bstance, about the
eighth of an inch in thickness, enclosing a large round stone, which,
upon being broken, yields a well-flavoured kernel. The edible part of the
fruit has an agreeable acid taste, and makes excellent puddings or
preserves, for which purpose it is now extensively used by Europeans. The
shrub on which this grows, is very elegant and graceful, and varies from
four to twelve feet in height. [Note 71: A species of fusanus.] When in
full bearing, nothing can exceed its beauty, drooping beneath its
crimson load.

Another shrub found in the scrubs, may sometimes be mistaken for this, as
it bears in appearance a similar fruit; but on being tasted, it is bitter
and nauseous. This in the Murray dialect is called "netting." The natives
prepare it by baking it in an oven, which takes the bitter taste away.
The "netting" is earlier in season than the "ketango."

2. A berry about the size and shape of a large sloe, but with a smaller
stone; conical in shape, and rounded at the large end. This fruit is
juicy and saline, though not disagreeable in taste. There are several
varieties of it, which when ripe are of a black, red, or yellow colour.
The black is the best. The bush upon which it grows is a salsolaceous
bramble [Note 72: Nitraria Australis], and is found in large quantities
on the saline flats, bordering some parts of the Murrumbidgee and Murray
rivers; and along the low parts of the southern coast, immediately behind
the ridges bounding the sea shore. It is a staple article of food in its
season, among the natives of those districts where it abounds, and is
eaten by them raw, stone and all.

3. A small berry or currant, called by the natives of Moorunde
"eertapko," about the size of No. 2. shot. When ripe it is red, and of an
agreeable acid flavour. It grows upon a low creeping tap-rooted plant, of
a salsolaceous character, found in the alluvial flats of the Murray,
among the polygonum brushes, and in many other places. A single plant
will spread over an area of many yards in diameter, covering the dry and
arid ground with a close, soft, and velvety carpet in the heat of summer,
at which time the fruit is in perfection. To collect so small a berry
with facility, and in abundance, the natives cut a rounded tray of thin
bark, two or three feet long, and six or eight inches wide, over this
they lift up the plant, upon which the fruit grows, and shake the berries
into it. When a sufficiency has been collected, t