AND THEIR ESSENTIAL OILS. 189 



In lliis connection the following remarks of Hooker 

 in his "Flora Tasmaniae " (p. 132) are interesting: — 

 " In the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania I 

 find some very valuable notices respecting the Blue Gum, 

 Swamp Gum, Stringy Bark, Peppermint Gum, Myrtle- 

 leaved Gum, Ash Gum, Iron wood, Mountain Gum, Weep- 

 ing Gum, Black-butt Gum, and White Gum. The Swamp 

 Gum and Stringy-bark are perhaps both referable to my 

 J'J. gigantfrt, under which two species may be confounded 

 by me, or the Swamp Gum may be some other species 

 attaining a gigantic size in damp hollows. Mr. Mitchell 

 describes the Swamp Gum as so very like the J'J . globulus 

 as not to be easily distinguished, but with smaller leaves 

 and thinner bark, as being the largest of the genus, and 

 growing twice as fast as A', globulus ; he mentions trees 

 250 feet to the first branch. The Stringy-bark he dis- 

 tinguishes by its much thicker, fibrous bark; Mr. Milligan, 

 however, adds in a note that this Stringy-bark is the most 

 gigantic of all, that it is well named gigantta by me, and 

 that he has measured a sound trunk 64 feet in girth at 4 

 feet above the ground, and 200 feet bigh to where it was 

 broken ofiP, and containing 200 tons of timber." 



Here we see that Hooker suspects that he has con- 

 founded two species under his E . gigantea of that particu- 

 lar work, and indeed he really has, for the " Swamp 

 Gum " is known as A\ regnans, and " Stringy-bark " fE. 

 gigantea) as the true E. ohiiqua; but he has even gone 

 lurther, and included by slight references E . Delegatensis 

 {^Gunn's specimens). 



His figure {loc rit.) might pass for any of these three. 

 Hooker's common name of '' Stringy-bark " in the " Lon- 

 don Journal of Botany " must refer to E. ohlujua, for that 

 is practically the only true " Stringy-bark " in Tasmania. 

 Baron von Mueller, who certainly gave the subject seri- 

 ous study, correctly places Hooker's E. gigantea under 

 E. obliqua in his " Eucalyptographia," and, like Hooker, 

 refers to it as the Stringy-bark tree of Tasmania. 



Hooker's description of E. gigantta (" London Journal 

 of Botany ") faithfully describes E . ohliqua, whilst his 

 description in 'Flora Tasmania?" is certainlv a compo- 

 site one. 



It is a well-marked species, with a wide geographical 

 range, and is quite constant in specific and chemical char- 

 acter, whether found in Northern New South Wales on 

 the mainland, or in Tasmania, where it is the most com- 

 mon " Stringy-bark." 



