31 



and both were submitted to the Herbarium at Kew for report. 

 As stated in my last Report I again visited Newcastle and 

 brought a number of the plants with me, these were planted in 

 the Gardens, and are now growing in close proximity to plants 

 of P. dilatatum reared from seed imported by Government from 

 Australia, and they prove to be practically identical specifically, 

 since then the plant has been found by Mr F. Churchill near 

 Gillitts, by Mr Claude Fuller near Maritzburg, and others, but 

 it is certain that the plant is not indigenous, but imported 

 accidentally, and has evidently been for some years in the 

 colony unrecognised. 



In my last Report which ended June 30th 1901 I stated 

 that though the growth of the plants had ceased for the season 

 they still remained green and succulent, and they remained in 

 this condition until growth commenced again, which was but a 

 very short time, and since then seeds have been produced in 

 great abundance and distributed to applicants A small patch 

 of it was cut in April, and another early in May, in both cases 

 leaves were produced almost immediately, and both are now 

 green and succulent, in spite of the vevj cold and dry weather 

 that we have had. 



In the Legislative Assembly at Melbourne a discussion 

 arose as to the advisability of planting this grass on the sides of 

 the railways as a preventative of grass fires, and one member 

 (Mr Madden) said of it : 



" This grass was introduced to Victoria by the late Baron 

 " Mueller. Its greatest advantage was that it would keep green 

 " and succulent through the hottest summer and would never 

 " burn at any part of the year. That was quite apart from its 

 " excellence as a fodder plant, for it was more luxuriant and 

 " more fattening than lucerne. Another point was that it would 

 " grow upon any land whether white sand or black soil." 



The Melbourne Argus in an article on this grass says : 



" At the present time amongst the many plots to be seen 

 "in this district is one in the very heart of the town It was 

 " put in last season by Mr' McKnight and is about one eighth 

 "of an acre in extent. It took 1,000 plants to cover this area. 

 " They were put in 18 inches apart, with a similar distance 

 "between the rows. The plant w;is of course allowed to go to 

 "seed. This seed was not gathered. The result is that to-day 

 " all the interstices between the plants and the spaces between 

 " the rows, are covered with a mass of seedlings which are 



