Our Wattles. By Tulle C. Wollaston. (Melbourne : Lothian Book
Publishing Co. London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. 5s. net.)—The wattle or acacia blossom, as every one knows, has been selected as the national emblem of Australia. This interesting little book, with the help of numerous coloured photographs, shows how many superb varieties of the wattle there are in the Australian flora, besides Acacia Pycnantha, the broad-leaved South Australian golden wattle, which grows all over the island continent, and has therefore beeirchosen as the emblem of the Commonwealth. The author defends the choice of the wattle on two grounds, first because of "its amazing prodigality of blossom," covering great trees fifty feet high or more, and secondly because of its " friendly loveliness." These qualities, she says, are typical of Australia, a prosperous and friendly young country, and her words will be echoed in the Mother Country, where Australia is regarded with so d.ep and wholehearted a sense of affectionate admiration.
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