NEW SOUTH WALES. 189 



wood which they called " Curagong," were also observed in use, but, 

 the trees were not seen. 



The grass tree (Xanthorrhcea hastilis) did not equal our expecta- ' 

 tions, which were probably too highly raised by the descriptions of 

 those who had gone before us ; yet when in flower it must be a con- 

 spicuous object, and in all stages of growth suits well for the fore- 

 ground of a picture. 



Among the most singular of the productions of Australia are the 

 wooden pears, as they are called. These have a close external 

 resemblance to the fruit whose name they bear, but are ligneous 

 within. Another of the fruits is a cherry whose stone is external, 

 and would be similar to our fruit of that name were the kernel in its 

 proper place. The pit adheres firmly to the pulp, which is of the 

 size of a pistol-bullet, but the fruit shrinks when ripe to that of a buck- 

 shot. The pear grows on a low shrub, the cherry on a large bush. 



I have before remarked how different the "forest," so called in 

 New South Wales, is from what is understood by the term elsewhere. 

 The want of close growth is not the only remarkable appearance, but 

 the absence of all decayed foliage is also extraordinary. The ground 

 is clear of any fallen leaves, and every thing betokens that perennial 

 verdure is here the order of things. These two features combined, 

 give the forests of Australia the air of a neatly-kept park. Annual 

 plants, (if so they can be called,) abound in the forest, requiring, it 

 is said, more than a single year to bring their seeds to maturity. 

 There were instances we were told of crops of grain remaining three 

 years in the ground. A few plants found in other parts of the world, 

 are, it is well known, only brought into existence after a lapse of 

 years, and others give repeated crops during the same year. That 

 these types, so rare in other countries, should be abundant in Aus- 

 tralia, is not remarkable when it is considered that they are but 

 instances of an almost complete diversity between the natural history 

 of this country and that of other regions. 



The timber of the Australian trees is generally of greater specific 

 gravity than water. 



The remark, that the leaves of the trees are wood, and their wood 

 iron, is not inappropriate to most of the plants of this country. It is 

 not, however, to be inferred that all the plants are different from those 

 of other countries; so far from this being the case, a considerable 

 admixture of ordinary forms was met with. Among these were a 

 great variety of grasses, some of which were before considered to be 



vol. ii. 48 



