96 
Bark. —Several species of Melaleuca have a thin papery bark which tears 
off in several layers. It is used, amongst other purposes, by the aboriginal women 
to wrap their children in. 
Backhouse ( Narrative, p. 58) mentions that the natives of Tasmania used to 
cross the mouth of a harbour on floats, in the form of a boat, made of bundles of the 
paper-like bark of the Swamp Tea-tree, lashed side by side by means of tough grass. 
On these, three or four persons were placed, and one would swim at each side, 
holding it with one hand. 
Mr. W. Soutter, of Brisbane, has used the ground paper bark of this tree for 
packing fruit for export. (See Queensland Agricultural Journal, also Cape Agri¬ 
cultural Journal, 11th and 25th January, 1894.) 
Timber. —Exceedingly hard and cross-grained, almost imperishable in moist 
places, but otherwise not of special merit, greatly used for ship timbers, boat knees 
and posts; wood much resembling that of the Melaleucas generally, very apt to 
crack and fly open on drying. 
Speaking of the Indian-grown timber, Gamble says :— 
Wood reddish brown, hard ; pores moderate sized, scanty, producing wavy lines on a vertical section. 
Medullary rays very fine, extremely numerous. 
0 
Size. —Up to 40 or 50 feet, and a diameter of 1 or 2 feet in central and 
coastal New South Wales, but attaining a large size as Queensland is approached. 
Mueller says it is the largest and straightest tree in the Northern Territory. 
Habitat. —From the Shoalhaven River, New South Wales (I do not know 
its furthest southern locality), north right along the coast, in moist sandy localities, 
to Northern Queensland and the Northern Territory. Found also in Western 
Australia (its precise range I do not know), in New Caledonia, the whole Malayan 
Archipelago, and Burma. 
EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 
A. Outside view of the flower opened out. 
a. Calyx. 
b. Petals. 
c. Stamens. 
B. Inside view of the flower opened out. 
d. Pistil. 
c. One staminal bundle with a petal. 
d. Stamens. 
E. Pistil. 
f. Ovary, showing convex summit. 
G. Vertical section of ovary. 
h. Horizontal section of ovary. 
i. Fruiting spike. 
