The Eucalyptus. 265 



about 150 species are described, chiefly natives of Australia and the 

 Indian Archipelago, and of these the best known is the E. globulus. 

 This was first discovered by Labillardiere, in Tasmania, in 1792, 

 but was not much noticed in Europe until 1861. M. Prosper 

 Hamel, who had seen it growing in a botanical garden in Melbourne, 

 was so impressed with its probable value for cultivation in Europe, 

 that he sent the seeds to Paris in 1860, and attempts in planting 

 were made the next year. It grew remarkably well, but was killed 

 down in winter, and it is now well known that it can not survive 

 the frost, at least not till the wood is several years old. It thrives, 

 however, very well in Southern France, and is found peculiarly 

 well adapted to cultivation in Algeria. 



1052. It has been tried in many parts of the United States, but 

 not with much success, excepting in California, where, within the 

 influence of the coast climate, but not in the interior valleys, it 

 thrives with great luxuriance, provided that the temperature never 

 goes down below about 28 (F.). The influence of the sea-air ap- 

 pears to give it some immunity against frost. 



1053. Under favorable conditions, the growth is truly wonderful. 

 A section was shown at the Centennial Exhibition, in 1878, but 

 eleven years old, that came from a tree sixty feet high and thir- 

 teen and a half inches in diameter at five feet from the ground. 



1054. About twenty species of the eucalyptus have been tried in 

 that state, of which half a dozen have been planted to some extent, 

 and probably three-fifths of them are the" blue-gums" (E. globu- 

 lus), the rest being chiefly the E. viminalis, F. marginata, and E. ros- 

 trata. Of these the first has attracted the most attention, on ac- 

 count of its rapid growth, although its timber is less valuable than 

 some other hard-wooded species. It is estimated that six millions 

 of this tree had been planted in the ten years preceding 1882, mostly 

 in streets and yards, in cities, villages, and around dwellings. 



1055. The E. cornuta and E. gigantea have shown a susceptibility 

 to the frost quite equal to that of the E. globulus, although the E. 

 rostrata and E. virrtinalis are more hardy. Of 1 20,000 trees planted 

 at Tipton, and well-cared for, nearly all of the E. globulus, E. cornuta, 

 and E. gigantea died within two years, and the E. rostrata thrived, 

 but grew slowly. 



1056. The texture of the wood thus rapidly grown is soft and 

 sappy, as compared with that hardened by age, but it is highly 



