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In dealing with New South Wales plants, I have not referred either to weeds or to 
cultivated plants. A useful list could only be submitted by a conference of agriculturists, 
say, of inspectors of agriculture at their annual gatherings, and amended, if necessary, 
from year to year. 
Tentative Selection of Plants for Phenological Observations. 
In Britain the selection of plants for phenological observations is comparatively 
easy, firstly, because the vast majority of plants have vernacular names with which a 
large number of people are familiar (indeed, in the Reports of the Royal Meteorological 
Society the plants are referred to by their vernacular names only), and, secondly, because 
an enormous amount of information in regard to the flowering periods of plants is already 
a matter of common knowledge. 
In our extensive State, to say nothing of other Australian States, we shall probably 
find it desirable to submit lists of three groups of plants, as already hinted e.g., 1, Coast ; 
2, Table-lands ; 3, Western Plains. 
Following are some of the practical difficulties in submitting lists of plants in 
Australia : 
1 . Few of our plants have common names. 
2. Many names are more or less confusing i.e., we have more than one Blackbutt, 
Peppermint, Stringybark, Grey Box, Red Gum, &c. Of such plants as " Tea-trees " and 
" Everlastings," " Buttercups," and " Goodenias,'' we have so many as to cause 
difficulty. 
3. Big trees are not suitable as a rule, as they are too high up, and their flowers 
are often inconspicuous. Trees are much higher in Australia than in Britain as a 
general rule. 
4. There is readily room for confusion amongst Green and Black Wattles, well 
as most people know them in a particular district. There is even difficulty with the 
Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum), as many people ignore the true flowers 
and only take note of the coloured calyces. 
New South Wales, for the purpose of these observations, may be provisionally 
divided into the following regions : (1) Coast districts; (2) Table-land and Western 
Slopes; (3) Western Plains. 
Following are some well-known plants diffidently submitted to form a preliminary 
list to serve as a basis for making selections : 
Coast Districts. 
Eucalyptus paniculata, " Grey Ironbark." 
,, microcorys, " Tallow Wood." 
longifolia, " Woolly Butt." 
resinifera, " Red Mahogany." 
corymbosa, " Bloodwood." 
,, maculata, " Spotted Gum." 
siderophloia, " Broad-leaved Ironbark." 
