CONTINENTAL NOTES FRANCE. 55 



shoot, both from the stool and from the root, in the most satisfactory 

 way. It all seems so easy and successful that there can be no 

 possible doubt that these species are thoroughly suited to the 

 particular locality. There is no reason why this should not be : 

 Australia is not geographically connected with Europe, so the 

 fact that the eucalyptus and Australian acacias are not indigen- 

 ous in Europe is no argument against their success here. The 

 dahlia is not indigenous in India, yet it has escaped from the 

 gardens of Indian hill stations, and grows in veritable masses on 

 the rough hillsides. The very rapid growth of eucalyptus, and 

 the value of its timber (at any rate in the case of some varieties) 

 would naturally lead to its introduction, but its behaviour 

 appears to vary a good deal from place to place. It grows well 

 on the Nilgheries, at Lucknow, and also at Chaubattia (a 

 military station facing north at 7000 feet in the Himalayas), 

 but at the last-named place it is invariably broken by snow. In 

 Algeria, unless I am mistaken, it has not been very successful, 

 perhaps because of the dry desert winds. Its wood is very 

 heavy, very hard, tenacious and durable, but difficult to work, 

 and warps and splits. Mr Tait immerses it in water, which 

 improves it. It is used in Portugal for many purposes, and is 

 especially good for work under sea-water, being immune from 

 attack by the Teredo navalis. The bark contains a good proportion 

 of tannin, and Mr Tait is also distilling essence from the leaves, 

 an enterprise from which he hopes great things. Mr Tait's 

 estimate for his eucalyptus bark is 1250 kilogrammes per acre, 

 but this should be much more if the statement is correct that 

 over 8000 kilos is obtainable in Australia. The acacias 

 employed have a higher proportion of tannin in their bark, 

 which is sold. The stems are cut at 9 years old, so as to 

 take them before the bark becomes rough. The plantations 

 are already a remarkable financial success. 



There is no working-plan, but data for making one are lacking 

 with these little known species, or at least species of which the 

 behaviour in this situation is not yet fully known. It is not 

 known, for instance, for how long the increment will continue 

 to increase. In the meanwhile the fellings appear to be 

 irregular, and in the case of the acacia they consist of the 

 removal of stems when they have reached the thickness of a 

 man's arm at about 9 years, with the result that a sort of 

 coppice has been produced. 



