August 6, 19,03] 



NATURE 



321 



braces m out of 120 described species of New South Wales 

 and a few others from the neighbouring colonies of East 

 Australia, but none of the well-known timber Eucalypts 

 of Western Australia, Jarrah, Kari, Touart, red gum, 

 York gum, &c. 



It is a .little disappointing that the authors were una&le 

 to obtain leaves of such a prominent Eucalypt as Eucalyptus 

 rei;nans, the tree which shares with E. diversicolor the 

 honour of being the tallest tree in the world. It is common 

 enough in the Government plantations near Cape Town, 

 as is also E. alpina, which figures also in the list of un- 

 procurables. It is particularly unfortunate that they have 

 not tested Eucalyptus calophylla, the type of the parallel 

 veined Eucalypts. This is a West Australian species. 



Messrs. Baker and Smith state that forty tons of Eucalypt 

 leaves were used and 500 distillations made. Their work 

 is a model of painstaking investigation, and to the chemist 

 and those interested in the oil industry will no doubt prove 

 extremely useful. 



But the authors have not confined themselves to the 

 chemistry of Eucalyptus oil. They propose a number of 

 new Eucalypt species and a new classification of Eucalypts. 

 How far the numerous new species will stand the test of 

 critical investigation in the field remains to be seen. Many 

 of their new species have already been contested. 



Messrs. Baker and Smith have discovered that there is 

 a relation between the venation of Eucalypt leaves and the 

 chemical constitution of the oils of those leaves. Parallel 

 veins and pinene go together. Many of the parallel veined 

 leaves smell of turpentine like a pine leaf. Then come the 

 peppermint Eucalypts, containing piperitone, with a more 

 complex venation ; and then a still more complex venation 

 yielding oils rich in eucalyptol or cineol, which is the 

 valuable constituent in the best Eucalypt oils. This is a 

 very interesting and important correiation, especially if 

 further investigation shows that it holds good through the 

 whole Eucalypt genus. As chemists, one can pardon the 

 authors their enthusiasm over it. But whether it is 

 sufficient to found a new classification of Eucalypts on may 

 be doubted. We have numerous Eucalypt classifications in 

 th-; field. There is that which is generally accepted in 

 default of a better, the anthereal system of Bentham, some- 

 what modified and simplified, but not improved in Mueller's 

 subsequent works. There is a (perhaps more practical) 

 bark system, and there are various obsolete systems founded 

 on the shape of the cones and the flower buds. As Messrs. 

 Baker and Smith most justly remark, a natural classifi- 

 cation founded on a combination of all these, including the 

 quality and structure of the timber, has yet to be made. 

 It is not likely that their oil-and-vein classification will be 

 sufficient in itself. It seems unlikely that anyone, except 

 a scientifically trained forester, who has spent a large 

 portion of his life among the Eucalypts in their natural 

 forests, will be able to construct a sound natural grouping 

 of the species of this difficult genus. The work will 

 require a Mathieu, a Brandis, or a Gamble, that is to say, 

 a practical forester with special scientific qualifications. It 

 is not to be done with botanical specimens as Bentham and 

 Mueller attempted it, nor with practical knowledge alone 

 as Wools attempted it, nor in a chemical laboratory where 

 Messrs. Baker and Smith have done most of their work ! 

 It is true that Mr. Maiden is now bringing out a " Critical 

 Revision of the Genus Eucalyptus," and from this, with his 

 great reputation as a practical botanist, much is expected. 

 The first number, on that very important species Eucalyptus 

 pilularis and its allies, has already appeared, also 

 part ii. on E. obliqtia and the gum-top stringy barks. 



In view of the differences in the quality of the oil yielded 

 by various Eucalypts, the authors advocate plantations in 

 certain circumstances of good oil-yielding species. The 

 lopping they suggest a forester would replace by coppicing. 

 It is believed that all Eucalypts coppice welL Most of 

 them will stand a considerable amount of lopping, but it 

 eventually kills them. It is only in a few instances that 

 species of Eucalyptus are found predominating over an 

 area of country to any great extent, so that a particular 

 species being worked for its oil may soon be cut out in 

 close proivimity to a permanent plant. But some Eucalypts 

 are very tenacious of life, and " suckers " soon spring from 

 the stumps of the trees cut down ; it is thus only a matter 

 of a few years when fresh material is again obtainable. 

 This may be seen from the photograph of £. Smilhii, where 



NO. 1762, VOL. 68] 



most of the dense growth is from " suckers " of this nature. 

 We have been able to show, in several instances, that the 

 oil obtainable from this young growth is of the same 

 character as that obtained from the mature leaves, so that 

 no great differences in the quality of the oil need be ex- 

 pected. But we think it to be a pity that the trees should, 

 in many instances, be felled for their leaves alone. By 

 judicious lopping a fresh supply of leaves could more quickly 

 be obtained, so that a permanent supply might be assured. 

 There are a few species of Eucalyptus, however, which form 

 the prevailing vegetation in certain localities, and are found 

 growing gregariously in their native habitat ; this is 

 particularly the case with some of the " Mallees." In New 

 South Wales there are several species of this nature, as, 

 for instance, the "Blue Mallee," E. polybractea ; the 

 "Red" or "Water Mallee," E. oleosa; the "Grey 

 Mallee," E. Morrisii; and the " Argyle apple," E. cinerea; 

 all these species give good eucalyptol oils, and all are more 

 or less gregarious in their habits, so that natural plant- 

 ations of these species are practically ready to hand ; but 

 besides these naturally covered areas the question of the 

 cultivation of certain Eucalyptus species is of importance 

 in this connection. ; 



It may possibly be accepted as conclusive that some 

 Eucalyptus species are not inexhaustible under certain con- 

 ditions, and it is worthy of ' consideration whether plant- 

 ations of young trees of Eucalyptus Macarthuri, for 

 instance, might not be profitably cultivated for the prepar- 

 ation of its valuable geranyl-acetate oil. So with the 

 eucalyptol oils, it is probable that the cultivation of some 

 species, E. Smithii, for instance, could be profitably under- 

 taken, and from which young growth an oil could be dis- 

 tilled that would compete satisfactorily, both in price and 

 eucalyptol content, with any European oil of this class. 



A minor fault running all through their book is their 

 use of the word "sucker." By "sucker" is properly 

 understood shoots from the roots, such as one sees in 

 poplars, elms and willows. Eucalypts do not sucker (ex- 

 cept rarely and accidentally), and the authors use the word 

 in the sense of "coppice shoot." No doubt "sucker" is 

 an Australian colloquialism, but naturally the use of slang 

 expressions is to be avoided in a scientific work. To be 

 accurate the authors should use the term early or first 

 foliage, or its equivalent, since this important diagnostic 

 feature is seen in the first foliage of Eucalypt seedlings 

 equally with coppice-shoots. 



As yet no one of the Australian colonies has taken the 

 first step in scientific forestry. Though Mr. Maiden in 

 his various writings has let in a flood of light on the subject, 

 and the student of Eucalypts stands deeply in his debt, there 

 is not a line by a scientifically trained forester descriptive 

 of the forests of Australia. There is no want of liberality 

 on the part of .Australia in endowing the researches of 

 scientific men living in cities, but there is a woeful neglect 

 of forestry in the field. Scientific forestry as understood on 

 the Continent of Europe is unknown in Australia, and unless 

 the Commonwealth can bring its attention to bear on the 

 terrible waste of its natural forest resources now going 

 forward, its future history will be a black one, comparable 

 only in modern times to that of the Spaniards in Mexico. 



In the older settlements of East .Australia the forests, 

 pillaged of their best species, or burnt and ruined, have 

 greatly declined in value. Gone are the valuable reserves 

 of iron-bark, tallow-wood, and forest mahogany among the 

 Eucalypts, and the splendid cedars {Cedrela toona) which 

 should have been the country's pride. South Africa is 

 getting most of its timber from the comparatively newly 

 settled West Australia. The .Australian has Vet to learn to 

 take the honey without destroying the bees ! 



When your reviewer takes us to .America, we get amongst 

 a people awakening to the fact that there is such a thing 

 as scientific forestry. As he remarks, the .American volume 

 on Eucalypts is excellently got up. It is a pleasure to turn 

 over the pages with their life-like pictures of Eucalypts. 

 It is not likely, however, that there will ever be any great 

 production of Eucalypt timber in North America. It is 

 only South California that quite repeats any .Australian 

 climate, namely, South-West Australia. It is doubtful if 

 Eucalypts will ever do much in the eastern States. The 

 Gulf States, which are alone suited to Eucalypts, have their 

 cold snaps and freezes, together with an ali-the-year-r'ound 

 rainfall which we do not find in .Australia, while there is 



