GRASSES 33 



found that after a year or two it had died out, and that the 

 Meadow Rice Grass formed the larger percentage of the 

 herbage. Mueller and Rummel give the following chemical 

 analysis made on the spring growth of this grass : Albumen, 

 1.66 ; gluten, 9.13 ; starch, 1.64 ; gum, 3.25 ; sugar, 5.05 per 

 cent. 



Mitchell Grass is the popular name given to three species 

 and one or two varieties of Astrebla, one of the most common, 

 A . pectinata, being depicted in the accompanying illustration. 

 These famous grasses are found on the fertile plains over a 

 greater part of the interior of the continent, even extending 

 to Central Australia, and are a most valuable stand-by for 

 stock during adverse seasons, for their thick wiry roots 

 penetrate the earth to a great depth, and enable them to 

 withstand a phenomenal amount of dry weather. Many 

 pastoralists and stockmen regard the "Mitchell Grasses" 

 as the best of all the indigenous grasses in the interior, both 

 for drought-enduring qualities, and for their fattening 

 properties. All of them have a branching habit, and under 

 ordinary conditions produce a great amount of nutritious, 

 leafy herbage which is readily eaten by all herbivora. When 

 these grasses become so dry during adverse seasons that their 

 stems and leaves break to pieces, stock may often be seen 

 licking them off the ground, and they seem to do well on this 

 feed notwithstanding its uninviting appearance. Experienced 

 drovers assert that stock travel further and keep in better 

 condition when fed on these grasses than on any other in 

 Australia a practical proof of their high feeding value. The 

 seeds of these grasses, when ripe, are like small grains of wheat 

 and at one time formed an important part of the food of the 

 aborigines. One of the varieties (lappacea) of the Mitchell 

 Grass produces ears which are often more than six inches long, 

 somewhat like big wheat ears, and the comparatively large 



