TIMBERS OF THE COLOXl'. 



179 



seasoning, but it is a really valuable timber, always admired bv 

 visiting timber experts, particularly tlujse interested in the rurniture 

 trade. 



Oar Acacia timber may conveniently be divided into two classi's — 

 tlioso dark-coloured and heavy, of wluclx the brigalow and mvall are 

 examples ; and those which are paler-coloured and more fissile, of 

 which the black and green wattle and hickory may be cited as 

 instances. Speaking generally, the former are interior species, while 

 the latter are most developed in the coast and coast mountain districts. 



Timbers of the former class are intensely hard, heavy, dark-coloured, 

 and smell more or less of violets. They are used chiefly for turnery 

 work. The trees attain no great si/.e (say, 30 or 40 feet), with a trunk 

 diameter of 12 to 18 inches. Considerable railway freights add to 

 their cost, but not to a prohibitive extent, as these timbers are usually 

 used for small articles^ — such as presentation mallets, and the better 

 class of turned work generally. True myall {Acacia j^endnla), briga- 

 low {A. harpopliylla) , yarran (^4. JiomaloiyhyUa) are the princij)al 

 timbers of the above class. There are others, and the quantity 

 available will satisfy any demand ever likely to be made upon them. 



Bhc-oal; Silhj-Oal, S^-c. 



The genus Casitarina, so called because its leafless wiry branches 

 were thought to resemble the plumes of a cassowary, is known as oak 

 or she-oak throughout the continent. Various species yield timber 

 pale or dark, and varying a good deal in the oak-like blotchy markings, 

 but there is a strong family likeness throughout. Different she-oaks 

 are known as forest oak, black oak, swamp oak, river oak, bull 

 oak, belar, and other names. They grow in the arid plains of the 

 interior, amongst the rocky crags of the mountains, on the table-lands, 

 by the banks of rivers, and in salt-water svramps, no genus of Aus- 

 ti'alian timber-trees being more accommodating as to soil and situation. 

 The timbers of some yield excellent bullock -yokes, others shingles, 

 vdiile most of them are excellent for turnery purposes. A limited 

 quantity is exported to Europe for the purpose of making veneers for 

 the backs of brushes and such like uses; also for panels for furniture. 



We have still another oak, — a so-called silky oak {GreviUea ruhnnfa, 

 E. Br.), a pale-coloured, ornamental timber of a very fissile nature. 

 This property has led to its extensive use for such prosaic pur])oses as 

 casks for tallow, and kegs for butter. For staves for wine-casks it 

 requires to be strictly cut on the quarter to avoid leakage. It is used 

 to some extent as a furniture wood. It is a very handsome tree, with 

 beautiful fern-like foliage, and ricli inasses of orange-coloured blos- 

 soms, which have caused it to be a favourite in gardens, ^ parks, 

 avenues, &c., in the warmer parts of the coast districts. The red 

 silky oak or beefwood {Stenocarpus sallgmts, R. Br.) yields a timber 

 of a similar character, but much darker in colour. It is found ni the 

 coast districts from the Illawarra northwards. Even a cursory account 

 of our timbers must take cognizance of the needlewood {Unh-n hn- 

 coptera, U. Br.) a tree of the dry western parts of the Colony, and 

 whose root-stock makes (so expert smokers tell me), a pipe cooler to 

 smoke than even the briar. The making of needlewood pipes, wliicli 



