186 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
the filaments cohere at the base into a distinct tube, was also. 
noticed by Bentham, who included specimens collected on. 
the Pine River, Queensland, by Fitzalan, ‘‘with the filaments. 
united at the base,’’ under C. lanceolatus. 
These specimens are in the collection. at the National. 
Herbarium, Melbourne, and should be now named. 
C. viminalis. 
A key to the species of the genus Callistemon is pub- 
lished in part 3 of Mr. Maiden’s ‘‘Illustrations of the New 
South Wales Plants.”’ 
An interesting specimen was also exhibited by Mr. Cheel,, 
of the Solomon Island ivory nut (Coelococcus solomonensis), 
with the embryo taken out of the outer shell, and showing. 
the rootlets fairly well advanced. 
Vurcues anp Lupins.—Mr. EH. Cheel exhibited some in-- 
teresting specimens of ‘“‘Wild Vetches,’’ including Vicia; 
villosa, commonly known as ‘“‘Hairy Vetch,’’ a native of 
Western Asia. Vicia tetrasperma, sometimes called ‘‘Len- 
til Vetch,” also a native of Western Asia, North Africa, and 
Europe, and Vicia sativa var. augustifolia, a narrow-- 
leaved form of the cultivated “Spring vetch,’’ or ‘“Tare.’’ 
These three vetches, it was explained, were growing very 
luxuriously in the neighbourhood of Tempe all through the- 
cold winter months of July, August, and September, and 
were now (October) forming their pods very freely. 
Farmers and pastoralists often complain of the scanty 
supply of herbage during the cold winter months, yet these- 
plants thrive without any preparation of the soil, and would 
supply a large amount of herbage for feeding stock. If the 
seeds wero gathered and cared for, in a few years the vetches- 
might be just as useful as the “‘Kidney Vetch’? (Anthyllis 
vulneraria), proved to be in Europe. This species is a legume: 
found wild in Europe, and was first introduced into cultiva- 
tion by a German peasant about fifty years ago. It appears 
that this plant was seen to grow on the calcaraceous soils of 
dry hill-sides in places too poor to support wild clovers. The: 
peasant gathered a few seeds, sowed them the next year, and 
kept on sowing them and saving the seed until he had enough 
to plant quite a large field. From this small beginning the- 
cultivation of the “Kidney Vetch’? has spread through 
Northern Germany and many other countries, 
Some specimens of Lupinus hirsutws were also exhibited, 
which have become naturalised at Tempe, and grow luxuri-. 
antly through the winter months. 
_This species, it waa explained, had been a great boon to» 
