318 



For the purpose of discussing the distribution of various kinds of bark, only 

 well marked types have been selected, between each of which there are insensible 

 gradations. I have not included the hemiphloice or half-barked section, because this 

 designation gives no clue whatever to the nature or texture of the bark on the lower 

 portions of the boles, and this character of rough bark occurring on the trunk in varying 

 extent, with smooth branches, may be found distributed in some measure throughout 

 most of the sections. 



" There are so many gradations in the textures of the Eucalyptus barks, that it is 

 impossible to account for them all in detail within the limits of five sections, and in a 

 few cases a particular class of bark may be almost equally distributed over two climatic 

 divisions. 



" In considering the allocation of the sections in New South Wales, the following 

 four geographical divisions will be referred to, viz. : — the Coastal Area, the Mountain 

 Region, Western Slopes, and Interior (see Plate I, not reproduced). In the following 

 table the word "first" signifies "most abundant," and "fourth" denotes "least 

 abundant " in the particular division under which the number appears. 



Barks. 



Coastal. 



Mountains. 



Western Slopes. 



Interior. 



Smooth 



Scaly 



Scaly to sub-fibrous 



Fibrous 



Furrowed 



Second ... 



First 



Third 



First 



First 



First 



Fourth (?) 



Fourth 



Second 



Fourth ... 



Third 



Second ... 



Second 



Third 



Second 



Fourth. 

 Third (?). 

 First. 

 Fourth. 

 Third. 



" Smooth Barks. — The smooth barks, which include such trees as Eucalyptus 

 viminalis and E. coriacea, are perhaps more typical of the Mountain Region than any 

 other, with the Coastal Area ranking a close second. It seems remarkable that as the 

 ascent is made, especially above 4,000 feet, and the more rigid climatic conditions are 

 encountered, the Eucalypts, particularly if growing in the open, instead of being more 

 densely coated with thick fibrous bark, are gradually restricted to the smooth-barked 

 types, such as E. coriacea and rubida in New South Wales and Victoria, and E. Gunnii, 

 coccifera, and vernicosa in Tasmania. This goes to show that the actual protective 

 qualities of the bark are not wholly regulated by the texture, but also depend upon the 

 constituents contained in the bark. 



" Scaly Barks. — Among the scaly-barked Eucalypts, of which E. corymbosa of the 

 Bloodwood group may be considered as a type, there are various gradations, and the 

 section may be extended to include such trees as E. robusta. This class of bark, which 

 is something between a scaly and a woolly, probably most nearly represents that of the 

 earliest type of Eucalypt, and is most plentiful in the Coastal Area, next on the Western 

 Slopes, and least in the Mountain Region. 



