20 CONFESSIONS OF A BEACHCOMBER 



prevailing perception may be of lush grasses mingled with 

 the soft odour of their frail flowers ; or the resin and honey 

 of blossoming bloodwoods ; or the essence from myriads of 

 other eucalyptus leaves massaged by the winds. The in- 

 comparable beach-loving calophyllums yield a profuse 

 but tender fragrance reminiscent of English meadow-sweet, 

 and the flowers of a vigorous trailer {Canavila obtusifolia), 

 for ever exploring the bare sand at high-water mark, 

 resembles the sweet-pea in form and perfume. The 

 white cedar (Melia compositd) is a welcome and not un- 

 worthy substitute in appearance and perfume for English 

 lilac. The aromatic pandanus and many varieties of 

 acacia, each has its appointed time and season ; while 

 at odd intervals the air is saturated with the rich and 

 far-spreading incense of the melaleuca, and for many 

 weeks together with the honeyed excellence of the swamp 

 mahogany (Trntew/a suavoslens) and the over-rich cloyness 

 of the cockatoo apple {Carey a australis). Strong and 

 spicy are the odours of the plants and trees that gather 

 on the edge of and crowd in the jungle, the so-called 

 native ginger, nutmeg, quandong, milkwood, bean-tree, the 

 kirri-cue of the blacks {Eupomatia laurina), koie-yan 

 {Faradaya splendidd), with its great white flowers and 

 snowy fruit, and many others. Hoya, heavy and indo- 

 lent, trails across and dangles from the rocks ; the river 

 mangrove dispenses its sweetness in an unexpected 

 locality ; and from the heart of the jungle come wafts of 

 warm breath, which, mingling with exhalation from foliage 

 and flower, is diffused broadcast. The odour of the jungle 

 is definite — earthy somewhat, but of earth clean, whole- 

 some and moist — the smell of moss, fern and fungus 

 blended with balsam, spice and sweetness. 



Many a time, home-returning at night — when the black 

 contours of the island loomed up in the distance against 

 the pure tropic sky tremulous with myriads of unsullied 

 stars — has its tepid fragrance drifted across the water as a 

 salutation and a greeting. It has long been a fancy of 

 mine that the island has a distinctive odour, soft and pliant. 



