HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



Are There Fortunes In Eucalyptus? 



The Hakdwood Eecord is in receipt of the 

 following letter: 



St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 29, 1909. — Editor 

 Hardwood Recokd : Under separate cover 1 

 am sending you a report on Eucalyptus made by 

 Messrs. Von Schrenlv. Fullss & Kammerer, tim- 

 ber engineers of St. Louis, who, I am told, ranlj 

 among the foremost authorities on timber in the 

 United States. Kindly advise me your opinion 

 of it. 



The reason for doing so is that having read In 

 one of your previous issues several articles de- 

 rogatory to eucalyptus, and having personally 

 become very much interested in the industry, 

 after considerable investigation in the West, 

 and knowing that a certain large carriage man- 

 ufacturing concern in this town is using certain 

 varieties of eucalyptus for hubs and felloes. 



Any information which you can give me will 

 be appreciated. Yours very truly, 



James Muir. 



The report of Von Schreak, Fulis and 

 lirammerer referred to is a document of some 

 forty pages. The preface states that the 

 planting of eucalyptus trees for industrial 

 purposes and commercial profit is rapidly 

 becoming widespread, and the general recog- 

 nition of the value of eucalyptus lumber to 

 replace the dwindling supply of hardwoods 

 is focusing public attention on this new in- 

 dustry of California. 



The preface also recites the history and 

 standing of Prof. Von Schrenk, who is a 

 well-known botanist and expert in forestry 

 matters, and incidentally refers to E. B. 

 Fulks and Alfred Kammerer, who, it says, 

 are also technically trained men of high 

 standing, formerly connected with the United 

 States Forest Service. 



Referring to the specific report of Von 

 Schrenk, Fulks and Kammerer, it refers to 

 the fact that the timber supply of the United 

 States is rapidly being cut; that this de- 

 crease is giving rise to considerable anxiety 

 among hardwood consumers, and that at- 

 tempts are being made to find substitutes for 

 woods hitherto employed. It states that of 

 all the timber so far investigated, none has 

 given so much promise of extensive utiliza- 

 tion as the various types of eucalyptus; that 

 large quantities of this timber have been im- 

 ported during late years from Australia, 

 notably for the ear manufacturing industry, 

 and that these importations have raised the 

 question as to whether it would be possible 

 to grow the desirable species of eucalyptus 

 in the United States. 



The report further states that eucalyptus 

 has been grown to a considerable extent in 

 California since 1860, but only recently has 

 the planting of large tracts been attempted. 

 The booklet recites that eucalyptus is a genus 

 of the family Myrtacece and is native to 

 Australia and adjacent islands; that the 

 variety known as blue gum. Eucalyptus 

 globulus, -was the first introduced into Cali- 

 fornia, and has been most extensively 

 planted. It tells of its reputation as a sani- 

 tary tree, which is legendary, as a preventive 

 of malaria. The report states that the rear- 

 ing of forests of blue gum can be ac- 

 complished more cheaply and more easily 

 than that of almost any other tree, while the 

 return is twice or three times earlier than 



that of the most productive pine or oak 

 forests; that other species are planted in 

 California, notably the red gum. Eucalyptus 

 rostrata; the forest gray gum. Eucalyptus 

 tereticornis, and the sugar gum, Eucalyptus 

 corynocalyx, and they rank next in order of 

 quantity planted. Other less notable varie- 

 ties have also been planted. 



The report also states that Eucalyptus 

 globulus and a few other varieties rank first 

 as timber trees; that their growth is ex- 

 tremely rapid and that their wood is one of 

 the finest Imrdxcoods known to the world 

 [italics are the Record's]. It is stated that 

 in plantations in California the average blue 

 gum tree ten years old is from 90 to 100 feet 

 high and from 10 inches to 12 inches breast 

 diameter and that the other varieties are of 

 slower growth. 



Bulletin 196 of the College of Agriculture, 

 University of California, referring to Euca- 

 lyptus globulus, says: 



"Individuals of this species grow erect, 

 as a rule, branching low in isolated speci- 

 mens, while those in close plantings have 

 small crowns and are particularly free from 

 lateral branches. The bark of the seedlings 

 is light bluish green in color, while that of 

 tlie trunks of the old trees varies from a 

 light brown to a gray or greenish color, due 

 to the flaking off of the bark in long strips. 

 The Umbs are generally smooth. 



' ' The stems of the seedlings are rectangu- 

 lar in shape, while their leaves and those of 

 the sprouts of the old trees are opposite, 

 oblong, bluntly pointed, and of a light bluish 

 green color, darker on the upper side of the 

 leaf. Those of the old trees are elongated, 

 sickle shaped, leathery in texture, and equally 

 dark green on both sides. 



' ' This species is in bloom from January to 

 May, the flowers being white in color, gen- 

 erally solitary, axillary and borne on sliort 

 stalks. The whitish buds are angular, with 

 a bluntly saucer-shaped deciduous cap, while 

 the mature fruit is dark green in color, with 

 from three to five valves, generally four 

 barely enclosed. ' ' 



The report recites details of propagation, 

 insects and fungus — enemies of the tree, etc. 



Referring to the subject of utilization, it 

 reads as follows: "The principal interest in 

 any wood, which is grown for commercial 

 purposes, lies in the various uses to which 

 the wood can be put when ready for market- 

 ing. With the large number of woods which 

 are available for different purposes in the 

 United States, it becomes a matter of par- 

 ticular interest to know what specific quality 

 or qualities the various woods possess which 

 render them more or less fit for any specific 

 purpose. For example, we have been accus- 

 tomed to consider white oak and longleaf yel- 

 low pine as the principal wood for structural 

 timbers; in the wagon industry ash has been 

 the chief wood used for whatever lightness 

 and strength were the chief requisites; in 



making tool handles hickory has been the cliief 

 wood employed, etc. The wood of the 

 eucalypts possesses certain distinguishing 

 qualities which make them particularly fitted 

 for a large variety of purposes, which must 

 be considered fortunate in view of the rapidly 

 ilecreasing supply of the high grade hard- 

 woods, which we have been accustomed to use. 

 A careful study of these specific qualities of 

 the various eucalypts has shown that this class 

 of timber is particularly adapted to those 

 industries requiring great strength and 

 elasticity, and likewise to such uses where 

 strength and lasting power are important." 

 I Italics here are also Record's.] 



On the subject of the structure of the 

 wood the report notes: "The wood of the. 

 eucalyptus family is intensely hard and 

 strong; it ranking foremost in strength 

 among the world's supply of hardwoods. 

 [Italics are Record's.] In its structure the 

 wood differs materially from that of the 

 hardwoods of the United States, the main 

 difference consisting in the closely interlocked 

 structure of the wood fibres, which gives the 

 wood the appearance of great density. When 

 looked at in cross section, eucalyptus wood 

 appears almost solid — that is, the pores com- 

 monly seen very plainly in timber like oak, 

 ash and hickory, are found to be very few in 

 number and more or -less closed. A great 

 amount of the year 's wood production con- 

 sists of solid wood fibres. The closely inter- 

 locked character of the wood fibres is beat 

 shown by the appearance of a piece broken 

 in shear. The broken surfaces of the specimen 

 present a peculiar, corrugated appearance. ' ' 



A paragraph of the document states that 

 "the color of eucalyptus varies materially 

 with the different species from a very light 

 straw color to a dark red-brown, and in going 

 into lumber the wood shows a beautiful 

 grain. Some of the species when finished 

 look almost like the true mahogany. That 

 the presence of the figured grain is a striking 

 quality of most of the species, and it is on 

 this account that it makes very fine finishing 

 material for the interior of houses and for 

 the manufacture of furniture. [Also Record 

 italics.] Generally the various kinds of 

 eucalyptus wood are very hard, most of them 

 being among the hardest woods known. The 

 weight varies from 43 to 54 pounds per 

 cubic foot." 



The report further notes that the test made 

 by the Forest Service shows that Eucalyptus 

 globulus thirty years old is stronger than 

 hickory and that Eucalyptus corynocalyx fif- 

 teen years old is nearly as strong as black 

 liickory, and ninety-one per cent is as strong 

 as second-growth hickory. 



The report recommends the wood as valua- 

 ble for the wagon and tool industry, fur- 

 niture, agricultural implements, flooring, 

 poles, piles, ties and posts. It states that 

 the oil extracted from the wood is an excel- 

 lent antiseptic and is highly valued for its 



