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logs or pieces, so that the timber is open at both ends, before the gum will exude 
in any quantity. It remains to be seen whether the gum exudes most freely in 
summer. 
I have received a cake of the substance obtained by draining the ends of a 
severed log on to a plate. When first received it was exceedingly tough; but on 
exposure to the air for two or three months, it fractured without difficulty between 
the fingers. The fractures are quite bright. It has no odour. To cold water it 
imparts a dark, rich orange-brown colour; at the same time, the insoluble portion 
forms a bulky gelatinous mass. 
In bulk, the gum of C. apetalum appears in no way different from that of 
C. gummiferum. It, however, smells more or less strongly of coumarin, which is 
also contained in abundance in the bark. It is obtained either by wounding the 
tree or by felling it. In cold water it swells up largely, and at the same time, 
possesses a good deal of coherence. It imparts to the water a pale orange-brown 
colour and an intense odour of coumarin. 
Timber. —" He (Surgeon-General White) further remarks that it is the only 
wood of the country that will swim in water.” (Smith; original description, p. 10.) 
This is the earliest reference to the timber. It shows that trees of fair size grew 
about Sydney, and, knowing as we do the great demand there was for soft Avood, 
one can readily understand how the plant, as a tree, would soon be exterminated 
in the vicinity of the infant town. 
This wood is fine-grained, of a reddish colour, and is used occasionally by 
turners. It is useful for tool handles. A slab of this wood in the Technological 
Museum, which has been seasoned over twenty-five years (having been exhibited at 
the London International Exhibition of 1862), has a weight which corresponds to 
41 lb. 14 oz. per cubic foot. 
In the South Coast district it is used for house-work, butter kegs, &c. 
(Forester J. S. Allan). 
Size. —This plant is usually called “ Christmas-bush ” for the reason that 
the people of Sydney, where the plant is in such great demand, rarely sec it in any 
other form than that of a bush, i.e., young plants or second growth. I have told 
many Sydney people, much to their surprise, that it attains the magnitude of a 
medium sized or even large tree. 
Following are some figures:— 
Bermagui district. Height 40-90 feet, diameter 1-2 feet. (Forester .T. S. 
Allan.) 
Termed Creek, Bateman’s Bay district, 50 feet high, diameter 1 foot (J.II.M.). 
The above are South Coast localities. 
