356 



It is also to be observed that opossums readily eat the leaves of the Guildford 

 (Tasmanian) tree, while cattle are very partial to the leaves of E. aggregata on the 

 mainland. I have given some notes in Part LXX of my " Forest Flora of New South 

 Wales," but the subject of the partiality (or otherwise) of native and introduced 

 animals for our native trees has been singularly neglected by our stockowners. 



E. aggregata leaves have a faint, dainty smell, not easily described. We notice 

 the same thing in E. viminalis, E. gigantea, and in some other species. 



Variation in Juvenile Leaves. 



To recapitulate somewhat, Messrs. Baker and Smith have confused the juvenile 

 leaves that they attribute to E. aggregata. 



Those particular juvenile leaves they figure never came from E. aggregata, and 

 even if they did, they grossly misrepresent the characteristic juvenile leaves of the 

 species, which are broad, very broad. At the same time, in Eucalyptus, the question 

 of broad or narrow juvenile leaves (suckers) so very valuable as a character, must be 

 studied philosophically. I will presently show that, within limits, there may be narrow 

 juvenile leaves in E. aggregata, but this remark is true (as already ascertained) of 

 a number of species, and this must not vitiate the fact that it can be stated (perhaps 

 invariably) whether in a particular species, they are broad or narrow. 



I have gathered together an enormous amount of evidence to show that, in a 

 given species, there is a surprising amount of variation in the juvenile leaves, (a) 

 seedlings from cotyledon-leaves onwards; (6) adventitious leaves or suckers from the 

 earliest onwards, until the " mature leaves " become fully developed. As a rule, for 

 classification purposes, we take cognisance of three kinds of leaves only, (a) cotyledons, 

 (b) juvenile, (c) mature. The study of the protean forms which the leaves assume 

 outside these three groups is an important branch of the subject, which will be dealt 

 with in a subsequent Part. So much is preliminary to the figure 5a, Plate 235, of 

 short, rather narrow, juvenile leaves, which may exceptionally belong to E. aggregata, 

 usually the result of cropping by stock. 



The term " Abnormal leaves," which Messrs. Baker and Smith often use, usually 

 in a wrong sense, is true in the way they employ it for E. Rodwayi, under " Research, 

 &c," p. 115, for they have described " abnormal " leaves for " juvenile " leaves 

 (normal " suckers "). There is no doubt that they belong to E. aggregata. 



The small juvenile leaves, fig. 5a, Plate 235 (and which must be considered in 

 connection -with fig. 5b), have their counterparts in fig. 2, Plate 49 (plate of the type), 

 and fig. la, Plate 104. 



