5 6 EUCALYPTUS. 



gum fruits on my ranch have not the latter characteristic. 

 The genus has one other tree similar in its fruits to the 

 corynocalyx, this is Eucalyptus urnigera, a species confined 

 to the alpine districts of Tasmania, there reaching a height 

 of fifty feet. The descriptions of this tree that I have found 

 are so meagre that I am unable to say whether the simi- 

 larity renders the distinction of these difficult or not. As 

 it is, the sugar and the blue gums are the two Eucalypti 

 which in vSouthern California are now deemed most surely 

 and easily recognizable. The style in the sugar gum 

 is exactly like an Indian club in shape. The tree reaches 

 a height of 120 feet, makes a thick stem and is exceed- 

 ingly durable as posts, ties, etc. In this connection it may 

 be noted that many of the most durable of Eucalyptus woods 

 contain large amounts -of kino-red. Sugar gum timber is 

 about the least likely to warp of that of any of the gums, 

 a point of high recommendation. It also resists white ants 

 and insects generally and is more and more recognized as 

 one of the most valuable of South Australian timbers running 

 close to Eucalyptus rostrata in popularity. The sugar gum 

 has been extensively planted in Southern California but in 

 a scattering, ornamental way only. No bodies of this tim- 

 ber in commercial quantities exist. In fact I may as well 

 say here that the blue gum is the only forest tree of any 

 kind planted here with a commercial end in view. The 

 sugar gum resists frost better than the cornuta. At my 

 ranch cornutas in the same plantation with the sugar gums 

 were lightly frost burned in our recent severe weather, '93, 

 while the same sized sugar gums were untouched. The 

 young sugar gums, however, were lightly frosted. (Thes^ 

 trees however were located in an extra cold low torrent bed). 

 The sugar gum does well at the sea side when not 



