81 
some parts of the North-west Provinces the seeds of Sterculia urens Roxb. are roasted, 
ground, and made into a sort of coffee " (Watts' Diet. Econ. Prod. India, vi, 3G5). 
The seeds of the Australian species of Bmchychiton or Sterculia have been but 
little examined. Mr. W. M. Hamlet, at the instigation of Mr. F. Turner, found a small 
percentage of Caftein in those of the Kurrajong, and the late Dr. J. Lauterer, of Brisbane, 
did not find any in B. trichosiphon and quadrifida. But, without raising great expecta- 
tions in the matter, the seeds of the Australian species should be all carefully analysed. 
Timber. Timber soft, spongy, and nearly useless. There is a family likeness 
amongst all Brachycliiton timbers, and this is one of the coarsest and most open-grained 
of the genus. Like other timbers belonging to this genus, it is fairly homogeneous. 
A slab in the Technological Museum, which had been seasoned over twenty-five years, 
had a weight which corresponded to 29 Ib. 4 oz. per cubic foot. It is lighter and more 
porous even than fig-timber. It is of little economic use. 
The wood is very porous and tough and resembles cane ; and from it the natives obtain fire, but by a 
different process to that with Quandong wood. They procure a piece about 1 inch thick, some 3 inches 
wide, and about a foot long ; in this they make a hole about | an inch deep, and the same in diameter ; into 
this hole they put some finely rubbed dry grass, and then with a round piece of the same wood, which fits 
easily into the hole, rub briskly backwards and forwards between the palms of the hands. The principle is 
the same, although the method is different as with the Quandong wood the hot dust produced by the 
friction causes the dry grass to ignite. I have never seen this method practised by the natives here, but 
they have described it to me. (K. H. Bennett, Ivanhoe, via Hay.) 
Exudation. The Kurrajong, like its allies, exudes a whitish gum which 
distantly reminds one of tragacanth, and which swells in water. I am not aware that 
any use has been found for it. 
Insects." The insects of the Kurrajong," by W. W. Froggatt, Agricultural, 
Gazette, N.8.W., for March, 1905, p. 226, with two plates, is a most interesting paper. 
gize. It is an umbrageous, medium-sized tree, only occasionally becoming 
a large tree. A Kurrajong on Weddin Mountain measured by the late Mr. Forester 
Postlethwaite was 16 feet in circumference at 5 feet from the ground. 
Habitat. It is confined to the eastern half of the continent, extending from 
Gippsland to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Northern Territory. It seems to have a 
partiality for a limestone formation. 
Following are the localities quoted in the " Flora Australiensis " ; the Western 
Australia locality quoted therein is that of B. Gregorii F.v.M. 
Queensland. Dawson River (F. Mueller); Rockhampton (Thozet); in the interior (Mitchell), 
according to the natives who eat the pods. 
New South Wales. From New England (C. Stuart) and Macleay River (Beckler) to Twofold Bay 
(F. Mueller) ; in the interior (Fraser) ; Lachlan River (A. Cunningham). 
Victoria. Granite ranges on Snowy River and its tributaries, and Hume River (F. Mueller). 
Following are some representative localities of specimens taken from the National 
Herbarium, Sydney. 
Victoria. Gippsland. 
New South Wales. Wentworth, Hay, Tumut to Yarning, .billy Caves, Bunvn- 
juck, Braid wood, Yass, Barber's Creek (Tallong). 
