Cypress Research Articles

Home-range size and selection of natal den and diurnal shelter sites by urban red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Melbourne

Selection of natal dens and diurnal shelters by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated within the metropolitan area of Melbourne. Of 72 natal dens, 61% were in residential, public park, school or industrial lands. Most dens were beneath buildings (44.4%) or in earth banks (30.6%). The habitat categories in which dens were sited did not differ significantly from those described for London. Dens were more common beneath weatherboard buildings and were associated with properties that did not contain domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Diurnal shelter positions for 20 radio-collared foxes were obtained, and home-range data collected for 11 foxes. Estimated areas of adult home-range, for 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs), varied between 11.5 and 45.8 ha, with from two to five diurnal shelter sites used in each home-range. Foxes showed a consistent preference for diurnal shelters associated with exotic weed infestations over ornamental and native vegetation or built habitats. Within these categories a diversity of substrates were used, including buildings, drains, graves, cypress trees, ornamental rockeries and garden beds. A preference for exotic weed infestations is an identifiable resource requirement for foxes in Melbourne and its removal may assist in reducing the abundance of urban foxes.

First Report of Diplodia Canker of Cypress Caused by Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi on Mediterranean Cypress in Tunisia.

Symptoms of decline were observed on Mediterranean cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens L.) in Tunisia in 2003 and 2004; disease specimens were vouchered as FIAF 38649. The declining, windbreak trees in the Cap Bon Region were 25 to 30 years old. Severity of symptoms varied among trees. Thus, areas of reddish, withered foliage alternated with areas that were still green. Other trees were completely withered. The bases of withered branches and tree trunks bore slightly sunken cankers with longitudinal bark cracks that oozed drops of resin. When the outer layer of a cankered area was scraped away, dark brown inner bark tissue was seen to extend up to several centimeters around the canker. Cross sections through cankers on trunks and branches revealed extensive darkened, wedge-shaped sectors in the wood. The affected bark bore numerous black pycnidia. Conidia were mostly smooth, ovoid, hyaline, and aseptate; a few were brown with a medial septum. The mean conidial dimensions (n = 100) were 27 × 11 μm; the extreme range was 19 to 31 × 8 to 13 μm. Isolates obtained from affected host tissue and conidia developed mainly floccose colonies that were white, then greyish green, and finally dark gray black on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25°C. Blackish pycnidial fructifications containing typical conidia were produced after 5 weeks on autoclaved cypress seeds placed on the colonies under light. Pathogenicity was tested using five 3-year-old potted Mediterranean cypress trees. These were inoculated by placing 3-mm-diameter plugs of mycelium of isolate DF IMG86 (DAOM 234788) from the edge of a 15-day-old colony on PDA on 5-mm-diameter wounds made in the bark. The wounds were covered with cotton wool moistened with sterile water and wrapped in adhesive tape. Similar wounds on five control trees received a plug of sterile PDA. Symptoms occurred as early as the third week after inoculation. The leaves first became yellow and then turned amaranth red, after which they progressively withered. Two months after inoculation, cankers were clearly visible at the inoculation site. Isolates from these cankers were morphologically similar to those used for inoculation. The control plants did not show any disease symptoms and their wounds healed normally. Morphological, cultural, and pathological characteristics of the fungus isolated from cypress with decline symptoms were similar to those of the fungus referred to as Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi or Sphaeropsis sapinea f. sp. cupressi (1). Identification was confirmed by marker analysis by using intersimple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction (2). Banding patterns for isolate DF IMG86 were produced using primers HYH(GY)7 and (CAG)5 and were identical to those for Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi isolates 94-3 (DAOM 229437) and 95-158 (DAOM 229439) and differed from those obtained for isolates of Diplodia pinea (S. sapinea A group), D. scrobiculata (S. sapinea B group), Botryosphaeria obtusa, and B. stevensii. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this pathogen in Tunisia. The development of D. pinea f. sp. cupressi on cypress windbreaks in the Cap Bon Region may be related to a drought that has afflicted Tunisia for the past 5 years. Reference: (1) Z. Solel et al. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 9:115, 1987. (2) S. Zhou et al. Mycol. Res. 105:919, 2001.

STUDY SOME OF SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTES UNDER DIFFERENT COVER IN MOSUL FOREST

. This study was conducted in three different locations under three vegetation cover in Mosul forest included the soil under Sycamoro trees, Italian cypress trees and River red gum. Soil profiles have dug and some soil physical properties have been measured at two layers (0-30 and 30-90cm )in each site . An equation has been used to find the relationship between soil texture depth and location . The results showed that the soil was well developed under the sycamoro trees as the depth coefficient of texture in creased however the soil was less developed under Italian cypress trees, mean while the soil under the River red gum trees appeared immature soil .The porosity showed different values, however the soil texture kept constant without any changes depending on the depth and location.

Carbon isotopic composition of cypress trees from South Florida and changing hydrologic conditions

δ 13C values were determined from cypress tree rings from two different study areas in South Florida. One site is located in the Southeastern Everglades Marsh, where pond cypress ( Taxodium ascendens) was sampled from tree islands (annual tree rings from 1970 to 2000). Bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum) trees were sampled at the other site, located along the Loxahatchee River in a coastal wetland (decadal tree rings from 1830 to 1990). The isotopic time series from both sites display different, location-specific information. The pond cypress isotopic time series has a positive correlation with the total amount of annual precipitation, while the bald cypress data from the Loxahatchee River study area had two different records dependent on the level of saltwater stress. In general, for terrestrial trees growing in a temperate environment, water stress causes an increase in water-use efficiency (WUE) resulting in a relative 13C enrichment. Yet, trees growing in wetland settings in some cases do not respond in the same manner. We propose a conceptual model based on changes in carbon assimilation and isotopic fractionation as controlled by differences in stomatal resistance (water stress) and mesophyll resistance (biochemical and nutrient related) to explain the isotopic records from both sites. With further work and a longer time series, our approach may be tested, and used to reconstruct change in hydroperiods further back in time, and potentially provide a baseline for wetland restoration.

Water status of hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa, attacked by secondary woodboring insects after typhoon strike

We estimated the water status of six 31-year-old hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees that were struck by a large typhoon. Measurements were made of the trunk water-conduction area of xylem, leaf water potentials, and diurnal changes in trunk diameters. The secondary woodboring insects, Callidiellum rufipenne and Ovalisia vivata, on the trees were captured by the sticky-trap banding method. In trees on which these wood borers were captured, water conduction areas were reduced, leaf water potentials were lower, and trunk diameter changes (Rε) fluctuated during the day, suggesting that the trees had been damaged by the typhoon and were under water stress. The secondary woodboring insects attacked the water-stressed trees.

Seasonal Variation of Juvenile Hormone Titers of the Formosan Subterranean Termite,Coptotermes formosanus(Rhinotermitidae)

In lower termites, the soldier is the only sterile caste. Through hormonal control, soldiers seem to promote caste differentiation of workers to the reproductive caste. However, little data exist on how hormonal levels change in soldiers and workers in the field and how this may tie into the seasonal reproductive formation. Our objective was to collect baseline data on hormonal changes in colonies of subterranean termites in the field. Over a 1-yr period, the seasonal variation of juvenile hormone III (JH) titers was determined for Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki soldiers and workers collected monthly from field colonies infesting isolated cypress trees (Taxodium distichum L. Rich.). A total of five colonies were evaluated. Soldier JH titers leveled from February through May, with peak values in June and July. JH titers in workers followed a similar trend. Both soldier and worker JH titers remained at low levels in the fall and winter. This is the first effort to correlate physiological and hormonal aspects with soldier production in the field. Seasonal changes in JH titers as an intrinsic mechanism for reproductive caste differentiation is also discussed.

Threads of Memory: Reproducing the Cypress Tree through Sensual Consumption

This paper is concerned with the ways in which a group of Persian women, who have all fled Iran in the last two decades, give meaning to place and memory through the everyday practices of cooking and embroidery. While there are many different localised arts of patterning and flavour, we focus here on the recurring pattern of bota (the Cypress tree). In particular, we examine how the bota motif links both the making of domestic sweets and cloths, and is central in recalling and remaking a sense of place. The Cypress tree symbolises life: the continuation of life in place, and the continuation of place in life. In creating and consuming the bota motif, through eating, laying tablecloths, wrapping towels, sitting on cushions and drawing curtains, embodied experiences of landscape and relationships are reproduced. The embroidery items entail and occasion sensual engagement in and of themselves, and also serve as backgrounds for specific sensual engagements, including, for example, as tablecloths upon which food will be served. Engagement with the bota pattern cannot be characterised along strictly divided sensual dimensions. Rather, we argue that the senses are intertwined in a synaesthetic knot in which memory is embodied and reproduced.

Crystal Structure of Jun a 1, the Major Cedar Pollen Allergen from Juniperus ashei, Reveals a Parallel β-Helical Core

Pollen from cedar and cypress trees is a major cause of seasonal hypersensitivity in humans in several regions of the Northern Hemisphere. We report the first crystal structure of a cedar allergen, Jun a 1, from the pollen of the mountain cedar Juniperus ashei (Cupressaceae). The core of the structure consists primarily of a parallel beta-helix, which is nearly identical to that found in the pectin/pectate lyases from several plant pathogenic microorganisms. Four IgE epitopes mapped to the surface of the protein are accessible to the solvent. The conserved vWiDH sequence is covered by the first 30 residues of the N terminus. The potential reactive arginine, analogous to the pectin/pectate lyase reaction site, is accessible to the solvent, but the substrate binding groove is blocked by a histidine-aspartate salt bridge, a glutamine, and an alpha-helix, all of which are unique to Jun a 1. These observations suggest that steric hindrance in Jun a 1 precludes enzyme activity. The overall results suggest that it is the structure of Jun a 1 that makes it a potent allergen.

Allergy to cypress pollen

Although Cupressus sempervirens has been spread over southern Europe since antiquity, cypress pollen allergy has not been reported until 1945. In France, the very first case reports were published in 1962. Since then, the prevalence of cypress pollinosis seems to demonstrate an upward trend, concomitantly with the increased use of cypress trees as ornamental plants, as wind breaks and as hedges. Hyposensitization, using improved pollen extracts, is increasingly prescribed. Besides, prevention measures begin to be implemented. Such measures include avoidance of planting new cypress trees, especially near human populations' centres, trimming of cypress hedges before the pollination season and agronomical research for hypoallergenic trees. Altogether, such new developments in cypress allergy deserve an update review.

Comparison of two coniferous plantations in central Japan with respect to forest productivity, growth phenology and soil nitrogen dynamics

Japanese cypress ( Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) and Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) are common species for plantation forestry in Japan. Cypress is conventionally planted on sites of low fertility whereas for cedar high fertility sites are used. Objectives of this study were to compare the productivities of cypress and cedar plantations grown on adjacent sites where common properties of soils, such as pH values and C and N contents, were similar, and to relate the N cycling at their site with productivities. The stem diameter of trees, aboveground litter production and fine root biomass were measured as indices of forest productivity. Parameters of N cycling included pools of total N and mineral N (ammonium + nitrate), annual N leaching, and potentially mineralizable N. The radial stem increment of the two tree species was similar. However, cedar site had higher total basal area and annual basal increment than cypress site reflecting higher tree density on the cedar site. Aboveground litter, fine root biomass, soil organic matter, and N turnover were higher on the cedar site than on the cypress site. However, litter production and fine root biomass per unit basal area was greater at the cypress site. Phenological pattern of stem growth and periodical litter production were similar for both species during the study period (1992–2000), but showed distinct annual variations caused by the fluctuation in the ambient temperature and precipitation. Mineral N content and the N mineralization potential were greater on the cedar site, indicating greater N availability and higher total tree productivity at the cedar site than those at the cypress site. When provided with more space in the canopy to expand more needles and in the soil to develop more fine roots to exploit sufficient resources, the individual cypress trees have the potential to grow faster. On fertile site and at lower tree density, thicker logs of cypress might be yielded.

Accuracy and precision of crown profile, volume, and surface area measurements of 29-year-old Japanese cypress trees using a Spiegel relascope

The crown profile, volume, and surface area obtained from 25 trees in a stand of 29-year-old Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) using a Spiegel relascope were compared with those obtained by direct measurement after tree felling. In 17 of the 25 trees, the crown profile measured with the relascope was identical to the crown profile obtained by direct measurement. For the 17 trees, the mean relative errors of crown volume and surface area tended to be unbiased. On the other hand, the crown profiles obtained by the two methods were different in five of the 25 trees, while it could not been judged whether the crown profiles obtained by the two methods were identical or different in three of the 25 trees. However, for each group of five or three trees, the mean relative errors of crown volume and surface area were also unbiased. Moreover, for both crown volume and surface area, no significant differences were detected in variance of error among the groups of 17, five, and three trees. Therefore, the discrepancy between crown profiles obtained by the two methods for the five and three trees might be negligible in terms of the accuracy and precision of crown volume and surface area measurements. The standard errors for both crown volume and surface area were larger in each of the five and three trees than in the 17 trees. However, even for the five and three trees, the crown volume and surface area obtained using the relascope were more precise than those based on the assumption that crown form was a cone or paraboloid. We concluded that using a Spiegel relascope would enable us to obtain an accurate and precise crown profile, volume, and surface area of Japanese cypress trees for practical use, especially when the main objective of measurement is determining crown volume or surface area.

Relationships of stem surface area to other stem dimensions for Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) and Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) trees

I investigated the relationships between stem surface area outside bark and other stem dimensions for Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) and Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) trees. The stem dimensions used here were the basal area and the product of diameter at breast height (dbh) and total tree height. The regression equation of the stem surface area s against basal area g was s = 184.216 g for the cedar trees and s = 156.878 g for the cypress trees. The slope of the equation was significantly different between the two species. For the same dbh, the cedar trees tended to have a higher total tree height than the cypress trees. The cedar trees also had a larger surface area of relative stem form than the cypress trees. These results indicated that the difference in the slope was produced by the differences in both the stem slenderness and tapering between the two species. On the other hand, the regression equation between the stem surface area and the product of dbh and total tree height dh was s = 1.937 dh for the cedar trees and s = 1.921 dh for the cypress trees, whereas no significant difference in the slope was found. The obtained slopes for the cedar and cypress trees seemed to be in accord with that for other coniferous species reported in earlier studies, suggesting that the variation in the slope among coniferous species would be small. The estimation from the basal area would provide a simpler means for estimating the stem surface area and would be useful in obtaining an approximation of the surface area. By contrast, the estimation from the product of dbh and total tree height would provide a more accurate and precise estimate as well as a wider applicable range, i.e., a parameter for physiological growth models. In conclusion, it could not be judged which regression equation examined in the present study was superior to the other, and thus it was important to select an appropriate equation depending both on the purpose and on the time and labor available.

Pólenes alergénicos en España

Allergenic pollens that cause rhinoconjuctivitis and/or asthma are those from trees or plants that pollinate through the air (anemophilic pollination) and not through insects (entomophilic pollination). Although pollen grains would seem to be too large to easily reach the intrapulmonary airways, the relationship between pollen counts and the presence of asthmatic symptoms is only too evident. This is probably because the allergens inducing seasonal asthma are not only found within pollen grains but also outside the grains in particles of less than 10 mm that are freely found in the atmosphere. The most important pollens producing pollinosis in Spain are those from cypress trees from January-March, birch trees in April (macizo galaico), Platanus hispanica (March-April), grasses and olive trees from April-June, Parietaria from April-July and Chenopodium and/or Salsola from July-September. By geographical areas, the main cause of pollinosis are grasses in the center and north of the peninsula, olive trees in the south (Jaén, Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba) and Parietaria in the Mediterranean coast (Barcelona, Murcia, Valencia).

Characteristics of Parameters in Power Equation Representing Sunny Crown Profile of Hinoki Cypress Tree

Characteristics of parameters in power equation (r=azb where r is the crown radius (m) at a given distance z (m) from the tree apex, and a and b are parameters) for representing the sunny crown profile were examined for Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ENDL.). Three hypothetical models were constructed; Model 1: the values of a and b are unique for each tree, Model 2: the value of b is common to all trees, Model 3: the values of a and b are common to all trees. The three models were compared using AKAIKE'S information criterion (AIC) and root mean squared error (RMSE). Data were obtained from 112 sample trees selected in six pure stands of even-aged Hinoki cypress. Model 3 was inferior to the other two models in terms of AIC and RMSE. Model 2 was superior to Model 1 in terms of AIC. Although Model 2 gave a larger value of RMSE than that of Model 1, the difference was only 0.006m. When the profile of the sunny crown of a Hinoki cypress tree is represented by the power equation, we can assume that parameter b is invariant between trees and that parameter a varies from tree-to-tree.

Deep HDS process uses titania-based catalyst

Pollen from Japanese cedar (sugi) and cypress (hinoki) trees is responsible for the growing prevalence of allergic rhinitis, especially pollinosis in Japan. Previous studies have suggested that air pollutants enhance the allergic response to pollen in susceptible individuals. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study to examine the potential modifying effects of PM2.5 and suspended particulate matter (SPM) on the association between pollen concentration and daily consultations for pollinosis. A total of 11,713 daily pollinosis cases (International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10, J30.1) from January to May, 2001–2011, were obtained from a clinic in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Daily pollen counts and the daily mean values of air pollutants (PM2.5, SPM, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3) were collected from monitoring stations across Tokyo. The effects of pollen were stratified by the level of PM2.5 and SPM to examine the interaction effect of pollen and particulate pollutants. We found a statistically significant interaction between pollen concentration and PM2.5/SPM. On days with a high level of PM2.5 (> 95th percentile), an interquartile increase in the mean cumulative pollen count (an average of 28 pollen grains per cm2 during lag-days 0 to 5) corresponded to a 10.30% (95%CI: 8.48%–12.16%) increase in daily new pollinosis cases, compared to 8.04% (95%CI: 7.28%–8.81%) on days with a moderate level of PM2.5 (5th–95th percentile). This interaction persisted when different percentile cut-offs were used and was robust to the inclusion of other air pollutants. A similar interaction pattern was observed between SPM and pollen when a less extreme cut-off for SPM was used to stratify the effect of pollen. Our study showed the acute effect of pollen was greater when the concentration of air particulate pollutant, specifically PM2.5 and SPM, was higher. These findings are consistent with the notion that particulate air pollution may act as an adjuvant that promotes allergic disease (i.e. pollinosis).

Seasonal change in browsing by sika deer on hinoki cypress trees on Mount Takahara, central Japan

Browsing by sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck) on hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa (Sieb. et Zucc.) Endl.) was monitored for approximately 3 years on 300 trees at three sites on Mount Takahara, central Japan. We investigated the seasonal change in browsing on hinoki cypress in relation to the availability of other food plants (dominated by Sasa nipponica Makino et Shibata) and preferred food plants (deciduous broad leaves). Browsing occurred mostly from November to April, while no browsing damage occurred from June to October. Browsing was observed in November, even when the amount of other food plants did not decrease. Therefore, the cause of browsing cannot be fully explained by a decreased availability of other food plants. Comparison of fecal composition and food availability showed that deer had a preference for deciduous broad leaves. The availability of these preferred plants decreased in November and increased in May. Chemical analysis of the hinoki cypress and deciduous broad leaves (crude protein and neutral detergent fiber) showed that the quality of deciduous broad leaves decreased in November, and as a result the quality of hinoki became higher than that of the deciduous broad leaves. Browsing on hinoki cypress occurred when the availability of deciduous broad leaves decreased, and vice versa. These results suggest that the availability of preferred food plants influences browsing on hinoki cypress by sika deer.

Biomass and carbon sequestration of ponderosa pine plantations and native cypress forests in northwest Patagonia

Fast growth tree plantations and secondary forests are considered highly efficient carbon sinks. In northwest Patagonia, more than 2 million ha of rangelands are suitable for forestry, and tree plantation or native forest restoration could largely contribute to climate change mitigation. The commonest baseline is the heavily grazed gramineous steppe of Festuca pallescens (St. Yves) Parodi. To assess the carbon sequestration potential of ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa (Dougl.) Laws) plantations and native cypress ( Austrocedrus chilensis (Don) Flor. et Boutl.), individual above and below ground biomass models were developed, and scaled to stand level in forests between 600 and 1500 annual rainfall. To calculate the carbon sequestration baseline, the pasture biomass was simulated. Also, soil carbon at two depths was assessed in paired pine-cypress-pasture sample plots, the same as the litter carbon content of both forest types. Individual stem, foliage, branch and root log linear equations adjusted for pine and cypress trees presented similar slopes ( P>0.05), although some differed in the elevations. Biomass carbon was 52.3 Mg ha −1 (S.D.=30.6) for pine stands and 73.2 Mg ha −1 (S.D.=95.4) for cypress forests, given stand volumes of 148.1 and 168.4 m 3 ha −1, respectively. Soil carbon (litter included) was 86.3 Mg ha −1 (S.D.=46.5) for pine stands and 116.5 Mg ha −1 (S.D.=38.5) for cypress. Root/shoot ratio was 19.5 and 11.4%, respectively. The low r/s value for cypress may account for differences in nutrient cycling and water uptake potential. At stand level, differences in foliage, taproot and soil carbon compartments were highly significative ( P<0.01) between both forest types. In pine stands, both biomass and soil carbon were highly explained by the rainfall gradient ( r 2=0.94). Nevertheless, such a relationship was not found for cypress, possibly due to stand and soil disturbances in sample plots. The carbon baseline estimated in pasture biomass, including litter, was 2.6 Mg ha −1 (S.D.=0.8). Since no differences in soil carbon were found between pasture and both forest types, additionality should be accounted only by biomass. However, the replacement of pasture by pine plantations may decrease the soil carbon storage, at least during the first years. On the other hand, the soil may be a more relevant compartment of sequestered carbon in cypress forests, and if pine plantation replaces cypress forests, soil carbon losses could cause a negative balance.

Cypress tree ( Cupressus semervirens L.) bark as an indicator for heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere of Amman City, Jordan

Bio-monitoring of air quality in Amman City was investigated by analyzing 36 cypress tree ( Cupressus semervirens L.) bark samples from three sites of different anthropogenic activities at the end of summer season 2001. Cypress barks were found to be a good bio-indicator for air pollution in arid regions. Variation in Pb, Zn, Mn, Cr, Ni, Cd, and Cu contents between sites was observed due to different types of activities. Traffic emissions were found to be the main source of heavy metal pollution in the atmosphere of Amman. Lead content was found to be the highest in highly traffic density areas. The industrial part of the city was characterized by high Zn, Mn, Cr, Ni, and Co contents. No significance variations were found in pH values of the bark between the sites. This was attributed to buffering effect of carbonate in the atmosphere originated from soil of the area.

Properties of wood–plastic composites: effect of inorganic additives

Wood–plastic composites from Syrian tree species (white poplar, cypress tree, and white willow) were prepared using gamma-ray irradiation. Dry wood was impregnated with acrylamide or butylmethacrylate at various methanol compositions as the swelling solvent. Effect of inorganic additives and co-additives such as lithium nitrate (LiNO 3), copper sulfate (CuSO 4) and sulfuric acid (H 2SO 4), used at a very low concentration (1%), on the polymer loading (PL) and the compression strength (CS) was also investigated. It has been found that all the additives and co-additives, except Cu 2+, increase the PL values and only Li + has a positive effect on CS.

Marking the Unmarked: An Epitaphic Preoccupation in Nineteenth-Century Australian Poetry

JUST OVER HALF CENTURY AFTER VICTORIA'S ACCESSION TO THE THRONE, London publisher issued an anthology that announced itself as inspired by in the Greater Britain under the Southern Cross and dedicated to the English of three continents. Running to nearly 600 pages, Douglas Sladen's anthology Century of Australian provides generous--not to say indiscriminate--sample of nineteenth-century antipodean verse, and has continued to be reference point nor only for historians of early Australian literary production but for poets as well. (1) As he explains in an introductory essay, the editor drew much of his selection from material sent directly to him in response to an open invitation published in weekly Australian and New Zealand newspapers. To his choices from those submissions he added some solicited items, large helping of his own utterly banal compositions, and an assortment of poems by earlier writers. anthology's limitations obvious enough; as H. M. Green remarks, it include s everything that Sladen thought worth dragging in on any conceivable ground and the few accomplished poems are submerged in sea of what is at best mediocre even by the standards of the day and place. Nevertheless it is acknowledged to have a definite historical importance, if only because it drew attention to the fact that Australian colonists were prolific producers of verse. (2) Themes of loss and lamentation pervade the volume. As general feature this hardly makes it distinctive among Victorian collections of poetry. But in Sladen's book the melancholy motifs often take specifically elegiac form, and tend to focus on particular memorials: even cursory reader can hardly fail to notice that burial places recur obsessively as topos. Given the intention to feature depictions of colonial life and scenery (p. 3), it seems remarkable that the locative traces of death and mourning so salient in the poems gathered here. term traces, however, should be understood in broad sense; for while in some cases there is an evocation of specified commemorative spots, as in Barron Field's sonnet about the first European burial in Australia, other poems mark an absence in that they hover around the imagery of unmarked graves, as in Adam Lindsay Gordon's The Sick Stockrider. Century of Australian contains many images of the (pp. 43, 94), the far-away (p. 266), the forsaken home and burial ground (p. 78). Who remembered where his dust was laid? (p. 378) is question that hangs over several of the dead. Often the place of interment is so isolated and nameless that the person who lies there is unidentifiable (I stand by the grave of this unknown one [p. 327]; No human foot or paw of brute / Halts now where the stranger sleeps [p. 266]). (3) There is plangent insistence on the utter remoteness of these resting places, as in the poem by Henry Parkes called The Mountain Grave (pp. 370-371): A lonely spot we chose for him--/ Along the lonely path that led / Our footsteps to his lonely bed, / His corse we bore, with eyes all dim. Indeed lonely unmarked grave is what dying speakers themselves represented as earnestly desiring in some of these poems. In this there is of course general similarity to some British poems of the period, such as Tennyson's Come Not, I am Dead or Christina Rossetti's Song with its well-known opening lines: When I am dead, my dearest, / Sing no sad songs for me; I Plant thou no roses at my head,! Nor shady cypress tree), but the setting here is markedly Australian. In Adam Lindsay Gordon's The Sick Stockrider the title figure's last request is this: Let me slumber in the hollow where the wattle blossoms wave, I With never stone or rail to fence my bed (p. 180). Gordon's poem was once enormously popular with campfire reciters, as Brian Elliott remarks, and could be claimed as proto-typical Australian ballad. …