Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/354

330 as they are called here, the ordinary appellation of the Eucalyptus, of which there are many varieties. Compared with the trees of England and America, the gum-tree is not beautiful, and no one would think of growing it for ornament alone, but on the whole it is by no means ill-looking. The leaves do not spread out horizontally, but depend vertically from the boughs. Consequently the tree gives little shade in the daytime, but the traveller who passes through a gum forest at night blesses this peculiarity of the tree, as it admits the light of the moon and stars, to the great advantage of the wayfarer. Compared with European trees, the verdure of the Eucalyptus is scanty, and its green is rather sombre. Some of the varieties of this tree are far more attractive than others, the handsomest of all being the Banksia, named after Sir Joseph Banks.

"The Eucalyptus amygdalina, or giant gum, has the reputation of being the tallest tree in the world, and the Australians are greatly pleased to mention this fact. There are reports of giant gum-trees that exceed five hundred feet in height, but the highest one with an official record is on Mount Baw-Baw, Gippsland; it was measured by Mr. Hodgkinson, a civil engineer, who certifies to its height of four hundred and seventy-one feet. This is considerably more than the height of the tallest of the Big Trees of California, according to the authorities we have consulted. New groups and forests are discovered from time to time, and perhaps one of these days we shall hear of a giant that exceeds five hundred feet.