210 



t'rouud, aud now, notwithstanding all these di-awbacUs, the boards when taken 

 up are found to be as sound as ever; they were relaid again, aud look as if 

 they would last another twenty years. Now what insect can contend with the 

 essential oil of this timber? Not one, I believe. 



A Wollongong correspondent writes : — ' 



To-day, whilst clearing out the storeroom a small case was shifted fit was 

 resting on the damp floor) ; in doing so the bottom fell out. The white ants 

 had eaten it out. I find the box to be made of deal sides, the ends of English 

 elm or ash, and the partitions of Colonial sassafras. 



The late Forester Benson wrote from Wyndham : — 



The timber is very useful for indoor work. I was shown a largo house on 

 the creek where all- the rooms were lined with it, and it seems equally as well 

 adapted for that purpose as pine. The window-frames and some of the furni- 

 ture are of mountain hickory, which appears to be a valuable timber for 

 cabinet-making. I was informed that sassafras .should be cut in the winter 

 and stacked for some months, as it is liable to warp ; also that it is free from 

 the attacks from white ants. 



Size. — It forms a large tree. Trees 60 to 80 feet high are quite common, 

 and I have been given measurements from reliable people up to 120 feet 

 high, and with a diameter up to 5 feet. 



Habitat. — The Sassafras is confined to New South Wales and Queens- 

 land. The mtost southerly locality I have specimens from in this State is 

 Myrtle Creek, Wyndham, County of Auckland. This is, of course, very 

 close to the Victorian border, in which State it may be expected to bo 

 found. In Queensland it is as far north as the Logan Eiver. , It is found 

 in brushes, hence in good soil in gullies throughout the coastal districts. 

 It occurs for a considerable distance into the recesses of the mountain 

 ranges of the Dividing Ranges and its spurs, but its precise range or 

 '' curving boundary " is unknown. I have it from as. far west as Jenolan 

 Caves, Mount Wilson, and the Bowman and Barrington Rivers. I shall be 

 glad of notes of any localities further west than those stated. 



EXPLANATION OF TLATE 7. 



A. Flower. 



B. Vertical section of flower. 

 V. FlowtT without periauth. 

 D. Stamen. 



K. Stamiuodium. 



F. Carpel. 



G. Fruiting carpels included in persistent perianth tube. 

 H. Plumose awn, and style. 



Litscea reticulata, Bentb. 



She Beech or Bolly Gcm. 

 (Family Lauracew.) 



Botanical Name. — Liha-a, from the Chinese Litsc. the name of a Chines& 

 species; reticulata, Latin (reticulated), in reforeuee to the netted appear- 

 ance of the venation of the leaves, as brought out in the figure. 



Vernacular jXames. — This tree is one of those which produces the timber 

 known as Bolly Gum in commerce. The original s]iocimen. the type, was 

 called "White Sycamore" by Sir William Macarthur, and it also goes 

 under the ]iame of " She Beech.'' Mr. Forester G. Iv. Bro^^^l, an excellent 

 observer, called it " Scaly or Yellow Beech." 



