51 
allow the fear to arise that by the fall of a forest giant his dwelling might 
be crushed to pieces, while trees of somewhat less dimensions and therefore 
easier to be felled were standing about in thousands ; above all there were 
the pure fresh air and the never-failing spring of clear water. He was indeed 
preparing for himself a home such as many a one in the old Fatherland is 
longing for. It is true that he would have to work, to work hard perhaps 
for eight or ten years, but then he and his wife would say good bye to the 
forest giants and descend again to settle in more social quarters in order to 
spend the remainder of their days in peace and quiet. 
" We took leave of our kind fellow-countryman and started with the 
dechning evening sun on our return journey to the settlement mentioned 
before. Here most hospitably received we rested our weary limbs in order 
to visit on the morrow a tree fern ravine more than three miles in length. 
As the description of that grand scenery deserves a special article, I con- 
clude by giving some details about the forest giants. 
" The existence of these gigantic trees has only recently been scientifically 
ascertained by Dr. Ferdinand von Miiller, the learned Government 
Botanist of the Colony of Victoria, and Director of the Botanical Gardens 
at Melbourne. Having had his attention directed to them, Dr. Miiller with 
his usual zeal for the study and unveiling of Australian nature ordered 
measurements to be made, which gave most astonishing results and 
awarded to these forest giants the palm of victory over the Californian 
Wellingtonias, hitherto considered the highest trees in the world. 
-. "Eucalyptus amygdalina, the monarch of the vegetable world is found in 
the Colonies of Victoria and New South "Wales, and also in Tasmania ; but 
only in certain parts, especially at the foot of the Victorian Alps, does it 
attain the colossal height mentioned before. Dr. Von Miiller a short time 
ago mentioned these trees in a most interesting lecture delivered in the 
Melbourne Museum, and as he enlarged upon their various uses, I take the 
liberty of giving some extracts keeping closely to the words of the learned 
doctor. 
" He starts in his calculations with a Eucalyptus amygdalina of the 
colossal height and circumference of that one found near Berwick and 
says : — 
" 'If we assume that only half the wood which such a tree yields be cut 
into planks a foot wide and an inch thick, it /would give us 426,720 
feet running, enough to cover 9| English acres. If the same quantity of 
wood be used for railway sleepers each 6 feet long, 8 inches wide and 
6 inches thick, the result would be 17,780 sleepers. A vessel of 1000 tons 
