232 FOREST TREES. 



Araucaria Bidwillii (Bunya Bunya), is made in the 

 licenses issued for cutting timber. " Walter Bill. 



480 Grevillea robusta, Ounn. 



The silky or silver oak of Australia. This grace- 

 ful tree has spread very rapidly in the coffee 

 plantations of Southern India withiu the past decade. 

 In Mahjarabad, Coorg, Shevaroy Hills, and the 

 Wynaad, it is somewhat extensively planted as a 

 break-wind, and to shade coffee. The Lal-Bagh has 

 issued large quantities of seed to the above districts, 

 but the demand is usually greater than the local 

 supply can meet, although high prices are now 

 charged for the seed. In the moister and cooler 

 region of the hUls, the so-called silver oak, for it 

 must be remembered that it is not a member of the 

 oak family, attains a large size, is very ornamental, 

 and yields a fine timber. But at Bangalore, Mysore, 

 and generally throughout the maidan, growth is less 

 satisfactory, the tree being stunted in size, resini- 

 ferous, and in very dry localities short-lived. When 

 young especially, the tree is very graceful ' in its^ 

 upright or conical form, silvery foliage, and orange- 

 red flowers in dense, bottle-brush racemes. It 

 flowers iu the cold weather, and seeds freely during 

 the months of June and July. The silver oak is 

 admirably adapted for scenic grouping, affording as 

 it does, a distiact contrast in form and colour to the 

 indigenous trees of this country. The branches 

 and young wood are very brittle, but as the trunk 

 matures it becomes tough, durable, and beautifully 

 marked. 



"Diameter 30 to 40 inches; height 80 to 100 

 feet. A lofty tree of frequent occurrence in the 

 scrubs along _ the coast, and for a considerable dis- 

 tance in the interior. The wood is extensively used 

 for staves for tallow casks, and is in much repute for 

 cabinet work. At present the sawyers are receiving 

 at the rate of 8 s. to 9 s. per hundred feet." Walter RiU. 



