NATURE NOTES FROM TASMANIA. 
93 
The sassafras tree and the native pepper tree are now in 
flower, as are also the gum trees. The sassafras is a tall hand- 
some evergreen tree of a somewhat pyramidal shape, with large 
glossy serrated leaves; it prefers a moist situation, such as the 
banks of a stream. When flowering the tree is exceptionally 
beautiful, being covered with open white blossoms like shallow 
cups, with pink centres. Many of these trees flower in July and 
.\ugust, before winter is over, and coming thus at a time when 
flowers are scarce, they are very acceptable for decorating, both 
foliage and blossoms being very ornamental. Both the bark and 
leaves are strongly aromatic, giving, like the musk-tree (Aster 
argophylltis), a delicious scent to the humid atmosphere in which 
they luxuriate. The bark is used by bush housewives for 
making a tonic beer, while the leaves are often put into a “billy” 
(the bush teapot, a circular tin can with handle) thus imparting 
an aromatic flavour to the brew of tea. This property is often 
made use of by those unfortunates like myself who spend part of 
their lives outside the radius of cow’s milk, for which the flavour 
imparted by the leaf is a sort of substitute. 
The pepper tree is much smaller than the sassafras and more 
shrubby in its growth ; it is, nevertheless, rather a handsome 
little tree, the bark and twigs being of a bright red hue, while 
the leaves are long and glossy. These latter have a very hot 
taste when bitten through. The flowers are small and white, 
easily falling when touched ; the black berries which follow are, 
when dried and ground, superior to ordinary pepper for table use, 
having an agreeable spicy flavour. 
September ii. — Found a curious miniature forest on the upper 
surface of the leaf of a stringy bark sapling, upon and around 
a portion of which the upper layer of tissue had been eaten 
away, and a mass of small uprights of vegetable fibre erected, 
standing thickly together. Some yellow mites were seen on the 
eaten portion, but their presence was probably accidental, the 
work being most likely that of a small lepidopterous larva living 
in a silken tunnel alongside. 
On the leaves of these saplings a scale insect is also frequently 
seen, a small roundish red insect covered with a dull yellow 
coating, except at the part where it adheres to the ribs of the 
leaf. This coccid turned out to be eriococcus coriaceus. 
Numbers of small ants are running rapidly up and down the 
saplings, in all probability obtaining sustenance from the coccids 
in the shape of honey dew. 
September 13. — The Australian swallow (Hirundo neoxena), 
corresponding to the English house-martin, arrives, a pretty 
little bird, very fearless, and a general favourite. The head and 
back are dark blue, throat and chest brownish red, abdomen 
white. On the township they build mud nests under the eaves of 
the houses ; when away from dwellings, which are somewhat 
sparse hereabouts, they make use of holes in the trunks of the 
big eucalypti for nesting. One pair build every year under the 
