SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
THE HARDWOODS OF AUSTRALIA AND THEIR ECONOMICS. 
By Richard T. Baker, Curator and Economic Botanist, Lecturer on Forestry, 
Sydney University. 
Technical Education Series, No. 23, Government Printer, Sydney, 1919, pp. xvi. 
+ 522; 25s., + postage, 4s. 2d. 
With the appearance of this compendious volume by Mr. Baker will disappear . 
the reproach that Australia, which has a magnificent asset in its forests, has not 
any reliable, complete account of the timbers obtained from them. 
Mr. Baker’s works are generally characterized by a combination of rare 
beauty and absolute economic value—such as “The Cabinet Timbers of New 
South Wales,” and, along with Mr. H. G. Smith, “A Research on the Pines of 
Australia.” Their joint production on “The Eucalypts” paved the way for 
the present volume. It resulted in setting a standard of scientific accuracy for 
the identification of our eucalypts, and overcoming the confusion of common 
names, that all orders for Australian oils are given under the scientific names, 
the common names being entirely discarded, right from the oil distiller in the 
bush to the retailer in the city. It is to be hoped that “ Hardwoods” will have 
a similar result in the timber trade. Mr. Baker gives many illustrations of 
this hopeless confusion, e.g., bluegum for four well-known species—F. globulus, 
maideni, saligna, tereticornis. The first two have pale or white timber, and the 
latter two have red. Similarly, our best ironbark is W. paniculata, while Tas- 
manian ironbark is #. virgata, a much inferior wood. The plea is well made 
to drop the common names, as has been already done in New Zealand, South 
Africa, and South America. : 
When we turn to the Systematic List (p. 408), one realizes the great diversity 
of our hardwoods. Here we find no less than 38 orders, including 108 genera; 
but the one genus which stands out in great predominance as a timber yielder is 
eucalyptus, which exceeds all the others put together. Mr. Baker describes 
in this work no less than 141 species out of a total of about 200 known species, 
in which are to be found, perhaps, the greatest variety of timber of any other 
genus in the world. The eucalypts form three-fourths of our forest flora. As 
nine-tenths of our forest trees are hardwoods, our forestry problems and our 
re-afforestation work will deal principally with hardwoods. On page 187 is 
given a good indication of the characteristics of the barks on which the more 
familiar classification of eucalyptus is based, viz., bloodwoods, mahoganies, boxes, 
tallowwoods, stringybarks, woollybutts, blackbutts, gums, peppermints, ashes, 
and ironbarks. : 
In the main classification of the whole of the timbers, colour is relied upon 
as the best general method, and a fine list is given of the timbers classed under 
dark red, red, pink, grey, chocolate, yellow, pale, and white. This is often 
sufficient to determine the species, and is the colour of a newly-planed surface. 
Sometimes colour changes take place after exposure to air. Tt is on account 
of the value of colour as a basis of classification that so many coloured plates 
have heen reproduced. ‘These reflect the greatest credit on all concerned in the 
preparation of timber specimens, in photographing, and in colour printing. There 
are 126 beautiful plates. It is a pity that such a colour classification is not 
hased on an international colour code, which banishes indefiniteness about terms 
like pink, pale, grey, &c. A convenient code is that by Paul Klincksieck—Code 
des Ooulewrs—which depicts and numbers 720 shades; or there are more 
elaborate ones. 
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