Page:A primer of forestry, with illustrations of the principal forest trees of Western Australia.djvu/60

54 7.—YATE (Euc. cornuta).

A tree attaining a height of 50 to 60 feet, with a bole of 25 to 35 feet, and diameter of three feet.

The bark is persistent, dark, rough, and of dirty, untidy appearance on the trunk; it peels off the branches, often hanging down in strips, leaving the branches white like those of the karri. This species is easy to recognise by its flowers. These are united in dense clumps on short stalks. The buds are almost one inch long and very narrow, and are pointed like horns. The filaments (or coloured part) are a yellowish-white colour, and the flowers when fully out resemble fluffy balls of about two inches in diameter. The fruits are united (or apparently so) in clusters of about eight, and have sharp points at their ends.

This species yields a light-coloured timber of exceptional strength. It is probably the strongest timber in the world, and in one test for tensile strength the breaking load was 17½ tons per square inch, 3½ tons less than that usually specified for wrought iron of ordinary quality. It is used for wheelwright work generally, and is preferred where the strongest shafts for frames of carts are required. It occurs at Busselton, Donnelly River coast, Lake Muir, and Mount Barker district. That it is not used more generally is due to the fact that it is found in open savannah forests at a distance from centres of population.