536. The Cowrie, or Kauri, called also the Pitch-tree, is a native of New Zealand, and one of the most magnificent of the Coniferae. It is said to grow to a height of 80 to 140 feet, with a straight clean stem from 4 to 8 feet in diameter, and contains a considerable quantity of resin, which exudes from it spontaneously. The wood is close, even, and finegrained; the texture uniform, the colour a light yellowish brown, with a silky lustre, and the annual rings marked by a line of a deeper tint of the same colour. In 1856 two spars of this timber were imported, 100 feet long and 34 1/2 inches in diameter, said to be without a knot.

The cowrie is chiefly used in this country for the masts and spars of ships, for which it appears to be well adapted, as well as for joiners' work, as it is less liable to shrink, and stands equally well with the pines and firs of Europe and America; it also unites well with glue. It is found, however, to buckle and expand very much when cut into narrow strips for inside mouldings. Mr. Fincham exposed to the weather for more than eighteen months a piece of cowrie half an inch thick and about 12 inches wide, with a wind-shock extending part of the way up from one end, at the end of which time "it underwent no other alteration than that the sap that was on it to some distance from one edge disappeared, and the wood was left with the colour and firmness fully elaborated." *

* 'Papers on Naval Architecture.' vol. i., p. 56.

The cohesive force of cowrie is from 9600 to 10,9601bs. per square inch.

The weight of the modulus of elasticity for a square inch is 1,982,400 lbs., and the weight of a cubic foot when dry varies from 35 to 40 1/4 lbs.

Class II.

537. This class includes all non-coniferous trees; they are distinguished from the coniferous trees by the fruit and shape of the leaves, by containing no turpentine, and by the hardness of the wood. Many of the trees included in this class have been arranged by botanists under different natural orders.

Division I. Large Medullary Rays, Or Silver Grain Distinct. Sub-Div. I

Annual rings distinct, one side porous, the other compact.