1885.] REVIEWS OF BOOKS. 141 



attested instances of the introduction of ornamental varieties : a 

 course which should be greatly multiplied. Our waning space 

 allows only, meanwhile, that we note amongst other essays those of 

 Mr. Hutchison of Carlowrie " On Ficea 2Jcdinata (Silver Fir)," and 

 "On the Disastrous Gales of Season 1881-82, and their Destruction 

 to Trees." 



The Forest Flora of South Australia. By J. E. Brown, F.L.S., 

 Conservator of Forests for the Government of South Australia. 

 Part V. London : Triibner & Co., and W. Eider & Sons, 



This new fasciculus continues to add lustre to the fame of the 

 lithography and printing of the South Australian Government artisans; 

 while the author, as formerly, combines popular interest with high 

 scientific merit. In our drawing-rooms, or public library reading- 

 rooms, we may now leisurely inspect the scenic aspects and botanical 

 details of the strange Australasian flora by means of folio plates, 

 coloured and tinted so as to imitate nature, with accompanying 

 letterpress. The cost, alongside that of the monographs of twenty 

 years ago, is analogous to that of the cheap newspaper press. In 

 the present number are pictures and descriptions of the red and 

 W'hite Mallee {Eucalyptus gracilis, Mueller), types of the tree rising 

 from one root, which is indeed apparently a kind of dwarfed trunk, 

 forming a large proportion of the forests of South Australia; the 

 blueberry tree {Myo'porum insulare, E. Brown), an excellent plant 

 for seaside covers, whose berries, which are really purple, are edible 

 with a salt flavour. The bottle-brush tea tree of the lithograph 

 {Melaleuca squarrosa, Smith) explains why bushmen invented its 

 first name, while the second refers to its use as a beverage in the 

 early colonial days. Several " salt " and " fresh water " tea trees 

 are known to shepherds, and are good indicators of the nature of 

 the water to be found in the adjoining soil. The poison-berry tree 

 {Pittosporum phillyrmoides, De Cand.) is depicted as something like a 

 myrtle, but, so far as its seeds are only bitter and not poisonous, 

 belies its popular name. It grows on arid sandy deserts inimical to 

 other vegetation. In dry seasons herds flock under its shade. The 

 tree grows from 15 to 30 feet in height, with a diameter of about 

 8 inches at its base. Its stem is two-thirds of its entire height, 

 while the tree standing out in solemn grandeur relieves the monotony 

 of the sandy desert. 



We understand that the IMemorial volume of Essays and Eeports 

 in connection with the Exhibition is now mostly in type. 



