Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/327

XXXVIII.] Zealand, and is one of the most magnificent of the vegetable productions of that country. It is tolerably abundant, prefers a rich alluvial soil, moisture and shelter, and is rarely seen upon dry or moderately elevated situations.

It is of straight growth, and attains a height of from 80 to 100 feet, with a circumference of 6 to 9 feet. It rises fully 40 to 50 feet clear of branches, above which they are thrown out in long, curved, pendulous forms. These, in their turn, give out numerous filamentary branchlets, surrounded with short, light green, thread¬ like leaves, the whole drooping, and exhibiting a very graceful appearance, and rendering the tree especially valuable for ornamental purposes.

The duramen, or heart-wood, is much varied in dolour; for some few inches round the pith it is brown or chestnut, but beyond this it is lighter, with a nice diversity of shade and figure. It is moderately hard, but appears to be deficient in tenacity, it planes up smoothly, takes a good polish, and would be useful to the cabinet-maker for the manufacture of furniture.

The Rimu tree yields timber 10 to 30 inches square, and 20 to 50 feet in length; the natives employ it for their buildings and stockades, and occasionally for making canoes, but they swim rather heavily as compared with Kauri; they wear well, however, and last them a long time.

Several of these beautiful Rimu plants, which I brought to England in the years 1841 to 1843, Sir Wm. Symonds presented to the Royal Botanic Society for their Gardens at Kew, where, under the careful management of Sir Wm. Hooker, they grew up to be fine trees of 25 to 30 feet in height. They stood for many years, during the summer months, in large square