AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 135 



prising, for anyone who has had the good or ill fortune to camp by a 

 sandal wood fire in the bush will give his clear testimony to the fact that 

 the smell of the burning wood is bad. It is not too much to say that it 

 verges on the insufferable. Some specimens of the timber have been 

 sent to England, and some were forwarded to the Paris Exhibition in 

 1871, but they have not attracted attention. 



After noticing the general features of the flora of South Australia 

 the author above referred to says : 



Notwithstanding the little apparent difference in the formation of its surface, soil, 

 and climate, the flora of South Australia introduces itself to the observer in its 

 geographical extension by special and peculiar forms of plants in regions. These 

 are the forest land, scrub land, grass land, and the intra- tropical regions. 



The region of the forest land in South Australia occupies most of the mountain 

 districts, and extends along thej>ase of the mountain chains. The forests have not 

 the fullness and lofty growth of those of other countries. The underwood is of 

 medium size, more open and less difficult to penetrate. The forests are of less 

 extent, and are intercepted by tracts of grass land. The eucalypti are the most pre- 

 dominant forest trees ; the stringy bark often forms whole forests in some mountain 

 districts, but is seldom seen on the plains. 



The trees of the forests do not appear crowded, and seldom do the branches of a 

 tree reach those of a neighboring tree. The declivities of the mountain ranges are 

 for the most part similarly timbered, the trees sometimes extending to the summits ; 

 often only one-half or two- thirds of the remaining part being grassed, with here and 

 there copses of low shrubs, and stunted and much ramified trees. Often the whole 

 declivities are grassed without even a shrub or tree. 



Another feature of the table-land in the hill districts is the appearance of occa- 

 sional hills clothed only with a covering of tussocky grasses, amongst fragments of 

 ironstone quartz and sand, destitute of all other vegetation, except small scattered 

 trees of the Causarina stricla, C. glauca, and the peppermint (Eucalyptus odorata). 



The level table-land is generally covered with grass, but is deficient in shrubs. 

 Here scattered are to be seen the most stately and majestic specimens of eucalyptus. 

 Such table-lands have a park-like appearance, and the trees standing seemingly at 

 measured distances, single or in small clumps, as if planted by a landscape gar- 

 dener. The soil of these table-lands is, generally speaking, very rich and produces 

 abundant crops of cereals. The underwood of the forests is most represented by the 

 following genera: Correct, Alyxia, Prostranthera, Grevillea, HaTcea, Isopogon, Exocar- 

 pus, Acacia, JBanksia, Cassia, Calythrix, Pomaderris, Leucopogon, Leptospermum, 

 Daviesia, Dillwynia, Eutaxia, Platylobium, Puitenaea, and shrubby eucalyptus. 



"The beautiful genus Epacris, which is only represented in South Australia by 

 one species (E. impressa,) frequently covers whole mountain ridges and declivities: 

 when in bloom the different shades of color of its flowers produce an effect not 

 readily described. 



Among the most useful of the public institutions in South Australia 

 is the woods and forest department. It was established about four- 

 teen years ago, and was then called the forest board. Its organiza- 

 tion, however, was not very successful, and its functions were trans- 

 ferred to an officer as head of a department under ministerial control. 

 The change has proved to be beneficial, and forest planting in South 

 Australia has been attended with the greatest success. 



For forest purposes the colony has been divided into 4 districts, 

 the northern containing 9 forests, covering 121,979 acres, the central dis- 



