he lateral roots are still made use of, but the smaller
ones generally are selected, such as vary in diameter from an inch
downwards. The roots being dug up, the bark is peeled off and roasted
crisp in hot ashes; it is then pounded between two stones, and has a
pleasant farinaceous taste, strongly resembling that of malt. I have
often seen the natives eating this, and have frequently eaten it myself
in small quantities. How far it alone would support life, or sustain a
man in strength, I have of course no means of forming an opinion; but it
is, probably, only resorted to when other food is scarce. Several of the
roots of other shrubs are also used for food, and some of them are
mucilaginous and very palatable.

Throughout the greater portion of New Holland, where there do not happen
to be European settlers, and invariably where fresh water can be
permanently procured upon the surface, the native experiences no
difficulty whatever in procuring food in abundance all the year round. It
is true that the character of his diet varies with the changing seasons,
and the formation of the country he inhabits; but it rarely happens that
any season of the year, or any description of country does not yield him
both animal and vegetable food. Amongst the almost unlimited catalogue of
edible articles used by the natives of Australia, the following may be
classed as the chief:--all salt and fresh-water fish and shell-fish, of
which, in the larger rivers, there are vast numbers and many species;
freshwater turtle; frogs of different kinds; rats and mice; lizards, and
most kinds of snakes and reptiles; grubs of all kinds; moths of several
varieties; fungi, and many sorts of roots; the leaves and tops of a
variety of plants; the leaf and fruit of the mesembryanthemum; various
kinds of fruits and berries; the bark from the roots of many trees and
shrubs; the seeds of leguminous plants; gum from several species of
acacia; different sorts of manna; honey from the native bee, and also
from the flowers of the Banksia, by soaking them in water; the tender
leaves of the grass-tree; the larvae of insects; white ants; eggs of
birds; turtles or lizards; many kinds of kangaroo; opossums; squirrels,
sloths, and wallabies; ducks; geese; teal; cockatoos; parrots; wild dogs
and wombats; the native companion; the wild turkey; the swan; the
pelican; the leipoa, and an endless variety of water-fowl, and other
descriptions of birds.

Of these articles, man