FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY THIE Victorian Naturalist THE JOURNAL & MAGAZINE OP THE |ii}lil ^atiiplbb* ^M of ftmm. MAY, 1912, TO APRIL, 1913. 1bon. JEDitor : MR. F. Q. A. BARNARD. The Author of each Article is responsible for the facts and opinions recorded. iWsclboixvnc : WALKER, MAY Si CO., PRINTERS, MAOKTLLOP STREET (off 390 LITTLE COLLINS STREET). 1913. '/S. i^^n^^pc^ THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST, MAY, 1912, to APRIL, 1913. CONTENTS. Field Naturalists' Club oi' Victohia: — paqk Aunufil lieport ------ 33 Exhibition of Wild-Flowers - - - - 99 Proceedings 1, 17, 33, 49, 65, 77, 97, 109, 12.5, 141, 161, 181 Reports of Excursions - 2, 5, 17, 33, 65, 77, 109, 112, 113, 125, 144, 145, 163, 181, 184. ORIGINAL PAPERS. AuDAS, J. W., F.L.S. — An Eastertide in the Pyrenees - 51 AuDAS, J. "W., F.L.S.— One of Nature's Wonderlands— The Victorian Grampians - - - - 146 Barnard, F. G. A., and French, C, jun. — Notes of a Visit to Mount Piper - - - - - 186 Chapman, F. , A.L.S. — Note on the Occurrence of Home •Sepias New or Little Known to the Victorian Coast (with plate) - - - - 23 Chapman, F., A.L.S. — Note on Tracks made by a Common Gasteropod, Bittiwm cerithium (with text figure) 139 CiiAi'MAN, F., A.L.8.— What are Tyi)e Specimens:-' How Should They be Named ? - - - - 59 Davey, H. W., F.L.S. —Notes on the Breeding of English Newts in Victoria - - - - ujo Gatliff, J. H. and Gabriel, C. J.— On a New Variety (var. Ixilceri) of the Marine Shell Fasciolaria aastral- asia, Perry (with two plates) - - - 46 GoUDiE, J. C. — Notes on the Coleoi)tera of North-Westem Victoria (part iv.) - - - - 72 Hardy, A. D., F.L.S., F.R.M.S.— The Distribution of Leaf Glands in Some Victorian Acacias (with plate) - 26 Keartland, G. A. — Remarks on the Quail Season of 1912 - 20 Kelly, Reginald. — Concerning Acacia Phyllodes - - 115 CONTKNTS. Kershaw, J. A., F.E.S. — Notes on the Breeding Hubits and Young of the Platypus, Ovitithorhynchus (UKttiniis, Shaw (with two jJates) - - - - Mahony, D. J., M.Sc, F.G.S. — On the Bones of the Tasnianian Devil and other Animals, associated with Human Remains near Warrnambool : with a Note on the Dune Sand _ _ _ _ - Mathews, G., F.R.S.E., andlKEDALE, T.- — an Overlooked Work -" Perry's Arcana" -Further Notes O'DoNOGHUE, J. G., and St. John, P. R. H. on the Brisbane Range _ - - - Eaff, Janet W., M.Sc. — Notes on the Isopod, Phreutoicopsis iem'to/f/, S^jencer and Hall (with ijlate) - Sutton, C. S. , M.B. — Supplementary Notes on the Sandring- ham Flora (with map) _ _ _ - Wateiuiouse, G. a., B.Sc, B.E., F.E.S., and Lyell, G., F.E.S. — Description of a Now Lycasnid Butterfly, with Notes upon its Life-History (with plate) 102 43 7 130 70 79 156 INDEX. Acacia, Bipinnate Leaves on 4 Acacia phyllodes - - 115 Acacias from Botanic Gardens 78 Acacias, Leaf Glands of Vic- torian - - - 18, 2(3 Alphington, Excursion to - 113 Audas, J. W. , F.L.S., Easter- tide in the Victorian Pyrenees - - 19, 51 Audas, J. W., F.LS., The Victorian Gran)2)ians 127, 146 Aiistral Avian Record 19, 107, 160 Australian Birds, New - 19 Australian Birds, Nomencla- ture of - - - 192 Australian Books - 6, 48 AualraJiiin Niduralid, Tlir - 108 Barnard, The Late Mr. F. - Barnard, F. G. A., and French, C, jun.. Visit to Mount Piper - Birds, New Australian Birds, Nomenclature of Bittiwni rrnthiu'iii,. Tracks made by - - 126, 139 Books, Australian" - 6, 48 Biisbane Range, Notes on - 110 Butterfly, A New Lycieuid 142, 156 101 186 19 192 23 PAGE Casuarina, Fasciation in a - 138 Chapman, F.,A.L.S., Sepias on the Victorian Coast 18 Chapman, F. , A. L.S., Tracks made by Bittium cerith- ium - - - 126, 139 Chapman, F., A.L.S., What are Type Specimens ? How Should They be Named ? - - 49, 59 Cockatoo Creek, Excursion to 145 Coleoptera of N.W. Victoria 72 Coode Island, Excursion to 5, 109 Copepod, A New Victorian 41 Cox, The Late Dr. J. C. Crane-flies - - - - Cuttle-flsh, Victorian - Davey, H. W., Breeding of English Newts in Vic- toria - - - - Deepdene, Excursion to Diatomaceous Earth in Vic- toria - _ - - Ducks, Breeding of Black - Dune Sand, Note on - Eagle and Fox - - - Kpacris imjircssa - - - Export of Bird-Skins - Fairy Martin - - - 101 3 23 190 184 124 161 43 185 3 126 127 INDEX. l-AUE Fasuiation in a Casuarina - 1 .38 t'ascioliiria uustralasia, New Variety of - - 46, 50 Fern, (frnmmitis leptophylla 69 Ferns, Remarks on - - lJs;j Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria — Annual Report - - 33 Excursions — Alphington - - - 113 Cockatoo Creek - - 145 Coode Island - 5, 109 Deepdene - - 181, 184 Fleniington Bridge - 2 Frankston - - - 144 Greensborough - - 77 Hanging Rock, Woodend 1 8 1 Healesville - - - l'2o Heidelberg - - - 17 Ivanhoe - - - 17 Laverton - - - 1 1 2 Mitcham - - - 181 National Herbarium - 33 National Museum - 65 National Park, Wilson's Promontory - - 163 Royal Park - - - 2 You Yangs - - - 109 Exhibition of Wild Flowers 99 Financial Statement - 38 Office-bearers, 1912-13 - 39 Proceedings, 1, 17, 33, 49, 65, 77, 97, 109, 125,141, 161, 181 Fleniington Bridge, Excur- sion to - - - 2 Forest Preservation - - 107 Fox and Eagle - - - 185 Frankston, Excursion to - 1 14 French, Mr. C, F.L.S. - 64 French, Mr. C, jun. - - 160 Gatliff, J. H., and Gabriel, C. J., A New Variety of Fas- riolaria australasia 40, 46, 50 Goudie, J. C, Coleoptera of N.W. Victoria - 67, 72 Gould's Harrier - - - 189 (JralliiKi picata - - - 69 Grampians, The Victorian 127, 146 Greensborough, Excursion to 77 Hardy, A. D. , F.L.S., Leaf Glands of Victorian Acacias - - 18, 26 Hamilton, J. T., F.L.S. , Through North Gipps- laud to Mount Ilowitt - 78 PAGK Healesville, Excursion to - 125 Healesville -Marys ville, Map of - - - - 138 Heidelberg, Excursion to - 17 Hemihd'chella sear lei - - 41 Herbarium, Visit to National 33 Isopod, Notes on an - 67, 70 Ivanhoe, Excursion to - 17 Keartland, G. A., Remarks on Quail Season, 1912 2, 20 Keartland, G. A., Zoology of Great Desert of North - Western Australia - 161 Kelly, R., Concerning Acacia Phyllodes - - 97, 115 Kershaw, J. A., F.E.S., On Breeding Habits and Young of Platypus 67, 102 Laverton, Excursion to - 112 Leach, Mr. J. A., D.Sc. - 106 Leptosperiyium scopariuia - 64 Magpie and Boobook Owl 19, 22 Mahony, D. J., Bones of Tas- manian Devil at Warr- nambool - - 40, 43 Marysville-Healesville, Map of - - - - 138 Mathews and Irodale — '' Perry's Arcana " 7, 19 Memoirs of National Museum, Melbourne - - - 16 Mount Macedon District - 108 Mount Piper, Visit to - - 186 Mutton-birds - - - 143 National Museum, Excursion to 65 National Park, Excursion to - . _ _ ](J3 National Park, Grazing in - 181 Newts, Breeding of English 190 Nomenclature of Australian Birds - - . - 102 O'Donoghue, J. G., and St. John, P. R. H., Further Notes on the Brisbane Range- - - 110, 130 Orchids of South Australia - 25 Ornithorhynchiisanathuis 67, 102 Owl and Magpie - 19, 22 " Perry's Arcana " - 7, 19 PhreaUiiropsis trrrirola- 67, 70 Phyllodes of Acacias - - 115 Pitcher, F., Remarks on Ferns, with References to Victorian Species - 183 Plants, Introduced - 4, 109 INDEX. PAGE Plants, Vernacular Names for - - - 64, 101 Platypus, Notes on - 67, 102 Pseiidodijjsas cyri/us - - 159 Pseudodipsas myrmecvphila - 158 Pterostylis cyanocephala - 189 Pterostylis mutica - - 189 Pyrenees, Easter in Vic- torian - - - 19, 51 Quail, Close Season for - 125 Quail Season of 1912 - 2, 20 Quail Season, Opening of - 161 Eaff, Janet W., Notes on Isopod- - - 67, 70 Sandringhaiu Flora, Supple- mentary Notes - - 79 Sea Lake, The Naming of - 107 Sepias of Victorian Coast 18, 23 St. John, Mr. P. E. H. - 106 Sutton, C. S., M.B., Supple- mentary Notes on San- dringham Flora - - 79 Swamp-Hawk - - - 189 Tasmanian Devil in Victoria 69, 75 Tasmanian Devil at Warr- nambool, Bones of - 43 Tracks of Bittium cerithium - 139 Type Specimens ^ What are 49, 59 Victoria, Coleoptera of North- western - - - 72 Victoria, Sepias of - 18, 23 Victoria's Gold Nuggets - 124 Victorian Grampians, The - 146 Waterhouse, G. A., F.E.S., and Lyell, G., F.E.S., Description of a New Lvctenid Butterfly 142, 156 Wild Flowers, Exhibition of 99 Wilson's Promontory 1, 3, 17, 181 Wilson's Promontory, Ex- cursion to - - - 163 General - - - - 163 Zoology - - - - 173 Pond-life - - - 174 Botany - - - - 174 Physiography - - 179 You Yangs, Excursion to - 109 INDEX. ILLUSTRATIONS. PAOE Acacias, Glands of - - - - - - 32 Butterfly, A New Lycsenid - - - - - 160 Fasciation in a Casuarina - - - - - 138 Isopod, Phreatoicopsia terricola, Spencer and Hall - - 71 Map, Sandringham Floristic Formation - - - 96 National Park, Views in - - - - - 170 Platypus — Nest, Eggs, and Young _ _ _ _ 102 Shell, Fusciolaria anstralusia, Perry (6 figures) - - 46 Sepias, Sepiostaires of Victorian - - - - 24 Tracks of Bittium cerithium, Q. and G. - - - 139 ERRATA. Page 12, line 13— For " XXV. " read " XXXV." Page 12, line 29— For " XXIX. " read " XXXIX." Page 12— After line 33 insert " Plate X.IAY.—Cerithia ccerulea." Page 113, line 1 — For " C silicifulia'' read " C. Jilicifolia." Page 113, line 3 — For " alhijlora " read " albidiflora." Page 113, line 5 — For " Ltptorrhynchus''^ read " Leptorrhynchos.^' Page 114, line 20 — After '^ yibbusus" read " Scapholeheria kinyi (^ Daphnia mticronata, King)." Page 114, line 27 — Omit " Scupholiberis ? ^' and for " globosa " read '* tenuicornis." Page 114, line 28 — For " Chydonis, sp." read *' C'hydorus ylobosa." Page 114, line 34 — For " Janirilhi" read " Jat.ireUa." Page 174, line 28 — For " Ilyocglyptus " read " Ilocryptus." Note.— On cover of No. 8 (December, 1912) "Vol. XXX." should read "Vol. XXIX." Che Uictorian naturalisu Vol. XXIX.— No. J. MAY 9, 1912. No. 341. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 15th April, 1912. The president, Mr. F. Wisewould, occupied the chair, and about 70 members and visitors were present. CORRESPONDENCE. From Dr. A. J. Ewart, the Club's representative on the Wilson's Promontory National Park Committee, stating, in reply to an inquiry by the secretary of the Club, that the calling for tenders for agistment of cattle in the Park did not mean any departure from rule or custom ; that the main source of revenue to enable improvements, &c., to be made was the grazing of cattle : that cattle grazing were not so injurious (as weed transporters) as horses ; and that for the present the committee considered the cattle necessary both as a source of revenue and as track-makers ; but that any views which the Field Naturalists' Club would be pleased to express would be placed by him before the next meeting of the committee. Messrs. J. A. Leach, M.Sc, W. F. Gates, M.A., George (^oghill. and other members discussed the question, and ex- IM-essed the opinion that the sanctuary should not be encroached on by introduced animals other than were necessary for haulage, &c., and that all possible sources of fire should be eliminated as much as possible. Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., hon. secretary of the National Park Committee, explained the position of the committee and their need of revenue and of tracks to the recesses of the moun- tainous country, which were kept open by the cattle, thus allowing better survey and supervision. After considerable discussion, it was resolved, on the motion of Messrs. Coghill and Leach, that the Club enter a protest against any further grazing in the Park. REPORTS. A report of the excursion to Coode Island on Saturday, 23rd March, under the leadershi|) of Messrs. J. R. Tovey and C. French, jun., was read by Mr. Tovey, who reported a good attendance of members. Four additional exotic plants were recorded, and reference made to other })oints of interest. Mr. R. \V. Armitage. .M.Sc, remarked that Coode Island formed a good collecting-ground for junior geologists and others, who would find in the ballast refuse there rock specimens from many parts of the world, and otherwise difficult to obtain. 2 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. f x'oi'^'xktx. A report of the excursion to l^lemiiigton Bridge on Saturday, 13th April, for geology, which was to have been led by Mr. J . S. Kitson, but who, at too late a date to provide a substitute, forwarded an apology for non-attendance owing to his being required for military duty, was given by My. A. L. Scott, who stated that a party of members visited the Royal Park railway cutting, a favourite locality for geologists for years past, and were delighted to find that, owing to the re-dressing of the cutting by the Railway Department, new faces had been made and geological exposures of greater stratigraphical value than the old ones made evident. Mr. J. L. Robertson, M.A., said that, while he regretted the absence of the promised leader, it was due to Mr. Scott to say that he had proved himself a very able and entertaining instructor on this as on other occasions. ELECTION OF MEMBERS. On a ballot being taken. Mr. Walter Zumstein. Wartook. was duly elected as a country meml^er. [At this stage the president requested Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., one of the vice-presidents, to take his place, owing to his having to attend an important meeting elsewhere.] GENERAL BUSINESS. Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, as the Club's representative on the council of the National Parks Association, drew attention to the visit to the You Yangs on Friday, i()th A})ril. in order to be present at the unveiling of a memorial tal)let to the memory of Flinders on Station Peak. Mr. J. Searle said that an excellent illustrated handbook of the orchids of South Australia had been published by the South Australian Education Department, which he thought would be useful to local lovers of that group of plants. PAPER READ. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, entitled " Remarks on the Ouail Season, igi2." The author ])refaced his remarks on the (juail by saying that he had regarded his paper of last year as his last word, but that criticisms which attempted to show that his opinions had been founded on an abnormal season (iqii) made it necessary for him, in response to the appeal of many fellow-members, to comply by relating his e\i)eriences in the field during the opening of the last season. He then proceeded to show that 1912 was even a worse year for the protection of (]uail than iqii had been. His views were placed before the ("lub nol only as those of a naturalist but also of a sportsman. In the discussion which followed, Mr. J. A. Leach hoped that Mr. Keartland would persevere in his laudable effort to get better conditions for native game, and said that the Club was ■y^^i^' 1 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings . 3 lortunate in lia\'ing him as an enthusiastic champion in the cause. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. Ml", r. S. Hart, M.A., mentioned having noted bipinnate leaves on young Acacia oxycedriis, which had sprung up after a fire on heathy ground, and remarked that this species and A . pycHantha had ah'eady formed their buds for next season, with almost a six months' wait ahead. He also noticed that in the common heath, lipacris impressa, a reddish colour was developed in the upper surface of the leaves ; but where a branch had become broken and bent down, thus exposing the under side of the leaves to the light, it was the under surface which became red. Mr. R. W. Armitage, M.Sc, stated that he had recently noticed the unusual occurrence of dense swarms — collected like bees — of Crane-flies, of the family Tipulidae, sheltering on the lee side of tree trunks at the foot of the slo])es of Mount Macedon. When disturbed the insects scattered, but quickly gathered together again. Mr. Spry said this was a common [)henomenon in mountain gullies. Mr. J. A. Kershaw mentioned that some further intro- ductions had been made to the National Park — viz., 27 opossums, several lyre-birds, two kinds of Bass Strait wallaby, and also the Flinders Island wombat. He added that the wild duck were becoming very tame, and were breeding well, and that the quail had settled to a life of comparative security and peace. EXHIBITS. By Mr. R. W. Armitage. — Small volcanic bombs from Mount Porndon, near Pomborneit, between Colac and Camperdown : specimens of three kinds of gneiss, two of which are garnet- iferous, collected at Coodc Island, where they had been de- posited after having been brought as ships' ballast from overseas ; a pot-hole stone, about six inches in diameter, found at a depth of 40 feet in an alluvial lead at Steel's Creek, near Yarra (ilen : specimens of Crane-flies, Dolichopeza longtfurca (?). Skuse, noticed clustering in great numbers in the Macedon district on 5th March last ; skin of Three-striped Oi)ossum. Dactylopsila trivirgata, from east coast of Papua. By Mr. J. E. Dixon. — Coleoptera from Rockbank, Sea Lake, and Portland, including the new variety {viridiinica)is) of Sar/icns obesulus, found by exhibitor and named by Mr. T. G. Sloane. By Mr. C. J. Gabriel. — Thirteen species of chitons recentlv collected at Torquay, Victoria — viz.. Chiton jugosus, Gld.. C. tricostalis, Pils.. I schnochiton virgatus. Roc, /. itstulatus. Roe. /. nnvcc-hoUandice, Roe. /. cariosiis, Pils.. /. rt'splvndots, I^ed. 4 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. \\lt^'-^\\ and Mthws., /. crispiis. Roe, /. contractus., Roe, Acaiithochites variabilis. Ad. and Ang., .-1. retrojcctus, Pils., Plaxiphora petholata, Sow., and Cryptopkx striatus, Lam. ; also specimens of Sepia apama. Gray, and 5. hraggi, Verco. By Mr. P. R. H. St. John. — Herbarium specimens (in various stages), showing buds, fruit, mature and sapling foliage, also seedlings, of Eucalyptus delegatensis, R. T. Baker (iqoo), Woolly-butt, collected by exhibitor at Mount Donna Buang, 31st March, 1912, not previously recorded as found growing so near Melbourne (42 miles) ; also specimens of Persoonia arborea, F. v. M. (Proteaceas), " Tree Geebung." from same locality. By Mr. J. R. Tovey. — Dried specimens of Abutilou indicwn. Sweet (Malvacene), Indian Lantern-flower, a native of the tropical regions, also found in South Africa : Aizoon rigid um, L., var. angustifoliuni, Sond. (Ficoidere), Rigid Aizoon, in- digenous to South Africa ; Hermannia velutina, D.C. (Ster- culiacea?). Velvet Hermannia. indigenous to South Africa ; Mercurialis annua, L. (Euphorbiaceae), Annual Dog's Mercury, a native of Europe and Africa, a troublesome weed in gardens, containing a substance which turns the leaves, when drying, to the colour of indigo blue, and gives the milk of cows feeding upon it a bluish tinge — all collected at Coode Island on the occasion of the Club excursion, 23rd March, 191 2, and new introductions to Victoria ; specimen of Leptospermum Icevigalum, F. v. M., Coast Tea-tree, found flowering at Mentone, 28th March, iqi2. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. Some Acacia Notes. — During a ramble near Clayton a few days ago I noticed the young shoots of an Acacia oxycedrus, springing from the bases of burnt plants, showing true leaves — i.e., the bipinnate form. Near Ballarat A. stricta has been observed to carry a few true leaves on suckers springing up after a fire. In seedlings a gradual change in foliage is well seen in A . pycnantha, and a more al)ru})t change in foliage and simultaneously in style of growth in .1. verticillata. Many acacias are also remarkable for the slow develo])ment of their flower- buds ; thus A. pycnantha in my garden at Sebastopol carries recognizable flower- buds in December each year, the flowers not opening till the following September (one or two stray flowers have opened as early as 3()th June). .1. oxycedrus can be seen in bud in the heath country about Caulfield at least as early as February, though not flowering till August or September. At the Creswick State Forest in xMarch the buds of A. dealbata were well advanced, but it will be about the end of July before they are fully (k'velo])ed. — T. S. Hakt, Hallarat. ^^^^^' 1 Excursion to Coode Island. 5 EXCURSION TO COODE ISLAND. Interested by the remarks on the flora, &c., of Coode Island in the Naturalist for July last (]'ict. Nat., xxviii.. p. 57), a party of eighteen board'ed the motor boat at Queen's Bridge on Saturday afternoon, 2jrd March. 01 route to the island. Shortly after arrival there two more members joined the party. All ex])ressed surprise at the large amount of foreign vegetation that was growing there. It was noted that most of the plants found flowering there during previous trips made by the leaders in such periods of former years as October to December, also June, were found in flower, thus evidently showing that the exotic ])lants had not as yet settled down to our seasons. It was also pointed out that, whilst the foreign shells col- lected there were mostly of North American origin, the plants were mostly South African, and in a few^ instances European or Asiatic, but none of North American origin, thus showing that the North American ballast came from the seashore, and that from South Africa apparently from further inland. About twelve plants which are either recognized as nati\'e or naturalized aliens in other parts of the State, but not previously recorded for the island, were collected. Amongst these might be mentioned a variegated form of the Red Goosefoot, Chenopodiiim riibruui. L.. and the Caltrops. Tribiilus terrestris, L. Four species not previously recorded as intro- duced in Victoria were obtained — i.e., Mercurialis annua, L.. Annual Dog's Mercury, Eu})horbiaceie ; a native of Europe and North Africa. Aizvon rigidiini, L., var. angustijolinm, Sond., Rigid Aizoon, Ficoideae ; indigenous to South Africa. Herniannia velntina, D.C.. Velvet Hermannia, Sterculiace;e : another stranger from South Africa. Abittilon indicnm. Sweet., Indian Lantern-flower. Malvacea- ; a native of the tropical regions, also found in South Africa. Two other apparently new introductions were found, but these, unfortunately, were without fully develoj)ed flowers or fruit, and could not as yet be fully determined. Altogether, fully fifty species were noted in flower, notwithstanding the dry season. Insects were exceedingly scarce. The only sjjecies found were the introduced carab beetles, Lcenwstenns complanatits (which were found under the stones), two species of the longi- corn Hebecerus, and several other common beetles : some larva" of the salt-marsh mosquito, Citlex laheculosns were col- lected ; and a few specimens of the rare scale-insect, Pnlvinaria salicornice, were found on the salicornia bushes. A White- lipped Snake, Denisonia coronoides, and several small lizards. rvnipanocrvpfis liiieala, were also noticed. Mr. R. \V. Armitage has kindly handed us the following 6 Excursion to Coode Island. [voi'.'^'kxfx. notes on the foreign rocks, brought as ballast, noticed during the afternoon : — " For young students of geology who read about and study rocks, some of which are not to be procured in situ anywhere in the neighbourhood of Melbo'urne, Coode Island forms a splendid collecting ground. Many kinds of meta- morphic rocks, including various beautiful gneisses, of which some bear bands of perfectly crystallized red garnets, granite porphyries, granites of various textures, schists, limestones crowded with fossils, varied sandstones and quartzites, are among the specimens to be found in abundance on the south- east portion of the island. These would constitute handsome educational cabinet specimens of types of rocks difficult to procure otherwise except at some expense, but it must be borne in mind that under the circumstances of their occurrence their place of origin cannot be recorded with any degree of certainty." All the members of the party were well satisfied with their outing, and expressed a wish to again have an opportunity of visiting the island. We would therefore suggest that the committee, when drawing up next year's excursion list, should include a trip to Coode Island, say, at the end of October or early in November. A comparison could then be made by members between autumn and spring conditions. — C. French, jUN., and J. R. Tovey. Some Australian Books Worth Reading. — " For variety of trees one has to get out to the desert country, where flourish the ' kurrajungs '—too well known to need description — and silky oaks. Nothing could be more exquisite to look upon than a forest of these trees, which grow very closely together, and whose stems are seldom moie than eight inches in diameter. As a breeze sweeps over their gleaming foliage, a sea of billowing silver, darkening and glistening as the sunlight plays upon the leaves, appears before the delighted traveller." — From " Collar and Cuffs," by St. C. Grondona, a description of station life in Central Queensland. " It was joyous to see how the Australian bush, the bush of the West, came up out of slumber. Flocks of cockatoos and pink galahs — Hying together, making a delightful colour scheme of pink and grey and white and saffron — screamed across the timber, or circled cautiously down to the river to drink. Sometimes a little mob of Black Duck went whizzing up-stream, or a brace of mottled Wood- Duck passed by carefully out of gunshot. Rhipi, the wagtail, and his feathered brother the Peewit, sought the early insect with interchange of civilities, (jay j)arrots streaked across stream, flashing coloured images in unruffled water. All the bush world became awake, alert, industrious — full of quest and call." — From "River Rovers." by \l. [. Brady, an interesting account oi a voyage down the Munay l)y motor boat. ^/'iz' J Mathkws and Irhdai.e, " Perry's .ircana." j " PERRY'S ARCANA "—AN OVERLOOKED WORK. By Gregory M. Mathews, F.R.S.E., and Tom I red ale. (Communicated by F. G. A. Barnard.) IRead before the Field N uluyalists' Club of Victoria, \^th Jan., 1912.) It rarely happens that a work published in monthlj^ parts, of which twenty-one were issued, and dealing with subjects from every class of natural history, entirely escapes the notice of systematists in every branch of science for one hundred years. That such would appear to be the case with the i)eriodical above named suggests that a yesiiuie of its contents will be of interest, especially as many novelties are described and new generic names introduced. On the ist January, 1810, appeared the first part of a monthly journal after the style of the well-known " Naturalists' Miscellany " of Shaw and Nodder. It contained four plates, with accompanying letter-press and additional pages of in- teresting matter. Twenty similar i)arts were issued, but as the book now under review does not include the original wrai:>l)ers we cannot give tlie title. ])ut the title-page of the bound parts reads : — " Arcana- or The Museum of Natural History : con- taining the most recent discovered objects. Embellished with coloured plates, and corresponding descriptions : with Extracts relating to Animals. and remarks of celebrated travellers ; combining a general survey of Nature. London : Printed by (ieorge Smeeton. St. Martin's Lane for James Stratford. 112 Holborn Hill. 1811." A page of dedication to J. C. Lettsom. Esq., M.D.. &c.. is concluded " l)y George Perry." The first four ])lates are headed "Zoology, PI. I.," " Conchology, PI. I.." "Botany, PI. I.," and ■' Entomology. PI. I." This plan was not implicitly followed, though a siniilai' system of plate division was adopted, the plates deaHng witli diverse sul)jects each month. We are acquainted with only lour copies of the work — one in the Natural History Museum. South Kensington : one in the library of the Zoological Society. London ; one in Sweden, and the fourth in our private library at Watford. We have carefully collated the work, and as the plates are ail dated in lours we conclude thej' were issued as dated. This conclusion is reinforced by internal evidence, as we note in the letter-jjress to a December plate the following : — " In a former number of the ' Arcana ' (for May) we imparted to our readers a new species ol this curious genus." Upon reference we find the plate referred to is dated May. Again, in the September l)lates a direct reference to the forthcoming publication ol a work is gi\'en. which work did not appear until after January. 181 1. Other confirmatory notes we give in the following pages. 8 Mathews and Iredale, " Perry's Arcana." [ Voi."'xx?x. The plates and letter-press are neither numbered nor paged, so for the purposes of this paper we have numbered the plates I. to LXXXIV., and will refer to them under these numbers. It is easily remembered that Plates I. to XLVIIl. were issued in 1810, and Plates XLIX. to LXXXIV. in 1811, while, as four were published monthly, the exact month is soon cal- culated. It is only just to record that Mr. C. Davies Sherborn, while engaged on the second part of his monumental work, the " Index Animalium," had duly noted all the new names in this work, and they have been carefully recorded for the benefit of scientific workers and are at present available in the Geological Department of the British Museum (Natural History). It would thus have been unnecessary to draw up these notes were it not for the fact that the publication of that much-desired second volume of the " Index " does not seem to be yet in sight owing to the colossal nature of the under- taking. Interested mainly in birds and shells, we shall first deal with the plates covering these subjects, and then note the other plates discussing points that have attracted us while working up the first two subjects. The author of the " Arcana " also published a " Conchology," and the Australian shells therein have been discussed by Hedley (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1902, p. 24),* who has given a history ot that book, as well as a life of the author. The " Arcana " is important inasmuch as it was mainly published before the appearance of the " Conchology," and, dealing with much the same material, antedates the " Conchology," and this precedence of this hitherto unquoted work necessitates some rather im]X)rtant alterations. AVES. Plate Vll. is the first to give a bird, the Condor Vulture being there represented without any scientific equivalent being ])ro- posed. This is one of the few instances where no Latin name is quoted. Plate IX. is named Psittacus nonpareil, a hitherto unrecorded synonym of Platycercus cximuis, Shaw. Plate XL is of Psittaciis viridis, which enters into the synonymy of Pezoporus terresiris, Shaw. Plate XX. shows Ara militaris from " New Holland." being, however, Ani militaris (Linnc) of South America. Plate XXIL is a splendid figure of the Red-headed ( rane of New Holland, which Perry named Ardca nibicunda. One of *See also a paper by Mr. J. H. Gatlift in l'n:ti>i'uiii Notiiraiist lor September, 1902 (xix., p. 75). — Ed. Vict. Nat. May, "j Mathkws AND Iredale, ' Pervy's Arcana." g us has already pointed out (Nov. Zool., vol. xvii., p. 499, 1910) that this name must be used. Plate XXIX. is of Paradisea regia, and is Linne's species. Plate XXXVI. figures Psittacits papuensis, from Papua. In the text is written, " resemblance to that of the Ara niilitaris or Military Macaw, described in the fifth number of the ' Arcana.' " Ara miliiaris is Plate XX., showing that up to this point the four plates per month had apparently been duly issued. Plate L. represents the Red Phalaroj)e, which Perry names Tringa rubra, variety. Plate LVI. is of PeLicanus africanus, which must enter into the synonymy of Pelecanus rufescens. Plate LIX. is of the Black Swan, which Perry called Anas cygnns-niger . Plate LXX., figuring Lanius aurantius, from Buenos Ayres, is a species of Thamnophilus, but seems indeterminable. Plate LXXVIIL, of the Crowned Crane of Africa, is called Ardea coronaia, which passes into the synonymj^ of A. pavonina, Linne. Plate LXXXII. is a figure of a Cassowary, which they called Cassowara eximia, and guessed as habitat South America. It is apparently a New Guinea form, and this name has not pre- viously been noticed in literature. MOLLUSCA. Plate II. is very important to conchologists. On it are figured four shells, of which No. i is called \'olntella divergens. No. 2 Septa scarlatina. No. 3 Rostellaria nibicaiida, and No. 4 Trochiis apiaria. The text states : — " In describing the four shells contained in the annexed plate, we shall endeavour pre- viously to explain the different characters of each genus, that the reader may afterwards more clearly recognize each peculiar distinction ap})ropriate thereto." This is the first introduction of the generic name Volutella, which, however, falls as a synonym of \'asHm. Bolten (Museum Boltenianum, p. 56, 1798) ; this species is perhaps I', iniiricalum. Born. This introduction of the genus Septa, however, once more disorganizes the nomenclature of the Tritons. Perry diagnoses it thus : — " Shell univalve, sjiiral, having membranaceous sejita or divisions. ])laced upon the body and spire opposite and alternate : these are of a different colour to the rest of the shell, anil slightly tuberculated." The only species at that time noted and figured is Septa scarlatina : conse(iuently this species becomes automatically the type of Septa. This shell is easily identified as Mtircx rubccula, Linnr (Syst. Xat.. loth lO Mathews and Iredale, " Perry's Arcana." [v^k'xxix. ed., p. 749, 1758). In the Bull. U.S. Fish Commission, vol. XX., part I, 1900, p. 416, Dall and Simpson used Septa, Perry (1811). to replace Triton, Montfort (1810). not Linne (1758), Tritoniwn, Cuvier {1817), not MuUer (1776), for the shells congeneric with Miirex tritonis, Linne. In the Smithsonian Miscell. Collections, vol. xlvii., pp. 114 et seq. (1904), Dall wrote up an historical and systematic review of the Frog-shells and Tritons, and therein gave his reasons for thus accepting Septa, and named as type S. rubicunda. Perry. But this prior introduction of Sepia in conjunction with a shell not congeneric with 5. nibicimda. Perry, necessitates a readjustment of names. Pilshry (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., vol. Ivi., j). 21. 1904) cited Septa as a sub-genus of Aqiiillus, Montfort, but as Septa appeared on ist January, 1810, and Aquillus 1810, it is very doubtful whether the latter appeared at such an early date. It is certain that Septa must be referred to the neighbourhood of Cymatium, Bolten (1798). but whether as an absolute synonym of that name or whether it can be retained sub-generically we are not prepared to decide. A monograph of the Tritons is much required, and would appear to be urgently necessary, inasmuch as Ball's review (above quoted) was of a skeletal nature, and not altogether satisfactory, as we have seen the same shell given three different generic locations by students attempting to utilize Dall's key. The third shell is called Rostellaria nthicunda. and it is obviously the same shell as figured by Chemnitz (vol. \i., p. i4(). tab. 195-'^) as Strojnbus erythriniis, and which Tryon (Man. Conch., vol. vii., p. 119, 1885) relegated to the synonymy of Strombiis dentatits, Linne, with \'arietal rank. The fourth is Trochus apiaria. " a nondescript, lately im- ported from Botany Bay." The same figure is given in the " Conchology," pi. xlvii., fig. j, with the descri])tion slightly altered and the locality given as Van Diemen's I.and. \Vhen Hedley discussed Perry's Australian shells he ignored this specie-, and we are unable to delinitely name it. i'late VI. is of Septa tritonia = Miire.x tritonis, Linne. Perry wrote : — " This shell, classed with the genus Sepia, and which has hitherto been described erroneously as a Mttrex . . ■ ■" • and then noted — " Another shell, which has considerable resemblance in its general form to the one now described, has lately been discovered in New Holland, but it differs in the minuter ])eculiarities of form and colour, ))eing much smaller, and of a redder colour." This apparently refers to the shell figured in the "Conchology" as Sepia rubicunda. In the later work Septa tritonia is not rej)r()duced, though most of the " Arcana " shells are here again illustrated. May. I Mathews AtiD Irbvalk, " Perry's Arcana." ii Plate XII. is of Pomacea maculata, which " is conceived to be a naiive of the South Seas." This is the first use of the generic name Pomacea, which is a synonym of Ampiillaria, Lamarck. The s])ecies we cannot recognize, while the habitat, when it was re-figured in the " Conchology," pi. .xx.wiii., fig- 3> was altered to West Indies. Plate XV. contains figures of four fossil shells, named Conns angiilatus, Aciilea angulaia, Cerithium Icevis. and Cassis verrucosa, of which is written: — "The above shells are of the kind found in different i)arts of France, in beds of gravel or clay." Plate XVT. purports to be a figure of Conns gloria-»taris, and a shell in the British Museum is mentioned. When the same figure was reproduced in the " Conchology," pi. xxv., fig. i, it was definitely said to be " delineated from a fine specimen in the British Museum." The figure seems, however, to have been drawn from a nice specimen of Conns textilis ; moreover, no record is kept of a British Museum specimen of Conns gloria-maris at that early date. Perry notes : — " The Conns has a considerable analogy to the genus Volntella, lately- established." Plate XIX. is a good representation of " Bnlinins zebra, a native of the Soutfi Seas and of the islands of New Zealand," which shows a quaint mixing of localities, the shell being the well-known Achatina zebra. Gmelin, of Africa. Plate XXIII. introduces the genus Triplex, the species name chosen being foliatns. This is a splendid figure of the shell many years later named M. palmarosce-, Lamarck (Anim. s. Vert., vol. ix., p. 572). When, later. Perry reproduced the same figure in the " Conchology " (pi. vi., fig. 3). he altered the specific name to T. rosaria, and the reproduction is not such a nice picture as the " Arcana " one. Thus by monotypy the type of Triplex is T. foliatns. Perry, and the sjiecific name supersedes M. palmarosce. Lam. Perry remarks : — " The Triplex genus of shells are re- markable for their triangular form, which is occasioned l')y three tfiick divisions placed lengthwise on the outside of the shell, and which form its chief ornament Other shells, which in many respects have a resemblance to it, are distinguished in a similar wa}' : the Monoplcx has one fold on its body : the Biplex two folds : the Hexaplex six folds, and so on with the following sjiecies. until we arrive at the greatest mimber. the Polyplex, in which the folds are very numerous, but the number not defined." Plate XXVIII. contains figures of (\\r'xx?x to pertain to Echidna seiosa. (\ivier, as figured in (Mould's " Mammals of Australia," vol. i., pi. 3, and has priorit\'. Plate XIII. is of the Dolphin. Plate XIV. represents the Vicuna, Camdiis pacos, Linne. Plate XVII. is of the Koalo, or New Holland Sloth. Plate XXI. is a nice figure of the Wombach of Botany Bay, which Perry called Opossum hirsutum. This is the first and only time we can note Opossum being used as a generic name. Fortunately, it falls as a synonym of Phascolomis, (ieoffroy (1803). The specific hirsutum, however, would appear applic- able to the New South Wales Wombat, and the earliest name available. Plate XXVII. figures Dipus muscoln. from New Holland. We are unable to identify this figure. Plate XXXII. illustrates the " Opossum Flying Mouse, that lives in the trees and forests of Botany Bay." Perry writes : — " Character.— Not exactly known." Plate XL. is a figure of Sapajus jacchus. Plate XLI. illustrates Bradypus !1. x.wii.. lijjs. <>. dine;e, we may note, a 28 Hardy, Disiribuiion of Leaf Glands in Acacias, [vor'xxtx. an appropriate link, the l)ipinnate juvenile foliage of the young plants of the latter. Species such as A. mclanoxylon, A. implexa, A. pycnantha, and many others have ordinary bipinnate foliage when young, and,, occasionally, reversionary foliage of this character may be produced on a branch of an adult tree bearing, normally, phyllodia only, as the result of injury — a local "second childhood"! As we know the phyllode to be a modification of the vertically expanded petiole and rhachis, or petiole only, we look for the gland on the upper edge of the expansion or ala of the transition leaf. In all cases examined by me the gland was situated at or near the base, and none was found along the rhachis, from which it might appear that, in the reduction of the bipinnate leaf to the bare phyllode, there is, in the evolutionary })rocess, a precedent loss of the rhachial glands. Phyllodia of Mature Plants. — Next we may turn to the phyllodia of mature plants and find that the position of the gland varies, but with a fair amount of constancy in certain species, while in others the variability is more marked. In A. longifolia, var. sophorce, a count of many hundreds showed 3 per cent, nearer |-inch fi'om the base than the prevailing J-inch. Generally speaking, the species with long phyllodes — e.g., spp. Maideni, stenophylla, linearis, cyanophylla. saligna — have the gland at or near the base, while the cases in which the single gland is further removed may be observed in phyllodes having, in proportion to length, a greater lireadth — e.g., spp. podalyrcefoUa (with almost broad-elliptical i)hyllodes), myrti- folia, and A. cultriformis and A. prarissima (with small, broad, angular or sub-angular, oblique phyllodes). but. like many other rules, this has its exceptions. Certain species show uncertainty as to both number and position of the glands. Thus, in A. amana (fig. 7) there may be only one, more often two or three and sometimes four, rarely live. In this species, when only one gland is present, it is, probably without exception, nearer the base than the apex. If two glands are borne they may be both below the middle, or may be roughly equidistant from base and apex rcs])ectively — e.g., A. decora (fig. 10) — while three may divide the phyllode margin into four about-equal parts. (ilands do not appear doubled on the phyllode margin so Ireciuently (if at all) as on the rhachial ridge (fig. iq) of the compound leaf. It is improbable that in Australian acacias more than fi\'e glands are to be found 01. one phyllode, though five have l)een noted on specimens of A. ama-na by the present writer. This brings us to a case of variation, in which the gland may 1)c close to the base and so subordinated as (o he almost lost to •',""*;' ] Hakdv, Distribution of Leaf Glands in Acacias. 29 sight, or conspicuously situated on the margin, remote from the base, and with an equally conspicuous short, oblique nerve or vein connecting it to the midrib. Within my experience this latter occurs only in species included in Bentham's series Uninerves, the few examples at present available being A. penninervis, A. pycnantlm, A. obtusata, and A. decora, but there may be others, especially amongst the smaller-leaved Uninerves, in which it could be detected only with difficulty. This oblique nerve, as of diagnostic \'alue, has been made too prominent in description of A. penninervis in his "Key" by F. von Mueller,* and I prefer the more guarded language of Bentham,* for since, as I now believe, I erroneously recorded ® A. pycnantha for a locahty in the North-Eastern province of Victoria, I have taken special note of hundreds of plants of both this species and of A. penninervis, and am convinced that, although in A. penninervis, especially its variety falciformis, the supra-basal nerve is often present, whole trees may be examined in some localities, and the marginal gland found to have, where remote from the base, no prominent nerve, or to be so near the base as to render the nerve in- visible. In .1 . pycnantha, on the other hand, no oblique nerve of the kind has been mentioned, so far as I am aware ; yet, in the National Herbarium collection and my own there are specimens showing the nerve distinctly, and the fresh twig taken at random from :\ tree in Studley Park, Kew, shows the oblique nerve well developed. Specimens of A. pycnantha from dry, auriferous districts of Victoria, such as that from near Maldon exhibited, often show not only the feature above- mentioned but also a second gland much higher up — near the middle. Hence, although ,1. penninervis and A. pycnantha may, as a rule, be readily recognized by all but the novice in the field, and in the fruiting liand-specimens, it becomes a matter of diificulty to discriminate among fruitless herbarium material. H anything, the more nerve-hke margins of the former, the higher relief of its secondary venation and its often glaucous appearance hold good, and I have examined many trees bearing, amongst others, abundant phyllodia the upper margins of which bore, in addition to a nerveless gland near the l)ase. from one to five minute denticles or prickles at irregular int(r\;ds. 'i'hcse last I ha\-e never seen in .1. pyoHUitha. Another si)ecies, A. alata, \\\\\c\\, through slovenly jMonuncia- tion of the specific name, is often confused with .1. data, and than which, perhaps, no other s]iecies is more unlike — may be referred to. This species has decurrent phyllodes alternating, and thus giving the branches a winged appearance (hence the name). K\(e|)ling (he (lenirrcnl part, the iihyllodc is (>nl\- .1 littl(> 30 Hardy, Distvihntion of Leaf Glands in Acacias [v'ok'xxix. longer than broad, and the upper margin has usually a distinct median angle surmounted by a small but prominent and some- what trumpet-shaped gland. Other species with the gland well advanced from the base are cultriformis and pravissima. The former, known as the " Knife-leaved Acacia." has very heteromorphous phyllodes. and the position of the gland varies accordmgly. When the upper margin is only gently curved the gland is more often nearer the base than when there is a pronounced curve of small radius, as in the latter case the gland is usually above this prominence. In A. pravissima there is a fairly constant, distinct angle or abrupt curvv. about the middle of the upper margin, and the gland is situated below this — usually about half-way to the base, despite the varying shape of phyllode. Of the prickly acacias two may be mentioned — A. jiinipcrina and A . verticillata — -the two being well separated in systematic arrangement. In the absence of fruit and bloom, they bear a strong resemblance to each other, the main distinction being the pseudo-whorls of small rigid phyllodes of the latter and the scattered, slightly larger phyllodes of the former. .1. verticillata. has the gland usually about half-way along the phyllode, which is about |--inch long, and A. jiinipcrina has it almost constantly near the base. In a large number of the more xerophilous species, especially those of the series Calamiformes, from North-West \'ictoria. the marginal gland is either absent or very inconspicuous, even when a hand lens is used. A. tigens and A. calami folia are two of the exceptions, the gland being easily discernible. SuMM.^RY. — Glands in the genus Acacia are wanting in few species, if any. They arc to be found almost exclusively on the acroscopic or upper edge of the petiole or rhachis, or phyllode. In Bipinnat;e they are in greatest quantity, most frequently a gland for each pair of pinuc'e. situated close below its base. They develop early in the life of the leaf. In the PhyllodinCce the position is usually below the middle and generally near the base of the i)hyllodc where the latter are very long, while in much ])roportionately-broader leaves the gland is usually higher up. Certain species arc prone to l)ear two or more glands, and several have an auxiliary nerve con- necting the marginal gland obliquely to the midrib, but this feature is inconstant, and ap])arently restricted to species of series Uninerves. Cjlands are absent from or most incon- spicuous in species chiefly of the Calamiformes and others having for habitat the drier north-west districts of Victoria, though exceptions are giv^en. The following list gives approximately the groups into wliirli many of the acacias lall il the usnnl Ideation ol flic Ljland is taken as a guide. Hakdv, Distritmtion of Leaf Glands in Acacias June, IQI2 Table showing distance from single gland (or the lirst o usually found, with the measured, in brackets : — ' to -L" (More often -,'i^). ♦acinacea (\). armata, ^',. (:;■). calami folia, /,; (i-2;|. ). continua. diffusa ( r ' )• (Uptera. doratoxylon. glandulicarpa (.}). lanigera, J ( i 1, ). leprosa {2^). lineata (2'.). fOswaldi. prominens (ij). j. retinodes (4'). *rigens (2). saligna stenoptera. J (il). |strongylo]:)hylla. vcrticiilata, J (.}). h to i (More olt(Mi [). *alata, \-\. al]>ina. ♦aiiuvna (2). aneura (3). cyanophyila (6). diptera. clongata. farinosa. llowitti. *jiinipcrina ('}■). iiiacradonia ('^>). *Mai(lcni (4-f)). inontana (^). oxyccdrus (i). pendula {},}■). *fiycnanllia (J-.|). retinodes (4A). saligna (9). sclerophylla. siculiformis ( 1 ). *stenophylla (12). fstipuligera. stricta (3). suaveolens (2). fsnlijiorosa. tonuifolia. ,',-1 (j)- tornlosa. trinetuM . * Mentioned in text. 3' base of phyllode, at which the f the series if more than one) *is length of the phyllode, where triptera. verniciflna (4). \^'attsiana 1 + Dallachiana (4',). *decora (J). glaucescens. glancoptera. implexa (4). *lincaris. *longifolia (4-5). hinata ( i ). nielanoxylon (3^,). obliqua. prominens. -^1^-^%-, (t|). salicina, ;|— i (4). ftorulosa. ttnmida. \\'attsiana 1 + 2 _ *amocna {i\). brachybotrya (i,J). Hakeoides. Wnearis (6). *myrtitolia (U). *penniner\ is (4). *pycnantha (4). salicina (4). stipulosa. 3 + 4 _ *linearis, ^-1" (3-''''. )• *obtnsa (2\). *pcnnincrvis (4). *pycnantha (5). salicina. At base. colletioides (?,). *pycnantha. rnpicola. /^ ( ■■) ; .S:c. ]'e>'y variable. *cultriformis. *pcnninervis. *pravissinia. *pycnantha. Often with oblique nerves from near base of midrib to a mnruinat Qlaiid. *decora. obtnsata. *pennincrvis. *l)\enantlia. From Mneiier's " Konograpliv " 32 Hardy, Distribution of Leaf Glands in Acacias. [voi!^'xxix. Description of Plate. Note. — The figures have been reduced to half-size, excepting 2, 13, 19, and I OB, and are diagrammatic in detail, the glands especially having been given undue prominence. \. A. discolor, showing one elongated petiolar gland and two (« and d) developed on the prolongation of the rhachis beyond the uppermost pair of pinna?, which, taken with the absence of a gland at b, point to the non-production or abortion of pinna? at c. 2. A. discolor, showing two petiolar glands. 3. A. decurrens, var. normalis, showing suite of glands, but with a lateral supernumerary at one point. 4. A. elata, with a petiolar and a sub-terminal gland. $. A. elata (young), petiolar gland well developed, but sub-terminal gland not shown, though present immaturely. 6. A . implexa (transitional foliage)— one gland only, near base of verti- cally dilated petiole. 7. A. amcena (from specimens in National Herbarium)— i*. from Gipps- land, Victoria ; d, from Delegete, Victoria. 8. A. pycnantha — a and c, from Studley Park, Kew, Victoria; b. from N.W. Victoria ; d and e, from specimens in National Herbarium, the latter from Buchan, Victoria. 9. A. penninervis, without oblique supra-basal nerve, and showing minute denticles at p. 10. A. decora (Botanic Gardens, Melbourne), showing normally two glands in a, and in b (enlarged) one gland only (rare), with oblique nerve (frequent). 11. A. alata, with gland surmounting a prominent aeroscopic angle of decurrent phyllode. 12. A. diptera (in National Herbarium), with decurrent phyllodes bearing glands almost concealed in axils. 13. yl. colletioides (in National Herbarium), natural size. 14. A. podalyyeefolia. Botanical Gardens. \$. A. stipulosa (after F. v. M.') 16. A. stipuligera (after F. v. M.') 17. A. pravissima, Acheron Valley, Victoria. iS. A. cultriformis , cultivated, Kew, Victoria. 19. A. dectirrens, var. mollis, side view, to show glandiferous rhachial ridge. 20. A. obtusata (in National Herbarium), with oliliquc nerve to marginal gland. References. ' F. V. Mueller — " Iconography of Australian Species of Acacia." J. H. Maiden— " Forest Flora, New South Wales — Wattles and Wattle Bark." - Bentham and Mueller—" Flora Australiensis," i.S()4. C. Moore and F. Bctche — " Handbook of the Flora of New Soutli Wales." F. M. Bailey — " The Queensland Flora," 1900. » J. H. Maiden — " Forest Flora, New South Wales." * F. V. Mueller — " Key to the System of Victorian Plants," T.S87-S. '■• Bentham and Mueller (loc. cit.) « .\. D. Hardy — " S. Tramp from Healesville to Buxton," \'ii/<>riaii Ndlnralist, xxii. (1906), p. 163. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST.— Vol. XXIX. June, 1912. Plate ii. o CO - < -3 8§ o cf; < " o . CO tit, Q C —I o O -^ a> c CDe UictorianJlatMralisi Vol. XXIX.— No. 3. JULY 4, 1912. No. 343. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The thirty-second annual meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, loth June, igi2. The president, Mr. F. Wisevvould, occupied the chair, and about 50 members and visitors were present. REPORTS. It was reported that the excursion arranged for West Essendon, on Saturday, 25th May, had to be abandoned, on account of inclement weather. A report of the visit to the National Herbarium on Saturday, 8th June, was given by Mr. J. R. Tovey, who acted as leader in the unavoidable absence of Professor Ewart, D.Sc, Govern- ment Botanist. There had been a fair attendance of members, and their attention was directed to the method of arrangement and classification of the specimens, which now exceed one million sheets of flowering plants and ferns. Some of the notable specimens in the Herbarium were exhibited, such as a set of plants from Petiver's herbarium, collected over 200 years ago, and plants collected in Australia by Robert Brown during the years 1802-5, ^o^h of which are still in a good state of preserva- tion. Some attention was also devoted to the library, which now contains over 8,000 volumes, including many splendidly illustrated works and a valuable series of pre-Linnean books. A report of the junior excursion to the Zoological Gardens on Saturday, ist June, was given by the leader, Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc, who stated that there had been a good attendance of juniors, and a profitable and instructive afternoon had been spent. ELECTION OF MEMBERS. On a ballot being taken, Mr. A. D. Selby, Berrigan, N.S.W., was duly elected as a country member of the Club. ANNUAL REPORT. The hon. secretary, Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S., read the thirty- second annual report, for the year igii-12, which was as follows : — " To THE Members of the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria. " Ladies and Gentlemen, — In presenting their rcjwrt for the thirty-second year of the Club's work, ending on 30th April, 1912, your committee desire lo congratulate members on the 34 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [v^r'xxix completion of a successful year, while there is yet abundant field material available, and wide scope for continued effort. " Numerically, the strength of the Club shows a slight increase, notwithstanding the increased competition in the professions and in commercial and other employments, while the exactions of a necessarily growing military system yearly take up more of the time, especially of the youth of our community, which might otherwise be devoted to nature study. At the close of the year the total membership was 290. as compared with 282 for 1910-11. Of this total membership the composition was as follows, with the increase or decrease indicated : — Honorary members, 7 ; life members, 2 ; ordinary members, 159 (+17); country members, 66 (+6); associate members, II (—9); junior members, 45 (—6) — 290. " While noting with pleasure the increase, by 23, in senior members, and regretting, for the reasons already given, the loss of 15 juniors, it may be mentioned that this loss has been made good by the nomination, at the request of Mr. Hamilton Fletcher, M.A., Head Master of the Preparatory Church of England Grammar School, Melbourne, of fifteen of his pupils. " This year, happily, we have no obituary notice. Sub- scribers to the Sayce Fund will be glad to leatn that their sub- scriptions were devoted to the immediate relief of the children so suddenly orphaned by the loss of both parents, the amount subscribed having been presented in form of cheques by the hon. treasurer, while periodical instalments of a special donation by a friend, whose identity is known only to the president, are being devoted to educational pur})oses through Mr. Wise- would. '* The financial condition of the Club is a sound one, as will be shown presently by the hon. treasurer. Our bank credit balance is a trifle over ;^90. This gives a less reserve than during some years of the Club's prosperity : but it should be remembered that in those days the library was comparatively starved and the binding allowed to fall into arrears. To-day we have increased assets represented by an improved Hbrary and additional furniture for exhibition i:»urposes, tlie latter having been gratuitously made by an energetic member of committee, Mr. J. Gabriel. " Attendance at the monthly meetings averaged about 65 — equal to less than half the metropolitan membershij), while country members and visitors were frequently present. " Papers read during the year numbered 22, and comprised — Zoology (birds, insects, shells, and microbiology), 9 ; botany, 8 ; and on general subjects, 5. 'I'hat none was read dealing with geology is somewhat remark;) ble. The authors were — Messrs. J. W. Audas, F.L.S., F. G. A. Jiuniard, A. (i. Campbell, ^"^2 ] Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. 35 F. P. Dodd (Queensland), J. Gabriel, C. J. Gabriel, J. C. Goudie, A. D. Hardy,'>.L.S., G. A. Keartland, R. Kelly, J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., E. B. Nicholls, G. W. Robinson, C.E., J. Searle, P. R. H. St. John, C. S. Sutton, xM.B., Ch. B., J. R. Tovey, J.J. Thomas, G. A. Waterhouse, B.Sc, F.E.S. (N.S.W.), and G. Lyell, F.E.S., G. Weindorfer (Tasmania), H. B. Williamson, G. M. INIathews, F.R.S.E. (England), and T. Iredale (England) ; and at the December meeting an illustrated lecture was given by Mr. P. R. H. St. John, assisted by Dr. Green and the President of the Amateur Walking and Touring Club, on a trip through East Gippsland. " Further exchanges of publications have been effected in response to invitations from other societies, including the Royal Colonial Institute, London ; the Royal Botanic (hardens, Kew ; the Lloyd Library, Cincinnati, U.S.A. ; and the University of California. Many applications have been regretfully refused owing to the unsuital)ility of the literature offered in exchange. The most recent addition is The Austral Avian Record, edited by Mr. Gregory Mathews, a new quarterly which should be consulted by members desirous of keeping in touch with the changes accepted or proposed in Australian ornithological nomenclature. "The twenty-eighth volume of the Victorian Naturalist has been issued, with index, list of exchanges, and revised list of members. To the hon. editor, Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, the Club has again to record its thanks, as also to authors of papers and contributors of notes, to whom its continued success is due. It is to be regretted, however, that ' Natural History Notes,' which should form a strong feature of the Club's recording, are not yet at all proportionate to the membership nor the field open for observation. This is a branch that might be materially strengthened, especially by increased activity of our country members. " To leaders of both senior and junior excursions the Chil") is indebted for the time and trouble devoted to this essential work. The attendance at excursions has l)een good, and many interesting outings have resulted. " The annual exhibition of wild flowers was combined with a conversazione, which included a general exhibition of natural history objects, &c., and enjoyed the patronage of His Ex- cellency the State (Governor, Sir John Fuller, Bart. The Government Department of Agriculture, through the State Entomologist and the Curator of the l-)Otanic (iardens, assisted with exhibits, and the University Departments of l-Jotany and Geology contributed largely to the success of the meeting, which included illustrated lectures by Prof. E. W. Skcats, D.Sc, on Physiography, and Mr. J. A. Leach, INI.Sc, on Birds of Australia. The whole was a success, financially and otherwise. 36 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [voh'xxix. " A new excursion programme has been provisionally pre- pared as a recommendation to the incoming committee, and a Christmas excursion to the National Park at Wilson's Pro- montory will probably be provided for, in order that members may have an opportunity of seeing what the Park is like in its still wild state, and yet note the improvements being effected for the promotion of the security and upkeep of this potentially magnificent sanctuary. The Club has declared itself against the agistment of cattle in the Park, and has protested against its continuance. The hon. secretary to the Park Committee (Mr. J. A. Kershaw) has kindly supplied the following notes : — " ' Continued progress is being made at the National Park, Wilson's Promontory. The fence separating the Park from the isthmus is now completed, and is a very substantial structure. It is seven feet high, and provided with stout wire netting and several rows of barbed wires, which render it practically vermin-proof. A number of additional native animals, including emus, wallabies, opossums, and wombats, have been introduced, and are thriving well. It is also intended to introduce, as opportunity offers, native trees and shrubs not already represented there. Arrangements are in progress to carry out further improvements, which will include rest- houses for the use of camping parties, the opening up of new tracks, and improvement of the existing ones. An additional ranger will, it is expected, be appointed to supervise the north- eastern portion of the Park. A weh-formed track, extending up the northern end of the Vereker Range, has opened up some si)lendid fern-gullies and revealed the presence of excellent timber, while magnificent views of the surrounding country are to be obtained from the top of the range. An effort is to be made, at an early date, to establish the Lyre-bird in these gullies. The advantages of the Park for tourists are becoming more generally known. Several parties from Melbourne and country districts visited it during the Christmas and Easter holidays.' " Dr. Sutton, hon. secretary to the Plant Records Committee, reports as follows : — ' Since the date of last annual meeting the Plant Names Sulvcommittee has held 15 meetings (38 in all since its constitution in August, 1907). Two drafts of pvo- visionally adoj^ted names were published in the Journal of ihc Dcpartment of Agriculture of Victoria of June and August hist, and these, comprising that ])art of the census from Orchidaceae to Filices, were re])rinted by the Department, copies being distributed for criticism from the National Herbarium. Many of these cojiies have been returned with useful suggestions, and in almost every case the ojnnions expressed on the naming have been gialifying to the sui)-(()niinitt('c. Duiiug the year {g,^^' J Field Naiuyuiisis' Club — Proceedings. 37 the sub-committee has been mostly occupied in revising the names already api)lied to plants in the first portion of the census, from Dilleniacea to Myrtaceae. This section has now been completed, and it is expected that at least a portion of it will appear in the Journal of July next. Through his appoint- ment to charge of the Agricultural School at VVarragul, the services of Mr. J. P. M'Lennan have unfortunately been lost, but the sub-committee has been strengthened by the addition to its numbers of Messrs. Tovey and St. John, and is at last sanguine enough to think that the end of the most important part of its labours is within measurable distance.' " We note with pleasure the generally sympathetic attitude of the Department of Agriculture in the matter of game pro- tection and the protection of native animals and birds. A list of additional sanctuaries, supplied by Major Semmens, the Chief Inspector of Fisheries and Game, is as follows : — ' Lake Linlithgow, Dandenong State Forest, Tragowel Swamp, Doctor's Swamp, Lake Murdeduke, Hall's Gap, Reedy Lake (Nagambie), Fyke's Creek Reservoir ; No. i Swamp, Upper Stony Creek, and Korweinguboora Reservoir Sites (Geelong Water Supply) ; and Jubilee Lake Reserves, Daylesford.' There were also six private sanctuaries proclaimed from ist May, 1911, to 30th April, igi2.' " Though the Department and the Club are not in agree- ment on the quail season question, which remains a bone of contention, we arc glad to record these additions to protected areas for native fauna generally. " Two members of our Club, Mr. G. A. Keartland and Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, have been unremitting in their efforts to secure respectively better conditions for native game and a cessation of the cruelty associated with the procuring of bird plumes and skins for purposes of millinery, &c., and much success has already been achieved. " A movement, initiated by your Club, and now, l)y our invitation, led by the National Parks Association, has been started for the better control of the tea-tree foreshores of Port Phillip, and there is little doubt that during the coming year something definite will be done in response to the representa- tions of the several kindred societies acting together. " The Club's small subscription towards the expenses of the Mawson Antarctic Expedition was a pledge of its interest in that undertaking, and no society will look with greater interest to a successful home-coming of the cx]ilorers. " To Messrs. Coghill and Haughton the committee is grateful for the free use of Ihcir offices at 71) Swanston-sf rci-t for com- mittee meetings. " The hon. librarian reports as follows : — ' The library has been augmented by 233 volumes and separate parts during 38 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. Vol. XXIX. the year. Of that number 62 voKimes and parts were pur- chased and 171 serial pubHcations were received in exchange or donated. The percentage of members who made use of the hbrary is much lower than that of last year, though there was not a very marked decrease in the number of books borrowed. A large number of unbound volumes are ready for the binder, and will probably be bound early in the coming year. Early consideration should also be given to the question of publishing a library catalogue for the use of members.' " On behalf of the committee, " Frank Wisewould, President. " A. D. Hardy, Hon. Secretary. " Melbourne, 28th May. 1912." FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The hon. treasurer, Mr. G. Coghill, read the financial state- ment for 1911-12, which was as follows : — Rkceipts. To Balance, 30th April, 1911 ... ... ... ^^91 4 8 ,, Subscriptions — Ordinary Members ;^il6 0 0 Country Members 27 1 1 0 Associates 6 iS 0 Juniors 3 14 0 -£ 154 3 0 ,^ VJilorian Naturalist — Subscriptions and Sales 11 4 6 Advertisements 7 15 0 Reprints 4 14 5 23 13 11 Sales of Badges 0 8 6 Conversazione ... 17) 18 0 Hire of Tables, &c. 0 15 0 Subscriptions — Mawson Exped tion I 10 0 Interest, Savings Bank Account 4 12 2 •Subfec iptions : — Arrears, ;^I9 9s. ; 19 — total 11-12 3^- 27 5^ •3< . ; 191 Expenditure. By Victorian Naturalist — Printing /94 7 1 1 Illustrating 6 8 0 Free Reprints ... 6 19 6 Reprints 4 0 0 — Z'u '5 5 J } Victorian Naturalist — Wrapping and Posting '5 11 5 ji Rooms— Rent and Attendance 13 10 6 ,, Library — Books 7 •7 5 Periodicals 1 1 1 1 0 Insurance, &c. ... 1 16 7 21 5 0 • 19 £1^ 5 3 1912-13,^7 8s. 9d. Carried forward ^162 ...^I62 2 4 9 12 0 I 10 0 5 ... 32 17 2 7 8 2 2 0 5 0 0 218 6 7 ... 89 14 10 2 3 10 91 18 8 ^310 5 3 J^'y- 1 Field Natiiyalists' Club — Proceedings. 39 Brought forward By Printing and Stationery ,, Hire of Lantern ,, Postages, &c. ,, Expenses — Conversazione „ Badges ,, Contribution to Mawson Expedition ,, Balance — Savings Banic London Bank G. COGHILL, Hon. Treasurer. 2.0th May, 1912. Audited and found correct. D. BEST, "\ . ,., 29M May, 1912. J. STICKLANDJ^'"^''"''^- The following statement of assets and liabilities was also read : — Assets. Balance — Savings Bank London Bank Arrears of Subscriptions, &c. (;^55), say Badges on hand ... Library and Furniture (Insurance Value) ;^284 19 II LlABILITIKS. Subscriptions paid in advance ... ... ... ;i^8 18 3 Outstanding account ... ... ... ... o 19 o ;^89 14 10 2 1 10 _ /Qi 18 8 41 I 8 '3 0 3 150 0 0 £9 17 On the motion of the chairman, seconded by j\lr. J. Robertson, the report and statement were adopted. On the motion of Messrs. Coghill and Pitcher, a vote of thanks was unanimously passed to the hon. auditors, Messrs. D. Best and J. Stickland. ELECTION OF OFFICE-HEAKEKS I"OK I9I2-IJ. There being no other nomination Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc, was declared duly elected as president. On a ballot being taken for two vice-presidents, Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., and Dr. C. S. Sutton were duly elected. The following office-bearers were elected without opposition: — Hon. treasurer, Mr. G. Coghill ; hon. secretary, Mr. J. T. Hamilton, F.L.S. ; hon editor, Mr. F. G. A. Barnard ; Mr. W. G. Mackintosh was elected as hon. librarian, and Mr. J. G. O'Donoghuc, as hon. assistant librarian and secretary. On a ballot being taken for fi\'e members of committee, Messrs. R. W. Armitage, B.Sc. J. Gabriel, A. I). 40 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [voh'xxfx. Hardy, F.L.S., G. A. Keartland, and F. Pitcher were duly elected. On the motion of Mr. J. Stickland and Dr. T. S. Hall, M.A., a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the retiring office-bearers. Mr. F. Wisewould, before retiring from the chair, thanked the members for their support during the two years he had had the pleasure of presiding over the meetings of the Club, and trusted that continued progress would mark the coming year. Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc, in taking the chair, thanked the members for the confidence they had reposed in him in electing him as president, and hoped that he would be a worthy successor to the retiring president. PAPERS READ. 1. By Mr. D. J. Mahony, M.Sc, entitled "On the Bones of the Tasmanian Devil, and other Animals, Associated with Human Remains near Warrnambool ; with a Note on the Dune Sand." The author stated that during the recent Easter holidays he had traversed several miles of the sand dunes along the coast between Warrnambool and Port Fairy, and had examined several of the kitchen middens existing among them. A jaw- bone of the Tasmanian Devil, Sarcophilus ursimis, had been found associated with the remains of living species of marsupials, both quite unfossilized, and looking as though they had been exposed to the weather for some years. The conditions under which they were found are unfavourable for their yiro- longed preservation, and a comparison with rabbit bones from the same locality, which are undoubtedly quite recent, and with human remains, which in all probability are also quite recent, leads to the conclusion that the Tasmanian Devil must have survived on the Australian continent to a very much later j)eriod than has been generally supposed. A short discussion ensued, in which Dr. Hall, Mr. F. Chap- man, A.L.S., and the chairman took part. 2. By Messrs. J. H. Gatliff and C. J. Gabriel, entitled " On a New Variety of the Marine Shell Fasciolaria austnilasia. Perry." The authors pointed out that this shell, which is fairy common along the southern coast of Australia, exhil)its so many varia- tions from the t\i)ical form, and as one fairly constant variation had already been recorded as a variety (coronala), they con- sidered that the form under notice should also receive varietal name, so as to save confusion, and perhaps elevation to specific rank by some enthusiastic sj^ecies-making conchologist. They had, therefore, bestowed u])on it the varietal name of bakeri, in honour of Mr. F. H. Baker, F.L.S., who had furnished the type specimen. A large series of shells of the specific form and its varieties was exhibited in il'ustration of the paper. ■i "iz' ] Field N aturalists' Club — Proceedings. 41 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. Dr. Hall drew attention to the vast amount of information on all branches of science contained in the " Reports of the Smithsonian Institution, U.S.A.," and said that members would do well to make increased use of them. The hon. secretary read a note forwarded by Mr. J. Searle, in which he said that at the November meeting of the Club he exhibited a copepod, taken on the Nyora excursion, which he took to belong to a new genus, but not caring to take the responsibility of founding a new genus for the specimen, he had forwarded it to Professor G. A. Sars, of Christiania, the well-known authority on this group, who had agreed with him, and provisionally named it Hemibceckella searlei. The retiring hon. secretary (Mr. A. D. Hardy), speaking with reference to paragraphs which had appeared in the daily and weekly papers immediately after the last meeting of the Club, and which had been regarded by some as reports of the meeting, said that they had not been furnished by him, or authorized by any of the office-bearers. Moreover, they were incomplete, and to some extent incorrect. EXHIBITS. By Messrs. J. H. Gatliff and C. J. Gabriel. — Marine shell, Fasciolaria auslralasia, Perry ; the same, var. coroiiata, Lamarck ; type of Fasciolaria auslralasia, Perry, var. bakeri, Gatliff and Gabriel ; nidamental capsules and young shells of Fasciolaria (in illustration of paper). By INIaster Karl Glance. — Dried specimens of Loranthus penduliis, Sieb., and Acacia suaveolens, Willd., collected at Black Rock, 3rd June. By Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S.— Pollen grains of Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, stained for microscope. By Mr. J. Searle. — Specimens of the new copepod, Hcmiback- ella searlei, Sars (genus and species new), taken at Nyora, November, 191 1. By Mr. J. R. Tovey. — Dried specimen of introduced plant. Ribwort Plantain, Planlago lanceolata, L., showing foliation of the inflorescence, collected in Government House Domain, Mel- bourne. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. The following exhibits were made at the May meeting, but space could not be given them in the June Natmalist : — By Mr. R. W. Armitage, B.Sc. — Plants of the Peanut, Aracliis hypogcr, grown at the Agricultural High School, Colac : sapi- sapi shells, a species of Spondylus, from which New Guinea 42 Field Naiuvalists Club — Proceedings. [voi'.'^'xxix. money is made, from Sudest, Papua ; also money made from the shells, and photographs showing how the money is carried by the natives. By Mr. J. W. Audas, F.L.S. — Dried specimen of Bosstcca cordigera, Smith, Slender Bossiaea, in flower and fruit ; mosses — Ptychomnion avicidare. Lab. (found on decayed wood), Meteorium limbatum, C. M. and Hpe. (on rocks), and Dicranum angustinervis. Mill, (on rocks) ; fungi — Fomes anstralis, Fr. (on blackwood trunks), Daldinia concentrica, Bolt, (on acacias), Polystictiis lilacino-gilvus. Berk, (on rotten wood), P. occi- dentalis. Berk, (on stumps), and lichens — U^nca harbata, Fr., var. strigosa (on dead blackwoods), Parmelia placorhodioidcs, Nyl. (on dead blackwoods), P. physodes, L. (on rocks), Cladonia verticillata, Hoff. (on the ground), Sticta [Stictina) crocaia, Ach. (on rocks), and Cladonia {Clathrina) aggregata, Eschw. (on rocks). All from Mount Cole, Pyrenees, in illustration of paper. By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard. — Pot-grown specimen of fern, Botrychium ternatiun, originally found near Oakleigh. By Mr. F. Chapman, A.L.S. — Four species of cuttle-lish bones from Torquay — viz., S. apaiiia, S. latimaniis, S. capciisis, and S. braggi — in illustration of paper. Ely Mr. J. Cronin. — Flowers of the Queensland F"ire-tree, Stenocarpus sinuatiis, Endl., from trees growing in Mell)ourne Botanic Gardens. This is a handsome-foliaged and brilliant- flowered tree, suitable for growth in and around Mcll)ourne. It likes a slightly sheltered position, and grows to a height of 30 to 40 feet. By Mr. J. E. Dixon. — Nine species of reptiles from \'arious localities, also five species of Carab beetles, recently collected at Dandenong Ranges. By Mr. C. French, jun.^Fresh flowers of orchids Plerostylis parviflora, P. pedaloglnssa (rare), and Acianthiis cxsertiis, col- lected at Oakleigh, 12th May, 1912. By Mr. C. J. Gal^riel. — Marine shells, Vcrniictilaria /lava, Verco, from Tasmania ; V. ivddii, T.-Wds., from Victoria ; and V. aiistralis, Ouoy and Gaim., from New South Wales. By .Master Karl (ilance. — Fossil star-fish, Lovcnia forbcsii, collected on junior excursion to Beaumaris. By Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S. ^Foliage specimens of \arious acacias, showing positions of leaf-glands, in illustration of i)aper. By Mr. G. A. Keartland. — Specimen of Delma, s])., a legless lizard, from Sydenham. By Mr. A. H. E. Mattingley, C.M.Z.S.— Parasites (Maloi)haga) from White-capped Albatross. By Master W. J. Searle. — S])ccimcns of moth, Teara, sp., reared from larv.-e exhibited at February meeting ; also cocoon and food plant. J"'^^" 1 Mahony, Bones, &c., near Wavynamhool. 43 ON THE BONES OF THE TASMANIAN DEVIL AND OTHER ANIMALS, ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN REMAINS NEAR WARRNAMBOOL : WITH A NOTE ON THE DUNE SAND. By D. J. Mahony, M.Sc, F.G.S. {Read before the Field Naiuralisls' Club of Victoria, loth June, 191 2.) Among the sand-hills which fringe the coast between Warrnam- bool and Port Fairy there are many reHcs of aboriginal inhabitants. Ashes and blackened soil mark the sites of their cam]i fires ; shell heaps (consisting largely of Turbo, Haliotis, and Donax) indicate one source of their food, and implements of flint and other rocks and bone witness the state of their progress towards civilization. In addition to the shells there are also numerous bones lying on the surface of the sand, many of them greatly weathered, but some in a fairly good state of })reservation. Among them are the bones of the blackfellows themselves, of whales, seals, fish, and other marine animals, of birds and of animals, including the rabbit. Some of these animals were no doubt used for food by the blacks, and others chanced to die where their remains are now found, but the fact that most of them are associated with the middens indicates that a large proportion must be grouped with the other camp remains as having been accumulated by the natives. A small collection of jaws and other parts suitable for identifica- tion was made. Mr. J. A. Kershaw, F.E.S., of the National Museum, has kindly identified them for me, and I am also indebted to him for a revision of the nomenclature used in this paper. The following is his list, to which I have added the popular equivalents : — Jaws. Macropus, spp. Two, jiossibly j species Kangaroo SarcopJiilus ursimis, i specimen . . Tasmanian Devil. P/iascoln))iys iniichclli, 2 specimens . . Common Wombat. Dasyuyus vivcrrinus, 2 specimens . . Nati\'e Cat. Trichosiiriis (?) vulpcciila, 2 specimens Common Phalanger. Pseudochiriis (?) peregrinus, 2 specimens Ring-tailed Phalanger. Perameles, sj). . . . . . . Bandicoot. Teeth. Macropus, sp., probably M. giganteiis (the Common or Grey Kangaroo) or M. nijiis (the Great Red Kangaroo). Seven incisor teeth. Portion of a large tooth, too imperfect for determination. Skull. Mils (?) dcciiinanus. Imperfect, very recent . . Kat. 44 Mahony, Bones, &-c., near Warrnambool. [vol"^'xxix.. Scapula. (?) Canis vulpes, i specimen . . . . . . Fox. Mr. Kershaw, in his note accompanying tlie hst, remarks that the bones " are all in a more or less fragmentary condition and considerably affected by long exposure to the weather, so that it is impossible to determine the species of many of them. This particularly applies to the Macropus jaws, which represent two, possibly three, species, all living forms, and comparable with M. hillardieri (the Rufous-bellied Wallaby) and M. giganteus. The most interesting example in the collection is that of the right mandible of Sarcophilus nrsimis. which, from its appearance, is very recent. The single scapula belongs to a carnivore, and I have little doubt is that of a fox. The jaws of Pseudochirus peregrinus I have queried on account of their imperfect condition, although I have little doubt they belong to this species. The skull of the rat is very recent, dried pieces of the flesh still being attached." All the animals in the abov^e list are still living in Victoria except the Tasmanian Devil, and they are all indigenous except the fox. The association of the Tasmanian Devil with the other marsupial and human remains is particularly interesting, for this animal is now extinct on the Australian continent, and is confined to Tasmania as a living species. All the available evidence points to the very recent age of these bones. They are all quite unfossilized, and are not encrusted with lime from the calcareous dune sand, but have the appearance of bones exposed for a few years to the weather. Many of the bone implements, human bones, and rabbit bones are more decomposed than those collected for identification. The rabbit is, of course, an importation of a few years ago, and all the kitchen middens appear to be fairly modern, for they rest on the superficial layers of the sand dunes, and where the deeper parts of these dunes have been exposed by the wind there are no remains of animal or man so far as could be seen. It is also very unlikely that bones exposed to the conditions prevailing in this locality would be preserved for any con- siderable time, even if they were covered with loose porous sand. It would appear then that the Tasmanian Devil survived till a very late i)eriod in this part of Victoria, and that it was contemporaneous with the Australian aborigine. It may possibly have been exterminated l)y some such natural cause as that which attacked and destroyed in such numbers the Native Cat some years ago. The fossil remains of the Tasmanian Devil from ('am])er- down, Oueenscliff, J^aringhup, and Gisborne are exhil)ited in the National Museum collection. At Gisborne the bones were found in a cave in the Newer Basalt, during the geological July, "I Mahony, Bones, c^c, near Warrnambool. 45 1912 J > ) • -rj survey of the district, liy C. D. H. Aplin, in 1857 (Quarter Sheet 7 N.W.) On this map is printed the following note by the late Sir Frederick M'Coy : — " Note. — The Bones in this Cave are all strongly adherent to the tongue, and have quite lost their animal matter. The recognizable fragments are as follow : — " Placental Mammalia. " Canis Dingo, or Wild Dog, identical with living one. " New Genus of Carnivorous animal. " Implacental or Marsupial Mammalia. " Diabolm [Sarcophilus) Ursinus, Tasmanian Devil ; no species of this Genus at present known living on the continent of Australia. " Dasyimis viverrinus, identical with living species. " Dasyurus afflniis (M'Coy). New Species nearly as large as D. maculaUis [the Tiger Cat], but differing in proportions.* " Phalangista vulpina [Tyichosiirus vulfecula], identical with living forms. " Phalangista. — New Species. " Perameles obescula [= Isoodon obesculus, the Short-nosed Bandicoot], apparently identical with living species. ^^ Hy psiprimnits [= Potorus] trisulcatus (M'Coy). — A New Species, a little smaller than the living H. minor {— Potorus tridactyins, the Rat Kangaroo], and having only 3 sulci on large premolar in the larger jaw. " Macropns, a species nearly allied to the living M. ualahatus [the Black-tailed Wallaby], but distinct." Of these it will be noticed that Sarcophilus ursimis, Dasyiiriis viverrinus, Trichosurus viilpecula, and Macropns, sp., also occur at Warrnambool. The evidence as to the very recent age of the Gisborne bones is not so clear. The remains found in the cave are certainly younger than the Newer Basalt, which is generally considered to have been erujited during the Pliocene period, but IM'Coy's note on their condition may i)oint to considerable antiquity in years, though there is no evidence of how long it took the bones to lose their " animal matter." In conclusion, it may be of interest to note that the sand of the dunes in this locality is formed largely of shell fragments. A sample was analyzed by Mr. P. G. W. Bayly at the Geological Survey Laboratory, giving — * The original specimen, which is exhibited at the National Museum, bears the label: — " Daxyurus maculatus, Kerr, sp. Cave near Gisborne. [The type (not figured) of M'Coy's IJ. af/iutis, M. S.]" 46 Mahony, Bones, &c., near Wannambool. [y^i" Vict. Nat. XXIX. Insol. (SiOs) .. .. 5-IO % AI2O3 . . . . 0.57 % Fe^Os .. .. 0.87% CaCOa . . . . 86.25 % MgC03 . . . . 6.64 % H2O 0.41 % P2O5 . . . . . . Present Total . . 99.84 % The percentage of carbonate of magnesia is higher than might be expected, but this may be due to some impurity in the sample. Such a sand would be worthy of a thorough test as a fertilizer for the acid soils which prevail in many of the basaltic areas of Victoria. ON A NEW VARIETY (VAR. BAKERI) OF THE MARINE SHELL FASCIOLARIA AUSTRALASIA, Perry. By J. H. Gatliff and C. J. Gabriel. (With two Plates.) (^Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, loth June, 191 2.) The following is the original description in " Conchology, or the Natural History of Shells," by George Perry (London, igii). of Pyrula aiistralasia, pi. 54, f. 4 : — " Shell of an olive green, the mouth of a dark brown, rounded, streaked within. A native of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land." The figure is a good one, and depicts the front asjiect of the non-coronate variety of Fasciolaria, which is not common on our coast. In 1822 Lamarck, in " Anim. Sans Vert.," vol. vii., p. 120, described Fasciolaria coronata. His work had no figures ; but in 1840 Reeve, in " Conchologia Iconica," vol. ix., i^l. 6, ff. 14 (fl), [b], (c), {d), gave excellent figures of the mature and young forms, and thus described the species : — " Shell fusi- form, sometimes abbreviated, sometimes elongated, whorls spirally obtusely ridged throughout, concavely slanting round the upjier ]:)art, nodose at the angle, nodules rather swollen, fawn or ashy-grey, encircled with two more or less obscure whitish narrow zones." Habitat. — New Holland. Kiener, in " Cofpiilles Vivanlcs," vol. ii., p. i;;, jil. iv., fig. 2, described and figured Fasciolaria fiisiformis, Valen- ciennes. The figure resembles that given by Perry, but the only longitudinal ])lirations d('i)i("(c(l ar<' on the early sjiiral THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Vol. XXIX. Plate hi. July, 19 1 2. No. I. No. 2. FASCIOLARIA AUSTRALASIA. VAR. BAKERI.-Oat. iand Gae VARIETIES OF FASCIOLARIA AUSTRALASIA. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST.— Vol. XXIX. July, 1912. Plate iv. No. 5- No. '.. No- r- VARIETIES OF FASCIOLARIA AUSTRALASIA. ■^o'la' ] <^ATLiFF AND Gabriel, Fasciolavia aiisiralasia. 47 whorls, the feature being absent on the four later whorls. His description is : — " F. testa elongata, fusiformi, bruneo-rubses- cente, transversim sulcata, interstitiis transversim et longi- tudinaliter striatis ; apertura oblonga, fulvo-albida ; labro dextra crenato, intus sulcato ; columella triplicata." Habitat. — Coast of New Holland. In the same work, Kiener, at page 9, pi. ix., fig. 4, describes and figures, apparently from the type, Fasciolaria coronata, Lamarck. Habitat. — Seas of New Holland and King Island. It is the coronated form commonly found on our shores, and the description and figure agree fairly well with Reeve's. F.\sciOLARiA AUSTRAL.\siA, Perry, var. bakeri (var. no v.) The chief points in which this variety differs from the forms usually found are : — The spire is more elongate (this is especially noticeable in the example figures 3 and 4), the longitudinal ])lications are pronounced, the spiral sculpture is stronger, comprising strong riblets with from two to four well-defined intermediate threads. The interior is white. There is a whitish encircling band at the periphery, which is plainly seen on the young shells on all of the whorls, the rest of the shell l:)eing coloured light reddish-brown, with a brownish-yellow epidermis. The test of the varietal type is very solid. Dimensions of Type of Variety. — Length, 93 mm. ; breadth, 41 mm. Locality. — Our first imperfect example was obtained at Lakes' Entrance, Gippsland, in August, 1895. The type was recently got at Anderson's Inlet, and the other forms figured were obtained by the trawler Simplon off Cape Howe, Victoria. Observations. — We were at first inclined to make a new species of the typical form of the new variety, but, upon critically examining and comparing over a hundred specimens, we determined to rank it as a variety, and to figure some of the connecting variations of form that appeared to us to only entitle it to be considered as a variety. We have named it in honour of Mr. Fred. H. Baker, F.L.S., an enthusiastic collector, who furnished us with the tyjie, which is in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gatliff. Typical specimens of Fasciolaria aiistralasia. Perry, the variety coronata, Lamarck, and the type of variety bakeri, Oatliff and (iabriel, and a series of connecting forms, are ex- hibited, also young forms and nidamental caj^sules of Fascio- laria. Tliese capsules consist of two groujis, each of them nini' in number, one group attached above the other. We have ojHMU'd one caiisule laterally. Ihe f(uir embryonic forms it 48 Gatliff and Gabriel, Fasciolavia australasia. [vIk'xxix. contains are in the same position as when it was opened. These protoconchs consist of two inflated, smooth whorls, with canal fairly produced, aperture pyriform. They are white and translucent. Explanation of Plates. Fig. I. — Type, dorsal aspect, 93 x 41 mm. Fig. 2. — Type, front aspect. Figs. 3 and 4. — Intermediate form, connecting with F. ntistralasia, 126 X 50 mm. Fig. 5. — Intermediate form, connecting with var. coyonnta, 103 x 44 mm. Fig. 6. — Young form, jy x 30 mm. Fig. 7. — Young form, 70 x 30 mm. Some Australian Books Worth Reading. — From "The Dreadnought of the Darhng," by C. E. W. Bean : — " The Magic Carpet. — We were crossing some low rocky ridges when all the colour seemed to fade out of the picture. It was as though the earth had suddenly fainted, or as though we were looking at it through a blue glass. . . . We had seen a few grey mulga trees before among the green scrub, but now every tree was grey. . . . The grass was the old white beards of a thick crop of spear-grass, which had sprung up two years before after heavy rain, and had been dying ever since. The only colour in the scene was where, along the road and between the grass tufts, we could see the earth ; and that was a brilliant red. . . . Everyone said — ' You should see this country in a good year — it's just like a wheat-field,' but, of course, we thought that was a natural exaggeration. . . . About a year later I visited that country again. It had just received a good autumn rain. The grass had not had time to reach its full height, and the country was not quite the picture that one had heard about, but it was near enough to convince one that the descriptions of it were not exaggerated. . . . A little later we drove through acres strewn thick wath a sort of white daisy ; in other parts the land was covered with some herb that blossomed pink and yellow. We could not tie the grass over the horse's withers, but we saw enough to believe them when they said that in some years they could." Che Uictorian naturdlist. Vol. XXIX.— No. 4. AUGUST 8, 1912. No. 344. FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB OF VICTORIA. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 8th July, 1912. The president, Mr. J. A. Leach, M.Sc, occupied the chair, and about 60 members and visitors were present. A brief report of the excursion to Gisborne and Woodend on Saturday, 22nd June, was given, in the absence of the leader, Prof. E. W. Skeats, D.Sc, by Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S., who said that the party, consisting of three members and twenty-three University students, visited Mount Macedon, the Camel's Hump, and the Hanging Rock during the day's ramble of about fifteen miles. The leader had explained the geology of the country passed through, and demonstrated the relation- ship of the various rock formations. Mr. A. L. Scott, in the absence of the leader, Mr. H. W. Wilson, stated that the junior excursion which was to have been held at Studley Park on Saturday, 6th July, did not take jilace, owing to the non-attendance of any junior members. ELECTION OF MEMBERS. Messrs. W. L. C. Harry, Mentone, and C. S. Dawes were elected ordinary members at the June meeting. [These names were inadvertently omitted from last month's journal. — Ed. \"id. Nat.] GENERAL BUSINESS. Mr. J. K. Tovey called attention to the omission, in the current (July) Naturalist, of the names of two gentlemen who were elected at the jirevious meeting. Messrs. G. Coghill and A. D. Hardy referred to the late publication of the Naturalist, which resulted in many members receiving no notice of the meeting, and asked if this could be remedied in future. The president, in rc'i)]y. said that the late issue of the July Naturalist was due, in a large measure, to the dilatory metliods of the Postal Deimrtment. Mr. (i. A. Keartland thought that an official j)rotest should be made to the Postal Dei)artment, and moved accordingly. This was seconded by Mr. J. Booth, and carried. PAPERS READ. I. V>y Mr. F. ( hapman, A.L.S., entitled " What are Type Sj^ecimens ? How Should They be Named ? " The author pointed out the difficulties met with by students owing to type specimens being scattered alxml in dilfcrent 50 Field Naturalists' Club — Proceedings. [vor'xxix- museums, or in private hands, and laid particular stress on the utmost care being taken in their housing and supervision. Definitions of the more essential terms which he had introduced in preparing the catalogue of the paheontological collections at the National Museum, Melbourne, were given ; and a new name, tectotype (with its accompanying compounds, tectoparatype and tectoplesiotype). was suggested to denote specimens used in a structural sense for the better diagnosis of genera and species. 2. By Dr. T. S. Hall, M.A., entitled " Geological Rambles along the Victorian Coast." This took the form of a lecture, and by means of" a large number of lantern slides the geology of the country adjacent to and along the Victorian coast was explained in a very interesting manner. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. Dr. T. S. Hall, M.A., mentioned having a dwarf bamboo in flower, and asked if this was at all common in Victoria. Mr. F. Pitcher said that the plant occasionally flowered in the Botanical Gardens, and that it died afterwards. Mr. F. G. A. Barnard remarked that a pot s})ecimen he once had also had flowered and died. EXHIBITS. By Mr. C. J. (iabriel. — Marine shells— Cry ploiiiilon stcllari, Midd., from California ; Callochiton inornatus. T.-Wds., from Tasmania ; Ischnochiton juloides, Ad. and Ang., from South Australia ; Chiton exoptandus, Bednall, from South Australia : and Acanthochites matthewsi, Bednall and Pilsbry. taken from the- gut of a whiting, from South Australia. By Mr. A. D. Hardy, F.L.S. — Desmid, Cosiiuiriinii birctum, Breb., collected on 26th March, 1904, in a rock pool, Botanical Gardens. By Miss Rollo. — Nest of tra]vdoor spider. By Mr. F. Wisewould. — Fine {plants of the Nati\'e Heath, Epacris impressa, from Gembrook. By Master Karl Glance. — Dried specimens of Loranthiis celastroides, Epacris impressa, and Casuarina slricla, from Black Rock ; Eucalyptus melliodora, from St. Kilda Park. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. Fasciolaria AUSTRALASIA, VAR. Bakeri. — In making up Plate HI. in the July Naturalist the blocks for figures i and 2, 3 and 4 were transposed, the error not being detected until after publication. Figures 3 and 4 rejHesent the tyi>e speci- men, while I and 2 are an intermediate variety. Subscribers should m;i.k(' the necessary alleratioiis in tlicir copies. Vgfi' 1 AvDAfi, An Easleriide m the Victorian Pyrenees. 51 AN EASTERTIDE IN THE VICTORIAN PYRENEES. By J. W. AuDAS, FT^.S., Assistant, National Herbarium, Melbourne. (Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, i^th May, 1912.) E.\STERTIDE is not the most favourable period of the year to study our flora in the field, l)ut the bush always exerts a magnetic influence over me, and, having a few days' vacation at that time, I no longer resisted its impelling call, and started for that portion of the Pyrenees surrounding the highest peak, Mt. Cole, 3,347 feet above sea-level. A train journey of just over one hundred miles along the Adelaide line brought me to the little township of Beaiifort, where I made my head- quarters, and from which place the mountain can be seen standing out prominently fourteen miles to the north-west, a good road leading right to the foot of the mountain itself. That the district is extremely suitable for fruit-growing is evidenced by the many ])rosperous and healthy orchards, those of Mr. Watkins, of Belle View, and Mr. Richards, nearer the mount, being striking examples of its favourable nature. The orchardists here are still favoured by a complete absence of many pests which follow on the heels of habitation, including the destructive codlin moth, so that spraying is not yet necessary in their orchards, and the sparrow does not vet " peck their best fruit." Other birds, however, were there in great numbers and variety, such as the ubiquitous White-backed Magpie, the lesser-known and inoffensive Grey Magpie, and flocks of the White-winged Chough, Corcorax melanorhamphiis. The large, oval mud nests of the latter bird were numerous on the branches of the Messmates, Eucalyptus obliqua, and I was interested in contrasting their habits of nesting with those of the Mud-Lark, or " Pee-wee," Grallina picata. Although both have mud nests, the former builds secure and sheltered on the leafy branches of the Messmate, while the latter hies himself to the topmost and most exjMised limb of the Swamp (ium. In the vicinity of Raglan, the neat-growing, mat-like foliage of the introduced Chamomile, Anthemis nobilis, with its white- rayed florets, formed round patches of deep green against the dry grey of the grass paddocks, and, in more damp and swampy places, its relative, Cotula coronopifoUa. with curious fleshy leaves and disc-like flowers, were equally numerous. These plants are somewhat a jiest, owing to the deleterious effect which they produce, when consumed by cattle, upon the milk and cream. Another noxious weed, the common Horehound, Mamibium vuli^are, flourished exceedingly in what would seem to be very uncongenial soil — the hard, i)eaten ground ol the roadway. On a swamp near the roadside the 52 AuDAs, An Eastertide in the Victorian Pyrenees [voi!^'xxix. elegant Potamogeton-like leaves of the aquatic jilant Otielia ovalifolia covered the water surface. This plant bears large flowers of pure white touched with deepest crimson in the centre, and I regretted it was not blooming, as it would have been a lovely sight, but its beauty is only to be seen during the spring- time. On the flats near the Raglan Creek, which are mostly timbered with the Black Wattle, Acacia deciirrcns, var. inol- Hssima, I "noted that the trees had been ruined by what appeared at a little distance to be the ravages of a recent bush-fire, but closer investigation showed the destruction had been caused by the beetle known as the " Fire-Blight of Wattles," Paro'psis orphana, which had eaten the epidermis, or bark, from the footstalks of the foliage, leaving only brown or scorched-looking branches behind. Although the effect was rather drastic, that all were not killed war. shown by some trees sending forth fresh growth. The enemies of the wattle are numerous. They have many battles to fight in the struggle for existence, and I noted that these trees were also infected with some of the borer beetles. There are hundreds of species of these longicorn beetles in Austraha, and, although their habits vary, some living upon the timber while others live upon the bark, their actions are frequently fatal to the trees. I split open some branches and collected some larvae, which I forwarded to Mr. C. French, jun., Acting Government Entomologist, to whom I am indebted for information regarding them. He states that they were longicorn larvai, but it would be almost impossible to say to what species they belong — most probably to the genera Phoracantha and Epithora, both very destructive to our wattles. Along the flats of this creek were many nice clumps of shrubs, such as the Woolly Tea-tree, Leptos'permum puhesccns, which grew densely, frequently exceeding thirty feet in height, and the wild Hazel, Pomaderris apetala. These two grew close upon the water's edge, while a little beyond flourished thickets of the Sifting-bush or Mountain Itch, Cassinia acideata, with flowers varying from white to })ink, also the Silver Wattle, Acacia dealbata. the glaucous colouring of the latter being more pronounced than usual. I chanced upon many species of the Cyperaceae or Sedge family growing in the more open spots along the valley of the stream, Gahnia (Cladiiim) psitia- corum, the tallest of the sedges, being jmrticularly i)lentiful, growing to the height of fifteen feet, and bearing panicles of from eighteen inches to two feet in length, in whicli the scarlet seeds could be plainly seen gradually expelling themselves from the glumes. A very near relative of this sedge, (',. Radiila, is now being jmt to commercial use at Ringwood, where it grows \"^-' 1 Avi) AS, An Eas/erlide in Ihe Victorian Pyrenees. 53 plentifully, a factory having been established there for manu- facturing it into brooms ; and, indeed, many of our sedges should, under cultivation, yield a profitable return in fibre. Many smaller plants grew right on the water's edge, among which the pur{)le flowers of the Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris, were quickly recognized, and one of the Scrophularineae, the introduced Musk, Mimitliis moschatiis, was here very abundant : its soft, tender green leaves and yellow fiowers kissed th-: i)urling waters. Many people are unaware that the Myriogync minuta, a little plant which grew here profusely, and is fairly common, possesses strong sternutatory properties, and snuff could be manufactured from it — indeed, to casually inhale the perfume of its flowers is quite sufficient to bring on an attack of sneezing. The star-like blue flowers of the lowly Isotoma flitviatilis broke the monotony of the mud flats, being more ornamental than useful, as it is a noted poisonous ])lant. having a very deleterious effect upon stock. Intermixed with it, in complementary contrast., were the tiny yellow .flowers of the Wood Sorrel, Oxalis corniculaia. It was somewhat unusual to find the papilionaceous shrub Bossiaa cordigera blooming at this time of the year, as it usually flowers during the spring months. It was very plentiful in this district, and its habitat seems to be confined principally to this portion of our State. In starting my ascent of Mount Cole, I made for the point where the race which supplies the township of Beaufort with water starts from a creek which has its source among the granite boulders of the mountain. The soil at first was of a black sandy nature, but higher became a grey loam, with a subsoil of clay. Although formerly densely wooded, the moun- tain does not now, near its base, display a great amount or variety of timbers, as the saw-millers have held unrestricted licence upon its resources for many years past : however, the Forestry Dejmrtment has now put an end to this ruthless destruction. To carry out this policy the mountain has been closed against timber-getters, and the trees which have grown up during the last few years are being given a chance to develoj) by a judicious system of thinning out and of shaping the saplings. The trees consisted of the Apple Gum, Eucalypliis Stuariiana, Messmate, E. obliqiia. Cider Gum, E. Gunnii, Manna Gum, E. viminalis. Blue Gum. E. globulus. Grey Box. li. elceophor a, and the Narrow-leaved Pep]>ermint. /:". atnvgdaliiui. The leaves of the latter tree jiresented a very dotted appear- ance, caused liy numerous oil-glands, bearing e\'iden((> of the l)rcsencc of exceptional {piantities of I'ssential oil. wlii