Narrative Of The Overland Expedition Of The Messrs. Jardine, From Rockhampton To Cape York, Northern Queensland By Frank Jardine And Alexander Jardine
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This tree so named by Leichhardt's black-boys (described in Bentham's
'Flora Australiensis'), is very abundant north of the Einasleih,
which is possibly the extreme latitude of its zone south. It formed
an important accession to the food of the party, and it is highly
probable that their good health may be attributable to the quantity
of fruit, of which this was the principal, which they were able to
procure, there being no case of scurvy during the journey, a
distemper frequently engendering in settled districts, when there is
no possibility of varying the diet with vegetables. The foliage of
the tree is described as of a bright green, the fruit very abundant,
and much eaten by the natives. It is of about the size and
appearance of a yellow egg plum, and in taste like a mealy potatoe,
with, however, a trace of that astringency so common to Australian
wild fruits. The wood is well adapted for building purposes.
BURDEKIN DUCK ('Tadorna Raja').
This beautiful species of shelldrake, though not numerous, has a wide
range, extending from the richmond river to Cape York. It frequents
the more open flats at the mouths of rivers and creeks.
THE NATIVE BEE.
This little insect (called Wirotheree in the Wellington dialect), the
invasion of whose hoards so frequently added to the store of the
travellers, and no doubt assisted largely in maintaining their
health, is very different from the European bee, being in size and
appearance like the common house-fly.
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