60 TASMANIAN TIMBERS. 



CORYLACEAE 



MYRTLE OR BEECH {Fagus cunninghami). 



This is a true Beech, but the local name is Myrtle, 

 probably so-called from its small dark leaves. It is a tree 

 that grows in great abundance over the western half of the 

 Island. It attains a height of one hundred and fifty feet, 

 with a diameter of from two to four feet. 



The wood varies from a greyish-brown to a brown pink ; 

 when planed, it takes a beautiful surface, and, like the 

 European Beech, always wears smooth. It is a strong, 

 close-grained timber, and except for the colour, resembles 

 European Beech, but is of considerably greater average 

 strength. If cut from a level of eight hundred feet or up- 

 wards above the sea, and felled in the winter, it is a very 

 fairly durable wood for outside work, but it is apt to " go " 

 between wind and water. It makes splendid felloes, staves 

 for tight casks, saddle-trees, gun-stocks, and all sorts of 

 turnery, floors, skirtings, and dados. The pinker tints 

 make handsome furniture. The seasoning and treatment 

 of this timber should be exactly that of European Beech, 

 and it must be felled in the winter to get the best results. 

 Although there are such large quantities of Cunninghami 

 to be obtained in the Island, very little of it has been ex- 

 ported hitherto ; probably because the chief beds of this 

 timber are not near a shipping port. It is very generally 

 distributed, and produces an excellent timber for a variety 

 of purposes. The difference between the grey and the pink 

 is hard to account for, as they are botanically identical, and 

 there is no apparent reason for the difference. 



The railway from Emu Bay to Zeehan now passes through 

 many miles of Beech country, so that there is a better pros- 

 pect of this timber being utilised. 



