108 AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIANS. 



Like all other native trees in Australia, they shed 

 their bark, and not their leaves. All trees of native 

 growth in Australia are evergreen. When a thrifty 

 " white gum," standing out in the pasture lands, has 

 shed its coat for the season, and freshened up its 

 leaves after the cooler, rainy season has fairly set in, 

 it is very pretty. Those seen through the country 

 generally are, however, rather of a stunted kind, and 

 in the distance very much resemble our Canadian 

 second growth oak. 



One must go to the forest, and especially into those 

 rainier and cooler regions to get a view of them when 

 they reach their very best condition. 



The white gum is, as a general rule, very straight- 

 grained and can be rived out into pickets or shingles 

 almost as smooth as if run out with a saw. These are 

 largely used for palings, and sometimes are laid, clap- 

 board fashion, on sheds and out-houses, or more 

 frequently on settlers' shanties. In Australia, where 

 the climate is much milder than in Canada, a tight 

 wall is not so great a necessity. 



The red gum is much more gnarled and durable. 

 Fencing posts will last longer than cedar, though they 

 are not nearly so 'easy to handle, being, like all other 

 Australian woods, very heavy. It is said that none of 

 these woods will float if thrown into the water. I 

 have seen this statement contradicted. One thing I 



