217 



The Small-leaved Fig {F. ruhiginosa, Desf .) is less used for this purpose, 

 probably because it is less frequently planted, but it appears to be of equal 

 value as a fodder plant, and doubtless other of our native figa may be put 

 to simnlar uses. I have knovpn covfs fed all the year round on leaves and 

 figs which dropped from these trees. 



Flowers. — The structure of the inflorescence of Ficus can be ascertained 

 by the student by reference to most text-books in which the common edible 

 fig (Ficus Carica) is dealt with. There are excellent figures, for example, 

 in Kerner and Oliver, ii, 1.57. 



Fruits. — At page 8 Bentham calls the fruit of a fig a Synoecium, Kerner 

 and Oliver a Synconium, Prantl and Vine& and Warming and Potter a 

 Synconus. The " Fig " consists of the fleshy axis of the inflorescence, 

 which is deply concave, and on the inner surface of which the minute 

 flowers (which later on devlop into achenes or ''seeds"), are borne. The 

 cavity at the end of the fig- farthest away from the stalk is enclosed by 

 small bracts. The name Receptacle seems to be as descriptive and as 

 convenient as any to apply to the " 1 ig." The fruits of F. rubiginosa^ 

 which are full of seed, were an article of food of the Port Jackson natives, 

 but the early colonists found them "very nauseous." Mr. C. Hedley state» 

 that they are eaten by the Port Curtis (Q.) blacks. 



Fibre. — The fibre of the root of this tree is of great durability, and i& 

 used by the aborigines in the fabrication of' their scoop fishdng-nets. . The 

 inner bark forms a loose fabric taicen ofi carefully. A similar fibre is- 

 prodticed, and more abundantly, by F. macrophylla. 



Trunk. — This and other figs in our northern forests have plank-like or 

 buttress-like expansions of the stem, near the root, which are sometimes as 

 deep as horse-stalls. The following description of certain trees- in the 

 Malay Archipelago will directly apply to our fig : — 



Others, iigain, and these .-ire vevy characteristic, send out towards the ba.w? 

 flat and whig-like projections. These projections are thin slabs radiating from 

 the main trunk, fr(.im which they stand out like buttresses of a (iothlc 

 cathedral. Tliey rise to various heights on the tree, from ."> or to 20 or 30 

 feet. They often divide as they approach the ground, and sometimes twist 

 and curve along the surface for a considerable distance, forming elevated and 

 greatly compressed roots. These buttresses are sometimes so large that the 

 spaces between them, if roofed ii\-er, would form huts capable of containing 

 several iwrsons. Their use is evidently to give the tree an extended base, 

 and to assist the subterranean roots lu niaintaiuing in an erect position so 

 lofty a column, crowned liy a broad and massive head of branches and foliage. 

 ("Tropical Nature and other Essays," Wallace, page 31.) 



Timber. — The- timber is soft, brittle, and' spongy; it is, however, some- 

 times used for packing-cases. It is light in colour as well as in weight, and 

 although sometimes it shows a pretty grain, it would be waste of labour to 

 spend much time upon it. A well-seasoned slab of wood had a weight 

 which corresponds to 28 lb. 8 oz. per cubic foot. 



Roots. — Everyone has noticed the long, slender, aerial roots that hang- 

 from the branches, and which are more abundant and robust in warm, 

 moist localities. In Lord Howe Island a fig looked upon by some botanists 

 as specifically identical with our Port Jackson fig is called the Banyan, 

 as its aerial roots descend to the ground and- form secondary steins, just 

 as in the case of the well-known Banyan of India. 



On the Northern Rivers these fig-trees often begin life on the moist bark 

 of another tree, and their aerial root system attains great development. It 



