22 TROPIC DAYS 



refuse, do issue in the early morning and after sun- 

 down; but while the sun is searching out all the privacies 

 of the once dim area, the wholesome fragrance does 

 not exist. 



Drought proves that certain species of exotic plants 

 are hardier than natives. Wattles suffer more than 

 mangoes, and citrus fruits have powers of endurance 

 equal to eucalyptus. Whence does the banana obtain 

 the liquid which flows from severed stem and drips 

 from the cut bunch ? Dig into the soil and no trace 

 of even dampness is there; but rather parched soil 

 and unnatural warmth, almost heat. Heat and mois- 

 ture are the elements which enable one of the most 

 succulent of plants to bear a bunch of fruit luscious 

 and refreshing, and when heat alone prevails, the wonder 

 is that the whole patch of luxuriant greenness does 

 not collapse and wither. But the broad leaves woo 

 the cool night airs, and while the thin, harsh, tough 

 foliage of the wattles becomes languid and droops and 

 falls, the banana grove retains its verdancy, each plant 

 a reservoir of sap. 



A noteworthy feature of the botany of the coast of 

 tropical Queensland is its alliance with the Malayan 

 Archipelago and India. Most of the related plants do 

 not occur in those parts closest to other equatorial 

 regions in the geographical sense, but in localities in 

 which chmate and physical conditions are similar. 

 Probably there are more affinities in the coastal strip 

 of which this isle is typical than in all the rest of the 

 continent of Australia. One prominent example may 

 be mentioned — viz., " the marking-nut tree." When 

 the distinctiveness of the botany of the southern por- 

 tions of Australia from that of the old country began 

 to impress itself on the earliest settlers, the miscalled 

 native cherry was the very first on the list of reversals. 



