AUSTRALIAN BOX 



No. 105. AUSTRALIAN BOX. Eucalyptus hemi- 

 phloia. F. v. M. 



As Fig. 69. Plate VIII. 



Natural Order. Myrtaceae. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 70 lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 2, compare Boxwood. Smell and taste, 

 little if any when dry. Burns well with a lively flame, little 

 smoke or smell : heat expels resin. Solution with water faint 

 brown. 



Grain. Very fine, though open. Surface bright, smooth, 

 feels like Boxwood : when exposed it weathers a silvery-grey. 



Bark. " Silvery-grey, persistent, wrinkled and full of clefts 

 upon the butt of the tree, deciduous in long strips upon the 

 branches " (85). 



Uses, etc. " Timber of first-rate quality, obtainable in large 

 scantlings — tough, durable, but liable to suffer from dry-rot 

 and the attacks of the white ant ; does not stand long in the 

 ground: excellent fuel" (85). "Famous for hardness, tough- 

 ness and durability " (C. Morris). " Excellent, tough, durable, 

 of great lateral strength ; sleepers, naves, felloes, jetty and 

 bridge piles, mining slabs, fence-posts, cogs, tree-nails, large 

 screws, mauls and handles" (67). "Very tough and elastic" 

 (5). " Many varieties. Non-fissile : of great durability when 

 exposed : recommended for bridge-work " (27). A tree attaining 

 a height of 180 ft. by 6 ft. in diameter. 



Authorities. F. M. Bailey (5), p. 72. Maiden (67). De Coque 

 (27), p. 206. Nilson (85). 



Colour. "White" (85). " Yellowish-grey" (5). Khaki, with 

 white pores, uniform. 



Anatomical Characters. As Tuart (No. 104), with variations as 

 follows. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Clear, sometimes prominent in the solid from their 

 colour : size 2, little variation. 



Rings. Very doubtful : an occasional incomplete pore-ring 

 of one or two rows, but chiefly indicated by a change in the 

 disposition and number of the pores : contour irregular : seldom 

 a pore-less zone. 



Soft-tissue. In narrow borders encircling the pores. 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible, lighter in colour than 

 the ground. 



Type specimens authenticated by F. M. Bailey and by Frank 

 C. Stone. 



This wood is easily confused with many other Eucalypti of 

 the same colour, especially E. gomocephala, which should be 

 referred to (see No. 104.). 



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