OBSERVATIONS ON THE RICE-PAPER TREE. - Stt 
26 feet, and was producing so many suckers that it soon became 
evident that there would be no difficulty in propagating so prolific a 
plant very extensively, as the result has proved. About the second 
year (1859) it displayed some fine panicles of flowers, and died soon 
after. From not being at this time acquainted with the habits of 
this interesting tree, it was at first supposed that it perished soon 
after flowering, leaving a numerous progeny in suckers; but the trees 
that flowered afterwards not dying negatived this opinion, and it has 
been since ascertained that it commences to blossom, the second year 
of its growth, and flowers regularly every year afterwards. About the 
end of May and in June, the early winter months in N. S. Wales, the 
Botanie and other gardens at Sydney are adorned and enlivened by 
these trees attracting the attention of visitors by their luxuriant canopy 
of broad foliage (as seen in the enclosed drawing from nature by Mr. 
W. E. Bennett), the beautiful head of large leaves being surmounted by 
numerous wand-like panicles of blossoms, consisting of numerous small 
flowers. The flowers are of a very pale-yellowish white colour, but 
when viewed in certain directions appear greenish or greenish-yellow, 
probably arising from reflected light, either from its own foliage or 
from that of the trees in its immediate vicinity. These masses of 
flowers which crowned the luxuriant foliage were very inconspicuous 
when examined in single clusters, but, as a whole, the panicles of blos- 
soms on their white flowering stems had a beautiful effect when con- 
trasted by the dark-green palmated foliage, the latter so widely spread, 
and in one of the trees 8 feet high, capable of affording an agree- 
able shade to any one standing under the leafy canopy : there were ten 
to twelve fine panicles of blossoms on each tree when in bloom. 
The Rice-paper tree may now be considered naturalized in N. S. 
Wales, growing abundantly and iu the greatest luxuriance since its in- 
troduction in 1857 to 1864, so much so as in the garden to have be- 
come almost troublesome, from its suckers springing up in every direc- 
tion, and its enormous foliage covering in a short time and impeding 
the progress of other valuable plants. It has survived the climate, 
although exposed to the furnace-like blasts of the hot winds, the keen 
drying westerly winds, and the cold moist southernly gales and the 
sharp frosts of winter. It even stood, without a single casualty, 
the long dry weather in 1862, when the heat was so excessive as to 
brown the foliage of the Bamboo and other tropical trees, aud totally 
