400 



" The work is popular in its character, and is as free from 

 technicalities as possible. The descriptions are brief, and the 

 remarks under each species, while brief, include what has been 

 regarded as most important, and afford such information as the 

 farmer and others interested would be most likely to wish to know. 

 Besides the cultivated forage plants which are already more or less 

 widely known, native species which have never yet been cultivated 

 are included in the enumeration. There are in the United States 

 over 200 native or wild species of this class which are recognised 

 locally as excellent forage plants. More attention should be given 

 these natives, tor there is every reason to believe that among them 

 are many kinds fully equal in productiveness and feeding value to 

 any of those now under cultivation, and possibly many superior to 

 anything we have now in their adaptibility to certain soils or 

 climates or in their value for special uses." The concluding obser- 

 vation applies quite as forcibly to Australia as to the United States, 

 and on pastoral holdings there is infinitely more profit to be derived 

 from conserving the best of our natural grasses than in attempting 

 to introduce new species. On small holdings where cultivation is 

 carried on it is different. The object should be to secure the 

 greatest quantity of fodder from the smallest area, and introduced 

 plants under intense cultivation will be found to pay handsomely, 

 especially in the southern districts. 



The native poison plants have been catalogued and described 

 with a view to making them known to the new settler. When there 

 is any doubt specimens should at once be forwarded to the Bureau 

 of Agriculture for identification. There is no doubt that the wide 

 dispersion of poison plants in Western Australia is a decided detri- 

 ment to rapid settlement, but, as indicated in the descriptive chapters 

 of I 'art i of the GUIDE, it will be seen that experience has shewn 

 the difficulty of overcoming the poison plants is not insuperable, 

 and the danger is easily and cheaply removed. 



The concluding notes of this part are on noxious weeds. Mr. 

 Helms, in introducing the subject, gives ample reasons for the sup- 

 pression of objectionable weeds ; and the Bureau regrets that at 

 present there is no legislative power which enables one to deal 



