GRASSES 43 



fond and on which they fatten. Pastoralists very justly hold 

 this grass in much esteem, and many consider it is one of the 

 best that grows in the interior. It is well worth systematic 

 conservation and even cultivation on the dry inlands, and can 

 be recommended for permanent pasture, or for hay. There 

 would be no difficulty in bringing this fine grass under system- 

 atic cultivation, for in an ordinary season it produces an 

 abundance of seed which germinates readily after the spring 

 and early autumn rains. The seeds are comparatively large, 

 and are often so numerous that the stems lie prostrate on the 

 ground from their weight. The plain-turkey is very fond of 

 the seeds of this grass. There are one or two varieties of the 

 Warrego Grass, but their pastoral and stock-feeding value is 

 much the same as that of the typical one. An illustration of 

 the Warrego Grass accompanies this letter-press. The seeds 

 were formerly an article of food for the aborigines. 



There are fifty-six known indigenous species, and several 

 varieties, of Panicum, widely distributed over the continent, 

 and many of them form a good percentage of the pasture 

 herbage, most of them being valuable grasses. Many of them 

 withstand a phenomenal amount of dry weather, and are 

 amongst the first to develop new growth after rain supervening 

 on drought. 



Water Couch (Paspalum distichum) is a creeping, rapid- 

 growing, summer grass occurring mostly in the coast districts, 

 and sometimes close to the ocean, in most of the Australian 

 States. It is generally found on moist land, in swampy 

 places, and sometimes in shallow water. It is particularly 

 well adapted for covering waste, moist lands, and the margins 

 of rivers and dams, which it binds firmly once its underground 

 stems become well established. Periodical inundations will 

 not destroy it, but severe frosts injure it. This grass 

 yields a quantity of valuable herbage, of which stock of 



