Page:Descriptive account of the panoramic view, &c. of King George's Sound, and the adjacent country.djvu/12

 12 It is peculiar to this part of the continent, and is further remarkable, in the family to which it belongs, for not being parasitical.

The Banksia is another of the trees which are peculiar to Australia. The natives gather the flowers, from which they extract a sweet juice resembling honey.

The Kingia.—The tallest of the tufted trees in the foreground is only found on this part of the continent.

The small-tufted tree, with the spear springing from the centre, represents the Xanthorrhea, or grass-tree. A resinous substance exudes from its bark, which is used by the natives in fastening the barbs of their spears — in fixing the sharp quartz blades into the wooden hafts of their knives — and in cementing the stone heads of their hammers: the stem is a good substitute for coal, and makes a cheerful fire.

The Melaleuca, or, as it is termed in the colony, the tea tree, (fronting Albany in the foreground) is a low tree, generally growing on the borders of swamps, although it is sometimes found on the high land. The bark is lamellated, and the inner folds may be familiarly described as resembling tissue paper. It is used by the natives as a covering for their wigwams.

The Mahogany, (a species of Eucalyptus) although at present little known in England, is likely soon to become valuable as an article of export. Immense