102 Kkri.f, Picric Acid and Grass-tree Gum. [vIi lc xxxVi 



which it yields in large percentage." Maiden* states that 

 grass-tree gum has a very small demand — at most 4d. or 6d. 

 a pound retail, and wholesale much less. " It is chiefly used," 

 he writes, "as a colouring for varnishes. ... It has heen 

 observed that there is an abundance of picric acid — a very 

 powerful yellow dye : but this substance can be so cheaply 

 made from coal tar that the resin is not now thought of for the 

 purpose. 



It is somewhat curious, however, that this commodity should 

 have been the subject of inquiry foi some time previous to the 

 inception of the war. Companies have been formed to gather 

 it. and it is reputed to have been the source of considerable 

 income to the inhabitants of Kangaroo Island and elsewhere. 

 The demand for it. too. seems to have arisen in the enemy's 

 country. We are. perhaps, right in assuming that the German 

 buyers had an entirely peaceable purpose in view; for though 

 some of its uses have been given, main' others have been 

 omitted. Germans have made the. investigation of such 

 products peculiarly their own, a consequence, no doubt, of 

 their specialization in aniline dyes. The wide range of their 

 research, coupled with our knowledge of their long preparation 

 for war. should, however, cause us to pause before relegating 

 to obscurity such a seemingly unimportant commodity. Many 

 of the operations in the manufacture of explosives for war 

 purposes are more or less enveloped in secrecy — a fact that 

 militates against our obtaining a certain knowledge ol its 

 processes and purposes. Moreover, there is as little desire on 

 our part to know the secrets of our own explosive factories as 

 there is a keen desire to know those of the enemy. Acaroid 

 resin may possibly have passed from the category of useful 

 explosive products, but the facts remain that it is a source ol 

 picric acid; another of its products, pyrocatechin, reacts 

 violently with nitric acid.f and it has been the subjeel oi 

 German inquiry. In view, therefore, of this hypothetical value, 

 it may not be ou1 "I place to summarize our knowledge oi the 

 i-tree, more particularly as regards Victoria. 



[*he better known Victorian species are Xanthorrhaea hast alts, 

 R. Brown, X. minor. R. Brown, and A', australis, \< Brown. 

 All tlr- species appear to prefei ■> sand} -oil. and an- found 

 in profusion on tin coastal plains almost anywhere between 



the South Australian border and ( ape Howe. A lew isolated 



patches occur inland, such .1- those between Nhill and Apsley, 

 and "ii the Strathbogie Range 



The better-known Australian 1 . with their local names 



and distribution, are given below. The list has been compiled 

 from various sources J : — 



ipendix, No. 4, p. 2^2. t See Appendix, No. 2. 

 pendis No 5 and <>, <Sc. 



