X PREFACE. 



plants from the central plains of this continent, partly through 

 overstocking, and partly through the constant trampling of the 

 animals' hoofs, which has also made the surface soil so hard that 

 seeds with difficulty germinate. This fact has made many pastor- 

 alists apprehensive as to the future prosperity of their industry. 

 The only way to face this apparent difficulty is to systematically 

 conserve areas where these plants may still be growing, and 

 redisseminate the seeds where the plants have entirely disappeared. 

 It has been proved by practical experience that stock keep in far 

 better health where salinous plants are plentiful in pastures, and 

 that fluke, and other distoma diseases, are almost unknown 

 amongst sheep. This fact alone ought to convince pastoralists of 

 the good results that would accrue from a system of conservation 

 and even cultivation of these valuable plants. It has often been 

 remarked " what would Australia do without its wool r" but we 

 never hear the remark made, " what would Australia do without 

 its indigenous herbage." Climate, no doubt, has a great deal to 

 do with the production of high class wool ; but we cannot close 

 our eyes to the fact that the indigenous herbage is the principal 

 factor. It would be superfluous in this preface to enter upon the 

 subject of the present condition of the pastures, or as they are 

 commonly called " Runs," on this continent. For as an intro- 

 duction to this work, there is a " paper on the forage plants and 

 grasses of Australia," which the author read at the Melbourne 

 University, before the Australasian Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, in January, 1890, which gives a clear idea of the 

 present state of the pasture plants, both in the interior and coastal 

 districts of the continent. 



The engravings in this work are not everything that the author 

 could desire, but then it must be remembered that the originals had 

 to be hurriedly drawn to meet the demands of a weekly newspaper. 

 Dissectional drawings would no doubt have been an advantage 

 from a scientific point of view, but for all practical purposes (and 

 they were made with a desire to benefit practical persons) the 

 illustrations will be found to be all that is necessary to identify the 

 plants. 



In many instances an enlarged drawing has been made and 

 engraved of the fruit, which will be an additional help to identifica- 

 tion. As far as possible all scientific descriptions have been sup- 



