The South Australian Noturalisf. 53 



the beauty a]i(l synnuetry of a tree. From the very first there 

 is always somethiuji' of interest in a tree plant, and its increase 

 in size year after year' is, I think, a cause for wonder and 

 admiration. 



Jnst across the road from these big six, a seedling has come 

 up and is now four or five years old and about ten feet high. 

 The young foliage is a beautiful grey, caused by a 'bloom' on 

 the surface not present on the older leaves. The lower 

 branches stand out horizontally from the trunk, while the to]i 

 ones are fairly erect, and form a delicate tracery of young 

 growth. It is a remarkable thing how the young leaves of a 

 sapling are different in shape and size from the mature foliage. 

 With this species, the juvenile leaves are broad and short, and 

 when about three years old change into long, nafrow, sickle- 

 shaped blades, sometimes ji foot long. 



It was rather tragic to witness how this particular sapling 

 supplanted a specimen of the beautiful red-flowering gum 

 (Eucalyptus ficifolia) of West Australia. The seedling came 

 up within six inches of the other gum, which had been estab- 

 lished for some years and was eight feet high. The sapling 

 blue gum sent up its main stem rapidly and outgrew its neigh- 

 bour a little while ago. When the blue gum was about a foot 

 higher than the other one, I mentioned to the owner of the trees 

 that it would be a pity to have to destroy the former, as both 

 trees would not grow well together. The owner decided that 

 the interloper would have to come out, but it seems that it had 

 been gradually spreading its roots and robbing the red gum 

 of its nourishment. About two weeks after, when I next had 

 occasion to pass the two trees, I was surprised to notice that the 

 red gum was dead. The blue gum had taken charge, and had 

 decided matters for itself. The owner had to bow to the victor, 

 and removed the victim. The sapling looks beautiful at pre- 

 sent, and promises to become as fine a specimen as its relations 

 opposite. 



Now to go back to our big specimens. At blossom-time 

 there are many birds, mostly parakeets, enjoying the honey 

 which the flowers give ; bees, too, find a wonderful supply of 

 nectar in the flower cups. The tree is most beautiful at the 

 flowering period, bearing as it does large white flowers, sweetly 

 scented, and the buds are light grey and have a peculiar lid. 

 This lid is thought to be the calyx parts joined together in one 

 piece, which falls off for the flowers to open. 



