130 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
by the blooming of certain plants; for instance, when the brilliant | 
flowers of the waratah, or native tulip, appear, it is an indication 
to them that the sole is to be found on the sandbanks about 
Botany Bay and Cook’s River. According, also, to the flowering 
of other trees and shrubs, the time is known to them for the 
advent of the mullet, king fish, schnapper, gurnet, &c., and that 
they will be found in the bays and harbours of the coast. In 
civilised England they also consider certain periodical occurrences 
of nature in flowersasguidestoanglingand other rural occupations. 
When the alder buds are developed the fishermen consider the 
eels leave their winter haunts. When the wheat blossoms, the 
angler considers the perch will bite readily. The flowering of 
certain plants in England is also associated with particulars days 
and festivals. For instance, St. George’s Day is associated with 
the bluebell ; the guelder rose, or snowball tree (Viburnum), with 
Whitsuntide ; and the flowering of the elder (Sambucus nigra), 
with sheep shearing. The mulberry (Morus nigra), both in 
England and New South Wales, is a very shy tree, and when its 
foliage is fully developed we may regard the summer season as 
established ; then the gardener in England considers he may 
safely place his exotics in the open air, without sustaining any 
injury from cold. The sunflower (Helianthus) is becoming, from 
its utility, much cultivated in New South Wales. The large 
species was brought by the Spaniards from Peru, where it was 
consecrated to the sun worship ; and the virgins of the sun, when 
officiating in the temple, were crowned with the flowers, wearing 
some on their breasts and holding others in their hands, which 
was described as a spectacle of imposing grandeur. I mention 
the sunflower to relate that, from all the beautiful flowering 
plants introduced and naturalised in New South Wales, the sun- 
flower is the only one selected by the aborigines for cultivation, 
probably from its rapid growth, the little care it requires, or more 
likely from the large size and splendid appearance of the flower. 
At Moruya and other districts in New South Wales, it is 
highly prized by the aborigines. They procure the seeds and 
plant them when located for some time near their gunyahs 
or huts, and are delighted, with true esthetic taste, to behold 
the development of the splendid flowers. The aborigines 
carefully preserve the seeds, but they make no further use of 
them than to grow their favourite flowers the next year. I 
will detain you a little longer to direct your attention to a 
very interesting subject, that of folk lore of trees and flowers, 
with a brief account of three which came under my immediate 
observation, and of which specimens are before you. The first 
is the Samphire (Chrithmum), which is confined to the rocky 
sea shore. The etymology of this plant is somewhat curious. It 
was formerly written sampier, a corruption of St. Pierre, and by 
the Italians, herba di San Pietro. Thus a plant properly called 
rock cress, from its growing in the crevices of rocks, came to be 
known as Peter’s cress (the name Peter meaning a rock), The 
change to St. Peter’s herb was an easy one, the prefix being 
wr aS © DA Bi Bee 
