923, Page 8

GIANT KAURI TREES.

A SUPPOSED RECORD. LARGER TREE ON COROMANDEL. A paragraph appeared some time ago Jn a southern newspaper stating that the largest tree in the world, a kauri, had been located at Waihou, near Rangiahua, in the Hokianga district. Dimensions were given, and the result of a computation of the Umber it contained made one almost breathless. Naturally the paragraph travelled far, and the forestry service has since received inquiries from abroad, particularly from America, which claims the world’s record in its redwood forests in California, about the Hokianga tre© alleged to show “what the lordly kauri was at its best.” The facts of the matter (says the Auckland Herald) are that the tree in question is not tfte largest kauri tree known, and it is so nearly dead that it can hardly bo classed as anything but a decaying shell.

T he height of the trunk to ihe first limb is 35ft, not 75ft, as reported, and-its girth is 45ft instead of 60ft. An official of the forestry service who measured the tree states that the tree is practically dead, there being only a little green bark on one side. The trunk is hollow, the shell varying from 6in to 12in in thickness. In days gone by it has been damaged by fire, and the skeleton is not likely to stand for many years. Thus it has little value for students of forestry and no value as timber. THE LARGEST KNOWN SPECIMEN.

The largest known kauri stands between Coromandel and Whitianga, near the road. It has admeasured girth of 50ft, and a computed height at the first limb of 36ft. It has an extraordinarily heavy head, the thick limbs rising to an unusual height. Unfortunately it is a sick, if not a dying tree. Vvhea the owner of the land was at the war felling operations were carried on right to the base of the tree, and during the “■burn’’ the giant was scorched on one side. Although the tree may continue to grow for many years, it is nqt likely the damage done by the fire will ever be repaired, as the slightest scorching is almost always fatal to the part affected in a kauri tree. There are unconfirmed reports that a much larger tre© formerly grew in the Trounson Park forest, but in the absence of proof the reported dimensions are not available for publication. The largest tree in tlie park has a trunk 25ft high and a girth of 34ft. This is a magnificent growing specimen that is perfectly sound. No official information is to be obtained as to the age of particular kauri trees. This is a subject that his never received much scientific study. An official is now engaged, however, in noting rates of growth, and it is his opinion that the average rate is much faster than is commonly understood. THE TREE A LIVING THING. A point often overlooked, to which attention has been drawn, is that there are many huge kauri trees long past maturity and now deteriorating. In the Waipoua forest, in the Hokianga County, for instance, are to be seen many dead and dying trees, not the toll ! of, fire, but ordinary wastage under the natural law of the survival of the fittest. This being so, it is obvious that while every effort should be made to pre- | serve giants, care should be taken to lifeguard lusty trees which will be the giants of future centuries. In an enthusiasm for the pieserviition of ancient things, people should not forget that a tree is a living thing that famine as a seedling, and grows, and ultimately dies. In Egypt, wo may see what the Pharaohs built with stone, but not even, an Egjptian guide would have the nerve to say: ‘This, gentlemen, is the oak upon which Absalom was hanged by his hair, although there are to be found dragomen who are emphatic that a tree at Matareih, a poor, gnarled thing, is the one under which Joseph and Mary _ rested with the Babe after their escape in Egypt. Trees, of course, can and do live for centuries. Authorities say that specimens of Californian redwoods nave lived as long as 2300 years, and kauris may have flourished for as long, but no matter how interesting the question of age may be to scientists, knowledge on the, subject does not increase one’s joy in the beauty and strength of a growing tree, nor has it much bearing on reproduction and regeneration, which are vital matters in the realm of practical forestry. There appears to be a tendency since afforestation came to bo understood as a national question for some people to forget that the object of tree-planting and tree conservation, except where flood prevention and the, maintenance of rivers are the chief consideration, is to. have Timber to out down in future years. Those who know the beauty of -wooded England know that afforestation has other than utilitarian aspects, but material needs provide the dnv ing 'force to afforestation at the present time. , FALLEN MONARCH HOLDS RECORD. It is interesting to recall that the largest known kauri was a- fallen monarch. In the forest at Kairaru, long before the axe and fire of the pakeha wrought destruction, the late Mr Percy Smith, who became Surveyor-general, found the log when conducting the triangulation of , North Auckland 'in the early 'seventies. “On one occasion,” ho wrote, “I was in advance of my men, they carrying the instruments and myself using my long knife to out a track up one of tile south-east spurs of Tut-ta-moe Mountain, when I saw (out of the corner of my eye, as were), in a slight depression what I took to be a cliff. But as I advanced a few paces I saw that I could look round it, and then it dawned on me that it was _ a kauri tree of enormous size. I think one of the men. measured the tree with his arm, and, at any rate, we came to the conclusion that it was just a chain (66ftl round., Some vears afterwards I got Henrv Wilson, then Crown lands ranger, from Whangnrei district, to measure it. This he did, and found it to be just 66ft in circumference.”