SALT-BUSHES 61 



indigenous to Australia, and they are widely distributed over 

 the continent, most of them being excellent forage plants, 

 and remarkable for then: drought enduring qualities. 



There are twelve native species of Chenopodiwn, found 

 hi various parts of the continent, and they are known to stock- 

 men by such popular names as ' ' Blue Bush, " " Fat Hen, " 

 ' ' Lambs' Quarters, " " Nitre Bush, ' ' and ' ' Salt-Bush. ' ' The 

 "Blue Bush" (C. auricomum) is a superior forage plant 

 occurring on the inland plains, where it often grows five feet 

 high or more. Its stems are clothed with almost angular- 

 shaped leaves from one inch to two inches long, and it is 

 easily recognised in the pastures by its almost golden hue 

 hence its specific name auricomum. Cattle and sheep are 

 particularly fond of it, and stockmen speak very highly of 

 it, both for its nutritive properties and for its wholesome 

 qualities. The succulent stems and leaves of this plant are an 

 excellent table vegetable when cooked and served in a similar 

 way to spinach. Lambs' Quarters (C. atriplicinum) rarely 

 grows more than one foot high, but it branches freely from 

 its thick base, and often forms a dense mass of nutritious, 

 succulent, leafy herbage, much relished by all herbivora. 

 Its tap-like root penetrates deeply into the earth, and hi 

 consequence the plant is often green when the surrounding 

 herbage is brown. The Nitre Bush (C. nitrariacea) is a branch- 

 ing under-shrub of from three to four feet in height, though 

 under cultivation it grows eight feet high and six feet in 

 diameter. It is fairly common on some of the inland plains, 

 and sheep eating this bush often trim it as neatly as if it had 

 been clipped with hand shears. It withstands a lot of dry 

 weather, and no matter how closely it is cropped soon puts 

 forth new growth. 



