21 



Kow to tell Ironhark. — It is not very easy, in a few words, to give a 

 definition of Ironbark. Of course, if the bark is available tbe tbing is 

 simple enough, for most of the barks are characteristically fiirrowed and 

 rugged. To describe it we must take not© of a variety of circumstances. 

 It is heavy (almost the heaviest of our hardwoods). It is hard, as may be 

 readily seen if it be touched with a plane, or a nail be driven (or attempted 

 to be driven) into it. Its most characteristic property, however, is a certain 

 "gumminess" in working, which is well brought out under the plane, and 

 its homy texture. The result is that when planed, ironbaxk shows the 

 appearance of more or less parallel strise, or lines of close textured wood, 

 strongly resembling horn, while between these the wood has a more open 

 grain, showing narrow pits which may be seen, even by the naked eye, to be 

 filled by a substance of a resinous texture. In some specimens it is not 

 easy, however, to make out these lines of horny-textured wood, but th« resin 

 pits appear to be always present. Ironbark is more or less curly in the grain, 

 consequently it often gives trouble to plane to a perfectly smooth surface. 

 If a blunt tool be used the ironbark tears in fairly regular blotches, while 

 to get a perfectly smooth surface the wood often requires to be traversed 

 with the plane, or even to be gone over with the steel scraper. Its hardness 

 and weight often preclude it from use, perhaps an advantage, as otherwise 

 the consumption, of this timber would be inordinate. 



I have obtained the following two paragraphs from a source I do not 

 remember, and .they may be inserted here. They refer to the identification 

 of^ 



Grey Ironbark {E. panicidata). 



" As sawn timber, shows ab,solute freedom from concentric gum veins, but 

 it may contain gum pockets of little magnitude; it is. clean, and somewhat 

 glossy, arrises are decidedly sharp — it generally takes on a light-brown 

 colour after exposure. As hewn timber it is close, clean, and solid in 

 appearance, with no gum veins or scabs. Heartwood, to the eye, appears 

 equal in density to the true timber; and seasoning cracks are numerous, but 

 of slight fracture and shallow penetration. A splinter bent between the 

 fingers shows great resistance to fracture compared with Grey Gum or 

 other timbers similar in appearance to Ironbark. Splinters do not snap 

 with a clean fracture, but hang together on the compressed side. 



" It is very hard to cut with a knife; when so cut, it shows various shades 

 of colour from white to dark red, the intervening colours varying between 

 grey and brown; but the homy, glossy texture of ironbark is identical 

 through all shades. 



Ked Irojtbaek (E. siderophloia and E. crebra). 



" Two species — one, to which the remarks on Grey Ironbark apply in 

 almost every particular, with perhaps the exception that the end cracks are 

 more pronounced; the other, inferior in nature generally, is very short in 

 grain, shorter even than Grey Gum; heartwood crumbles under a hammer 

 blow. Both timbers are true to name (herein differing from " Grey " Iron- 

 bark), being uniformly red throughout. General appearance of both varie- 

 ties (in girders) solid, glazed surface, of a rich dark-red colour." 



Principal Uses. — ^Ironbark is the king of New South Wales hardwoods, 

 in fact it is not excelled in any part of the continent for combined strength 

 and durability. It is extensively used in bridge construction, for railway- 

 sleepers, for posts, for naves, spokes, shafts, and framing, by the waggon 

 and carriage builder for large beams in building, particularly in stores for 



