60 EUCALYPTUS. 



EUCALYPTUS ROSTRATA, 



Kucalyptus rostrata, red gum, has both a large per- 

 centage of kino in the wood and a fair percentage of oil 

 in the foliage, not indeed enough oil for the best commer- 

 cial results, but probably enough to give encouragement 

 for its production for special sanitary effects. The valer- 

 aldehyde with the oil in Eucalyptus rostrata leaves is 

 claimed to have a peculiar medicinal value. The Austra- 

 lian natives are reported as preferring the leaves of the 

 rostrata for medicinal purposes to those of other Eucalypti. 



Eucalyptus rostrata is a stock}- tree about 100 feet tall 

 when mature, though occasionally observed to be 250 feet. 

 It contains a considerable amount of timber for its height. 

 The tree is widely distributed throughout the interior of 

 Australia, along flood courses and on wet lands. 



Just as its desert habitat would indicate, we find it 

 resistant to extremes of heat and to more cold than the 

 coast species of Eucalyptus can stand. Our experiments 

 show Eucalyptus rostrata to be the all round hardiest 

 species of Eucalyptus introduced into California. I am con- 

 fident that it will succeed in Arizona, where so many 

 Eucalypti have failed. One of our surprises was the 

 drought resisting power of this species. It is one of the 

 best in this respect. 



It prefers and does b?st in heavy to wet lands, but 

 grows well also on our dry plains in strong soil with 10 to 

 15 inches of rain. While not naturally often found near 

 the Australian coasts, my experiments at Santa Monica 

 demonstrate that a little back from the bluff it thrives 

 with vigor on our coast. 



