Their presence in a tree is thus ascertained: if the top of the tree is observed to be dead the native gives it a few sharp kicks with his foot, when, if it contains any barde or grubs, it begins to give, and if this takes place he pushes the tree over, and, gradually breaking it to pieces with his hammer, he extracts the grubs, of which sometimes more than a hundred are found in a single tree.
Until the top of the tree is dead it is not a proper receptacle for these animals.

The natives are therefore in the habit of breaking off the tops of the grass-trees on their land at a particular season of the year in order that they may have an abundance of this highly-prized article of food.

If two or more men have a right to hunt over the same portion of ground, and one of them breaks off the tops of certain trees, by their laws the grubs in these are his property and no one else has a right to touch the tree.

No mistake on this point can occur, for if the top of the tree dies naturally it still remains in its original position, whereas a native who thus prepares the tree knocks it off altogether; an instance occurred at King George's Sound of a native travelling between thirty and forty miles to lay a complaint before the Resident that another had been guilty of this unpardonable breach of honesty, and, notwithstanding it had been clearly brought home to him, still stoutly refused to make any amends.
When there is a grub in a wattle-tree its diseased state, which produces excrescences, soon betrays this circumstance to the watchful eyes of a native, and an animal much larger than those found in the grass-tree is soon extracted; they seldom however find more than one or two of these in the same tree.
Grubs are either eaten raw or roasted; they are best roasted tied up in a piece of bark in the manner in which I have before stated that they cook their fish.

If the natives are taunted with eating such a disgusting species of food as these grubs appear to Europeans they invariably retort by accusing us of eating raw oysters, which they regard with perfect horror.
HUNTING THE SMALLER ANIMALS.
The smaller species of animals are either caught by surprising them in their seats or by burning the bush.