230 EOYAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA. 



shrubs, of plants of the myrtle tribe, of the musk tree (Eurybia argophylla), 

 and of several plants of the mint tribe ; the wood of tbe native box, 

 and of the box-leaved Alyxia, and the bark of the sassafras. He thought 

 that, when the Society was fortunate enough to obtain a new museum, a 

 case might be with great advantage appropriated to perfumery, and con- 

 cluded his paper with the remark that he should rejoice to perceive a com- 

 mencement made in the disclosure of all the hidden treasures of natural 

 history in the colony, which the want of a larger population, and therefore 

 of a sufficient amount of labour, had hitherto left undiscovered. 



A conversation ensued on the subject of „the paper read by the Secretary, 

 in which the meeting appeared to be much interested ; and Dr. Agnew 

 suggested that a few pounds of the silver wattle flowers, still in bloom 

 about Oatlands, should be forwarded to Mr. Rimmel for the purpose of 

 experiment, and with a view to obtain his opinion as to their value. Dr. 

 Butler said that the flowers of the silver wattle were highly prized in Paris, 

 where it was grown in the winter gardens. It was unanimously agreed 

 that it would be highly desirable to send specimens of our perfume -bearing 

 plants to the Exhibition of 1862. 



Dr. Agnew remarked that cajeput oil of a superior kind had been obtained 

 by Dr. Officer from different kinds of Eucalyptus — chiefly, he believed, from 

 the leaves and capsules of the blue gum (E. piperita). 



Scarcity of Fibrous Substances. 



Mr. Archer then read a letter from the Colonial Secretary enclosing 

 a despatch from Sir G. C. Lewis, Secretary of State for the Home De- 

 partment, on " the extreme want felt by the manufacturing interest of 

 Great Britain, of raw material for the production of textile fabrics, which 

 has induced an application to the Committee of the General Association for 

 the Australian Colonies, for the purpose of discovering the existence (if 

 any) of some fibrous product in the Australian Continent which might tend 

 to remove the difficulty, and at the same time prove a sufficiently valuable 

 article of commerce to insure its being successfully and profitably cul- 

 tivated." 



The Secretary said that he hoped to receive communications on this 

 subject, especially from the Fellows of the Royal Society, so that he might 

 be in a position to make a full report to the governor before the departure 

 of the December mail. 



Scarcity of Oak Timber. 



The Secretary also read the following extract from a letter addressed to 

 him by Sir W. J. Hooker, Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, under date 

 Sept. 18, 1860 :— 



" The scarcity of good oak for naval timber is almost alarming, and the 

 cost of it beyond all bounds. The Admiralty are satisfied that they must 

 go elsewhere for timber, and that they must be more economical with their 

 best timber. It is the same in France and in America. And what they 



