RESOLUTIONS OE JOINT COMMITTEE ON COLONIAL INDUSTRIES.

5

G.—No. 16.

No. 4. Mr. J. Knowies to Mr G-. W. Blaie. 8m '~ T -~ ~, ~ _. . Public Works Office, 26th September, 1871. tt * .1 am directed by Mr. Gisborne to draw your attention to the enclosed memorandum by Dr Sots suiSi?for P pubHc 8 ;t£ c importance of testing' from time to time 'thosß woods that be _ It is not desired that a collection of such woods should at once bo made, but in calling for tenders it is considered advisable that when practicable, tenderers should be asked to send in samples of the woods Proposed to be used, of the sizes mentioned by Dr. Hector, and that they should afterwards be forwarded to the Museum at Wellington for scientific examination If m any other way opportunity should offer of forwarding Dr. Hector's views, especially in reference to doubtful woods, you would, by availing yourself of it, be advancing the public interest G-. W. Blair, Esq., District Engineer, Dunedin. John Kxowles [A similar letter to the above sent to Mr Bray.]

Enclosure in ]\ To. 4. Memoeandum by Dr. Hectoe. S^asforesttree^- 81021 '^^ ™™S °f the ™ th° 7 ar° CaUed> Thl' ce sPecieB onlF 1. Vagus menziesh.-Tlus i, ,in Wellington, rod birch; Nelson, white birch. ; Otago, red birch 2. Far/us fmca.-Thwiu in Wellington, black or red birch ; Nelson, red birch ; Otago, black birch 3. Farjus solandn.-ThAS is m Wellington, black birch ; Nelson, black birch ; Otago white birch " In Canterbury, and the Amuri districts, the last-mentioned, Faaus solandri, isi divided by the settlers into two varieties, one being called black, and the other white birch J As to the quality of the different varieties, I find, after correcting the names that — 1. Far/us^ menzwsitm j Wellington, is classed with F. fusca, and is not useful, 'in Nelson this wood! , s likewise not valued In Otago, this species is considered the best of all the kinds, and, next to the Kauri, the best wood m New Zealand, for strength and durability. 2 Fagus fusca in Wellington, is not considered a valuable tree. In Nelson, it is considered to be better than No. 1 but inferior to No. 3. In Otago, is one of the largest timber'trees inthfeountry wood, clear grained, splits freely, but is not so lasting, when exposed as No 1 3. Foam solandri is most valued in Wellington and Nelson, being used for fencing • the heart of the wood becoming exceedingly hard with age. The Waiau-ua Bridge is said to be built of this timber which was cut at Motueka, in Nelson. In Otago this wood occurs chiefly along the s deTof tie streams, among the mountains, and on the West Coast, and is considered worthless for anything but cooper work. The three species are easily distinguished by the leaves and bark together 1. Fagus mcnziesn has a-small heart-shaped, rigid leaf, with round notches; the bark, especially on the young stems, and small twigs, having horizontal bars like a cherry stem. In the old trunk the bark breaks into longitudinal furrows, and the horizontal marking disappears 2. Fagus fusca has a thin membranaceous leaf of considerable size, and with sharp pointed notches The bark is dark when young, and when old, very thick, rough, and of a dull red or brown colour 3. Fayus solandri, alwaya a white bark, unless when covered with a sooty coating, which appears to arise from disease. The leaves are small and with smooth edo-es appears rfi.J^^^^ 01"1'^ B',l^o^ 1'11' 11?*™6^^'" 1'6'1 from the<leav^ of these three species of birch (tigs. 1, 2, 3)— will illustrate the peculiarities by which they are to be recognized The Miro (Podocarpus firruginea) fig. 4, and the Matai (P. spicata) fig. 5, are also contrasted as aWe Sthan etho rformer Pr °Pc J dlStmgUlshcd m the selection of timber, the latter being much more valuThe Manoa (Bacrydium oolensoi) fig. G, one of the most lasting and invaluable timbers in New /lea and, has also been given for comparison with the Kawaka (Librocedus donianus), fig. 7 (which is a worthless wood for out-door work,) as in one stage of its growth the leaves of the former re einble those of the latter and I find that they are both occasionally called "cedar," a name which should be applied only to trio ivtiwiiKti. l r , ~°'l ly t}'ree-.f ™Ples of, rch belonging to the two species Fagus menziesii and F. fmca were tested by the late Mr. Balfour, and the result shows that the estimate of the relative value of the woods of the o mlaV°Ur ofJ!/«**». s™wn both in Wellington and Otago, as against F. menziesii It would be most advantageous if samples, not only of the birch woods, but all other timbers which are likely to be used or suggested for use in the public works in different parts of the Colony, were col ected under the superintendence of the District Engineers, or other qualified persons and forwarded, along with specimens of the leaves (and flowers if possible), to the Colonial Museum' where they could be tested and preserved for reference. An average section of the trunk of a well' sized tree should be sent in each case, not less than 2 feet in length, and in large trees about one-fourth of the tree taking care to preserve the bark, and to keep the specimen bound together with iron hoop Samples of sawn timber of each tree should also be sent, such as pieces of scantling or boards' showing the ordinary form in which it is found in the market, and which should be the samples tested' The appended extract from Mr. Balfour's report, shows that he did not consider that his inquiry HS33£2SSS?^iS2&Sl at the time of llis dcath 'he was engaged in collecti^ the JSjdtdissaiiss ess s& s/ 116*shouid bo requested to forward a sp— °f 1871. James Hectoe _