126 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1884. 



EUOALYPTOGRAPHIA. 



This splendid work, probably the masterpiece of Baron 

 Von Mueller — our Government botanist — a credit to Aus- 

 tralia, and certainly one of the best monographs ever pub- 

 lished, has now reached its tenth decade, and 100 species 

 have been described and illustrated in the most ample 

 manner. The fullest aud most minute details are given of 

 leaves, buds, flowers, fruit, seeds, organs of fructification, 

 aud every other portions of the plant; separate drawings 

 are also given of the venation of leaves, sections of the 

 wood, the bark, and in the present decade are drawings 

 of the cotyledons and cotyledonar leaves of 27 species, of 

 natural size, from living seedlings specially raised for the 

 purpose. These drawings are of immense value in a botan- 

 ical sense, for, as the author remarks:— •' Great specific 

 diversities are apparent in the cotyledonar leaves, the size 

 and shape of which stand in relation to the dimensions 

 and form of the cotyledons." These vary greatly: some 

 as E. cornata are deeply lobed, others are round, some 

 kidney-shaped, in various degrees. In E. calophylla, the 

 cotyledons are fully an inch across, while those of others 

 decline to little more than a line in width. Drawings of 

 the young roots are also given, showing equally great divers- 

 ity in size and branching. They are all faithfully depicted 

 by Mr. Emil Todt, to whom the Baron accords a deserved 

 meed of praise for the ardour he brought to bear on the 

 furtherance of the present publication. 



The first is Eucalyptus cornuta, so named from the 

 flower lid, which attains a length of upwards of an inch. 

 It is from the vicinity of Geographe Bay, eastward at least 

 to the neighbourhood of Gape Arid, extending inland to 

 the Stirling's Range. It appears that the vernacular name 

 is "Tate." It is a tree of mod. rate size, rising excep- 

 tionally to 100 feet, adapted to poor soil, but preferring 

 humid localities, thriving even in moist tropical climates, 

 and being so rapid in its development as to have made 

 exceptionally as much as W) feet growth in one year The 

 flowers are large and showy, the stamens being 1 T inch 

 long The hard and elastic wood of the " Yate " is sought 

 particularly for cart shafts, agricultural implements and 

 boat ribs, being for these purposes as eligible as that ot 

 E. loxopiileba, and approaching in value to that of the 

 English ash. It is very heavy, the heaviest of all West 

 Australian kinds of timber. 



Eucalyptus eximia. from the slopes of the blue mount- 

 ains in New South Wales, is known as the Mountain 

 Bloodwood tree, and attains a maximum height of 80 f et. 

 It is a stately and handsome tree, the abundant bunches 

 of flowers being conspicuous among the dark foliage when 

 in about October the tree bursts into blooming. It affords 

 no durable timber, but good fuel, the wood being soft ana 

 licrht colored. The author here remarks that the lid ot h. 

 eximia affords excellent material for tracing the metamor- 

 phosis of a calyx into a corolla, and gives an excellent 

 lesson on the subject. 



Eucalyptus Foelscheana, found in the vicinity of Port 

 Darwin on sandy soil, is a shrub, sometimes flowering at 

 the height of 2 feet, the greatest height attained being 

 20 feet, with a stem diameter of only 12 inches as a m ix- 

 imum 'The leaves are large, measuring often 4 to 5 inches 

 in lem'th and 2 to 4 inches in width, and exceptionally 

 in young plants to 9 inches in length and 6 inches in width. 

 Eucalyptus Howittiana, found by Dallachy near Rock- 

 ingham Bay and other places, but now hue gregarious. A 

 tree attaining a height of 100 feet, and at the base a 

 girth of 12 feet. It is one of the limited number ot Eu- 

 calyptus species available for shade trees. The author here 

 gives some apropos remarks on the raising and transplant- 

 ing of Eucalypts. 



Eucalyptus patens— the Blackbuttof South-western Aus- 

 tralia, is a tree attaining a height of 120 feet, the clear 

 stem reaching sometimes 60 feet, with a diameter of feet 

 in its lower portion, and even 10 feet near the base. Its 

 timber is considered durable in S. W. Australia : it is 

 tough, hence used for wheelwright's work, and is difficult 

 to split, A dissertation is here furnished on dry distil- 

 lation for the separation of the tar, vinegar and spirits, in 

 whirb it is stated that from ldi) lb. air dried wood would 



1 btained nearly 2 gallons of vinegar of proof strength, 



affording bv simple cheniic processes pure acetic acid, or 

 fit for entering into various dyes, or eligible for combination 



with many chemical bases, or answering after purification 

 for preserving culinary fruits. 



Eucalyptus salmonophloia, from the upper eastern part 

 of Swan River and its affluents. A tree attaining to fully 

 100 feet in height, known vernacularly as the " Salmon- 

 colored Gum tree." As it is one of the oil-bearing Eucal- 

 ypts, the opportunity is taken of discoursing on the qual- 

 ities and uses of Eucalyptus oil, its effects on the blood 

 and brain, and on animals, insects, &c. One-half per cent 

 of the oil will destroy crayfishes in water. 



Eucalyptus salubris, from the eastern bases of the Dar- 

 ling Ranges, towards the more arid inland tracts, as far as 

 Victoria Springs (Giles), forming with E. salmonophloia 

 small open forests. This is the "Fluted Gum tree," and 

 also " Gimlet Gum tree " of the AVest Australian colon- 

 ists, so called on account of the broad longitudinal often 

 twisted impressions, or wide blunt longitudinal ridges of 

 the stem, a characteristic quite unique. The specific name 

 is from the sanitary importance of this tree which con- 

 tains an extraordinary abundance of oil in its foliage, and 

 which renders this species significant. A number of in- 

 stances are given of the uses and effects of Eucalyptus 

 oil ; its antiseptic power has been proved by injecting it 

 into the veins of rabbits, preventing thereby putrid decom- 

 position and mummifying the cadaver. One-half per cent 

 of oil in water will preserve raw meat from decay; one 

 part and a half of oil in 1000 parts of fluids prevents the 

 development of bacteria. Indeed, stagnant water into which 

 many 'Eucalyptus leaves have dropped seems to prevent 

 origination of fever even in malarial regions. 



Eucalyptus TEBETICORNIS, from Gippsland to New Eng- 

 land. A good-sized tree when well developed, but seldom 

 exceeding 100 feet in height. It is known as " Red Gum " 

 ami -Flooded Cum." The timber is pronounced excellent, 

 and seems to participate in the durability and general 

 qualities of that of E. rostrata. This and E. rostrata, and 

 perhaps some other species, become sometimes destroyed 

 over extensive areas by a Pasmatideous insect, which, when 

 occasionally developing in vast numbers, devour the foliage 

 of these trees so completely as to cause them to die off. 



Eucalyptus tesselaris, "from near the south-eastern 

 shores of" the Gulf of Oarpentria to the vicinity of More- 

 ton Bay. A tree generally of middle size, but tall in many 

 places; leaves very long and narrow. Colonists designate 

 this tree as the "Moreton 'Bay Ash." It extends to New 

 Guinea. It must be regarded as a species of considerable 

 importance. It is not only content with dry localities, whe- 

 ther ridges or flats, but braves even the long continued 

 lint winds of the midsummer in Central Australia on places 

 .Inn the thermometer will give on unshaded spots to 

 154 degrees. Even contending against such climatic ad- 

 versities, this tree will gain a height up to 150 feet and 

 a stem diameter of 3 feet. The timber is easily worked, 

 but not very durable when exposed to weather. Kino is 

 exuded by this tree in not inconsiderable quantity period- 

 ically. 



Eucalyptus Todtiana, named in honor of Mr. Emil Todt, 

 one of the artists engaged on the work, is a native of 

 West Australia. It is a small tree, not perhaps of any 

 teclmic importance, but will yield fuel in localities too arid 

 for numerous other kinds of Eucalypts. — Leader. 



COCHINEAL AND COCHINEAL COLOURING. 



Cochineal is not a substance that can be said to be of any 

 very great importance from a pharmaceutical point of view, 

 but, owing to the many practical uses to which it is ap- 

 plied in the arts, no chemist can well afford to be ignor- 

 ant of something regarding its history, its properties, and 

 its derivatives. We intend giving a short account of 

 these ; and. for the purpose of giving the paper a practical 

 application to pharmacy, we will touch upon various pro- 

 cesses tor making cochineal colouring, a most useful, but, 

 if we may judge from the amouut of correspondence it 

 provokes, a most troublesome accessory to the pharmacist's 

 stock-in-trade. 



natural history, &c. 



The Qoecidse are a very numerous and very peculiar class 

 of insects which attach themselves to particular plants, on 

 the inices of which they feed. The male Coccida; are 

 minute two-winged insects, the wings closing horizontally 



