The San Francisco call., 1904-08-05
GREAT TREES
OF AUSTRALIA
Investigation Shows That
Tales of Wonderful Height
Are Much Exaggerated
ONE PUT AT 466 FEET
Actual Measurement Causes
Great Surprise $500 Is
Offered for 40O-FOOter

-
vegetation have, from time TO time,
become current only 10 become demol-
fshed as the continent became better
known. But there is one phase of the
subject that is Of real scientific inter
est allude to the size of our trees,
and in regard to these we have still
much 70 learn
IL is very difficult for some people to
understand that in a question of this
kind only actual measurements by
tape or 1heodolite or records by an OBJ
server Of proved accuracy can be ad-
mitted. The mere guessing Of heights is
rarely attended with even approXima-
ton 10 accuracy. ] have been given
the most astounding heights for GER
tain trees and when ! have asked for
evidence have sometimes given Of
fense
The greatest claims for Australian
trees have been made on behalf of
Victoria. most Of them from Gippsland.
In 1852 Mueller wrote to Seamann's
Journal OF Botany that d. Boyle of
Nunawading, near Melbourne, had
measured a fallen tree in the recesses
OF the Dardenong and found it to be
40 feet. About the same time he
wrote to the Australasian, giving more
details about this tree, which was
stated 10 be S93 feet long. He added
thing feet as a fair estimate Of the
. length OF the top, whoich had been
broken of. and thus we have 420 feet
. as the height OF this tree.
TWO ENORMOUS TREES.
the Blacks Spur were two trees, one
alive, measuring 40 feet in length, and
the other Cprostrated) $50 feet. long. He
adds that Baron Mueller is the author
ity for these measurements One YER
sion, therefore, states that the 400 feet
tree is PROSTATE and the other that it
IS alive. II these two statements are
correct then two trees of this stupen-
dous height are referred to. Following
is another account Of the 4sO-foot tree:
A note by Mueller in the Gardeners
Chronicle for 1862 saws that several
trees had been recently measured at
the upper Yarra and on the Dande-
nong. He adds:
The highest known is ascertained
20 be $50 feet. and therefore as high as
he great pyramid" The same writer
+. that il was a Mr.. Klein who measured
a tree on the Blacks Spur. ten miles
from Healsville. who found it to be 4S0
feet high. Mueller in his Select Extra
Tropical Plants" writes that a tree
was measured in the Cape Otway
range AS feet high and Is feet in diam
eter.
Another tree measured AT the base
Of the stem SO feet in circumference: at
twelve feet from the ground, "A feet in
diameter; at seventy-eight feet, feet;
At IA feet, S feet in diameter. and at
20 feet, 3 feet. All these trees belong
10 the species described by Mueller as
eucalyptus regnans on account Of its
crowning height. It is the tree known
o IN Victoria variously as white gum
'messmate' and peppermint Gt va
rles much in the bark, and Mueller al
ludes TO ii as the 'tallest tree on the
globe, surprising even the renowned
California sequoia and Wellington
20 pines in height, reaching TO 400 feet and
even more"
on another occasion he continues TO
limit the height TO about 400 feet. In
our sheltered springy forest glens at
tsining not rarely a height Of over 400
feet" In 1852 he, in Seemann's Journal
of Botany, said that f. B. Heyne meas
ured tree at the Dandenong 295 feet
10 first branch. diameter at first branch.
20 feet To the point where broken of
20 feet; total 3s5 feet. Diameter at frac-
lure, feet; girth Of stem three feet
from the ground, Al feet. Although not
Up TO the 400-fOot standard. this is
. very big tree. and ] am sorry that We
pave not evidence which would war
rant our accepting it. In fact. those
old records are simply unreliable. in
-. spite Of their apparent attention TO de-
tails
. We viii go a step higher. In 1889 F.
bsnley Dobson of Melbourne quoted
Aueller as having written in his "Bo-
eEatc Teachings" that our gum trees
attain a height of 500 feet / cannot
= trace this particular reference. but I
have other references of such a height
.. 20 which Mueller gave currency. For
example. in Seemann's Journal of Bot
any he says that George W. Robinson.
lin the back ranges Of Berwick. found q
. tree 81 feet in girth four feet from the
ground, and supposes that toward the
sources Of the Yarra and LatroDe riv-
ers it attains 500 feet.
Another contemporary account saws
that W. @. Robinson of Berwick. Vic
toris, in journey from Gippsland To
Mount Bsw Baw. saw and measured
a tree 500 feet high. Later, in an edi-
tion Of the Select Extra TropicaI
Plants" the name Of the finder and the
heights are varied &c. w. Robertson.
surveyor, measured a tree at the foot
Of Mount Baw Baw Al feet high"
TALLEST OF THEM ALL.
But we have not reached the high
water mark yet. David Boyle. who for
tSventy-seven years had been identified
with big trees. in 1889 wrote 10 the
Melbourne Argus. giving 525 feet as
the height of a tree known TO him
some years previously. AS this was
considered rather ''tall'' and is. I he
lieve, the greatest height in or out of
Australia claimed for a tree. Mr.
Boyle replied TO inquirers: L deter