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WHITE GUM BASK.
HJ.F., Darkan, writes:-Some time ago,
in the Mutual Help column, in « reply
to a query you stated that you did not

V .-:-0 ' ' . .

think that the bark of whit« gum had
any deleterious effect on the soil, but I
must beg to .differ from you, and you
.will find that all the people experienced
, V in white gum. country will do the aame.

?¿Sr (Mallet bark is worse, and jarrah bark

not quite so bad, but all these barks
V. must be burnt df the land is to be im
V proved. Take any paddock which has
'f ibeen ringed, and where the bark has
y fallen on the ground the growth of grass

Í6 practically nothing. Put a fire
through so that the bark burns, and
the very first season there will be good
feed. You instanced the fact that you
used jarrah sawdust in your garden,
£ ¡but this is not the same a© bark. Bo
.~ with the white gum, as the wood when

.' decayed makes good soil. Whether this

is due to the quality of the wood itself
or to the beneficial effect of white ants
I do not know. The branches lying
on the ground are attacked by the white
ants within a couple of days of their
falling, but no self-respecting white ant
has ever been know to tackle the bark.
Like most newcomers, when I first came
to the district I was inclined to think
- as you, but I 6oon found that the bark

in nts natural state was injurious. Tt
is a curious thing that you never see de-
cent grass under white gum trees, while
it is always good beneath jam and red

gum.

It is a bad thing to make a mistake: it
Ss a good thing to try and correct it. The
trouble is that however candid a man may
be it is harder to get rid of the error than
it is to dodge a debt collector. I did ex-
press the opinion stated about white gum
bark, Mutual Help friends immediately cor-
rected me, and as I promptly retracted
from my position without any qualification,
and asked to be supplied with bark in order
that I might make some investigations as
to the reason for its ill effects- I have not
yet received the bark, and have therefore
not made any experiment, but I do. hope
to secure a supply before next season in
«fder that the experiment may be carried
out. In thc msantimp lot me once asain
say that I accept thc general evidence that
white) gum bark has a ba/] effect upon the
soil. Wi'l other readers who hove taken
note of the effect please substantiate or
otherwise the statement thit white ants will
not tackle the bark of the trees mentioned?

$