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jEorest and chopped into lengths, if allowed to remain, all the woo'd disappears, 

 leaving the bark as a " hoop " or natural pipe, reminding one of a pipe for 

 water supply. Hence the name " Hoop Pine " often given to this tree. 



Timber. — This is so well known to the people in the coastal districts of 

 the State that it would almost seem unnecessary to describe its appearance. 

 It is our principal cheap softwood, taking the place of the Deal of Europe 

 for packing-cases and other rough purposes. It is strong and durable when 

 dry, and lasts well for such purposes as punt-bottoms when kept constantly 

 wet, but it will not stand being kept alternately wet and dry. It is exten- 

 sively used for flooring and lining boards, and for the various purposes \o 

 which softwoods are usually put. It is apt to get of a dirty colour with age. 



Most planks of Colonial Pine f^how more or less of what may be compared 

 to a bird's-eye maple figure; ,in fact, the presence of these markings is a 

 ready diagnostic test of the timber, as a rule. In selected planks they are 

 very numerous, and bring this wood into the category of ornamental 

 timbers. Selected Colonial Pine of this character looks really well when 

 made up into bedroom furniture, linen presses, &c. A piece of Colonial 

 Pine was thus described in the report of the London International Exhi- 

 bition oi 1862 : — " A noble specimen, which is remarkable for the peculiar 

 figure set up, by a series of remote, small, pea-shaped, pale, clouded knots, 

 arranged in quincunx order, somewhat like drops of rain in general effect, 

 and not easily described." 



It does not seem to be generally known how exc'ellent a material for 

 carving this wood is. It is, of course, somewhat brittle, but when seasoned 

 this is reduced to a minimum. I had in my keeping a large carved bracket 

 of Acanthus leaves in Colonial Pine, and it showed no trace of warping. 



Colonial Pino used at one time to be in great request for spars for ships, 

 as it was readily obtainable in lengths from 80 to 100 feet, but it is rather- 

 brittle for this purpose. 



Pine for Buftei--hoxes. — I wrote, many years ago: — 



There is one use, and au increasingly important one, to which Colonial Pine 

 may be put, and I ask our Richmond and Clarence River millers to take it to 

 heart. I allude to butter-boxes. An enormous quantity is required every 

 year for New South Wales butter, and yet this colony, with all its pine forests, 

 fails to supply timber to case its own butter. I believe the wood to be a 

 suitable one for the purpose, but some of our northern saw-millers hardly 

 realise that they are allowing a good trade to slip away. Colonial Pine is 

 very light when well seasoned, and it may be cheaply coated with a thin 

 layer of paraffin, if necessary. 



In August, 1905, .the Minister for Agriculture, of Queensland, received a 

 report from Mr. Thomson, Government Dairy Expert, on the allegations 

 made in the Sotithem States-^hat Queensland Pine (the same as our Rich- 

 mond Eiver or Hoop Pine), when used as boxes, tainted the butter. The 

 report contains the following conclusions: — 1. The charges against Queens- 

 land^Pine for butter-boxes have been disproved by practical and scientific 

 examination, and the results show that the Pine is admirably adapted for 

 the export butter trade. 2. The practical tests carried out at the Queensland 

 Meat Export ^orks, Pinkenba, were of great severity, and any weakness in 

 the Pine would have been conveyed to the butter before the expiry of the 

 investigation. 3. A searching examination' of the export butter, conducted 

 by the grading inspectors of the Department of Agriculture, has not revealed 

 the slightest suspicion that the wood contains injurious properties. 4. The 

 best results in the experiments were obtained from wood treated with 

 parson wax and single parchment. 



