GRASSES 35 



grains separate easily from the chaff, like grains of wheat. 

 Where wheat would not grow owing to the great heat and 

 dryness, that variety might, after a few years of thorough 

 cultivation and careful selection, be found an excellent sub- 

 stitute, for, according to the best authorities, the wheat plant 

 developed from much less promising material. The seeds of 

 the Mitchell Grass ripen during the summer. 



Mulga Grass (Danthonia bipartita) occurs in the interior 

 of the continent and generally on good land, but nowhere very 

 abundantly. Its stems rise from an almost bulbous, often 

 woolly, base which probably acts as a storage reservoir for 

 the plant, for it withstands a protracted drought hi what is 

 often termed the desert interior. It usually grows from one 

 foot to two feet high, though occasionally it is taller, and its 

 green leaves may often be noticed amongst the surrounding 

 dried up vegetation, a proof of its drought enduring properties. 

 Stock of all kinds are fond of the Mulga Grass, and thrive on its 

 nutritious, leafy herbage. When allowed to grow undisturbed 

 for a tune this grass freely produces seed which ripens during 

 the hotter months. The singular shape of the seed has been 

 commented upon, for it resembles the base of a horse's hoof, 

 on an infinitely smaller scale of course. The seeds form an 

 important item in the food supply of certain birds of the parrot 

 tribe. Mulga Grass is a popular name applied to several other 

 species, principally on account of their association with an 

 Acacia known to stockmen as Mulga, but the one under notice 

 is most widely known to pastoralists. 



Satin Top (Andropogon erianthoides) attains sometimes a 

 height of five feet, but generally only two or three feet. It 

 is peculiar to the interior in the eastern portion of the continent 

 nowhere very abundant, and may easily be recognised in the 

 pastures when in flower by its densely silky-hairy spikes. 

 The Satin Top withstands a phenomenal amount of dry 



