652 MISCELLANEOUS. [Fi^b. 



colliery proprietors, who purchase that class of timber — has spent a 

 considerable amount of time and trouble to ascertain the meaning of 

 it, or how it derives its name. The sellers can give no further 

 information than that it is sold to them as such. My friend has 

 consulted many professors of botany and etymology, scientists, and 

 also the leading librarians throughout England, and cannot get the 

 information required, notwithstanding that it is sold and purchased 

 as such. It is not very likely to be wood exported upon which a 

 duty has to be paid, because I understand there is no duty upon 

 timber exported to this country. Again, it could hardly be said 

 tliat it originally derived its name through any tax having ever been 

 paid upon it, as under such circumstances, whatever class of timber 

 it might be, it would be designated Debenture Wood, whereas it 

 is only with reference to a species of mining timber. I shall be 

 pleased to gather any information upon the subject. — Yours 

 faithfully, C. Gef.kard. 



l-2tJi' January 1886. 



Will any of our readers kindly oblige us witli the information 

 required by Mr. Gerrard ? — Ed. 



ISCELLANEOUS. 



The New South Wales Blue-Gum Teee. — Among the native 

 hardwood trees of the colony, the blue-gums {E. globulus) and 

 stringy-bark, both lofty trees, tlie former sometimes exceeding 200 

 feet, and the latter sometimes attaining even 400 feet in height, 

 furnish excellent timber. The blue-gum is especially valuable. Its 

 timber is of a pale colour, heavy, strong, and durable, considered 

 equal to English oak in transverse strength, and is most used for 

 .shipbuilding, coachbuilding, and house construction. Tlie honour of 

 first discovering this blue-gum in New South Wales appears, 

 according to Mr. Nilson, to be due to the Eev. Eobert Collie, F.I.S., 

 who found it growing in the open forest near Araluen, some few 

 years ago. The name stringy-bark is applied to a number of 

 E-Kcalypti, some eight in all. The loftiest of all is the E. capitdlata, 

 the name being suggested by the furrowed, fibrous nature of its bark, 

 which is used for thatching rural dwellings, and even making paper, 

 while the timber is largely used for flooring boards, etc. The E. 

 macrorhynclia and the E. oUiqua, also known as messmates, have 

 very similar characteristics. Several varieties of tlie peppermint 

 tree {E. piperita) are also called stringy-bark for a similar reason, 

 but the timber is inferior to that of the stringy-bark proper. 



