36 TASMANIAN TIMBERS. 



good figured-timber. The Myrtle is also subject to a 

 growth which produces large bosses on the trunk two or 

 three feet across and a foot thick, which are prized for 

 veneers and ornamental work. The boles of the Musk, the 

 wood of which is of a yellowish brown colour, and takes a 

 very high finish, have a great reputation for furniture-wood. 

 There are also a number of the smaller trees, from which 

 pretty wood can be obtained for inlaying and the smaller 

 kinds of ornamental work. These are all used locally, and 

 are highly esteemed, but are not to be found in such quanti- 

 ties as to form the basis of a trade by themselves. Tasmania 

 has a great wealth of ornamental wood besides these, which 

 is at present almost entirely neglected. The various Gum 

 trees grow with a straight, clean barrel to an immense 

 height, and above six to ten feet from the ground the trunks 

 have a very small amount of taper, but from two feet below 

 the ground to this height there are curving buttresses spring- 

 ing from the roots which all unite to form the trunk of the 

 tree. This part of the wood is so hard to chop that trees 

 are never felled less than three feet from the ground, and 

 often scaffolds are erected to enable the woodman to cut the 

 tree through at a point from six to twelve feet above the 

 ground. These stumps are left as they stand, and oft-en 

 contain the most beautiful wood, from a yellow to a bistre 

 brown colour, crinkled and waved and barred, the grain of 

 which, when polished, has a singularly bright appearance. 

 Very occasionally such stumps of trees are got up, and are 

 reduced to panels for wardrobes and drawer-fronts, but as 

 a rule they are entirely neglected, and left to decay where 

 they grew. This ornamental wood, if systematically put 

 upon the market, would be valuable, as it can b© supplied 

 in quantity, and natural curves very suitable for furniture- 

 making can be got. 



In Tasmania the forest lands may be classed as " bush " 

 and " forest." In the Tasmanian " bush " the timber trees 

 are comparatively small, and the undergrowth appears 

 either in patches or, if continuous, is so stunted that little 



