AUSTRALIAN VEGETATION. 93 



the ledges, past groups of Panax, Achras,Angophora,bangalo, 

 and cabbage palms, forming a second terrace; down 

 past the tree-ferns — Dicksonia and Alsophila, which often 

 exceed thirty feet in height, their cool green fronds afford 

 yet another canopy in these tortuous ravines, which are 

 strewn with boulders of all sizes, either glassy from the 

 constant dripping of the abundant moisture, or covered 

 with mosses and lichens. Dwarf ferns and kindred plants 

 luxuriating in the richest soil, and enjoying shade and 

 humidity, nestle in a dense undergrowth, amidst decayed 

 trunks of huge trees, either prostrate in picturesque con- 

 fusion, or clasped by the interminable coils of climbers, 

 often thicker than a man's body, which lend their beautiful 

 blossoms to deck the emerald carpet hundreds of feet 

 above. Such are examples of the primeval grandeur of the 

 vegetation in some parts of Australia, and could anything 

 of the kind be more delightful? Of the beauties of 

 Australian vegetation no more need be said to induce 

 students of botany, or lovers of the picturesque, to make 

 tours during their holidays through the uncultivated parts 

 of this interesting continent. There can be no doubt that 

 as the facility of communication with Europe and America 

 increases year by year, the vast botanical resources of the 

 Australian colonies generally, must keep pace in develop- 

 ment, and the beneficence of nature in this favoured land, 

 already so rich in wool and gold, will be shown as much 

 in the commercially valuable productions of its vegetable 

 kingdom. 



