1634 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



This peculiar substance encrusts the bark like a coating of white sugar, and falls off 

 in lumps. It is not known to possess any medicinal value ; and is called "lerp" by 

 the aborigines, who eat it as an article of food. 



According to De Coque,^ the timber possesses no durability, and is of no utility 

 to architects ; but is used extensively throughout New South Wales for cheap rough 

 fencing. It is not mentioned amongst the species with useful timber enumerated by 

 Mr. Penny in his account of the Tasmanian forests. 



Manna gum appears to be rare in collections in the British Isles, the only large 

 specimens being two trees at Rossdohan, Co. Kerry, the larger of which produced 

 flowers and fruit in 1910. Mr. Heard informs us that it is now, after losing 15 ft. of 

 the top, 2)7 ft- high by 4 ft. 3 in. in girth. 



It is reported^ to have stood the severe winter of 1885-1886 at Bradfield, 

 Collumpton, Devon; but it was killed at Abbotsbury in 1905. Mr. G. F. Heath 

 reports that at Silverton, Devon, a young plant now 10 ft. high bore in 1909-1910 

 over 12° of frost. At Menabilly, a tree of this species was 15 ft. high in 1910. 



At Colwyn Bay,^ North Wales, it was 2,Z ft- high in January 1894, when it was 

 killed back to the trunk by a severe frost, the temperature registered being 13° 

 Fahr. ; but it afterwards sent out shoots. 



In Scotland this species did not succeed out of doors at Kinloch Hourn, as 

 all the seedlings raised in 1894 and 1895 had perished in 1899. In Arran, a 

 tree'' raised from seed in 1871, and planted at Cromla in 1874, flowered in 1886 

 and subsequent years, and had attained 40 ft. by 2 ft. 7 in. in 1895, when it was killed 

 by severe frost, the temperature falling to 22° Fahr. on the 9th February. A tree' 

 at Roseneath, planted in 1876, suffered severely in 1 880-1 881, and was killed in 

 1 894- 1 895. In Ireland, this species has grown very fast at Mount Usher, where a 

 tree raised from seed in 1904, was 28 ft. in height and bearing fruit in October 191 1. 



At Pallanza in northern Italy, it is reputed to be the hardiest species ; and I 

 measured in 1909 a fine specimen in Rovelli's nursery as 70 ft. by 5 ft. Elwes saw a 

 very large tree of ^. viminalis in April 1909, growing on the west lawn at Monserrat 

 in Portugal, which measured 100 ft. by 16^ ft. In California,® this species nearly 

 equals the blue gum in rapidity of growth, and has been extensively cut for fuel. 



(A. H.) 



1 In/ourn. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S. Wales, xxviii. 214 (1894). 



2 Card. Chron. xxvi. 754 (1886). 3 m^^ xvi. 74 (1894). 



* Landsborough in Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. xx. 521 (1896). This is the tree called E. amygdalina regnans by the same 

 author, ibid. xvii. 25 (1887). It is referred to in Card. Chron. iv. 596, fig. 82 (1888). 



5 Called E. amygdalina regnans in Card. Chron. xxvi. 715 (i886), but Dr. Landsborough informed Mr. Birkbeck that 

 it was E. viminalis. 



« M'Clatchie, U.S. Forestry Bull. No. 35, p. 37 (1902). 



