BY J. H. MAIDEN. 277 



greedily eaten by cattle. Mr. Joseph Latimer states that during 

 the last great drought he cut down the limbs of this tree for his 

 cattle, and they would always eat the leaves of it before anything 

 else that was given to them. This tree is found as far south as 

 Bembooka Mountain, but there are only a few trees of it there, 

 whereas at Mt. Dromedary, a few miles further north, it is 

 plentiful, and there attains a diameter of about 15 inches. 



Bertya Cunninghamii, Planch. 



Called " Gooma," in Western New South "Wales, according to 

 information kindly furnished to me by Miss M. A. Clements of 

 Palesthan, 



This is another Enphorbiaceous plant. It is a fodder shrub 

 which has no chance of making head-way where sheep feed, and 

 in spite of the poisonous natui-al order to which it belongs, there 

 is no record of its having proved deleterious to animals. It has a 

 pleasant, bitter flavour. 



BoRONiA MICROPHYLLA, Sieb. N.O. Rutacese. 



A specimen of this plant was sent to me from Katoomba, 

 labelled " Mountain Hopbush," with the information that stock 

 are fond of it. 



DYE. 



Australia is so [)Oorly endowed with vegetable dye-stuffs that I 

 draw attention to the tinctorial properties of the yellow powder 

 which surrounds the seeds of various species of Loynatia, particu- 

 larly L. ilicifolia, R.Br. The matter has been brought under my 

 notice by Mr. Bauerlen, the painstaking collector for the New 

 South Wales Technological Museum, and is being subjected to 

 careful examination. The powder colours water, and stains the 

 fingers, particularly if washed with soap, since alkalies darken it ; 

 the substance being, in this respect, similar in its behaviour to 

 turmeric. The substance can never have more than a purely 

 scientific interest. 

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