EUCAL YPTUS. 39 



their divergent qualities we may well recall the little nur- 

 sery rhyme about the star : 



" Thou art so near 

 And yet so far." 



This Mt. William seems to be a sort of botanic island, 

 for upon it are found a considerable number of plants 

 found nowhere else. 



An experiment made with the blue gum by the South- 

 ern Pacific Railroad Company, showed it to be above the 

 average for a tie in all respects but one. It checked to 

 such an extent that room could hardly be found to bolt 

 down the rails. 



Wood cut at a different season, or better cured, might 

 show very different results. 



At the Chicago World's Fair specimens of blue gum 

 wood from Australia worked for wagon wheels, in boards, 

 and exhibited as a hard wood of general utility, sug- 

 gests that the use of this wood in Australia, even for 

 ship building, and its comparative neglect here, except for 

 fire wood, is due to a difference in blue gum wood in the 

 two countries, arising from situation, soil, climate, or the 

 age of the tree. 



More care and more experiments may demonstrate that 

 we have, or will obtain as good blue gum wood here as 

 there. 



The blue gum is a sort of average Eucalyptus, tall but 

 not the tallest ; used for general purposes, even to piling 

 and ship buildi'ng ; it is not the best of timber for any of 

 these purposes ; not the most lasting in the air, ground, 

 or water ; not the highest yield of oil ; not the best honey- 

 making tree for bees. It is still well up in all these 

 respects. Like nearly all Eucalypti the tree should be 



