150 A CONTRIBUTION TO, ETC. 



specific name from the fact that little birds are fond of its seeds, and 

 it is called knot grass, not because it is in any way allied to the 

 grass family, but because cattle, and especially hogs, feed upon it, 

 Of the Urticaccce or Nettle family, there are two species of Urtica, 

 U. urens, and U. dioica, found in waste places. The first of these 

 appears to have come accidentally amongst us, but whether the lat- 

 ter is indigenous here, as well as in many other countries, I can- 

 not determine, for I have noticed it in remote parts of the colony. 

 This plant is esteemed astringent and diuretic, the tops of the 

 shoots are sometimes eaten as a pot-herb, and the stalk has the 

 texture of hemp, so that it is capable of being manufactured into 

 cloth, ropes, and paper. As a rem'edy for the sting of the nettle, 

 its own juice or that of the dock may be applied. (Pharmacopoeia.) 

 I must now refer briefly to the Endogens, or Monocotyle- 

 dons, which have been introduced. In this division of the vege- 

 table kingdom, there are plants of a cosmopolitan character, such 

 as Alisma plantago, and some species of Juncus, Cyperus, fyc., 

 which most frequently meet the eye of the observer. These 

 were noticed by the earliest botanists, and, therefore, they cannot 

 be reckoned amongst the introduced plants. Of the Iridacece, I 

 have found three species which appear to be of foreign origin, 

 viz., SisyrincTiium micranthum, (?) S. anceps, and a purple Crocus. 

 The first of these is a small yellow flower, with grass-like leaves, 

 which in the beginning of summer almost covers some of our cul- 

 tivated fields. It is not more than two or three inches high. 

 The second is a larger plant, growing somewhat sparingly in 

 moist fields amongst foreign grasses. "With respect to the third, 

 I may remark that I have never found it anywhere excepting in 

 the neighbourhood of Botany. Of the Cyperacece, we have one 

 intruder which is becoming a complete nuisance in many of our 

 gardens. It is commonly known by the name of " bulbous grass," 

 but it is Cyperus hydra, or the " nut grass" of the West Indies, 

 which in some instances is reported to have overrun sugar planta- 

 tions and have rendered them barren. This troublesome weed ? 

 which appeared first in Sydney, has found its way to Parramatta 

 and other inland towns, and latterly to the banks of the Hawkes- 

 bury. A farmer in the neighbourhood of Richmond told me that 

 he had incurred some expense with a view of removing this pest 

 from his ground, and he thought he had succeeded ; but after a 



