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until the condition of the soil and weather are favourable for them 

 to again put forth green leaves. Tn January after a heavy fall of 

 rain, I have seen the dormant, woolly, swollen bases of the " tall 

 oat-grass" (Anthistiria avenacea) develop leaves, and in four 

 months plants more than six feet high, producing a remarkable 

 amount of rich succulent herbage. This occurred on some of the 

 country west of the Darling River, but on the black soil plains 

 near Moree I have seen that fine grass nearly nine feet high, and 

 that wonderful growth was made in less than five months after 

 heavy summer rain followed by favourable weather. Several 

 species, peculiar to the black country, of the genus Eragrostis 

 have large bulbous bases from which a quantity of leafy herbage 

 develops after rainfall, no matter how prolonged the previous dry 

 weather may have been. Eragrostis eriopoda and E. law ''flora 

 are very remarkable plants in that particular. An allied species 

 E. lacunaria, is popularly called " never fail " by stockmen, on 

 account of the phenomenal amount of dry weather it can endure. 

 One of the "mulga" grasses, Danthonia Upartita, has a large 

 bulbous base and strong fibrous roots, which enable the plant to 

 withstand the torrid heat of Central Australia. After rain quite a 

 number of growths, generally not more than one foot and rarely 

 exceeding two feet in height, are produced from its base and 

 remain vividly green for a considerable time, even if a long period 

 of dry weather ensues. The Mitchell grasses, Astrebla spp., 

 which occupy large tracts of country in the interior, have thick, 

 knotty bases, which together with their strong wiry roots, which 

 penetrate deeply into the ground, remain in a dormant condition 

 during protracted droughts, but readily start into growth after a good 

 rainfall. These valuable pasture grasses, more particularly Astrebla 

 elymoides, have a branching habit, and in an ordinary season a 

 good shower of rain, such as results from a thunderstorm, will 

 cause new growth to sprout prolifically from the joints of the 

 stems, which are soon covered with a mass of green, nutritious 

 herbage. The above are only a very few of the many instances 

 which could bo given to illustrate the wonderful recuperative 

 powers of indigenous grasses. 



Vitality of Grass Seeds— Most Australian grasses, when allowed 

 to grow undisturbed for a time, produce an abundance of seeds 

 which, when mature and kept in contact with dry earth, retain 

 their germinating power for a lengthy period. Several species 

 produce seeds which are comparatively large, when judged by the 

 size of those of cultivated cereals, and which at one time formed 

 an important article of food for the aborigines. The ripe seeds of 

 many indigenous grasses are enclosed in very hard coverings with 

 the lower portions prolonged into points, some being very sharp, 

 notably those of the species of the genera Aristida and Stipa, 

 popularly called "three-awned spear" and " spear" grass respec- 

 tively. When these mature seeds fall perpendicularly, which 

 they frequently do, to the ground, they penetrate it, and gradually 

 descend several inches, especially if it is deep and loose. The 

 sharp, pointed seeds, of the "tall oat-grass" have been found 

 nearly a foot below the surface, so that it will be easily understood 

 that although a few inches of surface soil may be removed by 



