466 
BOTANY  BAY  OR  GRASS-TREE  GUM. 
inexhaustible  quantities.  X.  hastilis,  australis .  and  arborea 
seem  to  be  the  most  generally  diffused  species. 
A  late  Melbourne  paper  thus  speaks  of  the  tree  : — "  There  are 
few  who  have  ever  travelled  any  distance  in  Victoria  but  have 
met  with  the  grass-tree,  which  is  to  be  found  in  nearly  ail  parts 
of  Australia.  Up  to  a  few  months  ago  it  was  supposed  only  to 
be  a  useless  growth  encumbering  the  land.  A  few  knew  from 
the  natives  that  it  contained  a  very  tenacious  gum..  The  blacks 
used  it  as  a  glue  for  joining  parts  of  their  weapons,  but  it  is  only 
within  the  last  few  months  that  the  following  valuable  articles 
have  been  obtained,  after  great  labor  and  expense,  by  a  Mr. 
Dodd,  St.  Romain's.  The  place  where  Mr.  Dodd  has  erected 
his  works  to  carry  on  the  experiments  is  situated  about  eighteen 
miles  in  a  southerly  direction  from  Colac,  and  here  for  some 
months  past  experiments  have  been  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  grass-tree.  The  root  is  the  portion  used  in  these  ex- 
periments, and  usually  weighs  from  10  lb.  to  50  lb.  The  root 
is  composed  of  the  stems  growing  in  a  close  mass  around  the  inner 
portion  or  kernel.  From  the  outer  portion  gum  shellac  in  large 
quantities  is  obtainable  ;  the  refuse  contains  a  large  quantity  of 
gas,  and  can  be  made  available  for  lighting  the  works.  From 
the  inner  portion  is  extracted,  by  pressing  and  distilling,  a  spirit 
equal  to  the  best  brandy ;  after  distilling,  a  quantity  of  saccha- 
rine matter  remains,  from  which  sugar  can  be  extracted.  The 
present  supply  of  grass-tree  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Romain's 
is  computed  to  be  equal  to  a  supply  of  600  tons  per  week  for 
the  next  ten  years.  Great  quantities  of  young  grass-trees 
abound,  which  will  keep  up  the  supply,  and  doubtless  cultivation 
will  enlarge  the  roots." 
In  a  paper  which  we  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts,  in  1855, 
"  On  the  Gums  and  Resins  of  Commerce,"  we  entered  rather 
fully  into  the  character  and  uses  of  this  resin.  We  therein 
stated  that  Captain  Wray,  R.E.,  submitted  a  report  to  the  local 
authorities  of  Western  Australia  in  1854,  on  the  manufacture  of 
illuminating  gas  from  the  Xanthorrhoea  at  one-third  the  expense 
of  lighting  with  oil  or  candles. 
The  plant  grows  in  abundance  all  over  Western  Australia,  and 
is  composed  of  a  core  of  hard,  fibrous  pith,  about  half  of  it,s 
