18 



are small, and ought to be sown near the surface, a very light 

 sprinkling of earth will suffice. It would be sufficient for all prac- 

 tical purposes of cultivation to drop the seeds at average distances 

 of one foot apart along the furrows, in which case about 7,200 seeds 

 would suffice for an acre of land. The wattle seed is, however, 

 inexpensive, being obtainable in most districts for the mere trouble 

 of collecting, or it can be purchased for 8s. or 10s. per pound. 

 There are about 40,000 seeds of the Acacia decurrens, or black 

 wattle, to the pound, while the seeds of the Acacia pycnantlia, or 

 golden wattle, are one-fourth heavier, and consequently represent 

 not more than 30,000 to the pound. The seeds can, therefore, be 

 dropped along the furrows at much shorter distances, and the seed- 

 lings thinned out at discretion, whereby the chances of a regular 

 plantation would be increased. On loose, sandy soil, on which 

 Acacia pycnantha can best be raised, it might not be even necessary 

 to break up the soil in any way ; but it should be borne in mind 

 that any opening up of the surface would materially accelerate the 

 germination of the seed and subsequent growth of the seedlings. 

 On such open sandy soil the straight furrow line may be dispensed 

 with and the seeds scattered broadcast. When the young trees 

 have attained the height of 3 or 4 feet, the lower branches should 

 be pruned off and every effort afterwards made to keep the stems 

 straight and clear, in order to facilitate stripping and induce an 

 increase in the yield of bark. In all instances where attention is 

 paid to the cultivation of wattles, as a source of income, care 

 should be taken to replace every tree stripped by successional 

 sowings, in order that there should be as little variation in the 

 yield as possible. 



The Board would direct special attention to the enormous in- 

 crease that has taken place in the exportation of bark during the 

 last few months, as set forth in the following Return just obtained 

 from the Department of Trade and Customs. The Return is 

 chiefly valuable on account of the insight it affords into one of the 

 natural resources of this colony, and the extent to which the export 

 trade could be increased under a regular system of wattle cultiva- 

 tion, provision being, at the same time, made for an extension of 

 the leather industry : 



Return showing the Quantity and Value of Wattle Bark Exported from this 

 Colony from 1st November 1877 to 30th June 1878. 



