i66 



THE NATURALIST IN AUSTRALIA. 



V. 



downwards from the branches, and give the tree a rather woe- 

 begone aspect. One pleasant exception, however, to this rule 

 is the small Tasmanian E. Cordata, of which a beautiful 



specimen is growing in Lord 

 Ilchester's garden at Abbotsbury. 

 I once went there when it was 

 covered with a mass of silvery 

 blossom a lovely sight. 



The Acacias, or " Wattles" form 

 a division of the Leguminosia, 

 numbering over 400 species. This 

 genus possesses a regular corolla 

 (generally minute) and a mass of 

 conspicuous stamens, whose yellow 

 anthers clothe whole stretches of 

 country at some seasons with bril- 

 liant colour. The Wattles range 

 in size from a small bush to a tree 

 50 feet high. Sometimes the leaves 

 are daintily pinnate and feathery, 

 but in many species they resemble 

 those of the mistletoe. Some of 

 the Acacias are cultivated for the 

 sake of the bark, which is valuable 

 for tanning purposes. The flowers 

 are very fragrant ; at times the 

 scent of A. dealbata is almost over- 

 powering. 



In the warmer parts of New South Wales, in Queensland, and 

 Tropical Australia the forests partake of the regular jungle 

 character, in which we get a number of types familiarised to us 

 by our hothouses and conservatories. Many palms, the 

 magnificent Moreton Bay Fig, the vast wealth of creepers, 

 whose festoons of foliage and flower hang from tree to tree, tall 

 tree-ferns, cycads, jets and clusters of brilliant orchids, elk- horn 

 and bird's-nest ferns high overhead, all conspire to form scenes 



EUCALYPTUS CORDATA. 

 (Labillardiere). ' 



