Page:Acclimatisation; its eminent adaptation to Australia.djvu/40

38 greater. The "gouramy," of which the drawing will convey an idea of only its external character, is as beautiful in its hues as singular in its form. The ground colour is orange, that of the back of a dark bronze, which passes in undulating lines over its sides. Its form is of a roundish oval, the head short, with a somewhat recurved snout, but the creature is particularly distinguished by the prolongation of the pectoral fins into thread-like processes several inches in length. It is celebrated for its flavour, and the native princes of Java keep these fish alive in large quantities in reservoirs. It has been acclimatised for some length of time at the Mauritius, where it thrives well, and attains a very large size.

It is impossible, in the limited time, which I believe I have already extended to an unreasonable length, to enter upon the insects capable of being introduced for commercial purposes, such as the cochineal and others, more especially the various species of silkworms (an account of which would furnish sufficient material for a lecture by itself), some of which feed upon the foliage of the mulberry tree, some on the castor Oil shrub, others on the oleanthus, or Japan varnish tree—and there is one wild species recently sent to Europe from Japan, which feeds upon the varieties of the oak tree. All, therefore, feed upon leaves of trees growing luxuriantly in this colony, and could be readily acclimatised, and the silk produced from them would become a great commercial value.

From the little time left I can only mention respecting plants, that of useful plants, we have had a number introduced, and so acclimatised in a very short time in this colony as to grow most luxuriantly; among others I may mention the bamboo, banana, loquat; the rice-paper plant, the grass-cloth plant, both from China; the rhea, or Assam grass, which produces a line and valuable fibre, allied, if not identical with the grass-cloth plant of China, and found in a wild state over the tropical Polynesian Islands;—and a number of other valuable trees and plants.

One of our indigenous trees, the gigantic nettle tree of Australia, attaining an elevation of from 50 to 120 feet, can produce an inexhaustible store of fibrous material, useful for various purposes; and from a bag, manufactured by the native blacks, and the specimens of the flax prepared from it, collected by my friend Mr. C. Moore, we may form some idea of its applicability to many kinds of manufacture. The tree grows in great abundance in the Illawarra district, but to