pREFA CE. 
r I 'HERE are about 450 trees in New South Wales, including Eucalypts. Until the State 
is more fully explored from a botanical point of view, we shall not be in a position to 
precisely define the number of species of plants indigenous to New South Wales which 
attain a height of, say, 25 feet. 
It is felt that nought but good can spring from an extended knowledge of these trees, 
and of the timbers and other products yielded by them. The object of this work is to depict 
the botanical characters of each tree, and to furnish all the available information in regard 
to it. There is no doubt that residents in the bush will welcome means of testing the 
information thus given, and of adding to the stock of knowledge. 
This country has been settled for little more than a century, and the greater part of it 
for less than that. We possess a large endemic vegetation, and it is not a matter for 
surprise that our knowledge of many of our trees comes far short of that of those of 
long settled countries. When we have precision in the discrimination of our trees and of 
our timbers, accurate knowledge of them by the timber-getter, saw-miller, timber merchant, 
and user generally will advance by leaps and bounds. 
Again, some of the trees are remarkable for their beauty, and many of them are of 
high botanical interest. Large numbers of them have already been proved to be of consider¬ 
able economic importance. I have long been of opinion that the better our timbers and 
trees are known, the better many of them will be esteemed. 
Let us first consider the living tree. If we know our trees better, the first step will 
have been gained towards what has been understood as a “ botanical survey” of our forests. 
Of very few species do we know the precise geographical range. Then, in particular 
districts, we require to know the approximate sizes of the trees, and the number to the acre 
of merchantable trees; when they flower (this is of interest to bee-keepers and others); when 
they fruit (this is of interest to seed-getters and those who desire to propagate them, and 
whose efforts are often nipped in the bud through inability to obtain seed). 
The economic importance as regards their planting in special situations, e.g., as wind 
breaks, on the sea coast, in swampy land, in the arid interior, has not yet been realised. It 
is a fact that exotic trees are often cultivated simply because their seeds are more readily 
obtainable than those of the native species. 
What do we know of the problems underlying the ringbarking of many species? 
There is much room for research here, which will be aided when people are able to diagnose 
the trees with precision. 
