28 UTILIZATION OF CALIFORNIA EUCALYPTS. 
EUCALYPTS IN AUSTRALIA. 
Some time ago the Forest Service asked the American consul at 
Melbourne, Australia, a number of questions concerning the utili- 
zation of the native eucalypts in his district. The following quota- 
tions are from his replies, dated December 18, 1909, and June 30, 1910: 
In reply to your letter of August 10, 1909, submitting certain questions relative to 
eucalyptus trees and lumber in this consular district (State of Victoria), I would 
inform you that as the result of interviews with the conservator of forests of the State 
and other inquiries upon the subject it is now possible to furnish the desired informa- 
tion, which will be found below. Your letter to the American consular agent at 
Fremantle, Western Australia, of same date and containing similar questions, has been 
“replied to through this consulate, and the information, which was procured through 
the department of agriculture, which controls forestry matters in that State, will also 
be found herein: 
STATE OF VICTORIA. 
Question No. 1. What species are being manufactured and for what purpose? (Both 
common and botanical names. ) 
Answer. The following extracts from the evidence given before a Royal Commission 
on State Forests and Timber Reserves which investigated the subject in Melbourne 
in 1901 show the principal species and uses to which they are put, viz: 
River red gum (E. rostrata).—The most important tree in the State on account of its 
durability and many uses to which it is put; the timber is of a very deep red, 
very heavy, hard, and dense, with inlocked grain; greatly valued for use in contact 
with the ground, hence preferred for piles, railway sleepers, fencing posts, house 
foundations, etc.; also largely employed for bridges and pier decking, short beams, 
cross-ties, and street-paving blocks, and makes excellent fuel and charcoal; a valued 
medicinal kino, which is a useful astringent, is extracted from the older trees. 
Blue gum (E. globulus).—This valuable tree is of a straight symmetrical bole; timber 
strong and durable, and weighs about 60 pounds per cubic foot; makes good railway 
sleepers and is used for upper timbers and decking in jetty and bridge work, bridge 
piles, shafts, felloes, spokes, and framework of vehicles, and in general building and 
construction. 
Question No. 2. In general what is the size and age of the trees being cut? Is young 
timber utilized, that is, trees under 30 years of age? 
Answer. The indigenous virgin crop of lumber is still being cut in Victoria for the 
purposes of building and construction, i. e., sawmill lumber. No lumber goes 
through the mills cut from trees under 30 years of age or under 2 feet diameter, as 
such would warp badly; and in the case of framing for buildings, outside weather- 
boards or flooring would hollow in the “flat’’ and curl at the edges. As a general 
rule, red gum (£. rostrata) is cut with a saw at, say, 60 years and upward. In the 
case of the best lumber of this species, the ages of the trees are estimated to be from 
100 to 150 years old. Red gum is largely used for piles for inland bridges, as well as 
jetties in navigable and tidal waters. The age of young pile trees used for such 
purposes, and ranging from 16 to 24 inches in diameter at the butt end, is estimated 
at 25 to 50 years, according to the soil in which the tree grows. Most eucalypts 
grow quickly up to about the twentieth to the twenty-fifth year, but, whether they 
are under artificial treatment or grow asa thick crop in a natural forest, they gradually 
slow off after some growth or increase of girth, as they begin to produce the best 
quality of lumber between the hardwood and sapwood. Trees under 30 years of age 
are only used for props in gold and coal mines. Young trees, such as red iron bark 
[Cir. 179] 
