42 TASMANIAN TIMBERS. 



carefully tested. The growing tree and felled timber left 

 in the bush is also subject to the attack of grubs (the larvae 

 of beetles), which riddle the wood with small holes the size 

 of a pin-head. The holes are so small that the roughness 

 left by the saw will hide them unless carefully looked for, 

 and any timber showing them should be rejected. This is 

 known as " specky timber." 



The timbers of the various Eucalypti or Gum so closely 

 resemble each other that it is a matter of great difficulty to 

 say with any degree of certainty from which particular 

 variety any specimen was cut. In the two best-known 

 varieties — Blue Gum and Stringy Bark — the leaves, 

 flowers, fruit, and bark are quite distinct. Blue Gum is, 

 on the average, seven to eight per cent, heavier than Stringy 

 Bark, though mature, slow-growm Stringy Bark will be 

 much heavier than some specimens of Blue Guni, so that 

 identification of the wood after the tree is cut up is difficult. 



BLUE GUM {Eucalyptus globulus). 



This tree takes its name of globulus from the large seed- 

 vessels, which appear of a globular form on the tree. It is 

 named Blue Gum because of the colour of the young growth, 

 which is of a glaucous blue tint. It is found abundantly 

 in the south-west, but is not generally distributed, like the 

 Stringy Bark. 



Blue Gum grows up to two hundred feet in height, and 

 one hundred and twenty feet before the first branch springs, 

 with a diameter of from four to ten feet at the butt. The 

 coloair of this timber when planed is of a golden yellow to 

 purplish brown or buff. The grain, especially of the butt 

 of the tree, is considerably crossed and interlocked; in the 

 upper portions of the tree the grain is freer, and splits well 

 when green. It is especially esteemed for piles, owing to 

 the large size that it attains, and the comparative immunity 

 it enjoys from the attacks of the Teredo. It is also used 

 for ship and boat building, the superstructure of wharves 

 and bridges; builders' scantlings of all kinds, joists, frames. 



