dered that fish to be their peculiar property. Grubs are a
favourite food with some of the Australian natives, and, in order to
procure them, they are at the pains of breaking off the top of the trees
frequented by these grubs, since, until its top is dead, the trees do
not afford a proper abode for them. Grubs are eaten either raw, or
else roasted in much the same manner as the fish are. But taste is
proverbially a subject concerning which there is no accounting by
reason, as we must confess when we find _snakes_, _lizards_, _rats_,
_mice_, and _weasels_ among Australian dainties. The smaller quadrupeds
are not skinned before they are cooked, but are dressed with the skin,
the fur being only singed off; and hunger renders these not only
palatable but digestible. Salt is rarely or never used by the natives,
until they have been taught its use by Europeans; and even then they do
not relish it at first, any more than other sauces or condiments;
indeed, it is quite laughable to see their grimaces the first time that
they taste _mustard_ upon a piece of meat.

Among vegetable productions there are many roots, which are eaten by the
natives. It is commonly the office of the women to dig for roots, for
which purpose they carry a long pointed stick to loosen the earth, and
that is afterwards scooped up by the fingers of the left hand. Their
withered arms and hands, covered with earth by digging and scraping
after food, resemble, as they advance in years, the limbs and claws of
a quadruped more than those of a human being. In stiff soils, this
operation of digging can only be performed when the earth is moist, but
in loose sandy soils it may be always done, and, on this account, the
visits of the natives to different spots are regulated by the season of
the year; as, for example, the roots that grow in the clay are not in
season, because not to be got at, in the parching and dry months of
summer. No plant bearing seeds is allowed to be dug up after it has
flowered, and the natives are very careful in observing this rule. A
considerable portion of the time of the women and children is occupied
in getting up the various eatable roots, which are either roasted, or
else devoured in a raw state; some resembling onions and others potatoes
in their flavour. One root, called the _mene_, has rather an acid taste,
and when eaten alone, it is said to disorder the bowels; but the natives
in the southern parts pound it between two stones, an