PROCEEDINGS, AUGUST. xxi 
Colonel LeccE contributed some appropriate and suggestive remarks 
onthe subject. 
By Mr. A. O. GREEN, who, in some valuable remarks on ‘* Useful 
conifer for Tasmanian planting,” said we had in this colony four very 
useful and valuable varieties of indigenous pine timber trees :—Sacry- 
dium franklinit, Huon pine, a timber of the first rank for all purposes, 
either wet or dry; habitat, moist alluvial flats. Arthrotaxi cuprusoides, 
King William pine, a magnificent wood for panelling and all joiners’ 
work ; found from the Don to Port Davey onridges. Srenela ventinati, 
Oyster Bay pine, a very strong, durable wood, suitable for masts, tele- 
graph poles, and framing; found on the East Coast on poor gravelly 
soils. Phyllocladus rhomboidalis, celery-top pine, another very strong 
wood remarkable for the small amount of its shrinkage, fit for floor 
boards and framing of all kinds, With the exception of the Huon pine, 
all these timbers might be said to be unknown in the workshops of the 
island, although of the very best quality for their several purposes. All 
come readily from seed, or might be transplanted when young, and 
would flourish upon most soils if not holding stagnant water. ‘Thus a 
very useful work might be done in systematically planting our own 
very valuable indigenous trees in more accessible localities than those in 
which they were now found, and in preserving the natural thickets of 
young trees from destruction by fire or by the trampling of cattle. 
Besides these, however, it would be most advantageous to the colonv 
to grow other classes of coniferze, the timbers of which now had to be 
imported. The most useful were :—Pinus silvestris, Scotch fir; Pinus 
laricio, Corsican pine; Larix europwa, the larch; Pinus cembra; 
Pinus pinaster, the cluster pine. These would all grow upon any soil 
except pure clay. Mr. Green concluded an exceptionally able paper by 
urging the desirability of securing the co-operation of the various 
Government departments in the planting of conifere. 
A lengthy discussion followed, in which Hon. C. H. Grant, M.L.C.; 
Messrs. Russell Young, A. Mault, R. M. Johnston, and Fincham took 
part. 
The PRESIDENT said that when he undertook the presidential chair 
he did not expect to have to ofteu open his lips in such a learned and 
scientific Society, for he saw from some of its transactions that they dealt 
with astronomy, and he honestly confessed that he knew very little about 
such things. (Laughter.) But by a curious coincidence the subject 
the Society was now considering was one that he had taken for many 
years the greatest pleasure and delight in during all his travels, and 
they had been pretty extensive. (Applause.) In Japan they looked 
upon him as a kind of harmless lunatic because he always went about 
with a tape, and whenever he came to a big tree wanted to measure it. 
(Laughter.) He gave the Society a lengthy description of personal 
experience and cbservation in conifer growing. In summarising his 
views he said it appeared to him that while considering the propriety 
of introducing new trees, it would be a greater advantage to the colony 
to preserve its own timber, and the attention of ail parties should be to 
propagate the excellent timber the colony now possessed and increase its 
productiveness. (Applause.) 
WOLFRAM AND NICKEL, 
Mr. Adolphus Oppenheimer communicated some notes on the minerals 
wolfram and nickel, and in his remarks said: A great revolution in the 
demand, supply and value of nickel was wrought by the discovery of 
nickeliferous ores in New Caledonia. The price came down to 4s. per 
lb. and even less, but many other uses were found for it. The New 
Caledonian ores average froin 8 to 12 per cent., much keing lower. A 
further revolution took place by the discovery of an enormous deposit 
