J""^'l Barnard, Notes of a Visit to W.A. ^5 



1919J 'J jy 



and whetted our appetities for the further beauties we were 

 to see in the Margaret River Caves, which are considered much 

 finer. 



Some misconception seems to exist in the minds of Victorians, 

 who are used to big trees, as to the size of the Jarrah and 

 Karri, two of the principal timber trees of the West, which 

 are very restricted in their distribution. Quoting from the 

 late Mr. J. Ednie Brown's report as Conservator of Forests 

 (Western Austrahan Year-Book, 1900), he says : — " Consider- 

 able areas of Jarrah {Eucalyptus marginata) forest exist in 

 which many of the trees attain heights of 90 to 120 feet, with 

 good stems 3 to 5 feet in diameter, and 50 or 60 feet to the 

 first branch, but the average size of a good healthy tree would 

 be 90 to 100 feet in height and 2J to 3J feet in diameter at the 

 base." Regarding Karri, E. diversicolor, he says : — " In its 

 young state it is a very ornamental tree. When mature an 

 average tree may be put down at 200 feet in height, 4 feet in 

 diameter at 3 to 4 feet from the ground, and 120 to 150 feet 

 to the first branch." The finest tree he knew of was 11 feet 

 in circumference at 3 feet from the ground and 160 feet to the 

 first branch, where it was 56 inches in diameter. 



Two other excursions near Perth may be worth mentioning. 

 One was to Kelmscott and then up the road to Martin's Hill. 

 This put me very much in mind of the ascent of Mount 

 Dandenong from Croydon. Many Victorian genera occurred 

 along the road, such as Stackhousia, Daviesia, Pultenaea. A 

 very fine Grevillea grew abundantly on the top of the hill. 

 The track in many places was over ironstone gravel, which was 

 remarkably heavy, and seemed to contain enough mineral to 

 be of economic value, but on account of the expense iron ore 

 has to be very pure to be worth treatment. In a fruit garden 

 adjacent bananas seemed to be doing very well. This reminds 

 me that the plantain is very common in gardens around Perth, 

 and bears fruit. Another very common tree is a castor oil-tree, 

 but whether the species which supplies the oil of commerce 

 I cannot say. If it is, then an effort should be made to utilize 

 it, for castor oil is in great demand at present as a lubricant. 

 At Kelmscott I saw the Crimson Kangaroo Paws used with 

 good effect as a border to a drive, having somewhat the appear- 

 ance that clumps of gladioli would have. 



The final outing of my trip was another visit to the zig-zag 

 on the Kalamunda fine. I slipped out of the train at the 

 summit of the zig-zag (700 feet) and walked back to Midland 

 Junction, collecting flowers nearly all the way. Just at my 

 starting-point were hundreds of the charming Heliptenim 

 {Rhodanthe) Manglesii, their pink flowers lasting for a long 

 time as a table decoration. Many other flowers occurred all 



