234 FORESTRY IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



(&) The drier forests in the interior zone west of the high- 

 land zone and on the drier parts of the coastal 

 zone. 

 Generally, it may be said that on suitable soil the development 

 of the hardwoods depends on the quantity of water at their 

 disposal. 



The coastal hardwood forests consist of an over-wood of 

 numerous species of Eucalypts and an underwood of miscellaneous 

 shrubs and small trees, of which species of Casuarina and Acacia 

 are most abundant. The principal species in the coastal zone 

 are E. pilularis, microcorys, resinifera, paniculata, propmqua, 

 saligna, tereticornis, corymbosa, Tristania conferta, Syncarpia 

 laurifolia. On small belts appear pure woods of E. pilularis and 

 maculata. In the southern half of the coastal zone appear 

 species which require a more temperate cHmate, such as E. longi- 

 folia, botryoides, siberiana, capitellata, Muelleriana and goniocalyx. 

 Formerly the coastal belt of hardwoods was almost continuous, 

 now it has been much interrupted. 



The development of the Eucalypts on the highland and interior 

 zones is generally inferior, especially in the western half of the 

 latter zone. In the interior zone the Eucalypts are frequently 

 interspersed with Callitris, forming forests of great value. Of 

 special importance is the E. rostrata type on the flats along the 

 Murray river which are occasionally flooded. 



The yield per acre from hardwood forests is generally low, even 

 in the best localities, owing to the tendency in over mature trees 

 to faults, to the ravages of fire and white ants, and to the exact- 

 ing demands of the trade. It is rare to obtain an average yield of 

 1,000 cubic feet of marketable timber per acre from virgin forest 

 of over a 1,000 acres in extent, while 2,000 cubic feet would be 

 quite an exceptional yield. 



(2) The Cypress Forests are composed chiefly of Callitris robusta 

 and calcarata, the former being by far the more valuable and 

 abundant. It occupied formerly considerable areas of the plains 

 in the interior zone, but fire and settlement have reduced it to 

 isolated patches. It flourishes best in well drained, deep, loamy 

 sand, and it is found either pure or mixed with Eucalypts where 

 the rainfall amounts to 15 to 20 inches. It is very sensitive to 

 fire and does not cover the soil well. Regeneration has been 



