TANS. 303 
brokers, which appeared in the Leather Trades Circular and 
Review of the 8th March, 1887, is valuable :— 
“In reply to a question as to the best form in which to ship 
Mimosa (Wattle) Bark, we beg to state that the trade, as a rule, 
prefer it ground, so long as they can be sure it is not adulterated. 
Some few, however, cannot be satisfied unless they grind it them- 
selves. 
“We should recommend shipments of well ground, with a 
few parcels chopped or crushed zz bags, but as we know that 
freight is heavier on the latter, and buyers expect a reduction of 
from 10s. to 20s. per ton to cover cost of grinding, the former will 
generally be most satisfactory to shippers. We think that the 
strength is better preserved in the chopped than in the ground, 
but there is nothing we can suggest as an improvement on the 
best standard marks of Adelaide ground. 
“Tf shipments of chopped be made it should on no account 
be shot loose in the ship’s hold.” 
Owing to the greedy and indiscriminating way in which 
Wattle Barks have been gathered, and the moist condition in which 
they have often been shipped, purchasers in England, finding the 
quality variable, have not entered into its regular employment as 
largely as might have been expected. 
Wattles have been extensively planted by at least three 
Australian Governments, those of South Australia, Victoria, and 
New South Wales, especially the former. It is even yet too early 
to predict whether Wattle-planting by Government (except in 
South Australia) will be a profitable commercial enterprise. In 
New South Wales, at least, a large number of Wattles have been 
planted in the narrow strips of ground between the fences and 
the railway lines. But the cost of keeping the young trees free 
from grass is very great, the cost of planting out in such an 
extended fashion also very great, and watering the young piants 
till they are established is out of the question. The telegraph line 
repairers have also killed a large number of the Wattles which 
were most thriving, because it was feared that they might interfere 
with the wires. Altogether, the difficulties in the way of growing 
Wattles along the railway lines are so considerable that the enter- 
