PREFATORY AND OTHER NOTES. 13- 



mentions that the seed of a certain Eticalypt had with him retained 

 its power of germination for fourteen years, whereas with me seed 

 of the same species could not be made to germinate the second. 

 year, yet these seeds were kept in paper in a drawer from the one 

 year to the other in my office. I may say every seed grew the 

 first and none the second year, which is a pretty general rule with. 

 Eucalypts in Queensland. 



Besides those marked in the Catalogue as possessing certain, 

 valuable economic properties, there are probably a number of 

 others equally rich; in fact the Queensland flora contains plants 

 which yield almost all the substances obtained from the Vegetable 

 Kingdom. In food for stock it is uncommonly well supplied, and,. 

 what is of the greatest importance, the indigenous plants are suit- 

 able to the climate in a remarkable degree. For instance, what 

 grasses other than indigenous ones could be found to sleep through 

 years without rain, and then, at the advent of a week or so of good- 

 rain, spring into life and cover the country with fresh green 

 herbage, not only, let it be understood, from the seed which might 

 be preserved in the earth, but also from the old roots which to all 

 appearance had been destitute of life? It may be safely said than 

 very few, if any, parts of the world could furnish grasses equally 

 good with such a tenacity of life. 



There are a great many more than the species noted which 

 possess medicinal virtues, and when these are better known some 

 may be found worthy of cultivation for their properties ; and it 

 will be found that when a plant is known to possess any particular- 

 virtue, be it medicinal or other, a note referring to the fact is 

 given. The same may be said of the plants yielding tanning barks, 

 oils, dyes, gums, resins, &c. The kinds of woods number about 

 1,000, and among them are those suitable for all purposes for 

 which the material is used. A very large number of the indigenous- 

 plants furnish material suitable for paper-making, rope, twine,, 

 and hessian cloth. 



When any particular plant is said to furnish a useful fruit, it- 

 must not be imagined that the fruit equals the Apple, Pear, or 

 Peach of the present day, but all so marked are superior to the 

 fruits known to our far-back forefathers. 



