H.—25,

10

22. Mapau.— (Myrsine australis.) 23. —Tipau, Toro of the South Island (not of the North.) — (Myrsine salicina.) These have been used, in places where good timber is scarce, for house blocks, fencing, &c, but cannot be considered durable, although valued for inlaying, veneers, &c. 24. Tawa. — (Nesodaphne tawa.) 25. Taeaiee. — (Nesodaphne taraire.) Handsome trees, 40 to 50 feet high, trunks Ito 2 feet in diameter; timber compact, and taking a fine surface, but not durable when exposed. The tawa occurs throughout the North Island, and sparingly in the northern part of the South Island. In some localities in the Northern Island it often forms two-thirds of the forest. It has been sparingly utilized in the,manufacture of tubs, buckets, &c. The tarire is not found south of the Lower Waikato. It yields a finer timber than the Tawa, and occurs in large quantity, but has only been utilized for shingles. 26. Mangeao.— (Tetranthera calicaris.) A small tree, most plentiful north of the Auckland Isthmus; height 40 feet; timber closegrained and tough. Utilized for the manufacture of ships' blocks, &c. 27, 28. Maiee.— (Olea cunninghamii and O. lanceolata.) 29. Black Maiee.— (Olea apetala.) 30. Maiee. — (Santalwm cunninghamii.) These afford fine-grained timber of great density, and are extremely durable. All are commonly called " Maire " alike by settlers and Natives. Black maire usually attains the largest dimensions, and is sometimes found 40 feet high or more. Santalwm is the least of the group, but even stems of this, no thicker than a man's wrist, make durable fencing rails. The timber of the olives has been occasionally utilized for machine beds, as at the Thames Gold Fields, but deserves to be much better known. Most of the wood sections labelled Santalum cunninghamii in our museums belong to Olea apetala, the black maire. All the kinds are confined to the North Island, and are most plentiful in the Province of Auckland. 31.—Kohe-kohe. — (Dysoxylum spectabile.) A handsome tree, with the trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter: heart-wood reddish, tough, but not durable. The timber is occasionally used by the cabinetmaker, but is not so well known as it deserves to be. 32. —Titoki.— (Alectryon excelsum.) This well-known tree is generally distributed through the colony, except, perhaps, in the extreme South, and affords -a tough, close-grained timber, well adapted for the purposes of the machinest, but not durable when exposed. 33.—Kawaka. — (Libocedrus doniana.) This noble tree may be found from 60 to 100 feet high, the trunk from 3 to 5 feet in diameter. I am not aware that the timber has been utilized except for fencing-rails, but there can be little doubt that it will prove equally durable with its congener, L. bidwillii, which has already been noticed. Some of the finest specimens known to me are in the Hunua district, but is is generally scattered through the North Island. 34.—Manoao.— (Dacrydium colensoi.) A small tree, 30 to 40 feet high, found in various places from the Bay of Islands to Dunedin, but has scarcely been utilized except locally for house building, although well known to the Natives as one of the most durable timbers in the colony. Mr. Bell, of Whangaroa, informed me that round piles, the thickness of a man's arm, driven into the bed of the river at Waimate, in the construction of a Native pah, were perfectly sound, although eighty years old. 35. —Kohutuhutu—Fuchsia.— (Fuchsia excorticata.) Appears to furnish a durable timber. House blocks in use in Dunedin for more than twenty years are still sound and good. 36. —Pokako. — (Elaocarpus hookerianus.) This timber has been utilized on the Invercargill railways, for the construction of earth-wagons, with excellent results. 37.—Pukatea.— (Atherosperma Nova Zelandice.) A striking tree, sometimes 150 feet high, with a trunk 3 to 6 feet and upwards in diameter. Common in swampy places. Timber soft, but apparently durable in water. It has been used in Auckland for boat building, but is not valued.