March, 1907.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 227 



Several of the species provide timber suitable for cabinet 

 work, and, as the whole genus prefers a dry or a saline 

 soil, some fine samples were observed during the outing. 



Native honeysuckles {Banksia) were fairly plentiful^ 

 quite a forest being seen at Balcombe's Creek, where one 

 specimen was found to be 4 feet in diameter. Their 

 leaves, dark-green above and almost white beneath, when 

 tossed in the breeze, give the same effect as the leaves of 

 the silver poplar. The name honeysuckle is altogether 

 misleading, though there is a story that the aborigines 

 used to suck honey from the large bottle-brush shaped 

 flowers. The scientific name is Banksia, in honour of Sir 

 Joseph Banks, the botanist who accompanied 'Captain 

 Cook to Australia. Grevillea^ and hakeas belong to the 

 same order, Proieacea;, most members of which are in- 

 digenous to Australia. Linnaeus named the order after 

 Proteus, the sea-god, who had the power to assume any 

 form he pleased, as some of the species are outwardly so 

 different from each other. Banksia timber is beautifully 

 marked with " silver grain," is fairly easily worked, and 

 is suitable for cabinet work, having a very pleasing 

 appearance when polished. 



The wattles were found in great abundance ; and, under 

 the feathery ihi-finnate) leaves of a black wattle, a lesson 

 on the family was given. The common name is, again 

 not a good one. The botanical one is simple and suitable — 

 Acacia, derived from a Greek word, ake, a sharp point, 

 for some of the family are provided with thorns, and, in 

 the case of Acacia armata, make a cattle-proof fence. 

 Several of the acacias possess a large quantity of tannic 

 acid, which is valuable for converting hides into leather, 

 and much of the tannin is s^ecreted in the bark. The 

 black {A. decurrens), the silver [A. dealbaia), and the 

 golden wattle (A. fycnantha), are of commercial value in 

 this respect. Most of the order provide very tough 

 elastic timber, with very dark duramen (heart-wood). Mr. 

 Lees indicated the most valuable timber-tree of all the 

 acacias — the renowned blackwood {A. melanoxylon), 

 whose uses for furniture and cabinet work are so well 

 known. Perhaps no timber in the world is more hand- 

 some than the jus.tly celebrated fiddleback blackwood, 

 which is so much in request for billiard tables, &c. 



In responding to a vote of thanks, Mr. Lees said ^f 

 the pupils of our schools could be got to take an intel- 

 ligent interest in tree-life, the forestry problem, which, 

 up to the present, had not received the attention it de- 

 served, would be solved : and Victoria would then be 



