45 



cover the whole hill-sides and every vacant spot, with a pale- 

 yellow hue that can be seen for miles. It has long succulent 

 leaves, and the climate or the soil of this part of Australia 

 seem so suitable to it that it revels in luxuriant growth in 

 every place. No sort of soil seems too poor, and no kind of 

 hard usage will destroy it. It grows in knee-deep masses by 

 the wayside, it spreads on the paths that are constantly 

 trodden over, and even it is found in ruts and on ridges 

 in the middle of the country roads. On the whole, its 

 appearance is rather in its favor. The ligulate floral rays are 

 of pale yellow color. They are long, and make the flower 

 look at a distance like a conspicuous star. The centre is 

 apparently quite black, but under the microscope the disk 

 florets are seen to be a very dark purple. The stem of the 

 flower is solid, and the leaves rather ornamental. But, 

 however abundant and luxuriant, its life is but short. It is 

 one of the first flowers to feel the effect of the burning heat. 

 After the first few hot days of the summer, the weed has left 

 no traces behind it, except its withered and dead leaves. 

 The dense mass of woolly pappus, which covers the ground, 

 defiles everything, besides being most injurious to wool, etc. 

 This rapid disappearance of the weed is one of the great 

 objections to it. When it is fresh and green, cattle will feed 

 upon it readily, but it lasts such a short time ; and when it is 

 gone it has so completely occupied the ground that there is 

 nothing to occupy its place. Its spread over the whole of the 

 districts round Adelaide has something alarming about it, 

 especially as it is known to have been introduced from the 

 Cape of Good Hope within the last 40 years. I am not 

 aware how far it has gone north of Adelaide, though I have 

 seen it abundant at least 60 miles away. To the south it has 

 spread rapidly and extensively. There are some who look 

 with apprehension at its progress. It is already very abun- 

 dant round Melbourne, and has made its appearance in 

 Tasmania. I don't remember ever having remarked it about 

 Sydney, or the flats on the sea side of the Blue Mountains. 

 On the Bathurst Plains it is not known, nor in any of the 

 Western Districts, as far as I have been able to enquire. 

 All these places have other pests to deal with, as I shall 

 relate in due course. I may observe here that the apprehen- 

 sions about the spread of this weed are probably exaggerated. 

 There seems a limit to the spread of these weeds, the cause 

 of which we are not acquainted with, but which would very 

 easily be discovered were we to pay attention to their habits. 

 These may not operate in other places, or they may be 

 counteracted by circumstances of a difl^erent kind. Thus I 

 have thought, though I do not say it is the correct explanation,. 



