17 



the timber and. the bark. Tarpeatine piles resist marine borers in sea-water 

 better than those of any other abundant timber. In brackish water they are 

 destroyed by cobra, &c., like most of our other timbers. In fact no unpro- 

 tected timber is safe in our brackish northern rivers. Turpentine is used also 

 for fencing-posts, also for pillars and girders ia buildings. It is also a useful 

 second-class timber for wood-paring. 



Distribution. — Throughout the coast and coast mountain districts from the 

 Shoalhaven to the Tweed. It attains its greatest luxuriance in deep, sheltered 

 gullies with good soil. 



Quantity available. — Very abundant, as its chief utilisation at present is 

 for piles and hewn-posts and rails, since saw-millers dislike it exceedingly, as 

 it rapidly dulls their saws. 



Brush-box {Tristania conferta, E. Br.) 



Name. — " Box " owing to the timber being tough and inlocked ; " brush '' 

 because it is essentially a brush (a colonial word for luxuriant vegetation, 

 jungle in fact) timber. The name " brush-box " distinguishes it also from 

 "forest or grey box " (Iluoali/ptus hemipMoia) . 



Other local names. — " Woollybutt " in use in the Port Stephens district 

 as well as on the Manning. 



Gharacteristics. — Its toughness, strength, and durable qualities. It has a 

 more than usual tendency to warp and twist, which could be largely counter- 

 acted by felling at the proper season, and by giving some attention to 

 seasoning. It is one of the timbers moat obnoxious to white ants. It is 

 pale-coloured, usually brownish to piukish, and turning greyish on exposure. 

 Du'lls the saws. 



Principal Mses.— The timber perhaps universally used in thp northern 

 districts for tram-rails for haulage o£ the logs from the forest to the saw- 

 mill, It i.s not cut by the iron wheels, but becomes polished by the traction, 

 while it is eminently durable. Much used for bullock-yokes. I am of 

 opinion that if proper attention were paid to the time of felling, and if it were 

 moderately seasoned, it would be a useful timber for paving-blocks. I also 

 am of opinion that the question of its suitability for bridge-decking should 

 form the subject of careful inquiry. I have se3n inch boards of this timber 

 exposed to the atmosphere for months without warping ; at the same time 

 that it warps a good deal if cut all through the year, and never seasoned, is 

 notorious. Owing to its toughness it is used locally for mallets, chisel- 

 handles, planes, jaws of hand-screws, &c. 



Distribution. — Port Stephens to the Tweed, within the coast range. 

 Usually in brushes, but often in open forests. 



Quantify available. — Very large quantities. 



5. CEDAR, BEECH, AND PINE, 



(a) Red Cedar, Cedar, <Sw3. (Oedrela auslralls, F. v. M.) 



(An exhaustive account of this timber, with a botanical illustration, will be found in the 

 Agricultural Gazette for August, 1893.) 



Name. — Because it is supposed to resemble the pencil cedar (Juniperus) 

 of commerce ; " red " cedar, to distinguish it from the white, yellow, and 

 brown cedar of this Colony. 



Oharacterlslios. — Eesembles the mahogany of commerce a good deal, with 

 the advantage of possessing only half its weight. Eed, darkens with age, of 



