BY THE REV. DR. WOOLLS, D.D., F.L.S., ETC. 507 



wood of this Ironbark is the least esteemed of the four species, to 

 which our Ironbarks are now referred. Though more easily- 

 worked, and sometimes used for the naves of wheels, and also 

 for piles and posts standing in the ground (for which purposes it 

 seems adapted), it does not split well, nor is it considered durable. 

 When in flower, the smaller trees have an ornamental appearance, 

 for the blossoms resemble those of the Peach, and the drooping 

 foliage is somewhat pale and silvery. As far as I Lave observed, 

 this tree does not occur on the Hawkesbury Eocks, but prefers 

 the red sandstone. 



Though the Eucalypts of the county of Cumberland do not rise 

 to the towering height of those in Victoria and Western Australia, 

 nor have any of the species acquired so much celebrity as the 

 far-famed E. glohidus, yet they afford timber for a great variety 

 of purposes ; whilst their leaves, resin, and bark may be utilized 

 in many ways which the progress of science is continually revealing. 

 It is to be lamented, that in the early days of the colony, so many- 

 valuable trees were destroyed in the process of burning off, and 

 that farms, in the neighbourhood of Sydney and Parramatta, 

 have been completely denuded of timber. The indiscriminate 

 destruction of such trees has not only deprived the cattle of 

 shelter, but, in some places, there is a scarcity of timber for 

 fencing or fuel, which will render it necessary ere long to reverse 

 the policy of former days, and to raise again, if possible, forests of 

 despised gum trees. I have long considered, that, on economic, 

 as well as on sanitary grounds, it is very imprudent to slay the 

 giants of the forest merely to get them out of the way, and I have 

 remonstrated especially on the folly of ring-barking valuable 

 Ironbarks for the temporary purpose of increasing the growth of 

 the grass. Such trees may yet be wanted, and it may take a 

 longer time to raise them than many suppose. And this leads 

 me to remark, in conclusion, that whilst some Eucalypts are 

 rapid in growth, others require centuries for their full develop- 

 ment. This consideration may account in some measure, for the 



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