Page:Journals of Several Expeditions Made in Western Australia.djvu/226

 sembles the fir in its foliage; it seems always to suffer much from fire. I wish to be accurate in these points, as it is a custom here to judge greatly of the quality of the soil from the timber it produces.

The grass tree is not uncommon, but of a different species from either the many-crested, or hastile; its trunk does not appear above ground, but the stalk that bears the flower and seed is much slenderer than ordinary; very light and straight. In the hand of an African it would no doubt have become an arrow; to the Australian savage it is of little use, except to stake round his fish-snares; it did not appear to yield the yellow gum, or rather resin. Wild celery grew very abundant on the side of the estuary. The natives make, however, a great point of our not eating it; signifying it would affect us with vomiting; some of these people had once before done the same thing, on my affecting to taste the nuts of the palm tree, which I knew to be emetic; as they, therefore, seemed to view unconcerned our dish of rock spinach, I was inclined to pay some regard to their exhortation.

Here, too, I recognised another plant which is found also growing on the rich stiff flats on the banks of the Blackwood; the flower much resembles groundsel, it has a strong taste of celery, and is often used in my house for flavouring pea-soup; pigs eat it readily. The clover I have mentioned before, is spread very generally over the ground. The purple marigold resembles the real marigold only in the radiated position of its petals, &c.; except for size, might as well be termed a sun-flower or daisy.

In this place, too, we met a sort of grass, which