Eucalyptus

(ū-kah-līp'tūs.) (Bot.) Agen. of Australian trees, O. Myrtaceæ, many species of which are distinguished by Australian colonists by characters derived from the bark; some having smooth, others rough or cracked bark; some are solid (Iron-bark), while others are fibrous (Stringy-bark). They are also called Gum-trees, in consequence of the quantity of gum that exudes from their trunks. The timber is exceedingly valuable, and is in common use in England's Australian and Tasmanian colonies. In the latter, the three following species yield the best quality of timber, namely: E. globulus, the Blue Gum; E. gigantea, the Stringy-bark; and E. amygdalin a, the Peppermint-tree. But of these the first-mentioned is considered the most valuable, although the Stringy-bark attains the largest size. Trees of the latter species have been felled, measuring upwards of 300 feet high, by 100 feet in girth at ay ard from the ground. [s. 344]