34 
is largely used by soap manufacturers. After the oil is expressed, 
the cake is given to cattle, being particularly rich in flesh formers, 
of sweet taste, and agreeable flavour. Cattle are fond of the 
stems of the plant, so nothing need be wasted. These earth, or 
pea-nuts as they are commonly called here, are, when fresh, very 
rich and delicious, very different to the rancid trash frequently 
found in Melbourne. Most people who have been accustomed 
to consume them fresh much prefer them to any other kind of 
nut. The seeds roasted and bruised in a mortar and made into 
cakes are an excellent substitute for cocoa, and when parched 
and beaten with sugar make an excellent sweetmeat. This 
valuable and humble little plant has lately been placed to a novel 
use, the oil it produces, under the name of “ Arachide,” is ex- 
tensively used in some parts of Europe in the manufacture of 
margarine ; from a report I have seen, the trade done in this oil 
for this purpose is kept very secret. When fresh, the oil is per- 
fectly wholesome, and it will keep for a long time without getting 
rancid. 
The plant requires a warm situation to thrive in, and a deep 
rich soil is the best for it. Sir Ferdinand von Mueller says that 
in the southern United States alone the annual value of the crop 
is upwards of half-a-million sterling. It is also largely cultivated 
in the south of France and Spain, in parts of Africa, and many 
other parts of the globe. 
FLOWER-FARMING FOR PERFUMES. 
The time will come when this industry will in Victoria become 
of great importance. Very many of the flowers which provide 
the material for perfumes grow well with us—the rose, lavender, 
jasmine, mignonette, sweet-scented geraniums, and a host of 
other plants do as well with us as in any part of the world, while 
some others, such as the boronia, the acacia or wattle, and the 
sweet-scented pittosporum probably thrive better. Mr. Piesse, 
of the celebrated firm of Piesse and Lubin, of Paris, when 
visiting our Great Exhibition of 1880, and after travelling 
through a considerable portion of the colony, drew our attention 
to the great advantages we possessed in climate and soil for the 
successful cultivation of numerous scent-producing plants. He 
strongly urged us to give this matter our thoughtful consideration, 
feeling confident it would be a bond fide and remunerative method 
of augmenting personal incomes, and would contribute greatly to 
the general prosperity of the colony. The profits at first may 
not be large, but the attempts at new industries would afford 
employment to a number of young people, teach them habits of 
industry, ard in the course of time develop into an important 
item of our exports. 
