GRASS GUM TREE. 
This curious tree is found in great perfec- 
tion on the barren tra6l of land which lays 
between Port Jackson and Botany Bay. It's 
height is various ; being in some five feet, in 
others not more than two, from the ground. 
The outside, or bark, invariable appears black, 
and as if it had been burnt to a cinder. 
From the sides exudes a yellow gum; 
which, being drawn out by the heat of the 
sun, falls to the ground, and is commonly 
found buried in large lumps in the sand. 
This gum, when dissolved in spirits and wa- 
ter, makes a pleasant beverage. The natives 
are seldom without it ; kneading it into a 
paste, with which they stop holes in their ca- 
noes, and secure the joints of their spears and 
fiz>gigs. 
From the head of this tree proceeds a quan- 
tity of long, coarse grass, of which they make 
torches ; 
