= 



3. Cabinet Timbers of Hustralia. 



NATURE, as in many other directions, has not been niggardly as regards its endowment of beautiful and 

 decorative timbers i-n this Island Continent of ours, for it is almost impossible to make even a modest 

 collection/ of woods without the ornamental character of one or other of them appealing to the artistic eye. 



This Institution has always made a prominent feature of the timber resources of Australia in 

 particular, and the world in general, so that to-day it probably has only one rival in its comprehensiveness, 

 viz., that of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. 



The Australian samples here date a long way back in colonial history, for some of the specimens were 

 exhibited at the Great International Exhibition of 1851, at Paris 1855, London 1862, and some of even earlier 

 date than this in local exhibitions, whilst others have a history going back almost from the foundation 

 of the Colony. Many of these specimens were for long scattered amongst the various Government 

 Departments in Sydney, but about 1882 they were brought together, and so was laid the foundation for 

 this extensive collection. 



Naturally, such a collection, which numbers not less than 5,000, divides itself into groups of 

 various branches of economics. Not the least amongst these is the section devoted to cabinet and 

 ornamental timbers, and it is in the interest of these that the present work has been undertaken. 



Some of the specimens in this category rival those of other countries for figure, grain, weight, 

 texture, and for general decorative purposes, and are unique in many other respects. Thus, whilst these 

 qualities are claimed for them in general, yet it may also be said that they possess characteristic features 

 that distinguish them as Australian. 



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