562 THE EUCALYPTS OF PARRAMATTA, 



also do E. saligna, E. punctata, E. acnienioides, E. panicnlafa, 

 and E. pilularis. In addition, E. corijmbosa and E. hamiastoma 

 are generally met in company. The physical conditions suiting 

 one member of the group, suit the others. 



The Parramatta District may be briefly described as a huge 

 natural amphitheatre, with the town lying rather low in the 

 centre, at a level of 50 to 100 feet above the sea; and the Parra- 

 matta River running west to east, dividing it into a northern 

 and southern half. The latter is covered by a deep, heavy 

 Wianamatta clay-shale formation, nmch of it rather low-lying and 

 fairly level, but gradually rising to a height of about 150 feet. 

 This country has a fair rainfall, but the soil is not very fertile, 

 in places being almost barren, though, with careful cultivation, 

 grapes and peaches grow well. It is also suited to x'ose-growing, 

 but citrus fruits do badly. To the west of the town, we still 

 have the Wianamatta clay, but the atmosphere is much drier, 

 the rainfall less, it gets less of the sea-breezes, and is exposed to 

 the hot dry westerlies in summer, and to very severe frosts in 

 winter. On the northern side, the land rises to a much greater 

 height, 500-550 feet at Galston, and is mainly composed of 

 Hawkesbury sandstone or a thin stratum of Wianamatta clay- 

 shale overlying this, while deep gullies erode it, and give free 

 drainage. This part is the liome of citrus fruit, the growing of 

 which has always been the main Parramatta industry. Through 

 the district are also a number of volcanic dykes and necks, the 

 best known of which are those at Dundas and Prospect. The 

 soil overlying these is richer in quality, but is not deep enough 

 nor extensive enough to have any influence on the character of 

 the flora. 



Let us now consider, in detail, the various Eucalypts and their 

 distribution. In the rather flat, deep-clay country around llook- 

 wood, Granville, and Auburn, in the south-eastern quadrant, 

 where there is much ironstone-gravel in the clay, we mostly find 

 E. sic?ero/)/i^oia( Broad-leaved Ironbark), EAomjifolia^WooWyhwit), 

 and E. resinifera(Ii(id Mahogany); while, on the higher ground, 

 one meets a good proportion of E. tereticornis (Red Gum), E. 

 eugenioides{V^ hite Stringybark), and E. hemiphloia(Y cWow Box). 



