II HOBART AND THE MIDLANDS 43 



always on the tree is a black skeleton of the 

 flower. Usually standing by itself is the curious 

 She Oak (Castiarina), a small sy metric ally growing 

 tree with narrow needle-like leaves something like 

 those of the Broom. The native Cherry, a small 

 pine-like tree with yellowish-green foliage {Exo- 

 carpus), is one of the curiosities in a country 

 where, according to popular tradition, mammals 

 lay eggs or are born on the teats of the mother, 

 and where the trees shed their bark instead of 

 their leaves ; for the native Cherry bears a small 

 red succulent berry, the stone of which is attached 

 to the outside of the fruit. A handsome and valu- 

 able tree that can be seen growing in open fields 

 near Hobart is the Blackwood (Acacia melano- 

 xylon) (Fig. 9) ; this tree attains a considerable 

 height, and carries a dense foliage of broad and 

 very dark green leaves ; the wood, which is soft, 

 makes very fine panelling, as when it is varnished 

 it takes on with time a rich black colour like 

 old oak. Although this tree has been planted 

 out a good deal in the open park-like country 

 its native home is really in the forest, and year 

 by year it is becoming more and more difficult to 

 obtain, as it is nowhere present in large numbers. 

 In the rolling sandstone country which lies 

 everywhere on the flanks of the central and 

 eastern greenstone mountains, the undergrowth is 

 rarely very dense. In many areas open grass 

 plains appear to represent the natural condition 

 of the country, but it must be remembered that 



