41 



of our resources, fully known in many countries ; and while 

 their value became established, a market for them has now been 

 gained. I would, however, not countenance the vandalism of 

 denuding every one of our fern-glens of its pride, as, even with 

 all care, in half a century the pristine grandeur of the scenery 

 could not be restored ; yet when we consider, that hundreds of 

 gullies are teeming with these magnificent plants, we can well 

 afford to render them accessible also to all the conservatories 

 of the winterly north, in order that the inhabitants there may 

 indulge in admiration of such superb forms of vegetable life 

 even though a fern-tree group in a glass house can convey but a 

 very inadequate idea of the wild splendour of our fern ravines. 

 Not without pain I have seen constructed the base of whole 

 tramway lines in some of our forest-gullies almost exclusively 

 of fern-trees, for the conveyance of timber. A watchful 

 Forest Board would prevent such sacrifice, and would save 

 also the tall palm-trees of East Gipps Land from sharing the 

 fate of those princely trees at Illawarra and elsewhere. [Since 

 writing this, our Livistonas or fan-palms, have been protected 

 by Government interdiction; the law forbids also the indis- 

 criminate removal of red-gum trees from the banks of the 

 Murray River. In Queensland, every bunya-bunya tree and 

 native nut-tree is secured against being felled. The very 

 local and circumscribed Kauri forests, known only in two 

 limited spots, would also need some protection.] To the 

 facilities of exporting the huge, square todea ferns a com- 

 merce initiated by myself I alluded on a former occasion. 



Having dwelt on some of the technologic or mercantile 

 products obtainable from the native forests few, it is true 

 I now pass on to some brief observations in reference to 

 enriching the resources of our woods. 



Among new industries, which by introduction from abroad 

 are likely to be pursued in sylvan localities, that of the culti- 

 vation of the tea-shrub of China and of Assam stands, per- 

 haps, foremost. It is a singular fact, that even in the genial 

 clime of Southern Europe, and under advantages of inexpen- 

 sive labour, the important and lucrative branch of tea-culture 

 has received as yet no attention whatever. This is probably 

 owing to the circumstance, that hitherto the laborious manual 

 process of curling the fresh tea-leaves under moderate heat 

 has never yet been superseded by adopting for the purpose 

 rollers, worked and heated by steam, though such contrivance 

 was suggested here by me many years ago. 



The tea thus obtained could always be brought to its best; 



