O14 Wlarvels of the Universe 
Photo by) {W. Saville Kent. 
THE UNDERGROUND GRASS-TREE. 
So called because the long black trunk which is apparent in 
the Drumstick is here hidden underground. The flower-spikes are 
shown fully developed; they are completely studded with tiny 
white star-like florets. 
sufficiently interesting to merit a few lines of 
description. 
There are several different species of 
these Grass Gum-trees, some having quite 
short stems, others tall, thick trunks. Seen 
from a little distance, the short-stemmed 
kind when in flower might easily be mistaken 
for a near relation of our common reed- 
mace or cat’s-tail—often erroneously called 
bulrush. As a matter of fact the Grass Gum- 
trees are lilies, but that fact is only to be 
discovered by dissecting out one of the 
flowers from the densely packed assemblage 
of them that makes up the tall cylindrical 
flower-spike, often fifteen or twenty feet high, 
formerly mistaken for the black boy’s spear. 
The leaves are very long and grass-like, and 
form a dense tuft at the top of the stem, 
whence they curve gracefully outwards and 
downwards. The white heart of the top of 
the stem, consisting mainly of tender, un- 
developed leaves, is esteemed as food by the 
natives, whilst the colonists make use of the 
“ares” aS uodelsr ie Wisi Caudle, ne 
taller species have rough-coated trunks re- 
sembling thosé of palms, the rough exterior 
being due to the bases of former leaves which 
are cemented together by a red or yellow 
resin which they pour out freely, and from 
which they derive part of their name. These 
resins are fragrant, and the yellow kind is 
known commercially as Botany Bay Resin, 
the red as Black-boy Gum. 
Another group of Australian plants are 
known as Grass-trees—without any mention 
of gum—and they have a close superficial 
resemblance to the Black Boys, though the 
flower-spike is globose instead of cylindrical. 
Strange to say these Grass-trees are not 
related to the others, being great rushes 
instead of lilies. But then some botanists 
regard the rushes as degenerate lilies. 
EUS ILAIRGIBSI Ole Wels, IyAIs 
BY SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G. 
Our general idea in Great Britain of a Bat is a small animal, not much bigger than a mouse ; in 
fact, ‘“‘ Flitter-mouse ” is an early name for Bat in English, and, in scarcely different pronunciation 
and spelling, in German. The Insect-eating Bats are for the most part small, though some of them 
