86 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXVl. 



WATTLE-TIME, OR "YELLOW-HAIRED SEPTEMBER." 



By a. J. Campbell, Col. Mem. B.O.U. 

 (Read be/ore the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 13th Sept., 1909.) 

 With the opening of September another Australian spring may 

 be said to dawn, a time when the whole land is abloom with 

 wattles, or, more correctly, acacias, in their many exquisite 

 shades of yellow, and perfuming the air with their delightful 

 incense. Were it possible to ascend above our city to an altitude 

 where we could obtain a bird's-eye view of the whole State, and 

 with an eagle's vision scan the land from end to end, or from the 

 Murray to the sea, we would see the sinuous courses of our 

 rivers more or less traced in yellow by the golden tops of 

 regiments of water-side acacias — the familiar Silver Wattle, Acacia 

 dealbata. 



But wattles are not confined to the streams alone — the moun- 

 tains have their own varieties, and wear their cloths of gold; even 

 the Mallee, so often regarded as a wilderness, is illuminated 

 with some of the choicest kinds, dressed in suits of lemon- 

 yellow. 



In all this wealth of aurelian beauty where to begin to indi- 

 vidualize the species perplexes one. Since Australia possesses 

 something like 400 species, out of a world total of about 500, 

 surely it may justly be regarded as our national flower, and 

 should be worshipped accordingly. 



To-night we are not concerned with the commercial value of 

 our wattles — for this aspect of the subject is to be by no 

 means despised. Many of the species produce bark valuable 

 for the large quantities of tannic acid it possesses ; then the 

 timber of more than one species is a valuable asset, and eagerly 

 sought by the cabinetmaker, wood-turner, &c. But let us briefly 

 consider them from an aesthetic point of view. Witness their 

 shapely forms, the perfect beauty of their soft, fluffy, masses of 

 golden balls, or the goodly fragrance of their blossoms ! 



A few words about their life-history may not be amiss. The 

 germination of a wattle seed is truly a revelation of nature's 

 secret ways. It is born in a small pea-like pod, contracted slightly 

 between each seed, and is cast upon the world when its cradle 

 opens with the warmth of the summer sun. For the battle of life 

 it is better equipped than many other seeds, being encased in 

 a tough ebonite-like integument or skin, which shelters well the 

 delicate embryo within. So strong, and under ordinary circum- 

 stances almost indestructible, is this protective casing that the 

 seed may lie for years unhurt, and yet germinate when suitable 

 conditions arrive. It is on record that wattle seeds have 

 germinated after remaining dormant in the ground for thirty-seven 

 years. At Armadale wattle seeds, perfectly sound, have been 



