1276 
SAPINDACE.'E OF AUSTRALIA. 
of variation to which the respective species are subject, and how far 
certain forms more or less differentiated from their original types 
have found their way from Asia or the Oriental Archipelago. 
Mr. Bentham, whose opinion on this subject is entitled to the 
greatest weight, thought that the predominant portion of the 
Australian flora was strictly indigenous, having originated or been 
differentiated in Australia ; but the author of “ Island Life ” is 
evidently impressed with the conviction that whilst such might be 
the case, the anomalous distribution of species (especially in S. 
Eastern and S. Western Australia) is due to the fact that, in the 
Cretaceous period, the sea separated the eastern coast from what 
was then the main island or continent of Australia. 
