Gum tree

“ The whole of one species frequently leave the tree simultaneously, rushing off with amazing quickness in search of other trees laden with newly-expanded flowers, among which they dash and commence feeding with the utmost eagerness, clinging and creeping among the branches in every possible attitude. As this tribe of birds depends solely for its subsistence upon the flowers of the gum-trees, their presence in any locality would be vainly sought for at any season when those trees are not in blossom. ”

“ The gum is nothing else than the superabundant parts of the sap of this tree, which sap being too small in quantity, and drawn rapidly up by the heat of the sun, swells the fibres of the tree, bursts the imperceptible coats which surround it, and make a passage through the pores of the bark. This never happens when the tree only has the necessary quantity of sap for its preservation and growth; and then, if gum be wished for, it is necessary to use violence, and gain it from the nutriment of the tree by means of incision. ”

“ Chewing-gum is rapidly advancing in price, and the demand is far beyond the supply. The call for gum is co-extensive with the onward move of education. They may be said to go hand in hand. Wherever institutions of learning are found, there you will see the tall, graceful form of the chewing-gum tree rising toward heaven with its branches extending toward all humanity.
Here, in Wyoming, we could easily propagate this plant. It is hardy and don't seem to care whether winter lingers in the lap of spring or not. ”

“ Governor Phillip (Despatch, May 15) in `Historical Records of New South Wales', vol. i. pt. ii. p. 128:
"What seeds could be collected are sent to Sir Joseph Banks, as likewise the red gum taken from the large gum-tree by tapping, and the yellow gum which is found on the dwarf palm-tree."
1789. Captain Watkin Tench, `Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay,' p. 119:
"The species of trees are few, and . . . the wood universally of so bad a grain, as almost to preclude the possibility of using it. . . . These trees yield a profusion of thick red gum (not unlike the Sanguis draconis) ." ”

“ We shall know this tree by its tall, slender trunk, clothed with short, ridged, full-twigged, horizontal branches. With no claim to symmetry, the black gum is a striking and picturesque figure in winter. It is beautiful in summer, covered with the dark polished leaves, two to four inches long. In autumn patches of red appear as the leaves begin to drop. This is the tupelo's signal that winter is coming. Soon the tree is a pillar of fire against yellowing ashes and hickories. The reds of the swamp maple and scarlet oak are brighter, but no tree has a richer color than this one. ”

“ The heavy timber is chiefly gum tree of various species; of which two are different from any that have been yet seen in this country. Nothing new was observed in the quality of the wood; but, from the few trees that were felled, it was thought to be more sound at heart than they are usually met with. The she oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall. The smaller trees and shrubs resemble, with some variety, those of the continent.* The tree producing the yellow gum is of a very diminutive size; but, unlike that of Cape Barren island, it bears a reed correspondent to itself. ”

“ The sour or black gum of the South has a wide range, being hardy to southern Ontario and Maine. To the New Englander this is the "pepperidge"; the Indians called it "tupelo"; but the woodsman, North and South, calls it the gum tree, as a rule. "Black gum" refers to its dark gray, rough bark, which is broken into many-sided plates. By this, it is easily distinguished from the "red gum" or liquid amber, which grows in the same situations, but is not related to it. "Sour gum" refers to the acid, blue-black berries, one to three in a cluster, ripe in October. ”

“ Xanthorrhœa arborea.—The grass gum tree of Australia, also called black boy. This is a liliaceous plant, which produces a long flower-stalk, bearing at the top an immense cylindrical flower-spike, and when the short [42] black stem is denuded of leaves, the plants look very like black men holding spears. The leaves afford good fodder for cattle, and the tender white center is used as a vegetable. A fragrant resin, called acaroid resin, is obtained from it. ”

“ The sweet Gum-Tree, so call'd, because of the fragrant Gum it yields in the Spring-time, upon Incision of the Bark, or Wood. It cures the Herpes and Inflammations; being apply'd to the Morphew and Tettars. 'Tis an extraordinary Balsam, and of great Value to those who know how to use it. No Wood has scarce a better Grain; whereof fine Tables, Drawers, and other Furniture might be made. Some of it is curiously curl'd. It bears a round Bur, with a sort of Prickle, which is the Seed. ”

“ Well, those giant gum-trees absorb all the moisture and keep the grass very poor, so the squatters kill them by ring-barking—that is, they have a ring described round the trunk of each tree by cutting off a couple of feet of bark. ”

“ The blue gum tree, or Eucalyptus globulus (so distinguished because of the rounded form of the lid which covers its unexpanded flower bud) , has been successfully introduced into Asia,671 Africa, and Southern Europe. If, as asserted, it can only exist in a climate where the temperature is never lower than the freezing point, its domestication (save in hot-houses) is impossible in our own country. ”

“ Eucalypti as Timber-Trees.—There are in Australia a number of species of gum-trees, or Eucalypti, the best known being the Eucalyptus globulus, or blue gum. As timber-trees their properties differ widely. The tewart, a variety of the white gum-tree, is of straight growth and noble dimensions. The wood is yellowish, hard, heavy, and strong, with a grain-so twisted and curled that it is difficult to cleave or work it. ”

“ Some of the species of eucalyptus, or gum-trees, are peculiarly adapted for splitting. The peppermint-tree (Eucalyptus piperita) and the `Stringy Bark' are remarkable for the perfectly straight grain which they often exhibit, and are split with surprising evenness and regularity into paling and boards for `weather-boarding' houses and other purposes, in lengths of six or eight feet by one foot wide, and half or one-third of an inch thick. . . . Any curve in a tree renders it unfit for splitting, but the crooked- grained wood is best for sawing. ”

“ A.Trollope, `Australia and New Zealand,' c. xiii. p. 209:
"The eternal gum-tree has become to me an Australian crest, giving evidence of Australian ugliness. The gum-tree is ubiquitous, and is not the loveliest, though neither is it by any means the ugliest, of trees." ”

“ 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 ”

“ Thirsty Sound was the only place where fresh water was not to be procured for the ship, and even there, one or two small pools were found in the woods, though the face of the country was every where intersected by salt-creeks and mangrove-land.
Of trees there is no great variety. Of those that could be called timber, there are but two sorts; the largest is the gum-tree, which grows all over the country, and has been mentioned already: It has narrow leaves, not much unlike a willow; and the gum, or rather resin, which it yields, is of a deep red, and resembles the sanguis draconis ”

“ They approach close to the windows, and are even frequently to be seen on the gum-trees bordering the streets, and within a few feet of the heads of the passing inhabitants, being so intent upon gathering the honey from the fresh-blown flowers which daily expand, as almost entirely to disregard the presence of the spectator. The tree to which they are so eagerly attracted, and a branch of which is figured in the accompanying Plate, is the Eucalyptus gibbosus, young or cultivated specimens of which appear to have finer blossoms than those in their native forests. ”

“ The characteristic growth of Australia is the eucalyptus or gum-tree, in its many varieties, among which the blue gum is best known as widely transplanted to thrive in Europe and other parts of the globe. One species seems entitled to the distinction of being the tallest of trees, growing to a height of four hundred and fifty feet and more, so as perhaps to look down even upon the mammoth sequoia of California, which we have so impertinently renamed the Wellingtonia. ”

“ The Black-Gum, one of the largest trees of the Southern States, bearing a small blue fruit, the favorite food of the opossum. Most of the large trees become hollow. (b) A tree of the genus Eucalyptus. See Eucalyptus. (3) The Sweet Gum tree of the United States, a large and beautiful tree with pointedly lobed leaves and woody, burlike fruit. It exudes an aromatic juice. The wood is now extensively used in cabinet work and interior finish.
Hemlock Tree (Tsuga) , is a genus of the Pine family containing about four species which are native to North America. ”

“ To an ordinary observer the trunk of the spruce tree seems like any other tree trunk—no rougher, and perhaps somewhat smoother than many; but Tom now found that on every tree almost there were little round excrescences, which, on being picked at with the knife, came off readily, and proved to be gum. Vast quantities of a substance which goes by the name of spruce gum are manufactured and sold; but the pure gum is a very different article, having a rich, balsamic odor, and a delicate yet delicious flavor ”

“ This gum, which is called Sassa, they at first brought from the myrrh country behind Azab, till ingenious and 32 sagacious people had carried plants of the tree to their different villages, where they have it growing in great perfection, and more than supply the uses of the merchants.
This tree grows to a great height, not inferior to that of an English elm; that from which this draught was made was about two feet diameter; the gum grows on all sides of the trunk, in quantity enough almost to cover it, in form of large globes, and so it does on all the principal branches. ”

“ It is a significant thing that there are few straight lines in plantdom. Everything is built in fascinating and alluring curves. There is a definite idea of symmetry to be observed everywhere. The beautiful, five-pointed, leaves of the Sweet Gum Tree are arranged so that each one fits into an interstice between two others and so obtains a maximum supply of air [Pg 103] and light. In general, leaves nearest the ground are largest, thus insuring each its supply of sunshine. ”

“ Both plants and animals are of the kind that lived many ages ago. One of the curiosities of forest life is the "gum," or eucalyptus, a belt of which almost surrounds the continent. In its native home the blue gum is a most beautiful tree that sometimes grows to a height of three hundred feet. When the tree begins its growth the stem is nearly square in shape and the leaves are almost circular. ”

“ The immense extent of gum-trees stretches indefinitely, blotting out the conception of anything but its own lightly-timbered pasture. It has not even the gloom and impressiveness which we associate in England with the name of forest land, for the trees are thinly scattered, their long leaves hang vertically from the branches, and sunlight filters through with sufficient force to promote the growth of the tussocked grass beneath. The whole would be indescribably commonplace, but that the vastness becomes at last by its own force impressive. ”

“ As a matter of fact, the common or blue gum-tree, which is alone cultivated and available in any quantity in this country, and which is indigenous to Tasmania, is not the species on which the koala is accustomed to feed. Of gum-trees there are some hundred species, every one differing in the peculiarity of its aromatic scent and flavour, and having its special clientèle among the ranks of leaf-browsing animals. ”

“ Upon the sides of the hills were many of the trees yeilding a gum like Sanguis draconis: they differd however from those seen in the last harbour in having their leaves longer and hanging down like those of the weeping willow, tho notwithstanding that I beleive that they were of the same species. There was however much less gum upon them; only one tree that I saw had any upon it, contrary to all theory, which teaches that the hotter a climate is the more gums exsude. ”

“ When riding here, we see such different sights from what we do in the North. There are such beautiful tall pines here. They grow up fifty or sixty feet before putting out any branches. The sweet gum-tree, too, is very pretty. ”

“ Black gum weighs 39.61 pounds per cubic foot. It is very porous, but the pores are too small to be seen by the naked eye, and are diffused through the wood and form no distinct lines or groups. The summerwood is a thin dark line, not prominent enough to clearly delimit the yearly rings of growth. The medullary rays are numerous, but very thin. In quarter-sawed wood they produce a luster, but the individual rays are practically invisible. The wood is not durable in contact with the soil.
The standing tree is apt to fall a victim to the agencies of decay. ”

“ With quite as little grace and beauty do these gum trees grow, but yet they are the most valuable things we possess, being excellent natural drainers of marshy soil, kindly absorbers of every stray noxious vapor, and good amateur lightning-conductors into the bargain. ”