HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



lOI 



the foot at once strikes a stranger ; it is characteristic 

 of the buffalo grass {Stenotaphrum glabruin) of which 

 2\\ the lawns are composed. 



WESTERN LAWN. 



Thus, as I enter from Mr. Guilfoyle's office, I can 



compare the allied magnolias, teas and camellias. 



Passing on to the Cupuliferte, I find more than forty 



species of oak flourishing. The English oak ((?. robur) 



grows in Australia, but too often pipe-stemmed to 



produce thoroughly sound timber. At the Antipodes 



it will probably have to learn Australian habits, and 



somewhat modify its deciduous propensities. All the 



brilliant polygales come from the Cape of Good 



Hope. The same applies to most of the true ericacese, 



whose place in the Australian flora is worthily filled 



by the varied epacridese. Around the two beds with 



typical Australian proteace^, I am again carried 



back to the remote past in the study of grevillias, 



hakeas, banksias and many a strange plant. I might 



pause for hours to observe the finely-coloured 



honey-eaters, with long bills extracting nectar from 



the corolla tubes. Among the nettle tribe is a rugged 



tree with coarse leaves of great size. It is a powerful 



and dangerous irritant, the bark of the same plant, it 



is said, supplying an antidote. I did not test the 



point. 



Among the eucalypti, the splendid scarlet-flowered 

 species {,E. Jicifolia) undoubtedly bears the palm ; it 

 is a handsome tree from Western Australia, with 

 more graceful and delicate foliage than many of the 

 commoner perplexing varieties. My favourite trees of 

 the order myrtaceae are the rose-apples {Eugenia), 

 liardy evergreen shrubs with rosy fruit in strong 

 contrast to the dark green leaves, and most effective 

 in gardens. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the 

 Norfolk Island pine {Araucaria excelsa) ; but they 

 thrive better in New South Wales than in Victoria. 

 The bunya-bunya tree (Araucaria Bidwillii) more like 

 the " monkey puzzle " pine, on the other hand, 

 flourishes better in Melbourne. The Moreton Bay fig 

 grows everywhere ; but the most beautiful species in 

 the Gardens is the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa). There 

 are palms growing in the open air from all tropical 

 parts of the world. I found the round orange -colon red 

 fruit of one species (I forget the name, but it was 

 nearly allied to the wine palm), pleasant to eat ; the 

 hard seed I have brought home to grow in a hot- 

 house. The distribution of palmacese in Australasia 

 and the Pacific Islands is curious ; each island has 

 its own special group. New Zealand has but one, or 

 at the most, two species. One of these is familiarly 

 known as the " lawyer's tree." It has long prickly 

 trailers, which lacerate the flesh and are most dif- 

 ficult to get free from. Like lawyers, if you once 

 become entangled with them, they hold fast. The 

 other, I think, is an Areca. Norfolk Island has one 

 palm ; Lord Howe's Island, four species all to 



itself; New South Wales, with eight hundrei miles 

 of coast, but four. In one spot in Victoria, called 

 Cabbage Tree Creek, a solitary colony of palms is 

 found. In tropical Queensland the variety is more 

 than in all the other parts put together. 



It is strange to find flower-beds, gay with plants in 

 England, confined to warm houses, such as abutilon, 

 datura, plumbago, scarlet euphorbia, gardenia, Bou- 

 gainvillea, etc. etc. 



The brilliant canna, crimson, orange or yellow, 

 blooms with endless persistence. The hibiscus is 

 gorgeous. Each and every season has a wealth of 

 blossom. 



Of all the natural orders, I think the euphorbiace^e 

 are one of the most singular and interesting. From 

 the humble wood spurge of English hedge-rows we 

 traverse a wide field, embracing cactiform plants, 

 brilliant flowers, forest trees, deadly poison.s, such as 

 the South Sea Islanders use for their weapons, and 

 plants of economic value like tapioca, to the varie- 

 gated crotons and poinsettia, with scarlet caliciform 

 bracts. Euphorbia splendens with crimson involu- 

 crum is common in English greenhouses. Many 

 species closely resemble cacti. The candlenut tree, 

 [Akurites) has pleasant hanging foliage. One species 

 produces a kind of gutta-percha, and nearly all have 

 the milky fluid within the stem. 



Submerged in a tank I saw the peculiar lace plant 

 of Madagascar (Ouvirandra fenestralis), having all 

 the veins of a perfect leaf with perforated interstices. 

 The ordinary tissue and stomata of leaves I suppose 

 are no longer necessary for plants growing beneath 

 the surface of the water. The filamentary leaflets of 

 the British water crowfoot exhibit similar modifica- 

 tions. 



But half the flora of the world is represented in these 

 Gardens. I can but convey a few impressions of their 

 rich and varied contents. Something new crops up 

 at every turn ; to convey a distinct idea even of what 

 ray mind retains is well-nigh hopeless. Those who 

 can visit the tropical houses at Kew will realise what 

 I endeavour to describe at Melbourne. 



C. P. 



ROSE PESTS. 



{Continued from No. 285, /. 196.] 



Hymenoptera. 



OF Hymenopterous insects which attack rose- 

 bushes to such an extent as to become in- 

 jurious, the larvae of the various species of sawfly are 

 undoubtedly of the most importance. There are 

 many species belonging to different genera which 

 attack the plants in different ways. Some feed on 

 the pith, but fortunately these are not numerous in 

 this country. Others, and the great majority, feed on 

 the leaves, often, especially when young, feeding in 

 company, and eating away the cuticle. About a 



