The Aborigines Are Particularly Fond Of The Bunya Nuts, Which Are As Large As A Full Sized Almond, Including The Shell, And, In Good Seasons, Come From A Distance Of 100 Or 200 Miles To Feast Upon Them."]

Bark from the roots of trees and shrubs is roasted, and then pounded between two stones for use.

Gums exude from the trees on which they are procured. These are generally varieties of the Mimosa.

Manna exudes in great abundance from the tree already mentioned, as constituting the firewood which the natives use in fishing by night. It is of a mottled red or brown colour, of a firm consistency and sweet taste, resembling exactly in appearance, flavour, and colour, the manna used medicinally in Europe.

Another variety is yielded by the Eucalyptus mannifera and is found early in the morning under the tree, scattered on the ground. This is beautifully white and delicate, resembling flakes of snow.

Honey is procured by steeping the cones of the Banksia or other melliferous flowers in water. It is procured pure from the hives of the native bees, found in cavities of rocks, and the hollow branches of trees. The method of discovering the hive is ingenious. Having caught one of the honey bees, which in size exceeds very little the common house fly, the native sticks a piece of feather or white down to it with gum, and then letting it go, sets off after it as fast as he can: keeping his eye steadily fixed upon the insect, he rushes along like a madman, tumbling over trees and bushes that lie in his way, but rarely losing sight of his object, until conducted to its well-filled store, he is amply paid for all his trouble. The honey is not so firm as that of the English bee, but is of very fine flavour and quality.

White ants are dug in great numbers out of their nests in the ground, which are generally found in the scrubs. They are a favourite food of the natives in the spring of the year. The females only are used, and at a time just before depositing their eggs. They are separated from the dirt that is taken up with them, by being thrown into the air, and caught again upon a trough of bark.

The eggs of birds are extensively eaten by the natives, being chiefly confined to those kinds that leave the nest at birth, as the leipoa, the emu, the swan, the goose, the duck, etc. But of others, where the young remain some time in the nest after being hatched, the eggs are usually left, and the young taken before they can fly. The eggs of the leipoa, or native pheasant, are found in singular-looking mounds of sand, thrown up by the bird in the midst of the scrubs, and often measuring several yards in circumference. The egg is about the size of the goose egg, but the shell is extremely thin and fragile. The young are hatched by the heat of the sand and leaves, with which the eggs are covered. Each egg is deposited separately, and the number found in one nest varies from one to ten.

One nest that I examined, and that only a small one, was twelve yards in circumference, eighteen inches high, and shaped like a dome. It was formed entirely of sand scraped up by the bird with its feet. Under the centre of the dome, and below the level of the surrounding ground was an irregular oval hole, about eighteen inches deep, and twelve in diameter. In this, the eggs were deposited in different layers among sand and leaves; on the lower tier was only one egg, on the next two, at a depth of four or five inches from the ground. All the eggs were placed upon their smaller ends, and standing upright. The colour of the egg is a dark reddish pink; its length, three inches six-tenths; breadth, two inches two-tenths; circumference, lengthwise, ten inches, and across, seven inches two-tenths. The eggs appear to be deposited at considerable intervals. In the nest alluded to, two eggs had only been laid sixteen days after it was discovered, at which time there had been one previously deposited. The bird is shaped like a hen pheasant, of a brownish colour, barred with black, and its weight is about four pounds and a half.

The eggs of the emu are rather smaller than those of the ostrich. They are of a dark green colour and the shell is very thick. They are deposited by the bird almost upon the ground, in the vicinity of a few bushes, or tufts of grass, and usually in a country that is tolerably open; a great many eggs are found in one nest, so that it is generally looked upon by the natives as a great prize.

Eggs are eaten in all stages. I have even seen rotten ones roasted, and devoured with great relish.

Kangaroos are speared, netted, or caught in pit falls. Four methods of spearing them are practised. 1st. A native travelling with his family through the woods, when he sees a kangaroo feeding or sleeping, will steal silently and cautiously upon it, keeping, as he advances, a tree or shrub between himself and the animal, or holding up before him, if he be in an open place, a large branch of a tree, until sufficiently near to throw the fatal weapon. 2ndly. Two natives get upon the track of a kangaroo, which they follow up perseveringly even for two or three days, sleeping upon it at night, and renewing their pursuit in the morning, until, at last, the wearied animal, fairly tired out by its relentless pursuers, is no longer able to fly before them, and at last becomes a prize to the perseverance of the hunters. 3rdly. A small hut of reeds is made near the springs, or water holes, in those districts, where water is scarce; and in this, or in the top of a tree, if there be one near, the native carefully conceals himself, and patiently waits until his game comes to drink, when he is almost sure to strike it with his spear, seldom quitting his lurking place without an ample remuneration for his confinement.

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