Treasures of the Queensland Bush.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3853, 3 December 1917, Page 4

Treasures of the Queensland Bush.

The native flowers and the vegetation of the Tropical and sub-Tropical districts of Queensland have a beauty all their own. The bush is rich with • interest. The birds, (lowers, trees, and animals adorn the landscape with a wealth and a charm that knows no hounds. The silky oak, for example, when cut at different, angles, and planed is one of the prettiest grained woods in the world.The ma]>le, cedar, beefwood, maiden's blush, tulip, rosewood, and bean have a variety, soilness in appearance, and elegance that is seldom surpassed. What is more charming than a ' "billabong" (an effluent from a river) fringed with those glorious waterlilies, blue, red, or golden, with their fresh, thick leaves floating on" the surface of the still, crystal water,™ reflecting the surrounding forest with its giants crowned by the dark foliage, peculiar to the Queensland trees, and in which the sporting duck, - swan, or pelican find scope and food for their young ? • The Queensland birds, for variety '- song, and plumage, are unrivalled. The lyre-bird, regentbird, parrot, bower-bird, pheasant, kingfisher, and the rifle-bird are among the Ui.igs of the feathered inhabitants of the forests. The Queensland magpie is one of the finest songbirds in the world. Tts clear, loud, and liquid note is heard with delight by. every person who plunges into the forest or scrub. The dismal note of the curlew, or the melancholy call of the .'mo-poke on the still nights are a- comfort to the lonely camper. The gra-oCul swan, picturesque pelican, and stately stork as they haunt the inland waters-, command the admiration of the dul- ■■; lest eye.