Xii INTRODUCTION. 



to bring, many of the grazing areas to something like their pristine condi- 

 tion. It cannot be said that we have no material to work upon, for there 

 are upwards of 360 species of grasses indigenous to this country. All 

 these, of course, are not valuable for fodder, but they have their uses in the 

 economy of nature, which will be afterwards referred to. Amongst many 

 other native fodder plants the most numerous and valuable are to be found 

 in the natural order Chenopodiacce, numbering as they do for all Australia 

 about 112 species, arranged under fifteen genera, eight of which are endemic. 

 Some of them are found on the littoral sands, while others grow on the 

 arid plains of the interior, and are remarkable for their drought-enduring 

 qualities. 



By the following figures some idea may be formed of the number of grass 

 seeds required for 1 acre, supposing it to be sown at the usual rate of 36 Ib. 

 which, approximately stated, is equal to about 22,000,000 of grains. This 

 applies to ordinary grass seeds, such as some species of Andropogon, Chloris, 

 Eragrostis, Panicum, &c. The number of grains vary somewhat one way or 

 the other (no other seeds in the vegetable kingdom vary more, either in 

 weight or number) according to the good or bad season they were harvested 

 in. An acre well clothed with grass would contain from 15,000,000 to 

 20,000,000 plants, though in some exceptional cases as many as 40,000,000 

 plants have been recorded to the acre. Such facts as these are suggestive, 

 and cannot be trifled with, and it is no wonder that thinking persons are 

 apprehensive as to the future condition of our pastures, unless some radical 

 change takes place. The present system of eating out the best native 

 grasses on some sheep runs cannot go on for ever. Many persons have 

 thought that by introducing exotic fodder-plants and grasses these would, 

 in a great measure, supersede, and be an improvement upon, the indigenous 

 ones. But it has often struck me as being a most remarkable thing that 

 those persons who have written up the supposed virtues of exotics have 

 given no guarantee that our high-class wool, beef, and mutton, would be 

 maintained under this new diet. Keeping these circumstances in view, is it 

 not much better to systematically conserve, and even cultivate, the best of 

 our native forage-plants and grasses than introduce others of which we have 

 only a superficial knowledge ? Many exotic species have been introduced as 

 good forage plants, which have proved a positive pest to the country. Everyone 

 must be painfully reminded of this fact when they see that ubiquitous Cape- 

 weed (Cryptostemma calendulaceum, H. Br.) which already covers large areas of 

 pasture land, and the area of its occupation widens from year to year to the 

 gradual extinction of some of our native herbs and grasses. The prickly 

 comfrey (Sympliytum asperrimum, Bbrst.) was heralded throughout Australia 

 a few years ago as a fodder plant that was to supersede all others. What is the 

 consequence, after years of careful nursing ? It has proved a positive failure 

 in the country after all the money expended in introducing and cultivating 

 it. A Canary Island shrub called Tagosaste (Gytisus proliferus, Linn.) has 

 occupied much attention for some years past in certain places, which experi- 

 ence will eventually prove to have been misdirected. I have observed this 

 shrub for a number of years, having raised from seed some of the first plants 

 ever seen in Australia. I once had a shrub under my charge which was about 

 15 feet high ; but I can firmly assert that the "old man" salt-bush (Rhagodia 

 parabolica, E/. Br.) would at the same age have produced about twice the 

 amount of a superior forage, and would even grow in more adverse seasons 

 of drought and heat. Of late a great deal of attention has been directed to 

 another exotic forage plant, called Lathyrus sylvestris, Linn., and commonly 

 known as " Wagner's Flat Pea." Seeds of this plant were imported into 

 New South Wales, but it is reported from nearly every part of the Colony 



