224 TIMBER 



Grey Gum (E. propinqua) is very like red ironbark, but 

 can be detected by its brittleness a chip of grey gum 

 bent between the fingers will snap instantly ; it is, how- 

 ever, very durable and much appreciated for piles and 

 girders of bridges, etc. It also makes good railway 

 sleepers. 



Weight, seasoned, about 65 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Murray Red Gum (E. rostrata) is the common river gum 

 of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. The timber 

 is in colour of various shades of red, and is said to resist 

 white ants, but of its general qualities there is difference of 

 opinion. It is difficult to work, but is used for general 

 engineering and building work and for street paving. Its 

 average hardness, according to tests made by M. Kudeloff, 

 lies between ash and hornbeam. It is close and inter- 

 locked in grain and liable to gum veins, but is considered 

 the durable wood of Victoria. The New South Wales 

 variety shells badly and shrinks unevenly. 



Weight about 56 to 60 Ibs. per cubic foot, seasoned. 



Forest Eed Gum (E. tereticornis) is of a deep red colour, 

 hard and inlocked in grain, and suitable for the same 

 purposes as Murray red gum. 



Sydney Blue Gum (E. salignd) produces a timber of pale 

 red colour, straight in grain, easy to work, and which as a 

 hardwood is much appreciated by carpenters and joiners ; 

 it rarely splits or warps after drying, but is short in grain, 

 and under some conditions decays quickly ; for instance, 

 blue gum telegraph poles have a life of only eight or nine 

 years, and in swampy districts will only last three or four 

 years. It is most widely used in the colony for the felloes 

 of wheels, and it is also useful for furniture making. 



Weight about 66 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



