24 Indigenous Vegetable Productions. 



than those of many other Eucalypti. Its price is about 10 

 per cent under blue gum. 



The Melaleuca squarrosa forms in deep inundated forest 

 valleys a large timber tree.- Its wood is close, hard, and durable, 

 of pale color, well suited for the manufacture of furniture and 

 turners' work. 



The Acmene floribunda forms a stately tree in Eastern 

 Gipps Land. Its hard and tough wood may be recommended 

 for machinery work. The same may be said of that of the 

 species of NotelEea and Pomaderris, but neither of these woods 

 is obtainable in large size. The wood of Pittosporum bicolor 

 seems well fitted for tools and implements. Hedycarya Pseudo- 

 morus, and more especially the pale wood of the Exocarpus 

 cupressiformis, or native cherry tree, furnish a wood to be 

 compared to that of the lime for technical purposes. 



The very solid wood of Callistemon salignus claims our 

 attention, having proved useful in xylography, although 

 inferior in quality to the genuine boxwood. 



The sassafras wood assumes, when polished, a hue similar 

 to that of walnut wood, and is less liable to crack than most 

 other Victorian timber. 



The Australian beech (Fagus Cunninghami) is less compact 

 in its wood than that of its English congener, still it affords a 

 useful, but not readily attainable timber. 



Banksia integrifolia and Lomatia Fraseri furnish planks. 

 Their polishable wood has also been used for furniture, 

 window frames, and similar work ; it is less heavy than that 

 of most Eucalypti. 



It is to be regretted, that on account of the want of tall 

 Coniferous trees, we possess no wood suitable for ship masts. 



The Casuarina wood is used for axe handles, dray spokes, 

 and similar articles ; and furnishes excellent fuel. 



The Myallwood, obtained from some species of Acacia, 

 chiefly A. homalophylla, is valued for its fragrance, and par- 

 ticipates in the hardness and solidity which characterize the 

 timber of most of the Australian species of the genus. The 

 indigenous Sandalwood (Santalum cognatum) is also fragrant, 

 and like the Myall, is obtained in the Murray desert. The 

 tree is identical with the species which has for many years 

 furnished to Western Australia an article of export, but the 

 dimensions of its stem are inconsiderable. 



Acacia stenophylla, a gum-exuding tree, which graces the 

 banks of the Murray and its desert tributaries, yields fur- 

 niture wood, scarcly less valuable than blackwood. 



