224 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



von Muellor says one pound and a half of black-wattle bark goes as 

 far as five pounds of oak-bark for tanning purposes. The Acacias 

 are very quick growers, and thrive in mild climates. It would not 

 be, in my opinion, a fruitless endeavour to experiment on tbo 

 growth of these interesting and technologically highly useful 

 plants in the milder regions of India, where there is neither much 

 moisture nor dryness in the air, and where the climate is more 

 equable and favourable to the growth of vegetation which partakes 

 of a semi-tropical character. The blackwood tree is being extensively 

 cultivated for its timber and bark in Portugal. The Acacias of 

 Australia to my mind appear to be of much practical interest, inas- 

 much as in India we have several varieties, such as the Acacia 

 catechu, Acacia arabica, Acacia concinna, Acacia "procera, yielding 

 gum, tannin and useful timber. Some of the Australian Acacias 

 are very gay and lovely, and some sweet-scented. The most attrac- 

 tive object throughout the whole range of Australian vegetation, 

 however, is the interminable genus Eucalyptus. Its height in pro- 

 portion to the period of its growth is simply marvellous. It is 

 unparalleled, says the Baron von Mueller, in the celerity of its 

 growth among hard-wood trees. • Tall and erect, towering high 

 in air, often with a tender-looking stem and bluish foliage, these 

 trees are among the first to attract a traveller's attention. When in 

 flower, they are exceedingly pretty, especially those with rich 

 crimson and scarlet bunches of flowers. The gum trees are not all 

 of uniform appearance as regard their central stocks and stems. 

 Some shed their barks annually, and are thus named the "stringy 

 bark. " Large masses of this bark are seen sometimes peeling off 

 from the stalk and hanging the whole length of it. I have here a 

 specimen of the bark of Melaleuca genistifolia, belonging to the 

 natural order Myrtaceoe, to which the Eucalyptus genus belongs. 

 It is called the paper bark tree. It will give you an idea how 

 microscopically fine the bark layers are. It was taken from the Mel- 

 bourne Botanical Gardens at the kind suggestion of Mr. Guilfoyle, 

 the accomplished Director. To Mr. Guilfoyle's generosity this Society 

 should feel particularly indebted when I say that the specimen 

 papers and fibres which are placed before you to-day, and presented 

 by me to the Society, are the unstinted gift of Mr. Guilfoyle. 



But let mo proceed to further describe the Flora. The Myrta- 

 ceous plants are numerous in Australia. The Melaleucas and 

 Callistemons aro very graceful when in blossom and even out of 



