54 The South Aicstralian Naturalist. 



There is a mystery about the flowering time of these gums. 

 Five out of the six flower in spring and summer, from Septem- 

 ber to December, while one of them comes out in the winter, 

 during May. I know of one other tree of this species at Enfield 

 which also flowers in May. At Stirling they were all planted 

 at the same time, and appear to be similar to one another, but 

 why they bloom at opposite seasons of the year is, as yet, 

 Nature's secret. • 



The above species is the Tasmanian Blue Gum (E. globu- 

 lus), although it grows naturally in Victoria, as well as in 

 the Island State. 



Another gum tree of exceptional beauty growing around 

 Mount Lofty is the Candlebark Gum (E. rubida). This tree 

 prefers the damp gullies in which to grow. In this situation 

 it does Avell, and attains a height of 50 or 60 feet. What is 

 most admired about this one is its beautiful smooth whitish 

 candle-like bark. The trunk is straight and clean, and to see 

 a number of these along a gully among the darker stringybarks 

 one has to stand and exclaim at the glorious picture presented. 



I know another gully not far away where this tree abounds, 

 some af them about 18 inches in diameter, 60 feet high, 

 and with lovely clean boles. When this species is ready to 

 shed its bark the trunk becomes creamy-brown in colour, and 

 when it is shed the new bark is almost white. 



One specimen in this gully has a peculiar swelling on the 

 trunk about 12 feet from the ground, which is thought to be 

 the work of insects. 



These are some of the gums to be seen around this dis- 

 trict, but they must be seen to be thoroughly appreciated and 

 admired. 



SPIDERS IN CAPTIVITY. 



(Continued.) 



By T. W. Nettelbeck. 



That the spider kills merely for ,the sake of killing is a very 

 popular belief. It would take an unlimited amount of persuasion 

 to induce most people to befriend a spider, much more to see any 



