The South Australian Naturalist. 
47 
company of several American scientific men, one of them broke 
a pause in the conversation by remarking, partly to himself: 
“There’s a characteristic Australian flora.” It happened that the 
country we were going through was particularly flinty and dry; the 
jflants, from the eucalypts to the heath, were all of a decidedly xer- 
ophytic type. It was not what we call a pretty bush scene, and 
my national pride demanded that 1 should call attention to the 
glories of the Queensland “jungle,” to the beauties of the West 
Australian kauri country, to the semi-tropical forests of Eastern 
\ew South Wales, to the fern gullies of Gippsland, and to the 
wonderful forest tangle of the West Coast of Tasmania. But he 
brushed them all aside — he had seen most of them — they were 
beautiful, but not characteristically Australian. Both these little 
incidents are ciuoted in illustration of the important fact that we 
Australians must realise, however reluctantly, that our character- 
istic Australian bush flora is a xerophytic one — a suite of plants 
accommodated to dry conditions, enjoying them and thriving in 
them. 
Professor Osborn points out that as we approach the line of 
10 inch rainfall from the moister areas, the eucalypts tend to dis- 
appear. Over large areas they still remain dominant in the modi- 
fied form of those graceful trees we call the “mallee.” It is clear, 
says the professor, that the term “mallee” must pass into ecologi- 
cal usage as one descriptive of a definite vegetation type. Fur- 
ther towards the interior the eucalypt occurs only in the fringing 
of streams. According to conditions there we have also the 
“mulga scrub association,” the eremophila association, or the 
saltbush community of the wide saltbush plains. Travellers on 
the east-west line must note the remarkable and sudden break 
from the scrub vegetation of the eastern sandy areas to the salt- 
bush and bluebush of the more arid limestone plains of the Nulla- 
bor. Those wlio desire to know more of these plant communities 
of our arid lands should consult Professor Osborn’s paper, vol. 
40 . Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 
(Published by kind permission of the proprietors of “The Australasian”). 
WANTED! AN AQUATIC BOTANIST. 
Dear Mr. Editor, 
You have asked me to supply some notes on the annual excursion 
of the S.A. Aquarium Society recently held for the Investigation 
of the Finniss River. y\s I have already supplied a popular ar- 
ticle to the Adelaide “Register” (Feb. 6th.) on the subject of this 
outing, you will perhaps allow me to substitute a note under 
the above heading, a note really inspired by difficulties encounter- 
ed during the excursion in question. 
