THE KARAKA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 678, 29 July 1865, Page 3

THE KARAKA.

The following is from the Australasian of the 30th June :—

Sir, — I have sent you by the P., N.Z., and A.R.M. Co., a parcel containing about half a bushol of seed of the karaka (Cornnocarpus Icevigata). It is a very haudsome evergreen, more so than the laurel : is one of the few taprooted trees snpposed to be indigenous (the natives say their forefathers brought the seed with them from Awaiki), will bear lopping, and supplies in its green state very nutritive and palatable food for horses and cattle. I shall be happy to receive any seeds you may think worth giving in exchange of Australiau eucalypti, mimosas, accacias, &o. ; and I shall bo happy to Bend you any other seeds that I cau obtain. The ones sent seem to me to be the only kind worth your having ; but I cannot send you more till next season, as the cattle vory soon pick them up off the ground. The seed requires to be sown without delay, as it will not keep out of the ground. The se idlings require care in transplanting, and do not transplant easily after the first year, unless the taproot is shortened, and they are kept in pots. Chahles Bkown.

Taranaki, N.Z., May 31. [We are much obliged to Mr. Brown for his interesting and valuable present. When the package of seed comes to hand we shall send it to Dr. Mueller, the Government Botanist of Victoria, who has promised to give in exchange the seeds our correspondent desires. Dr. Mueller has also favoured us with the following memorandum in reference to Mr. Brown's letter : "The Karaka, Oornycarpus, is certainly among the most magnificent trees we could select for our avenues. Its deop dark green foliage affords a more perfect shade than that of most trees, and the aspect of large trees in their native forests is said to be iadiscribably grand. It is not of quick growth, but certainly a hardy plant, equally ready to cope with drought and with frost. I would direct the thoughtful sendei-'s attention to the desirability of rendering also the species of Pittosporum of New Zealand, nearly a dozen kinds, largely accessible to us. These beautiful trees are restricted to the islands, can more only from there be obtained until they are seed-bearing elsewhere, and no extensive garden of the warmer temperate zone should bo without them.

" Unlike the seed of the Karaka, that of the Pittospora will retain its power of germination, for sometime, and thus great facilities exist for the distribution of these desirable trees over distant countries."

[To the question in our correspondent's post* cript, we can answer positively in the negative. — Ed.J