Page:On the characters, properties, and uses of Eucalyptus globulus and other species of Eucalyptus.djvu/8

 scimitar-shaped, and hang vertically or somewhat obliquely on the branches, instead of horizontally. The flowers, which are large and axillary, and nearly sessile, grow singly or in clusters of two or three: before they expand, the flower-bud, covered by the lid or operculum of the calyx, has a rounded form; hence its specific name of globulus.

.—This tree is so rapid in its growth "that any man in twenty years' time could find himself, if he chose, surrounded by a forest of his own planting." It has been further stated recently that in a grove planted only sixteen years, the trees averaged 72 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. M. Raveret-Wattel says that a Eucalyptus tree of "ten years old ordinarily presents the development of a well-grown oak of a century; and it is not rare to meet in Australia with specimens in their fiftieth year from 160 to nearly 200 feet high, and 50 to 60 feet in circumference at the base."

These statements are also fully confirmed by the growth of the Eucalyptus trees in Algeria; and the following extract from a letter received by Mr. Daniel Hanbury from his brother at Mentone, which he has kindly forwarded me, also testifies to the same fact:—"In a good soil with a moderate amount of moisture the growth of the Eucalyptus globulus is astonishingly rapid. In the ground of the Palazzo Orango, 4 miles east of Mentone, there is a specimen which was planted in March 1869 (that is, just five years ago), being then a seedling of about 3 feet high. This tree was measured a few days ago, when it was found to be 48 feet high, with a trunk having a circumference of 3 feet at 3 feet above the ground."

In some cases the Blue Gum-tree has been known to attain the colossal dimensions of 350 feet in height and 100 feet in circumference, rivalling, if not exceeding, in these respects the celebrated Californian Coniferous tree the Sequoia Wellingtonia (Wellingtonia gigantea of Lindley). There is no question that, with the doubtful exception of this tree, it excels in dimensions any tree in the world: and as it rarely sends out a branch until its trunk is 100 feet high, its value as a timber-tree may be in some degree judged of; for in many cases planks of this wood, which is remarkable for its hardness and durability, have been cut of 160 feet in length, 20 inches broad, and 6 inches in thickness. In 1855, a plank was prepared for the Paris Exposition; but no vessel could be found capable of conveying it to Europe.

A tree of such beauty and utility, independently of its other