694 NOTES ON THE NATIVE FLORA OF N. S. WALES, X., 



dwarfed Bull oak were seen on the southern bank of the Fish 

 River, near O'Connell, in the Bathurst district, and these were 

 growing under somewhat similar conditions, and at approxi- 

 mately the same elevation, about 2,100 feet, as those under dis- 

 cussion on the Molonglo River, which are also rather diminutive 

 specimens, ranging from 12 to 20 feet high, with a stem-diameter 

 up to 9 or 10 inches in a few cases. 



The question that naturally arises is, how did these trees find 

 their way to this spot so far froui their congeners 1 Dispersal 

 of seeds by wind can probably be ignored in this case, and dis- 

 persal by birds, though much more likely, can scarcely be shown 

 to account for it, although this possibility calls for consideration. 

 There are very few spots within the Federal Territory where 

 seedlings of this species Avould survi-ve without special care, 

 owing to the coldness of the winter climate. The birds which 

 chiefly feed on Casuarina seeds by tearing open the small cones 

 are of the cockatoo-family, Calyptorhynchus viridis, the Glossy 

 Cockatoo or so-called Macaw, and there would be nothing re- 

 markable in finding that one of these birds had visited both the 

 Cootamundra and Queanbeyan districts within a few days. At 

 the same time, there is the coincidence to be accounted for that 

 a seed should be deposited in one of the few spots which would 

 result in the production of a mature tree. It must also be borne 

 in mind that this is a dioecious species, the male and female 

 flowers occurring on separate trees, so that it would be necessary 

 that seeds, producing a pair of trees, should reach the same 

 locality before the species could become established. 



It may be considered possible that the seeds were conveyed 

 by natives, but the seeds ripen in midsummer and fall out of the 

 cones within a few days (usually two), after being gathered, and 

 the natives would, therefore, have required closely woven bags 

 to retain them. 



The genus is known to be an ancient one, having been identi- 

 fied in fossil form in the Tertiary flora. ''^ This particular species 



* Ettingshausen, " Contributions to the Tertiary Flora of Australia," 

 p. 107. 



