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In western New South Wales two kinds of galls are commonly found on 
these trees. One kind is very plentiful, very astringent, and not used, but the other 
while less abundant, is larger, succulent, and edible. These latter galls are called 
“ Mulga apples,” and arc said to be very welcome to the thirsty traveller. 
General Remarks on Mulga. 
Mr. C. J. McMaster, Chairman of the Western Lands Board, has very kindly 
furnished the following general remarks on Mulga :— 
Mr. D. W. F. Hatton, Inspector of Stock, stationed at Bourke, who has had many years practical 
experience in feeding stock upon Mulga, states :— 
“ There are four different kinds of Mulga in the Bourke district. Umbrella Mulga —so called 
because it somewhat resembles an open umbrella—grows on hard, stony ground, and attains a height of 
about 10 feet; it has a narrow leaf, and is a good stock food. Broad-leaved Mulga thrives best in the 
deeper and better soils in the valleys, between the stony ridges ; it grows about 15 to 20 feet high, but as 
a fodder tree does not rank as high as the umbrella or the yellow varieties. Black Mulga : The leaves are 
dark and narrow, and are shorter than the other narrow-leaved kinds, being only about 2 inches in length. 
It attains a height of from 15 to 20 feet. Yellow Mulga grows to about 20 feet high, and prefers sandy, 
red-soil ridges ; it is considered one of the best of the Mulgas for fodder purposes ; the leaf is comparatively 
broad, and has a yellow tinge. 
“ The leaves of all Mulgas are eaten by sheep and cattle, and the seeds, particularly, are relished 
and are very fattening; but horses, unless bred in Mulga country, do not take kindly to it.” 
Mulga appears to be the most universally distributed fodder tree in the arid parts of Australia, and 
during times of extreme drought the limbs (with the exception of one or two of the leading ones) are cut 
off for the benefit of the starving stock. 
In former years Mulgas have been destroyed on thousands of acres of land, because the precaution 
to leave at least one leading branch uncut was not observed ; but now that stock-owners realise that stock 
and rabbits eagerly devour young plants, and that, consequently, the supply of Mulga—the mainstay in 
times of drought—depends upon the proper treatment of the existing matured trees, they, as a rule, exercke 
the utmost care to conserve the trees as much as possible. 
If Mulga is cut off at the stump it will not throw out new growth. In this respect it differs from 
nearly every other Western foddei’-producing tree. 
Seeds.—The seeds were eaten by blacks, and continue to form part of the 
food of some aborigines to this very clay. I need scarcely say that they are 
astringent, and that they yield only a small proportion of starchy matter. 
Bark.— A specimen of the bark of this tree from Ivanhoe, via Hay, N.S.W., 
yielded 4*78 per cent, of tannic acid, and 10 per cent, of extract. A narrow-leaved 
variety (there is a form with much narrower leaves than the other) from the same 
neighbourhood yielded 20*72 per cent, of extract, and 8*02 per cent, of tannic acid. 
The former is a deeply-furrowed, flaky, pulverulent bark, apparently from an old 
