10 March, 1916.] Bee-keeping in Victoria. 173 



The Peppermint Gum is found on less fertile areas, from the coast to 

 the mountain region, occurring even on sand lands in Gippsland and 

 ISTew South Wales. 



The timber is useful for posts and shingles, but inferior to that of 

 the allied species previously referred to. 



Of its value as a nectar-producing tree nothing can be said till its 

 identity is established in districts from which information is available^ 

 but which may refer to one or other of the allied species. 



The Brown Messmate {Eucalyptus hoemastoma, Smith). 



Fig. 42. 



Finally, a tall tree, with frequently quite smooth bark, or less usually 

 persistent on the stem, but on the branches smooth to a great extent; it 

 occurs, however, also occasionally with bark persisting up to the last 

 branches, and would then come under the category of stringybarks^ 

 while in the ordinary form, with persistent bark on the trunk and smooth 

 branches, it is apt, when judged by general appearance, to be mistaken 

 for Blackbutt (E. jnlularis), and passes under the latter and several 

 other misleading local names. 



The leaves are scattered on the branchlets, lance-sickle shaped, occa^ 

 sionally much narrower, but exceptionally also verging into a somewhat 

 oval form, shining and of equal green on both sides, the veins running 

 more with, than across, the leaf; the marginal vein somewhat removed 

 from the edge. The umbels are mostly solitary, at shoulders of leaves, 

 or lateral on branchlets or some in a short spray on angular and of teni 

 somewhat compressed stalks, with from five to ten or rarely more 

 flowers in each umbel. Tube of calyx (flower cup) broadly conical^ 

 about twice as long as the half-round depressed or slightly pointed small 

 lid of the bud; the tube is not angular, and tapers into a somewhat 

 long stalklet. Fruit half egg-shaped, with a rim of brownish-red 

 colour, from which the species derives its systematic name, it is four, or 

 less frequently, five-celled, the rim depressed or quite flat; valves very 

 short. 



The wood is not of any great value, not being durable, but it 

 furnishes fair fuel. In Victoria the Brown Messmate is found in the 

 eastern part of the State. 



As closely-allied species sometimes differ considerably in the charac- 

 ter and value of the honey produced from the nectar of their flowers, 

 as, for instance, in the case of Yellow Box {E. meUiodora) and Red 

 Box (E. pohjanthemos), what has been said in regard to Messmate 

 Honey (E. ohliqua), Fig. 15 (Journal of Agriculture, March, 1915), can- 

 not be applied to the Brown Messmate (E. hcemastoma) without verifi- 

 cation. 



As to the time and frequency of flowering, and the length of time 

 in bud of this and the two preceding species, nothing is yet known, and 

 the writer would be grateful to get into communication with beekeepers 

 and others interested in the Eucalypts wlio are able to give information, 

 so that further and more complete datii of the flowering habits of our 

 Eucalypts may l)p av;iil:il)lc for imblication. 



