THE USES OF GUM TREES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 98, 10 March 1862, Page 3

THE USES OF GUM TREES.

(From the Yeoman.) The forests of Victoria are chiefly composed of tli <mm trees, or, as they are botanically N named euca fypti '' and so universal is their distribution tha there is scarcely a locality where one or another, thes kinds of trees may not be found. There are man; varieties of them, differing very remarkably in thei outward appearance, and also in their structure au> economical applications. The ordinary names b, which some of them are popularly distinguished ar sufficiently significant to lead to tneir identity b almost any observer, since they embrace some obviou character or peculiarity of the tree inself. The ret gum is known by the color of its wood; the red-gui is known by the singular blueish green of its foliage the stringy bark describes its own appearance ; an the iron-bark is admirably named from the thick an rugged bark, with deep longitudinal fissures, that ar bo strikingly developed in this species, fcomeothc sruin trees, possessing characters less marked by an prominent feature, are distinguished with greatc difficulty; and as the terms which have bee applied to them vary iv different localities, and ofte: lend to considerable misapprehension of the qualitie and proper uses of the woods. The nature of eucalvptine timbers is very varioui since some are tough and fibrous, and others liar and dense, and capable of sustaining extniordinar weights. The box, red-gum, and iron-bark are ex ceeoWly valuable for their strength and durability and in consequence have been applied to numorot industrial purposes, where these qualities are re quired. The blue and white gums and the string bark arc extensively used in the erection ot building! for the construction of piers and bridges, and ti ordinal? fencing ; and other varities have their spc cial applications in the mechanical arts. In addition to these uses of our torest trees as tiro ber, it is interesting- to know that every portion them is highly valuable for the direct or remote pn duets they contain. The refuse of the trunk, wine is rejected by the carpenter, is used as fuel; mrtei the cum-trees supply the greater portion of the tv of the colony, and a charcoal which is particular adapted to the manipulations of the gold-assaye The barks of many trees abound with a power! nstrinffent principle, analogous to and yet apparent differing from toniiin, that is employed m the pr paration of leather, and renders this article equal any in ihe world. Others afford the material of coarse fibre, which ingenuity may yet convert in the manufacture of matting or even pap( From a very large number there is secreted variety of gum resins that seem admirably suited numerous requirements in the useful arts. Doco tions of the woods and barks exhibit a prospect their being made subservient as medicinal agents ; y it is'deserving- of remark how little attei.tum appei to have been given by medical men to their use. It' is not improbable that some species may yield us dyes, but there is little reliable information to be obtained upon this subject. The leaves, on ordinary distillation, (rive out a highly fraerant ami abundant essential oil, which has powerful solvent properties over the most tenacious resins, and promises to be advantageous in the preparation of excellent varnishes. From materials of indigenous production can he furnished a variety of these compositions, rangiuu from the richest transparent rose color, to inmost perfect whiteness, and affording a hard varnish toi theuseofcoachmnkersand other artisans, that wil probably supersede thfi importation of the high-pricec articles'of this nature from Europe. The oil denviv from gum leaves is also adapted for general household ' consumption, as the material of a brilliant light, burning in mi ordinary kerosene lamp, witha whiteness and illuminating power far superior to the hiwi American kerosinc. It possesses no dangerous explosive properties likenaptua; it is destitute of anj offensive smell, but rather diffuses a pleasant aromatn GdQiir'throughout the apartment in which it is beuif consumed. Thy cost of production is very moderate and iii"the face of a war with America, there an niillions of acres in the colony covered with this pro line oil-bearing vegetation, which, by a smalt ex penditure of capital, will render Victoria lndepenflen of other countries for one great means of artiflcal light The destructive distillation of the wood and leaves i attended by other products, yielding a volatile spin (wood naptha), which is abundantly used iv the art? pyroli"neous acid, tar, charcoal, and also a gaseou fluid that has been employed in some of the countr towns of the colony for the purposes of street ll luuiination. ';i . When the commonest timber trees of'-Victoria indicate these various uses and products, there is surely reason to hope that the practical tendencies ot the a«e will lead to further investigations and development of our indigenous vegetable resources, and the profitable investment of labour and capital. Only three years ago, the timber imported into this colony represented the enormous amount of three-quarters ot a million sterling while the population numbered about half-a-million souls. By the formation ot railroads and increased facilties of communication^ wini the interior, by the improvement and extension of ordinary roads, the products of our own gigantic forests may be rendered available, extensive employment afforded to numerous classes of artisans, in cntiino- and preparing the timber for use ; and at the same time large tracts of country will be opened up to agricultural occupation and settlement. Let us have a cup of tea before starting; it will nerve me at Jail events lor encpuntenng a sight to which I am b>r no means partial—the feiica of mortality, " Belies of mortality !" said Dr. Jf ftwke, !' you make me smile. Do not these relics enpounter us everywhere ? have we them nut on the dinner-table in the shape of the smoking surloin '.' and at this season when the yule log blazes in the hall, nnd the wassail cup goes around, does not the boar's head placed at the head of the table with ai lemon in its mouth preach as eloquent of mortality as some of our prcachsrs do, when with mimic voice nnd artificial tears they simulate a grief they never felt, and hurry through the service to get home_ to the leg of mutton, which revolves slowly at the fire, nnd they are anxious to partake of it before its rich juices have been exhaled ? Why, there is not a place, and scarcely an hour of the day, but those relics meet us. What is the sponge with which I wash my face in the morning, but a relic of mortality 1 it once offered a homo to countless thousands of minute creatures. What are those slippers in which I find you toasting your feet before the fire but relics of mortality 1 ' At no distant day they formed an integral part of a calf, a cow. or a sheep. And though 1 cannot apeak very particularly of that red night-cap which you employ to protect your head from the dreadful draughts with which this house is filled, I should suppose it a relic of mortality too, and that once it was a part of an animal which has long sinceceasedto exist." — Vanity Church.

THE DECAY OF MEXICO. (From the London Review.) Less than three years ago the rapid decay of Mexico and the difficulty either of letting it alone, protecting it, or conquering it was a far greater perplexity to the Government of the United States than lavory, which nearly everybody tolerated, and secession, in which no one believed. It seeinel to be the inevitable fate of that beautiful country to he gradually annexed to the overgrown dominion of Brother Jonathan.and the wisest statesman ■in Washington, whether Democratic or Republican, in speculating upon the probability of its conquest, concurred in the earnest hope that it might be delayed as long as possible, for fear of the evil consequences it might entail upon the union, and that no rash hand would expedite a catastrophe which coma when it might, would come too soon for the comfort of the existing generation. But three years have operated a great and unexpected change in the mutual relations'of the parties. The huge American Union has broken at its weakest point, and lies, like the great ship, rudderless and helpless in the trough of of a raging sea ; while Mexico, relieved from all fear of aggression in that quarter, has been left to the decay and disintegration consequent upon her own inherent rottenness. Instead ot gaining any relief from the removal of a source of such eminent peril as the enmity of a too powerful neighbor, she has but grown weaker and more distracted by the operation of time. Life is insecure, property is not respected, and liberty is destroyed in Mexico ; her fields are untillecl; her roads are infested by armed banditti; law is powerless or non existent, and one rufiian after another grasps the fast fading remnant of authority, and uses it for plunder anil for extortion for a few weeks, or it may be for months, when he is superseded in his turn, and perhaps murdered by another ruffian, as base and bru'.al as himself, and destined to run a course as short and as detestable. Nature, that lias done so much for Mexico, has denied her the one thins needful to make a great and prosperous country. It has ctfven her a lovely climate and a fertile soil; with mineral wealth—gold, silver, iron, lead, and copper; plains of a fertility to feed n continent. But all tliese, and their beauty and riches, are of no avail without true-hearted men. And men capable of turning their unparalleled resources to account are wanting in a land that for natural beauty and capabilities has no superior under the sun. The European races which, after the first discovery of America, took possession, have gradually died out. Their numbfire have not been replenished by immigration .from thp parent stock, and the few who remained in the country at the time when Mexico threw off the yoke of Spain, and who, in proportion to the aboriginal races and half-breeds, was as one to eight, have since that time become fewer and fewer. Their children have inter-married with the Indians, and the progeny of these have inter-married -with mulattoes, and even with negroes, so that a mongrel race predominates, having all the indolence and ferocity of the aboriginal Indians, and all the vices of the African, with scarcely any of the virtues of the Enropean, and certainly not that great virtue of self-control which is as essential to true civilization as it is to liberty. Men of purely Anglo-Saxon or English blood are to be counted in the United and the Confederate States by millions. In Mexico the men of pure Spanish or other European blood can scarcely be counted by hundreds ; and the persons who assume or grasp such power as remains, are of the inferior, not the superior race. General Alvarez, whose father was a Red Indian, whose mother was a mulatto, and who long ruled over a portion of Southern Mexico with despotic sway, and set the authority of the Central Government at defiance, was a specimen of the class of men to whom Mexico has lately been subjected. With such a population, and such aspirants for authority, it is not half as wonderful as it in deplorable that anarchy in its worst forms should be the normal condition of the country; and that the few foreigners who are attracted to its chief cities, in the hope of successful trade, are plundered or murdered with impunity by every faction that comes into -power. Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that Spain should cast longing eyes upon her old colony, and pl?n the means for reclaiming it to its allegiance. Ihe rebellious child that set up for itself, and tried liberty and independence, has egregiously failed ; and what, in the eyes of the Spanish Cabinet, cau be so natural as that the parent should resume the authority, the repudiation of which has been attended with such lamentable results ] We have already expressed our opinion that the disorders in Mexico had ' -isentosuch a height that external interference— ' that is to say, the interference of England and France > has becoms justifiable, indeed, necessary; and l" we are not, therefore, at liberty to object to Spain " also interfering in a case where she had a kind of hereditary right. We would rather, indeed, have '( that interference founded on present disorders than on ancient possession, and think even the principle i" of conquest in its possible eventual results less mis- , chicvons than that of re-conquest. The disvuptior { in the United States may very probably afford Span the opportunity of effecting this object without in- - volying herself" in a war with n powerful rival; whili :; her action, if successful, would have the additiona , advantage of rendering it unnecessary for any othe: -' Power to interfere. The condition of Mexico is a dis- '" trrace to civilisation ; but neither Great Britain no 0 France has any peculiar mission to remedy the evil k a except in so far :is may be necessary to protect it ■° own subjects. But with Spain the case is different r' Her recovery of the country would solve many difli h a culties, and "put an end to many embarrassing earn plications, which a joint intervention would be cer '~ r tain to create ; while it would bs alike beneficial t ?! Mexico, and gratifying to the pride and prestige o : Spain herself.

Facts for Farmers.—Stilton Cheese.—A Mi Augustus A. F. Greeves writes to the Yeoman in thi following strain* respecting the. manufacture of th real stilton :—Put together a meal of the morning milk and a meal of the night's cream, previously jus wanned in a little of the night's milk. Add the ren net. and when the curd is formed, take it out careful!, with a skimming dish ; break it as little as possible put it in a strainer cloth, laid upon a sieve ; gathe: and tie it np gradually to drain the whey from it When the curd is firm cut it across to see if any mor whey-will come off, always handling gently, anddis turbine and cutting as little as may be. By nigh (when it will be quite drained) cut the curd in thii slices three times the thickness of a crown piece, am lay the slices within a hoop (without a strainer in layers, with care, and salting well each layer An empty fig-drum, to b.e got, at any grocer's' makes a capital hoop, and when it is filled witl the curd, lay the damper (or lid made a little toe small) upoii it. Next morning put a 2 lb. weigh I upon if, .hut dp not press it down. Next morning turn it upside down, putting of course the damper and the weight on the top, and thus turn it night, and morning until it begins to stick to the hoop. When this is the case, take it out, and fill the holes you find on the Qufedue, by working round the cheese with a knife (as a glazier smoothes his putty), so as to rnnke it as smooth as possible. Bandage it round with a broad piece of linen, and put a piece of linen also to top and bottom. Change the linen every day, aim if it becomes wet, more frequently. When the cheese gets a coat upon it, discontinue the bandaging, but lay some linen well over it to keer lie flies oft", and set it in a cool place, so as not tc lrv too quickly. Observe, in forming the cheese, t( ;ort it well, or it will be good for nothing. I nlway! ;ell people to try and over-salt it. It requires U •emain in the mould or hoop about a week or ten days if ou will see no complex or costly apparatus is required :—a two-pound weight for a press; an einpt; igdrum for a mould : and any place fit to keep mea "or a dairy. Yet the product is the most delieiou md esteemed cheeses, and fetches the highest price, v the market It can hardly be bought wholesale ii the great Midland cheese-mart, yclept Nottinglian 3-oose-fair under eighteen-pence a pound. It is i 2hee.se which rarely is imported here, not only fron the demand of it at home, but because by the time i pets here it has become, by its inherent richness, s far " gone" as to be past eating. Yet it may he pro iluced here in the greatest perfection. Some of th best Stilton I ever ate, I made with my own hands at what was then my cattle station, at Mount Eliz.l where the township pf Franckstone \ s now. Thi receint was procured from a celebrated Leicestershir dairy, and I have endeavoured to, explain the proees; co that one who never made a cheese before way b bio to do so, Ax Kntkiu-rising Repouteb.—-The IS> fork " Times " has a correspondent in Missouri wli ? bound to see all the fights there, and describe thei it nil risks. When the late four days' battle : Springfield besran, he tried to gain nccees to the earn it the "(Jnion'troops, but failing to do so, he boldi vent to the enemy's camp, and " surrendered as irisoner of war." in order that he might see tl liitt'.e. The rebels put him under guard of a gigai i.) frontage man, who was armed with a hugecavali ;abre a pair of horse pistols, bowie-knife, and a riff But the correspondent saw the fight, and wrote t icconnt of it in four columns.—" Court Journal." Negkoes.—There are considerable nnmbers in t! Northern States, under the immediate eye of t ibolitionists, so eager for the welfare of all those w ire distant. Large numbers of these are in a state leplorable poverty and degradation, excluded from s but the lowest pursuits, treated on all hands wi aversion and contempt. Charity begins at home, a benevolence that takes no heed of suffering within : reach, in order to occupy itself with distant and xi attainable objects, may spring from a pureimpiiJi but it takes a very questionable direction. — J. American Union. J3y James Spence.

THE LATEST NEWS FROM INDIA. J We are enabled to state, upon the authority'of] an officer in a responsible position, that repurts of I a very exciting, if not aliirming nature, were received in Ceylon from Bombay, just before the sailing of the last vessel to Austmlia. The fact asserted as indubitable was this: that, notwithstanding the frequency of the mail steamers' departure, the Governor-General had chartered a steamer, at Bombay, at an expense of £\ 5,000, to convey a despatch to England, with orders to spare no cost in forwarding it to London. The subject matter of the despatch was kept a profound secret; but, of course, conjecture was rife, the opponents of the Government at Calcutta, whispered that defalcations to a fabulous amount had been discovered, and that the object of the Government was to anticipate the arrival ot the last preceding mail in Europe. The politicians believed that alarming discoveries had been made of an impending rebellion of the Sikhs, extending over the whole of the north-west of India. Others coupled with this report the intrigues of Russia, and it was confidently affirmed by persons supposed to be well informed, that the GovernorGeneral had learned the existence of a secret treaty, by which Persia had acknowledged the sovereignty of Russia, and that a corps d' armce, consisting of 80,000 men, had crossed the frontier, and taken possession of all the strong places in the north of Persia, down to the passes of Cabul. Wegire the report just as we have received it, only vouching for the high character of the gentleman who brought the information direct from India. — Herald. On the same subject the Argus has the followin o-—A story of mystery has come to us, which, though in ordinary times it might have been dismissed in a small shipping paragraph has acquired importance in the present anxiety for foreign news. The story, although from some oversight it did not appear in our columns at an earlier date, is on undoubted authority and may be accepted as perfectly true. A passenger by the last overland mail met at Suez the captain of the P. and O. Company's steamer Ganges, then lying at anchor m that port and learnt from him that the Ganses had been sent off, at a very short notice, from Bombay to overtake the regular steamer, and to carry an officer, with special and highly urgent despatches from the Indian Government to the Home authorities. The captain of the Ganges was ordered on no account to allow of any communication between any of his crew and the shore, either at Aden or at Suez ; and he was to wait at the latter port for a reply to the despatches. At the time of the Benares leaving Suez, the Ganges had been a week in port, and her appearance there, under the circumstances, and as a. supplement to the regular mail steamer, was exciting considerable curiosity. The Indian papers, we are informed, were strictly forbidden to take any notice of the Ganges' sudden departure, or to indulge in any speculations as to her errand ; but we gather that it was generally believed that she was the: bearer of some extraordinary news, of a nature not to he trusted even to the Mediterranean telc"raph wires. Whether the mystery refers to the discovery of another rebellion in India, the appearance of a foreign enemy on the frontier, or ! any great financial difficulty, it is, of course, impossible for us to conjecture.. But, at the present time, it suggests a cause for the detention of the incoming mail steamer, which is, perhaps, as probable as any of the other causes suggested.

CLEVER CAPTURE OF A BUSHRANGER. Many of our readers will doubtless recollect a well-known character, named Trafford, making his escape from the Back Creek lockup some months ago, and although the police used-cvery endeavour to track him no trace of linn could ever be discovered. It now appears that he went off to the Lachlsm, where he might have remained safe enough had he liked, but hearing that his wife had taken to herself another partner, and was residing with him at Burnt Creek, he at once determined upon seeking her out and punishing her infidelity. His arrival at Burnt Creek soon reached the ears of the police, but owing to his not being known to the constables stationed there he remained unmolested for several weeks. However, on Wednesday evening, he was met in Andersonstreet by the constable in charge of the Burnt Creek station, who noticed that Trafford tried to avoid him, upon this constable Kiely followed him up, on which Trafford bolted and hid behind a bale of goods, outside Mr. Kinna's drapery store. The constable here caught him, and a desperate struggle ensued, which was ended by Kiely dextcriously slipping the handcuffs on his man. He was then with much difficulty'conveyed to the Camp. Oi his being taken to Dunolly, he was placed in the Sergeant's office for the purpose of identification; handcuffed as he was, he made a dash at the window, and was half way out before the police had time to stop him. Great credit is due to Constable Kiely for the prompt manner in which he acted in arresting the prisoner, for he was perfectly unknown to him, and does not well answer to his description in the Gazette ; having allowed his beard to grow since his escape. He at first denied his identity, but on Detective Lloyd, from Back Creek, seeing him, he at once gave in. He stated that it was the first time he had ever been out without being well armed, and that he had only a few minutes previously deposited his revolvers in safe keeping. Be was brought up before the Dunolly Police Court on Friday, and '.was remanded to Back Creek. He is a fine tall powerful looking fellow, apparently of about th\rtyrflve years of age. He appears to treat his position with the utmost coolness and indifference. We understand that nearly the whole of his time at Burnt Creek has been spent in watching his wife, and that one- night he went in to her tent with a revolver in his hand, expecting to find her in bed with her paramour, and had he done so he states that he would have shot them both.— M. kD. Advertiser.