president's address. 635 



were found to have grown up again, attaining a diameter of 15-20 

 inches; after fifty years' growth the girth was about 63 inches. In 

 Observatory Park specimens of Eucalyptus globulus grew to 

 4H-46 inches in circumference in 16 years. Some examples of 

 Finui insignis of the same age were measured in November, 

 1891, and were found to be from 31 1 to 35 J inches in circumfer- 

 ence 3 feet from the ground. The situation, however, Mr. 

 Russell saj^s, does not suit this species of tree, so that of course 

 under favourable circumstances the growth would have been 

 much greater. 



I have obtained from Mr. Bray, Police Magistrate of Murwill- 

 umbah, who has had long and valuable experience in the "bush," 

 some particulars as to the growth of red cedar, Gedrela australis, 

 and other trees. He says, writing to Mr. Caswell : — "I have seen 

 a cedar sapling about one foot in diameter and, I should say, 3 or 4 

 3^ears old, grow into a tree 3 feet indiameter(20 feetfrom the ground) 

 in 1 7 years." "It is very hard to tell when a tree has matured, but 

 from what I have seen of different trees, I should say that most 

 of the ' scrub ' trees would grow into good timber and to full size 

 in 25 years." As to the number growing per acre, he adds, " I 

 once felled 38 cedar trees on one acre of land; all these were large 

 trees, none less than 3 feet in diameter, 20 feet from the ground. 

 This was up near Tyalgum." "Some of the very large cedar trees 

 that I have seen here must have been very old — perhaps 100 

 years." 



Mr. Gill, Conservator of Forests at Adelaide, found poplar, 

 pine and oak grown at the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide, to be of 

 good convertible size after 30 years. At Mount Gambler Pinus 

 iiisi'/nis, after 30 years, fetched fifty shillings. Mr. Gill is of 

 opinion that whereas trees in Europe take 60 to 120 years to 

 mature, they will take only half that time in Australia. Speci- 

 mens of Eucalyptus globulus, after 17 and 18 years, produced 

 telegraph poles 25 feet long, each from 8 to 10 cubic feet 

 in measurement. The trees were from 50 to 60 feet high. 

 E. corynocalyx (sugar gum) grew after 14 years to a height of 68 

 feet — a bottom log 12 feet long, containing 11 cubic feet, was cut 



