106 FOOD OF THE ABORIGINES OF CENTRAL AUSTRALIA. 



" paddy" is black, with long awns. It is interesting, in Aus- 

 tralia, to find one of the original soarces of a cereal which has 

 been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. 



Leersia Hexandra, Swartz. — ^The rice-grass of Bailey is 

 common in our swamps, and edible grain could be collected 

 from it. Some of the seeds swell out to a large size, being 

 diseased. 



All grass-seeds that could be collected in quantity are, so far 

 as known, safe to eat, though, in damp seasons, some are 

 effected with ergot, and should be avoided. 



No. 4. Munyerog, Seed of Pigweed, Portulaca. — Somewhat 

 kidney-shaped minute seeds, black, pitted, and shining. They con- 

 sist mainly of oil, and would be, perhaps, the most valuable of 

 all the specimens of native food under examination. Mr. Bailey 

 says of Portulaca oleracea Linn : — " The seeds of this plant 

 are largely used for food by the natives of Western Queensland. 

 One would suppose that so small a seed would scarcely repay 

 the labour of collecting, but it seems the natives obtain large 

 quantities by pulling up the plants, throwing them in heaps, 

 which, after a few days, they turn over, and an abundant supply 

 of seed is found to have fallen out. and can be easily gathered 

 up. The food prepared from this seed is said to be highly 

 nutritious." 



Mr. Palmer says: — "Native name on the Cloncurry, 

 'Thukouro.' Grows, after the wet season, on the banks of 

 rivers and on sand-ridges in great quantities. The stalks are 

 roasted in the ashes, which softens them, and then eaten ; also 

 eaten raw. The plant is gathered in heaps and, after drying a 

 little time, the seeds fall off, and are gathered with mussel- 

 shells, ground between two stones, and roasted." 



According to Mr. Gayson, the plant at Cooper's Creek is 

 called "Munyeroo," and the seeds " Kunaurra." 



Baron von Miiller, in Brough Smyth's book, vol. I., p. 213, 

 says that a native can gather many pounds weight of the seeds 

 in a day, that the plants, cleaned of sand and earth, are 

 placed on skins or bark, when, on drying, the lids drop off the 

 fruits, and the seeds fall out. 



No. 5. YowA. — Bulbs of an undetermined plant, half-an- 

 inch long, pointed at both ends, with loose, epidermal covering. 

 On section, they look like small onions. They are tasteless, 

 farinaceous, and pleasant to eat. 



The starch is small, with concentric rings, best seen under 

 the quarter-inch objective. As the bulblets are living, and the 



