NOTES OF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS. 
AUSTRALIA, Queensland. Dr. Alexander Graham Bell reports on 
several plants observed in Queensland, among them the follow- 
ing: Near Kuranda a very tempting fruit, known as the finger 
cherry, is found. It is red, like a cherry, and is about the 
shape and size of a finger. It is said to be poisonous and 
occasionally to cause blindness in those who eat it. However, 
Mr. Wriede, the station master at Kuranda, says that he used 
to eat it freely without ill effects, and that the children 
are quite fond of it. 
In the scrub near Kuranda we noticed trees bearing pods 
about the size and shape of a banana, but at least twice the 
diameter. Upon opening the pods they were found to contain 
huge beans that look very much like chestnuts. They have a 
leathery skin and the interior is white and not very hard, 
about the consistency of a nut. I tasted one of the beans, 
although I was told it was poisonous. It tasted very much 
like a nut but had no distinctive flavor. In spite of the 
poisonous nature of the bean the "black fellows" have learned 
to use it as food. They first roast the beans in hot ashes, 
then skin them and pound the white flesh into coarse flour. 
They fill a basket with this flour anrl place it in running 
water all night. In this way the poisonous principle is washed 
out. 
The prickly pear in Australia has become such a nuisance 
that enormous sums are paid to get rid of it. Land is practi- 
cally given away to persons who will undertake to clear it of 
prickly pear. Mr. Jones suggests that instead of spending 
money in the useless task of attempting to eradicate it, the 
Australians should make it of use and make a profit out of it. 
He has considered the question of manufacturing paper from it 
but the outlook is not encouraging. It has too much juice and 
not enough fiber. He thinks alcohol could be made from it, as 
it contains about 5 per cent reducing sugar. At all events he 
says a fortune awaits the man who can find a use for it. 
FORMOSA, Taihoku. Mr. Takiya Kawakami, Sept. 8. Writes that he 
will send, by the end of the present year, the three varieties 
of sugar cane cultivated at the Formosa Sugar Experimental 
Station. Chinese names, Chiku-cha, An-cha an3 Ra-cha. 
* 
TRANSVAAL, Pretoria. Prof. J. Burtt-Davy, Sept. 6. Writes in re 
gard to Acacia robusta (S.P.I. No. 28550), that it is a char- 
acteristic tree of the dry bush veld below 4,500 feet altitude 
i.e., in the subtropical zone of the Transvaal. The wood is 
sometimes used for fence posts when the rarer and harder sorts 
such as Olea verrucosa, are not available. 
