232 TIMBER 



sounding boards for musical instruments. The height of 

 the tree is 50 to 70 ft. ; diameter 12 to 24 inches. 

 Weight 42 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Miall, Brigalow, and other Acacias are hard, heavy dark- 

 coloured woods used chiefly for turnery, but also for 

 presentation mallets, draughtsmen, and chessmen. Some 

 has been recently selected by the Ordnance Department 

 of Great Britain for the manufacture of spokes for gun- 

 carriage wheels. 



TIMBERS OF VICTORIA. 



Many of the timber trees of Victoria are indigenous to 

 the adjoining colony of New South Wales and have been 

 already described, and also to Tasmania, although they are 

 sometimes marked by different botanical names. 



Such are the Red Gums found in the neighbourhood of 

 the Murray River, which divides Victoria from New South 

 Wales. 



The Eed Ironbark (E. leucoxylon), which is called blue 

 gum in South Australia, as it is somewhat like a gum in 

 appearance, is a much more substantial timber than the 

 red ironbark of New South Wales, and is really a hard, 

 dense, durable timber, much used for bridge beams and 

 piles, and ranks with grey box as a material for sleepers. 



Blue Gum, which has the same botanical name as the 

 blue gum of Tasmania, but is not nearly such a large or 

 valuable tree, although the timber is strong and durable, is 

 used for railway sleepers and upper timbers in jetties. 



The Spotted Gum (E. goniocalyx) is very similar in 

 appearance to blue gum, for which it is often sold, and is 

 used for the same purposes. 



