It deposits its honey in trees
and logs, without any regular comb, as in the case of the former.
These deposits are familiarly known in the colony as "sugar bags,"
(sugar bag meaning, aboriginice, anything sweet), and require some
experience and proficiency to detect and secure the aperture by which
the bees enter the trees, being undistinguishable to an unpractised
eye. The quantity of honey is sometimes very large, amounting to
several quarts. Enough was found on one occasion to more than
satisfy the whole party. Its flavor differs from that of European
honey almost as much as the bee does in appearance, being more
aromatic than the latter: it is also less crystalline. As the
celebrated "Narbonne honey" derives its excellence from the bees
feeding on the wild thyme of the south of France, so does the
Australian honey derive its superior flavour from the aromatic
flowers and shrubs on which the Wirotheree feeds, and which makes it
preferred by many to the European.
THE APPLE-GUM ('Angophora?')
I have been at some pains to discover to what species this tree
belongs, but further than that it is one of the almost universal
family of the Eucalypti, have not been able to identify it. As
mentioned in the text, it was found very valuable for forging
purposes by the Brothers, who were able to bring their horse-shoes
almost to a white heat by using it. It is like box in appearance,
and very hard.
TERRY'S BREECH-LOADERS.
This formidable weapon can hardly receive too high a commendation,
and to its telling efficiency is probably attributable the absence of
any casualty to the party in their many encounters with the savages.
Not only for its long range is it valuable, but for its superior
certainty in damp or wet weather, its charge remaining uninjured
after days and weeks of interval, and even after immersion in water,
making it available when an ordinary piece would be useless. The
effect of the conical bullet too is much more sure and complete,
which, when arms 'must' be resorted to, is of great importance.
THE MARAMIE.
This shell-fish is to be found in almost all the Australian rivers
and lagoons. It is in size and appearance very much like the little
cray-fish or "Ecrevisses" which usually garnish the "Vol-au-vent" of
Parisian cookery, and of very delicate flavor.
SPINIGEX, Spear Grass, Needle Grass, or "Saucy Jack" ('Triodia Irritans.')
This grass, so well known to all Australian travellers, is a certain
indication of a sandy sterile country. The spinifex found in the
Mally scrubs of the south attains a great size, generally assuming
the appearance of a large tuft or bush from one to two feet in
diameter, and twelve to eighteen inches high.
