548 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



thinness of shingles, and split it even thinner. Then if a splitter 

 showed such very thin pieces to other splitters, naturally some 

 would say that it was mere accident to get those pieces so thin, 

 ■and there was nothing remarkable about it. The result of that 

 was that some splitters would set to work and cut out pieces the 

 length of a shingle and somewhat longer; these they would split 

 as fine as they possibly could, taking care to leave a short portion 

 of it solid; this solid portion they called the " tail." If a splitter 

 had such a piece, then of course he had evident proof that it was 

 not mere accident but downright dexterity in splitting which 

 accomplished the feat. This fine splitting was carried so far that 

 ^given a good tree) they would sjDlit a piece into such thin portions 

 that one could bend them like the leaves of a book, which it 

 roughly resembled, with the solid part at one end resembling the 

 back of the book. Those pieces were called "Cut-tail," and the 

 splitters were very proud of them, as it required a delicate touch 

 for a rough working man to split so thin and yet stop short at the 

 right moment, so as not to run the piece out in its whole length, 

 else of course it would not be a " Cut-tail " From the piece 

 itself the name was transferred to the tree, and a splitter would 

 point out to you that such and such a tree is a " Cut-tail." This 

 is the origin of the name, which is certainly at first sight puzzling 

 and meaningless enough.' 



Mr. Baker also exhibited cultures of the Fungus Einpusa 

 acridii, received from South Africa where it is used in the 

 extermination of the predatory locusts. 



Messrs. Baker and H, Gr. Smith exhibited botanical specimens 

 and chemical products obtained from certain Eucalypts, and 

 stated a case for discussion. Herbarium specimens were shown 

 of a Eucalypt which is to be found at Berrima and also at 

 Lawson, Blue Mts., and these are i*egarded by botanists as 

 referable to one and the same species, U. stricta, Sieb. When 

 their essential oils and other constituents are examined these are 

 -found to differ, the yield of the trees from one locality being 

 worthless, of those from the other valuable. The question was 



