242 A CONTBIBTJTION TO, ETC. 



elusion from having noticed the delicious honey -like odour of the 

 flowers, and also from the fact mentioned by Mr. Bentham, that 

 the Cumberland variety of the species seems almost to pass into 

 E. melliodora. The flowers are large, and resemble those of the 

 peach, and the seed-vessel, which is of a globular-truncate shape, 

 is usually six-celled. This tree may be found between Liverpool 

 and Parramatta, and at the South Creek, but some of the finest 

 trees occur beyond Mudgee and other parts of the interior, as 

 Cunningham and Fraser noticed many years ago. Sir "William 

 Macarthur, judging from the specimens seen near Fairfield, re- 

 ported the species as not exceeding 60 feet in height, and 18 to 30 

 inches in diameter, and scarcely to be considered valuable for 

 timber. I am assured, however, by friends residing in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Mudgee, that the trees attain a much greater size in 

 that locality, and that they afford a most excellent timber for 

 fencing. Within thirty miles of Mudgee, there is a variety of 

 this species with white flowers, and leaves more glaucous and 

 coriaceous than in the preceding. The same Iron Bark also 

 occurs on the Lachlan. 



(2.) E. paniculata, and E. crebra : These are mere varieties of 

 the "White Iron Bark," one of the most valuable trees in the 

 colony. The specific gravity of the wood is T016, and the break- 

 ing weight or transverse strain, beam four feet between bearings, 

 1| square, 4519 Ibs. Sir William Macarthur reported that the 

 White or Pale Iron Bark from Illawarra, was the most valuable 

 of all the Iron Barks, remarkable for its smooth uniform outer 

 bark, and its very hard, tough, inlocked strong wood. This is 

 the general character of the species, although the wood is subject 

 to some variation. The wood is highly esteemed by coachmakers 

 and wheelwrights for the poles and shafts of carriages, and the 

 spokes of wheels, and a great quantity has lately been used for 

 piles in constructing wharves, and also for sleepers on railways. 

 In former years, some large trees of the Pale Iron Bark flourished 

 near Parramatta, rising to 150 feet in height, and measuring 16 

 feet in circumference. The presence of Iron Bark generally 

 indicates a poor and indifferent soil. I feel no hesitation in 

 uniting E. paniculata and E. crebra as one species, although there 

 is an occasional difference in the quality of the wood, and in the 

 size of the flower buds, as well as in the texture of the leaves, 



