LITERATURE. 



THE MAJESTIC WARATAH. 



a NEW arn\-al in S\(liic\- from ahroad. jjassing any time during the year 

 along the line of llowi'r-stalls in front of the General Post Office, would 

 recognise amongst the wealth of blooms exhibited for sale some old 

 garden flowers, but during the present and next month would be attracted 

 by a large, gorgeous-coloured, unique specimen of the wonderful flora of this 

 glorious continent. He would, no doubt, b(> moved at once to ask the name of 

 such a remarkable natural tloral lrium[)li. The n'])ly to such question would 

 be that it is the Australian Waratah, the floral emblem and glory of the white 

 race of Eastern Australia for the last loo years, which, durmg this period, has 

 been the national flower of at least one State of the Conunonwealth — i.e., New 

 South Wales. A national flower ! \Miat has constituted a national flower, 

 and who determined the status of such ? Most probabl\- a plant bect)mes 

 so, firstly, on account of its adaptability to design, which appeals to the 

 artistic side of a community, and, secondly, owing to some unique attracti\-e 

 botanical feature. 



The architectural remains of Egypt of even prehistoric times show us that 

 I he Lotus was the national flower of those children of light during the earth's 

 dark ages, for we find it adorning the bases and tops of columns, walls, cS:c., 

 the morphology of its floral parts lending itself to a conventionalisation that 

 may be regarded as the very embodiment of simplicity in decoration. 1 wonder 

 who selected the lotus flower, and why? I think I can answer this cpiestion to 

 my own satisfaction, but it may not satisf}' the Egyptologist, to whom I must 

 leave the correct solution. 



From Egypt to Greece is not a great distance, and what do we find here as 

 the best-used flower for decorative purposes? The Honeysuckle, which to-da}' 

 can be seen decorat.ng many buildings in Sydney, and this design will be passed 

 on and used for all time. Working west, the Roman oft'ers his contribution to 

 decoration in the Acanthus leaf, which was so attractively conventionalised that 

 to-day it is more used in stone decoration than an}' other adaptation. At our 

 Victoria Markets it is profusely used, especialty under the dome facing George- 

 street. x\ll these Old- World delineations have lived through the ages down to 

 the present day, a fact, no doubt . which would please the original artists could they 

 again visit this earth. It is probably a survival of the fittest. The fittest in 

 what? The botanical form that was most adaptable to design. 



Now, of all our Austrakan flowe s, which would most fulfil this condition? 

 Well, I maki bold to say, if it we e possible to ha\'e cut specimens of all the 

 Australian flowers in a hall, and afl the Australian — and, lor that matter, all 

 the world's — artists let loose into that room to select the one mo.-t adaptable 



