FOREST RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA. 255 



are not to hand to justify any confident expectations of a con- 

 tinuous supply for commercial purposes. The only timbers from 

 New South Wales that are being exported to any extent are 

 blackbutt {Eucalyptus jnhdafis), which is being used for sleepei's 

 and railway waggons, and tallow wood (Uucccli/ptus microcorys), 

 which is being sent to South Africa for use as sleepers. Black- 

 butt is in colour a lightish yellow or brown. It grows to a height 

 of from 50 to 150 feet, with a diameter of from 2 to 4 feet. Like 

 other Australian hardwoods, it is liable to warp, and requires 

 careful seasoning. There is a difficulty at present in securing large 

 sizes for exjiortation, for which there is an increasing demand. 

 Tallow wood is of a clear yellow or light reddish colour when 

 newly cut, but changes afterwards to a pale brown. Its average 

 height is from 100 to 120 feet, and its diameter 6 to 8 feet. Its 

 common name is due to the greasy nature of the wood. It is 

 largely used in Sydney for .street paving, and, with blackbutt and 

 box {Tristania confertn), is being tried for that purpose in 

 Westminster. 



Conclusion. 



My object in bringing forward at these meetings a practical 

 subject of this nature is to aid, as far as one is able, the efforts 

 that are being put forth by scientific, as well as commercial, men 

 to promote the interests of our Colonies, the development and 

 progress of which cannot fail to be of deep concern to this 

 Association. It will, I am sure, be readily granted that the 

 more widely the products and the possibilities of these great 

 Colonial possessions are known, the more clearly will the fact be 

 accentuated that our interests, whether scientific, industrial, or 

 commercial, are one. 



