80 



The Rev. J. E. Teiiison Woods, F.L.S., etc., exhibited seeds of various kinds of Eucalyptus, and 

 directed attention to the fact that Eucalyptus seed had frequently been sold under fictitious names, the 

 seeds of common and inferior kinds having been substituted for the more valuable descriptions. (Proc. 

 Linn. Sue, N.S.W., III, 20, 1878.) 



I was staying in the country, about 50 miles south of Sydney, in the year 1896, 

 when I caine across a large sheet spread on the ground, with limbs of Eucalyptus fiferiia, 

 heavily laden with fruit, thrown on to it, and the seed had already begun to shed. As 

 the collector had other sheets spread out in the district, I did not see him for a day 

 or two. He was quite honest, and perfectly frank as to his operations. 



Pointing to the E. piperita seed, and knowing it to be an almost useless species, 

 at all events in this district, I said, " What is this, and why are you collecting it ? ' ; 

 He replied, " E. lougifolia, and it's a fine timber.'' I said, " I am afraid what you are 

 collecting is not as valuable as you think it is," explained the harm lie was doing, and 

 gave the man my card. He then told me he was collecting for so and so, mentioning 

 the name of a respectable Sydney firm. 



Now E. piperita is known as " Peppermint," and in the coast districts (far away 

 from where we were then), E. longifolia, which produces a valuable timber, goes under 

 the names of " Redwood " or " Peppermint," ergo, the seeds of the E. piperita are 

 those of the more valuable E. longifolia ! He naively said that they appeared in " our 

 catalogue " as such. I pity the poor buyer, and I wonder how many other collectors 

 of seeds for respectable firms throughout Australia were and are as ignorant as that 

 one. 



This is one of the explanations why some buyers in other countiies have given 

 up growing Eucalypts, because, having ordered the seeds of one species, they have been 

 supplied with the seeds of another. Another difficulty which confronts .the buyer 

 arises out of the fact that during the last quarter of a century very active work has been 

 undertaken with the view of purifying nomenclature and, in that operation, old 

 species have been redefined, new species described, and the genus overhauled generally. 

 Seedsmen being rarely botanists, it is not a matter of surprise that they have not kept 

 track of these botanical revisions. It seems to me that the buyer should buy his 

 Eucalyptus seeds under a botanical guarantee. He will ascertain that the seeds of 

 some of the new species, obtained from distant localities, are not on the market. 



3. -VITALITY OF EUCALYPTUS SEEDS. 



If Mueller collected data on this subject, I have mislaid them; he records a 

 few very imperfect notes in " JSucalyptographia " under E. globulus., 



