•82 



SOME NEW SOUTH WALES TAN-SUBSTANCES. 

 Part II. 



By J. H. Maiden, F.RG.S. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N.S.W., August 3, 1887.'] 



Notes — (First Supplement). 



1. Only that vernacular name which a tree bears in the locality 

 from which the bark &c. has been obtained, is, and has been given 

 in each case. That is to say, the practice of giving a list of 

 vernacular names used in different places (in exceptional cases 

 amounting to a dozen or more) has not been followed. 



2. Botanical names are the same in the " Flora Australiensis," 

 and " Census of Australian Plants," (Mueller) unless the contrary 

 is indicated. 



3. The diameters of trees are taken at a height of three feet 

 from the ground. 



4. The results afforded by the few Eucalypts (taken almost at 

 random) which have now been examined, prove that the barks 

 of this genus are worthy of earnest consideration by the tanner. 

 These barks should be made to yield their tannin in the form of 

 extract. Where trees have to be felled and burnt, the bark can 

 be removed, and boiled down in water kept heated by the burning 

 of the tree which yields the bark. The only cost would be the 

 work of supervision. The extract could be sent to market or 

 exported in kerosene tins, which are usually abundant enough. 

 These should of course be soldered down. 



5. The desirability of looking farther afield for fresh tan- 

 substances is illustrated by the scarcity of good wattle barks. The 

 bark of Acacia decurrens is the great stand-by of tanners in New 

 South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, but I can show barks so 

 similar in appearance as to deceive an expert, and the difficulty is 

 ■of course immensely increased when the bark is chopped and 

 powdered. In the latter case, barks of wattles next to worthless 

 for tanning purposes are added to increase the bulk. 



6. For reference, I give percentages of tannin of the following 

 renowned tan-substances of the Old and New Worlds : — 



Oak bark 8 to 13 



Hemlock bark (Abies canadensis) ... ... 10 to 12 



