90 NATIVE FLOWERS OF VICTORIA. 
compass. The plant is pervaded with a very strong 
resin, and in bee country this is very objectionable, 
for the flowers have a strong sweet fragrance which, 
of course, attracts the bees. From the plants they 
gather the resin in large quantities, and plaster it 
over the insides of the hives, flUing in aU the crevices 
and cracks. With it they also frequently seal on the 
lid. All up the holes in the queen-excluding board, 
fasten the frames to the sides of the hive, and almost 
close up the entrance. It would seem as if the bees 
were using the resin for the purpose of preventing 
the intrusion of enemies; but there are places where 
the resin is cemented, that stiU cause some enquiry. 
There is no apparent reason for this, and the pro- 
polis, as the resin is called, causes much trouble to 
the bee-keepers. Grass-trees usually grow on the 
poorest of sandy soils, and they are very difficult to 
transplant from the bush. The seedlings may be 
grown in sand, and afterwards planted out. The 
grass-tree is a plant of uncommon appearance when 
grown as a lawn specimen, which position suits its 
best. The grass trees growing on the lawns in the 
Melbourne Botanic Gardens, are growing in good stiff 
soil, and are thriving well. 
Without doubt, the most beautiful, and also the 
most rare of our lilies is a Mallee and Grampian plant 
called Calectasia cyanea, or the “blue tinsel Hly ” or 
“ satin flower.” The plant is a low sparse one, and 
the flower is fairly small, about an inch in diameter; 
but its striking colour, which is blue lake with a 
metallic satiny sheen, makes it a plant much sought 
after. The three sepals which look like petals, and 
