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Art. V. — On the Weir Mallee, a water -yielding Tree, the 

 Bulrush, and Porcupine Grass of Australia. By 

 John Cairns, Esq. 



[Read before the Institute, 16th June, 1858.] 



In compliance with the wish, expressed at our last meeting, 

 I have endeavoured to embody, in as few words as possible, 

 the remarks I made on that occasion, on the subject of the 

 Weir Mallee, the bulrush, and porcupine grass of Australia ; 

 and I would heg at once to acknowledge the great kindness 

 of Dr. Mueller, to whom I am indebted for all the botanical 

 descriptions which follow. 



The water-yielding Mallee, called the Weir Mallee, was 

 known to the natives long before the arrival of the whites, 

 who, however, in their explorations, have often sustained life 

 by its use, and it is mentioned particularly by Mr. Eyre, in 

 his work on Australian exploration. 



The water-yielding Eucalyptus is one of the many species 

 which pass under the name of Eucalyptus Dumosa, extending 

 from the desert tributaries of the Murray, westward, as far 

 as Swan River, constituting those almost impenetrable scrubs 

 called Mallee. Hitherto, it is by no means proved that only 

 one solitary species of Eucalyptus yields Avater, and the 

 subject is well worthy of further investigation. Any species 

 of Eucalyptus inhabiting the scrub, not attaining the height 

 of a tree, but of a low scrubby growth, is usually comprised 

 under this name, thus rendering it difficult to identify with 

 botanical precision the species which yields water. 



Dr. Mueller informs me that in the tropics of Australia, 

 the Mallee Eucalypti have not yet been found, whilst in 

 Central Australia only two species of Eucalyptus of shrubby 

 growth exist, and these differing from those met with in the 

 South. 



The existence of the Weir Mallee with its invaluable 

 supply of water, is universally known by old bushmen, 

 though I have met with some who never saw it to know it 

 positively, not having taken the trotible to find out from 

 the blacks which really is the tree. It is not met with in the 

 dense scrub, but only on the edges of the plains with which 

 the scrub is dotted, sometimes only of small extent, whilst on 



