Naturalisation in Extra- Tropical Countries. 5 



The cultivation of the Tan- Wattle is extremely easy, -being 

 effected by sowing either broadcast or in rows. In Australia 

 particularly it is capable of immense extension, often on otherwise 

 unutilized ground, and within the grasp of the crudest of labor. 

 Tanners in colder countries might acquire in the nearest warmer 

 regions poor inexpensive land, to provide an independent supply of 

 this valuable bark from comparatively near shipping places. Seeds 

 can be obtained in Melbourne at about 5s. per lb., which contains 

 from 30,000 to 50,000 grains ; they are known to retain their 

 vitality for several years. For discrimination in mercantile trans- 

 actions it may be noted, that the seeds of A. mollissima are some- 

 what smaller, comparatively shorter, rounder and not so flat as 

 those of A. dealbata, while the funicular appendage does not extend 

 so far along the seeds, nor is the pod quite so broad ; from those of 

 A. pyciiantha they differ in being shorter, thus more ovate than 

 elliptical. Much of what is said in this article applies as well to 

 A. mollissima. See in reference to this and kindred subjects 

 .also J. H. Maiden's " The useful native plants of Australia." 



Seeds should be soaked in warm water before sowing. Any bare? 

 .sterile, unutilized place might most remuneratively be sown with 

 this Wattle-Acacia ; the return could be expected in from five to 

 ten years. Full-grown trees, which supply also the best quality, 

 yield as much as 1 cwt. of bark. The rate of growth of the tree 

 is about 1 inch in diameter of stem annually. It is content with 

 the poorest and driest soil, although in more fertile ground it shows 

 greater celerity of growth. Bark from trees, grown on very cal- 

 careous soil, is less strong in tan. This Acacia is perhaps the most 

 important of all tan-yielding trees of the warm temperate zones, 

 for its strength in tannic acid, its rapidity of growth, its contented- 

 iiess with almost any soil, the ease with which it can be reared and 

 its early yield of tanner's bark, and indeed also gum and stave- 

 wood. This tree is to be recommended for poor land, affected with 

 sorrel. It is hardier than Eucalyptus globulus, thus enduring the 

 climate of South-England, although unlike A. dealbata it hardly 

 extends to sub-alpine elevations. Pasture -animals browse on the 

 foliage. See also notes under A. mollissima. 



Acacia erubescens. Welwitsch. 



Western Tropical Africa. A small tree only, but affording the 

 best gum in Angola and the nearest regions [Dr. Welwitsch]. 

 Tropical Acacias have proved hardy in the mild extra-tropic zone, 

 thus also this species might merit introduction elsewhere. Another 

 Acacia of Western Africa, the " Ahna," particularly occurring in 

 Darnaras, bears a profusion of reddish pods, which form a nutritious 

 food, not only for pasture-animals, but even for the nomadic 

 natives. The Ahna occasionally attains a height of 100 feet and a 

 stem-circumference of 30 feet. The bark yields strong tan [T. 

 Christy]. 



