WATTLES AND WATTLE-BARKS. 



JVIeaning of the word " Wattle." 



Itf Webster's Dictionary (see also Skeat) a wattle is defined as a twig or 

 flexible rod ; a hurdle made of such rods ; a rod laid on a roof to support 

 the thatch. Hence, when used as a verb, it signifies to bind with twigs ; to 

 twist or interweave (twigs) one with another ; to plait, to form of plaited 

 twigs. It has the same derivation as tte word wallet, both being from the 

 Anglo-Saxon ivatel, a hurdle covering ; in Middle English signifying a bag; 

 the verb is watelen, to wattle, twist together, strengthen with hurdles. It is 

 a matter of common knowledge how small trees were used in the manner 

 indicated in the above definitions, in the erection of various structures 

 in the early days of the Colony. Acacias were undoubtedly used (with 

 other small trees), and it is interesting to the student of language to note 

 how, in Australia, the word wattle has now become practically synonymous 

 with Acacia. 



The Eev. Dr. Woolls, however, assures me that the earliest application of 

 the word wattle was not to an Acacia at all, but to Callicoma serratifolia, 

 Andr., a small tree belonging to the Saxifragecs, and which is generally 

 found near watercourses. It was probably abundant along the course of the 

 streams which flowed into " Sydney Cove ;" and in the earliest records of 

 " dab and wattle" structures, the tough saplings of this species were alluded 

 to. It is called "black wattle," at page 201 of vol. iii of Don's work on 

 Dichlamydeous Plants, published in 1834. The compact round heads of 

 flowers have a general resemblance to those of wattles, and I have on more 

 than one occasion, when out in the bush, been asked by an unbotanical 

 companion, " What kind of wattle is this ?" 



Demand and Supply. 



As regards the importance of a supply of wattle bark to European manu- 

 facturers, and the remote possibility of the market being over-supplied, I 

 quote the following, by a correspondent of Mr. J. E. Brown, when Con- 

 servator of Forests of South Australia : "The matter of supply and demand 



