316 rORAGE-PLAXTS IXDICrEXOUS IX XEW SOUTlt WALES 



properties of S. Greyana been detected in cultivation. One of 

 the most useful of the Leguminosse in the interior is that which 

 is found near the banks, or in the dry-beds of the rivers. It was 

 first noticed by Sir T. Mitchell, in 1835, and called by him 

 "Australian Shamrock." This jolant is a species oi Trifjonella 

 (T. suavissima, Lindl.y, and whilst remarkable for connecting the 

 vegetation of Australia with that of the South of Europe, it has 

 nutritious qualities which render it worthy of cultivation. Sir 

 T. Mitchell (Vol. 1, p. 251) says, "The perfume of this herb, its 

 freshness and flavour, induced me to try it as a vegetable, and 

 we found it to be delicious, tender as spinach, and to preserve a 

 very green colour when boiled." This opinion has been con- 

 firmed by subsequent travellers, and recently a gentleman who 

 feels interested in such subjects, has collected and distributed 

 seeds for cultivation. As the species is already known as a 

 useful herb for pasture and is allied to T.fcenum grcecum (Linn.) 

 — a plant esteemed by the ancients and still cultivated in the 

 South of Europe — it may become more generally utilized. In 

 dry seasons, such plants are of importance, as the grasses are for 

 the most part limited to alluvial flats or scrubs. There, Sporololus 

 virginicus{lL\\.\\i\\.^jEleiisiiiecsgijptiaca (Pers.), Gli/ceria FonJeana 

 (F.V.M.), and Le2)tocliloa siibdlgitata (Trin.), have been found 

 very serviceable ; but perhaps of all the grasses of the interior 

 that most widely diffused and most highly valued for depasturing 

 purposes is Panicum decompositum, (E,. Br.), in its varying forms. 

 This grass (the seeds of which used to be collected and eaten by 

 the blacks) has been found to yield under cultivation four tons 

 of hay per acre. 



During the winter, however, as well as in dry seasons, the 

 stock find more nutriment from various herbs than from grasses, 

 and in addition to those plants already enumerated, there are 

 some species of the Composite family which are eaten by them, 

 particularly of Hellchrysum^ Helipterum, and Craspedla^ but at 

 least one species of the last is reckoned among suspected plants. 



