150 KING GEORGE'S SOUND 



strut H7?i), found mostly in damp gullies, but cultivated for 

 household use by the colonists, is an undoubted native 

 plant, the range of which I do not know ; but I have found 

 it as far north as Shark Bay, where it grows on some parts 

 of the Gascoyne River. 



Among the larger members of the vegetable kingdom 

 " swamp-oaks " (Casuarinas) and eucalypti (here, as else- 

 where, called " gum-trees "), hold the most prominent 

 place, and at the time of my visit formed, in places, woods 

 of sufificient size to be denominated "forests" by the 

 colonists ; but a very careless and wasteful destruction of 

 the trees was taking place, which threatened a sad thinning 

 of their numbers before many years had elapsed. The 

 "wild honeysuckle" (a Banksia) is a universal favourite 

 with the colonists, and is spread all over the country in 

 suitable places for its growth. This plant is certainly not 

 found many miles to the eastward of the Sound. It 

 appears about here for the first time, and is found in much 

 greater perfection further north. In this district also the 

 grass-tree {Ringia australis) first appears ; but it is not 

 found in the immediate neighbourhood of the Sound, 

 except as a cultivated shrub in gardens, nor does it attain 

 to perfection. Other trees which form important objects in 

 the landscapes further north on the west coast, appear here 

 of the size of shrubs. In fact King George's Sound is a 

 starting-point for a large portion of the western flora. 



Among plants, well known on the eastern side of the 

 continent which reappear here, I may notice the valuable 

 kangaroo grass {Anthistiria australis). This grass appears 

 to be the prevailing herbage of those areas in the interior 

 of the west side which are so frequently marked on the 

 maps as " rich grassy country." It is confined to limited 

 tracts near King George's Sound, but higher up the 

 country, and especially in the neighbourhood of Swan 

 River, it is one of the prevailing grasses. 



Near the Sound a variation of species in animal life is 

 also noticeable. The district is the extreme southward 

 and eastward limit of a very typical wallaby, which is so 

 distinct from other members of the family that it is placed. 



