115 



Acacia mclanoxyloyi, R.Br. 



THE BLACK WOOD. 



Botanical Name. Melanoxylon; this is from two Greek words signifying 

 " black wood," and Robert Brown, the botanist, who adopted this designa- 

 tion, simply translated the commonly accepted Australian name. 



Vernacular Names. It is called " Blackwood " on account of the very 

 dark colour of the mature wood. In Captain P. P. King's work, Allan 

 Cunningham refers to it as the " Black-hearted Wattle " or " Native Ash.'"' 

 It is also called " Lightwood " in Tasmania, "Victoria, and southern New 

 South Wales; but the origin of the term, even amongst many people who 

 use it, is not always clear. An explanation often given is that since the 

 great majority of the useful timbers of Australia and Tasmania are heavy, 

 the name is simply to draw attention to its comparative weight. This 

 explanation is, however, untenable. The Blackwood has rather a wide 

 sapwood, up to 4 inches, and this is very light in. colour, almost white; so 

 that, on removing the bark from a blackwood, a man would at once come 

 across this very light-coloured wood, hence the name "Lightwood;" and 

 this is how a good many people explain it. I think, however, the explanation 

 simply is that pale-coloured Blackwood is called Lightwood. A Blackwood 

 which has grown rapidly has often timber paler in colour, and more porous 

 than the standard Blackwood. and would be called Lightwood. Anyhow, the 

 fact remains that Blackwood and Lightwood are absolutely identical from 

 a botanical standpoint, and differ only on account of differences in soil 

 and climate. While on the subject of the pale sapwood, Mr. Bauerlen 

 informed me that, years ago, an old man in the Braidwood district displayed 

 great skill in cutting it into very thin strips, which he used to fashion into 

 baskets of various kinds, and these had a ready sale. The old man's knife 

 was made of hoop-iron, and no one seemed able to iwitato him in making 

 such excellent basket material. North of the Clyde River, people are 

 ignorant of the identity of the tree with the Blackwood of Tasmania and 

 .Victoria, and hence do not employ that term to designate it. 



Aboriginal Name. " Mudgerabah " is an old aboriginal name in northern 

 New South Wales, and is the name by which the tree is generally known, 

 at the present day, in New England and lower plateaux. 



Bark. The bark has usually gone to waste after the wood has been 

 obtained from the logs. Baron von Mueller says: The bark is, however, 

 rich in taniiic acid, and ought not to be left unutilised, though no trees of 

 this species should be sacrificed for their bark alone." This may be true as 

 regards ^ 7 'ictorian trees; but I have not seen any New South Wales Black- 

 wood barks of rmich value. One from an oldish tree from Monga, near 

 Braidwood, yielded 11-12 per cent, of tannic acid, and 20-63 per cent, of 

 extract. This is the only specimen I have subjected to chemical analysis: 

 but I have roughly tested other barks of the same species, and am inclined 

 to think that Blackwood bark is very inferior for the purposes of the tanner. 

 The bark contains some saponin. 



Timber. This is considered by some people to be the most valuable of 

 Australian timbers. Perhaps this is a bold claim to make, bearing in mind 

 the high merits of such timbers as Ironbark and Red Cedar; but it is 

 undoubtedly a timber of the highest class, happily combining an ornamental 

 character with great strength. It is hard and close-grained, and is much 

 valued for furniture, billiard-tables, cabinet-work, picture-frames, gun- 

 stocks, walking-sticks, crutches, tool-handles, railway and other carriages, 

 boat-building (stem and stern-posts, ribs, rudder), naves of wheels, parts of 



