18^ 



HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TREES. 



PART I. 



Diemen's Land, in addition to the species of eucalyptus, acacia, callistemon, 

 and sida, which live as standards through the ordinary winters in the neigh- 

 bourhood of London without protection, 



A number of the ligneous trees and shrubs of Europe, and some also from 

 other parts of the world, have been taken to New Holland and Van Diemen'a 

 Land, by the settlers ; and every year packages of plants which stand the 

 open air in England^ as well as of house plants, are sent out by the nursery- 

 men. In the botanic garden at Sydney there was in 1828, a collection, which 

 included the fruit trees of every part of the world, as far as they could be 

 collected, and also many of the principal European timber trees and flowering 

 shrubs. An account of this collection by the then curator of the garden, Mr. 

 Charles Eraser, will be found in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. v. p. 280. It 

 is there stated that tiie European trees stood the extreme drought of the year 

 1827-28 better than those of warmer climates; and, while oranges, limes, 

 shaddocks, guavas, &c., were completely burnt up, apples, pears, &c., stood the 

 shock without any apparent injury. To give an idea of the " capabilities of 

 the climate," Mr. Eraser states that, in " an exposed part of the garden, may 

 be seen growing luxuriantly, in a dense thicket formed by themselves, the 

 following trees ; viz., the English ash and elm, Erythrina Corallodendrum in 

 full flower, Bombax heptaph\^Uum, Gymnocladus canadensis, J^'icus elastica, 

 DalhergiaSlssoo, Tectona grandis, 7^inus Pinaster and halepensis, Catdlpa syrin- 

 grefolia, the English lime and sycamore, the mossy-cupped and English oak, 

 7(cacia Zamariscina, Salisbiir/a «diantif61ia, the tea and olive, and many others." 



The trees of Van Diemen's Land appear to be among the most gigantic of 

 the whole world. Mr, James Backliouse, au English nurseryman who spent 

 some time in Hobart Town and its neighbourhood, and has communicated 

 some interesting information on the vegetation of that country to the Gar- 

 dener'' s Magazine (see vol. xi. p, 388,), gives the following measurement often 

 trees of the Eucal^'ptus robusta, or the stringy-bark tree. They all stood in 

 the neighbourhood of the Emu river, and the circumference of all the trunks 

 were takeu at 4 ft. from the ground. 



No. L, 45 ft, in circumference ; supposed height 180 ft. The top broken, 

 as is the case with most large-trunked trees ; the trunk a little injured by 

 decay, but not hollow. The tree had an excrescence at the base 12 ft. across 

 and 6 ft, high, protruding about 3 ft. No, 2,, 37| ft. in circumference. No. 

 3., 38 ft. in circumference ,• distant from No. 2, 80 yards. No. 4. 38 ft. in 

 circumference; distant from No. 3. 56 yards. Nos. 3 and 4. were round 

 trees, upwards of 200 ft. high. No, 5., 28 ft. in circumference. No. 6., 30 ft. 

 in circumference. No. 7., 32 ft, in circumference. No, 8., 55 ft. in circum- 

 ference; very httle injured by decay; and upwards of 200ft. high. No, 9,, 

 40| ft. in circumference ; sound and tall. No, 10,, 48 ft, in circumference; 

 tubercled tall ; some cavities at the base ; much of the top gone, A pros- 

 trate tree near to No, 1, was 35 ft. in circumference at the base, 22 ft. at 66 ft. 

 19ft. at 110ft. up; there were two large branches at 120ft,; the general 

 head branched off at 150 ft. the elevation of the tree, traceable by the 

 branches on the ground, 213 ft. 



In the First Addiiional Siqojiilement to the Encij clojjtxdia of Agriculture will be 

 found portraits, drawn from nature, of several of the trees mentioned as 

 having been measured by Mr. Backhouse, drawn by iNIr. John Thompson, a 

 friend of ours, and an excellent artist, settled at Sydney. The iron-bark 

 tree (Eucalyptus resinifera) measured by Mr, Thompson is 200 ft. high, with 

 a clean straight trunk of 130 ft. The most remarkable of these trees in ap- 

 pearance is the grass tree (Xanthorrhoe^a arborescens). 



Mr, Thomas Backhouse has sown the seeds of several species of the trees 

 and shrubs of Mount Vv^ellirgton and other elevated and exposed situations in 

 Van Diemen's Land, in his nursery at York, and he expresses a hope in a 

 few years to prove their hardiness ; and, as they are all evergreens, they will 

 be valuable auxiliaries to our park scenery. 



