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Rimu (red-pine) is next in popular use to kauri, and is consumed in greater quantities than any other timber. It grows universally over New Zealand, and is used principally for house and carriage building, furniture-making, &c. Figured boards are highly valued for pannelling, mantelpieces, skirting-boards, and doors. Kahikatea (white-pine) is also found all over the Dominion. It is particularly valued for butter-boxes, packing-cases, boxing for concrete, and for temporary work generally. Manoao (silver-pine) grows in many districts, and has been used for sleepers, house-blocks, and posts, with excellent results. It is a very durable timber, and suitable for many ordinary purposes for which these qualities are essential. Matai (black-pine) is found is most localities. It is a timber of great durability, and is largely used for flooring, framing, joists, house-blocks, bridgebuilding, sleepers, verandah-posts, and fencing purposes. Puriri is one of the strongest and most durable timbers in the world. Its chief use is for railway sleepers, for which purpose it is unsurpassed, and it is also used for posts, house-blocks, culverts, carriage and bridge building. Mottled puriri is largely used in Auckland for ornamental furniture. Tawa, although plentiful in certain localities, is not much in demand. It has been used for making casks and furniture, and is now used to a small extent for the inside lining of houses. Beech (or " birch," as it is popularly called in New Zealand), is gradually coining into use in many districts, particularly Canterbury, Southland, Nelson, and Westland. The chief variety milled is Fagus fusca, known locally as " redbirch," "brown-birch," and "black-birch." It is used principally for fencing and mining purposes, house-blocks, bridge-building, &c. Prior to an import duty boing placed upon it by the Commonwealth of Australia, a remunerative business in its export was done by Southland sawmillers. Mills that were specially erected in that district for sawing this timber for the Australian trade have been forced to close down in consequence of the imposition of the duty, which amounts to 2s. 6d. per 100 sup. ft. The other timbers used, though not to any great extent, comprise pohutukawa, mangeao, maire, rata, miro, pukatea, rewarewa (honeysuckle), hinau, and tanekaha (celery-pine). The remainder of our trees are seldom used for commercial purposes. It is a fact which does not appear to be sufficiently known that this country is well supplied with cabinetmaking Avoods of a superior quality, but it is a matter for regret that they are not known or utilised by furniture-makers to the extent they deserve. Handbook. It is desirable that something should be done to encourage a greater local consumption of our native timbers. Undoubtedly, ignorance of their properties is mainly responsible for lack of their use. It is therefore recommended that a complete and reliable handbook on New Zealand timbers should be prepared by the Government and published for general information, giving particulars as to their characteristics, qualities, strength, and durability, and the varied purposes for which they are suitable. If such particulars are disseminated amongst the furniture-makers of this Dominion, and also in Australia, it is thought that a greater demand might be created. Evidence has been given as to the respective durability and strength of our timbers as compared with Australian, Canadian, and American woods, but, as the evidence was of a conflicting character, we recommend that a series of tests be conducted by responsible officers in order that reliable information and records dealing with the matter may be available to the public. Similar tests with regard to timber in other countries have been made from time to time, and have proved very useful in determining how far they are suitable for foreign requirements.

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