100 A CONTRIBUTION TO, ETC. 



dye. P. decandra is cultivated sometimes in gardens, but P. 

 octandra is found in so many parts of these colonies, that some 

 persons regard it as indigenous. Fennel is used in Europe for 

 seasoning fish, and an oil is obtained from the seeds. The plant 

 is springing up in many cultivated fields, and some persons regard 

 it as poisonous, but this opinion is decidedly opposed to 

 European experience. Amongst some of Dr. Mueller's recent 

 experiments, he has shown that from the common weed Myriogyne, 

 snuff can be prepared, and that from several species of Pimelea 

 an acrid resin can be obtained which has remarkable blistering 

 properties. He has also ascertained that our common Apple 

 tree has 2 '9 of tannic acid, and 0'9 of 'gallic, whilst the Eugenia 

 SmitMi has 16 '9 of the former, and 3 '6 of the latter. These, and 

 many other results are highly interesting, and whilst they demon- 

 strate the progress of science in these colonies, they exhibit many 

 useful facts which may hereafter exercise an influence on medicine 

 and the arts in general. It seems that Qastrolobium grandiflorum, 

 the poisonous plant of the north, and Swainsona Greyana which 

 is sometimes called the Poison Pea of the Darling 1 , are to be sub- 

 jected to a " rigorous toxicological and chemical examination" at 

 an early period. 



Prom the glance that I have taken at the medicinal plants of 

 the neighbourhood, it is quite evident, that they are not merely 

 numerous, but that, as yet, their properties are very little under- 

 stood. Nature has provided remedies for many diseases to which 

 " flesh is heir," and yet, from carelessness and indifference, or 

 from prejudice and vanity, we neglect to profit by her profusion. 

 In many cases, the qualities of herbs are regarded as fit subjects 

 for quack doctors or old women, whilst in others, an opinion 

 evidently exists, that medicines enough are known already. And 

 yet it is reasonable to suppose that the Great Architect of the 

 Universe created nothing in vain, and that the smallest plant is 

 not only an illustration of His wisdom, but that it occupies a 

 position in the economy of nature, which in the present order of 

 things cannot be dispensed with. It should be the object of 

 science therefore to discover the uses of plants, and when those 

 uses have been discovered, to communicate them for the benefit 

 of mankind. Before the invention of printing, important dis- 

 coveries were frequently lost to posterity for want of some means 



