146 Grass Tree. 



one hundred and twelve pounds. 4boat one-fourth is pure 

 gum. Trees growing in the neighbourhood of Queenscliff 

 and other portions of the country where the soil is sandy, 

 are said not to yield much gum. 



The gum is said to have a commercial value in Melbourne 

 of £30 per ton, which price has been offered by the oil and 

 colour dealers. They purpose making varnish with it. 



The gum is dissolved in spirits of wine, which as you 

 perceive, is also a product of the tree. It is considered to be 

 a very sijperior varnish, having a good body, great adhesive 

 properties, is a rapid drier, and has, as I remarked before, a 

 rich colour. 



The gum is extracted at a comparatively small cost, so 

 much so that it has been found it can be manufactured, 

 carted, and shipped to England for £Q per ton. 



The interior, or pith of the tree, is broken up. It is then 

 subjected to hydraulic pressure, when a copious flow of the 

 saccharine juice takes place. About twenty gallons to the 

 ton are obtained. . On distillation the twenty gallons of raw 

 juice yield four gallons of proof spirits, worth at the lowest 

 computation three shillings per gallon. 



The gum, I have heard, has been known in the English 

 market for some years, where a little of it has found its 

 way from Sydney. It is there called " Black Boy Gum." 

 It has been exported in a raw state, mixed with vegetable 

 matter, and is worth at home from £6 to £7 per ton, and is 

 supposed to be used to adulterate other gums. 



In thus introducing to your notice one of the humblest 

 members of our great forest family, one that asks only the 

 most barren spots of the earth for its home, I do so with the 

 hope that years of neglect may be followed by a long period 

 of careful attention. I would before leaving the subject, 

 observe, that out of the humblest looking products of the 

 earth,'men's greatest successes have been derived,iand that we 

 have now presented before our eyes, products capable, not 

 only of ornamenting our wood- work and colouring our tex- 

 tile fabrics, but of actually sustaining life. The weary 

 traveller may now claim this child of the desert as his best 

 friend, and with slight appliances and little loss of time, 

 obtain that which will enable him to prosecute his journey 

 in safety. 



Whatever may be the result of the actual commercial value 

 of this tree, there has been, I hope, sufficient information 

 collected to induce many to try the manufacture. This novel 



