REVIEW.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4, 20 April 1928, Page 289

REVIEW.

EUCALYPTS IN NEW ZEALAND.

Trees from other Lands for Shelter and Timber in New Zealand:

Eucalypts. By

J. H. Simmonds.

Quarto, xviii plus 164 pages, .76

botanic plates, and 28 scenic plates. (Brett Printing and Publishing Company, Auckland ; £2 10s.)

It is certainly not an exaggeration to assert that no one except its enthusiastic authorthe Rev. J. H. Simmondscould have produced this truly notable book, the first of its kind in this country, for its author year by year for many years has been fitting himself for the task. He has cultivated many kinds of Eucalyptus : he has studied in all parts of New Zealand the behaviour of the different . species in cultivation ; he has seen many growing in their natural habitats in Australia and Tasmania ; he has examined the herbaria from which much information concerning their classification has been derived ; . and he has dived deep into , the literature of . his subject.. These many-sided studies have produced a many-sided work in which most aspects of the subject, both practical and scientific . (but' can the two be disunited ?), are discussed in plain terms and in vigorous English. ■ ■

First of all must come here the ■ essential matter ■of classification. Up to the welcome appearance of this book the knowledge of the cultivated species .of Eucalyptus in New Zealand has been based on a quite insecure foundation., . In no few cases one and the same group of plants has been known by different names —possibly none of them the right one— or groups distinct enough from one another have borne one and the same name ! This sorry state of affairs, if . Simmonds’s book is followed, should before long be a thing of the past, since not only is there a good description of each of the seventy species cultivated in this country, but there is an authentic, life-size picture of each from the hands of those qualified botanical artists, Misses Flockton and King, who prepared the plates for Maiden’s classical monograph on Eucalyptus. Thus exact figures of the types of those species which are grown in New Zealand are available for all who wish to find out the '.correct name of any eucalypt they want to identify. Certainly in the matter of the nomenclature of Eucalyptus there , still remains much to be done in Australia, in the field rather ' than'in the herbarium', especially in the way of finding out the true-breeding groups of individuals, the effect of environment, and, above all, the occurrence of wild hybrids' which must ' certainly be present, ' and probably in great abundance. The author himself embodies in ‘ other words similar ideas when he writes ': “ They 'of to-morrow will 'discern in thdse trees origins and ' kinships that are still hidden from our eyes. From this growing knowledge 'there will gradually emerge for the Eucalypts a classification upon which nature herself will place the seal of approval.” Also, those who read between his lines will see that for practical purposes the author considers it is not safe to admit to cultivation a species on its name alone, but rather it is the. best strain of the “ species which is ’ wanted. ’• Thus ■ the : author’s philosophy ’ concerning 'species is - much : the same as that of the reviewer, in that the species is frequently merely an abstraction, not a reality (c.g., E. amygdalin a),.'the realities being the" true-breeding 'strains,' or “ jordanons ”as they are 'now called by some. '• ” ''

... The ...botanical plates are not ; the , only illustrations of moment .in . the. book. On the contrary, there, are : many of ’particular value illustrating the admirable results 'of . intelligent tree-planting on large' .estates or in beautifying the surroundings of the home. They are, indeed, a striking example, to be followed by those—far" too • great'a majority— ignore : the aesthetic and whose land stands naked? Noris' such planting of no '- 'monetary value, direct or 'indirect/ but • quite the contrary, as the author conclusively proves. • '•■"u

' What /may ' be called the “ Simmonds general.classification ” of the 'eucalypts is quite novel; hut' from the standpoint of i utility ', the only classification of teal moment. It is based on climate, with the tolerating capacity of the species

coming first. This leads to the division into six groups of . the. seventy species of Eucalyptus cultivated in this country, commencing with those the least hardy (tolerators of virtually no frost) and ending with the most hardy (tolerators of a considerable amount of frost). Thus the landowner who wishes to plant, if he is properly acquainted with the climate of his neighbourhood, with the aid of the book under review can tell pretty well for certain which species will succeed with him and which he should avoid. Where particularly frosty he has a choice of only seven species, but where the frosts are not nearly so heavy (2o°-26° F.), and the summer comparatively hot, twenty species may be cultivated.

Scientifically the Simmonds classification is sound, and it might quite well be correlated with the presence of various indigenous trees in any area : i.e., the different natural forest areas of New Zealand might most likely each be an indicator of what exotic trees could be successfully introduced. Or, taking a rather wider view, the various botanical districts might serve as the basis for the tree-planter, since each has its locally endemic plants, its particular plant-associations, its florula, and its climate..

For each of the author’s divisions of his species, in addition to the trees being well illustrated and described, there is given for each species an account of its natural habitat r in Australia or Tasmania and of its latitudinal, altitudinal, and ecological distribution in New Zealand. It is information of this class— quite new except in a general way—-which v stamps the work as of particular value, such information having been acquired only by extended travel and careful observation. Also, the relative importance of each tree from the standpoint of its timber is considered. In short, the remarks concerning each species supply indispensable information in many directions--information which cannot be neglected by the botanist, the forester, the gardener, or the landowner.

There are many other matters dealt with in this exhaustive work — e.g., cultivation for timber-production ; prevention of fire ; harvesting the crop ; natural spreading of trees—nine species thus established are cited ; the preservative treatment of wood; and popular and scientific names, with, rightly, a strong bias for the latter ; but the book is full of information, and all is put forth in simple but powerful language.

That the book is a work of great merit no one can deny. That it must play a notable part in the forestry and tree-horticulture of New Zealand should stand self-evident. But to accomplish fully its splendid purpose it must be properly in the hands of the public and before their eyes. Every library in this country worthy of the name should have a copy of Simmonds’s Eucalypts. It should be in every high school and every technical college. Nor is the book one for New Zealand alone. Eucalypti are grown extensively in the warm temperate zone throughout the globe. To the cultivators of these noble trees the world over Simmonds’s work should appeal. L CO CKAYNE.*