THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



'Ml 



men to give more attention to it in fu- 

 ture. It is one of those timbers which 

 is not as wqW known as it should be, be- 

 cause it lias been constantly confused 

 with others. It' is excellent for posts, 

 piles, girders, &c., and is useful for gen- 

 eral building })urposes. It would be de- 

 sirable to thoroughly test it for the deck- 

 ing of bridges. 



Distribution.— North coast and coast 

 mountain districts. 



Grey Box {Eucalyptus heinipholia, P. v. 

 M.) 



iName. — Because of its tough, inter- 

 locked character, which reminded the 

 early settlers of Turkey box. Here, how- 

 ever, the resemblance ceases, as our box 

 is a coarser-grained, duller-looking tim- 

 ber, while in the colonies it often goes by 

 the name of "Box," the adjective "Grey'"' 

 being used to distinguish it from red box, 

 brush-box, &c. 



Characteristics. — Its toughness, hard- 

 ness, cross-grained, non-fissile character, 

 and its great strength. It is a pale hard- 

 wood, of a very pale brown. 



Principal uses. — It is used in the col- 

 onies for the naves of wheels qnd heavy 

 framing, and for the cogs of wheels, large 

 screws, mauls, handles, shafts, poles of 

 ' drays, &c., which require a tougb wood 

 for their manufacture. In Victoria it 

 is in high repute for railway sleepers, and 

 in that colony and our own for piles, gir- 

 ders, &c. It can be recommended witJi 

 confidence to railway-carriage builder:^ 

 and others who require a strong, durable 

 timber for framing, &c. 



Distribution. — Coast and coast moun- 

 tain districts. 



Quantity available. — Fairly abundant. 



Tallow-wood (Eucalyptus microconj:^, 

 F. V. M.) 



Name. — Given because of its slip])crv, 

 greasy nature. 



Characteristicos. — () F a cana ry-yel I o w 

 (or sometimes reddish) colour when 

 fresh sawn, drying to a pale brown. One 

 of the least liable to shrink of all our 

 hardwoods. It is heavy, strong, an:l 

 drirable. It may be planed and turned 

 with great satisfaction. It is not easily 



split, tlie greasy substance contained in 

 it making it a tedious matter to get the 

 wedge to "draw." I would express the 

 opinion that, after ironbark, tallow-wood 

 is the most valuable of our hardwoods. 



Principal uses. — For flooring, partica- 

 larly in ball-rooms. For this latter pur- 

 pose it is selected on account of iia 

 greasy nature. For decking, hand-railing, 

 girders, and some other parts of bridges. 

 A favourite for building work generally. 

 It does not burn readily, which in Ijuild- 

 ings is, of course, a recommendation. It 

 is perhaps the most valuable wood in 

 New South Wales for paving-blocks. It 

 makes admirable posts and rails, lasting 

 an indefinite period either above or below 

 ground, l)ut ditficult to split for these 

 ])ur])()sc<, as already remarked. White 

 mahogany is not infrequently substituted 

 for tallow-wood. Both are good timbers, 

 and can stand on their own merits. The 

 substitution can readily be detected by 

 any man with a fajr knowledge of col- 

 onial timbers. 



Blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis Sni.) 



Name.- — Owing to the fibrous bark on 

 the butt, which is of a dark-grey colour, 

 even blackish, though its depth of tint is 

 in part owing to bush fires 



Characteristics. — Pale-coloured, more 

 or less fissile, though sometimes quite 

 interlocked in grain. It is a strong, dur- 

 'able, thoroughly safe and well-tried tim- 

 ber. It is usually readily diagnosed by 

 the presence of narrow, concentric gum- 

 veins, but sometimes these veins are 

 nearly or wholly absent. 



Principal uses. — This is one of the bes*- 

 liardwoods we have for house and ship- 

 'building. It is useful for bridge plank- 

 ing, though inferior to tallow-wood for 

 that i)urpose. It has been tested for 

 many years for blocks for wood-paving, 

 with most satisfactory results; in fact, u 

 is one of the best tindiers we luive for the 

 purpose, both as regards wear and dura- 

 bility. It takes tar Avell. After ironbark, 

 I would only place this timber second to 

 tallow-wood, amongst our hardwoods, for 

 general purposes. 



Distribution. — Coast districts from 

 north to south. 



