a rc ALS © %, Ps eS Do Oo oo Pee oe ae ee ee HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. #198) Joruccong Bhs IFIB. Sree Ss omen perme nn renee ALAES bien, VICTORIAN NATURALIST: THE JOURNAL & MAGAZINE Viel Naturalists’ Club of Victoria. VOL 6 WV. MAY, 1888, ro APRIL, 1889. The author of each article is responsible for the facts and Opinions he records. Atlelbourne : WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 9 MACKILLOP STREET (OFF 390 LITTLE COLLINS STREET). 1889. PNDEX TO VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Exhibition of Wild Flowers 107 WAGE. WS PAGE PAGE Actinotus Schwartzi - => 3 Proceedings, 17, 18, 33, 49, Arnhem’s Land, The Geology Gil, 7B, 8, 108, Wy, Was, of - = 4 - 155, 170 153, 169 Athrixia Croniniana - - 64 | Geology of Arnhem’s Land, Atriplec Quinti — - - - 96 The - - - 165, 170 Australia, A Residence im Geological Notes of a Visit to North-West - => Oe alaly New South Wales - = (6F Australian Birds, Notes on Dr. Goodenia pusilliflora - 11 Ramsay’s List of — - - 78 | Habits of Perga Lewisii, el otés: Australian Birds, Oology of - 160 | | onthe - - 57 Australian Plants, New Heron, The Blue Reef - - 120 11, 54, 74, 96, 165 | Hour on a Coral Island, An - 141 Bendigo Science Society - 72 | Humming Bird and Mantis - 85 Botanical Notes of Visit to Hydroida, List of Victorian - 130 New South Wales - - 63 | Lalmenus evagorus, Notes on - 168 Butterfly, Notes on - - 168 | Jenolan Caves, A Visit to the- 12 Candollea Merallii - - - 76 | ‘‘ Katipo,” Experiments with Carabs, Effects of SE of the Victorian - - - 06 Wine on - - - 180 | ‘‘Katipo,” or Poisonous Spider Cassia Robertsont - - 798 of New Zealand” - 43, 46 Centennial Exhibition, The - 60 | King Island - - - - 86 Coral Island, An Hourona - 141 | Lake Albacutya District, Curious Phenomenon, A - 76 Zoology of = - - - 30 Description of a New Form of Lepidopterous Larvee, Means the Orchid-genus Drakeea 174 of Protection of — - - 114 Dispersion of Seeds and Lepidoptera, New Australian 136 Plants, The - - 71 | Lepidoptera, Notes on Vic- Edible Mussel, The Move- torian and Queensland - 28 ments of - = - - 9 | Lichens, Descriptions of New 29 English Notes - - 46, 162 | Lichens, List of New Vic- Hrratum - 88 torian - - - ol Eucalypts, The Tveinilovertion af Dil Logania Faeananes © - - - 165 Experiments with the Vic- | Loganaceee, Notes on Aus- torian ‘‘Katipo” - - 06 | tralian - 165 Field Naturalists’ Club, The— | Marine Mollusca, List of wile Annual Conversazione (the | torian = - aaalelel eighth) - - - 1, 20 | Mimicry - - - 98, 69 Annual Report (the eighth) 61 | Monkey - - - 87 | Movements of Edible Mussel- 9 lV INDEX. PAGE PAGE Murray, Trip to Upper - 47,51 | Seeds and Plants, Dispersion Natural History of Western of - - = = = f1 Wimmera - - - 145 | Sharks, Victorian - - = iia) New South Wales, Botanical Shells, Surface - 91 and Geological Notes of - 63 | Shells, List of Victorian Marine 111 Oology of Australian Birds - 160 | Snakes - - = - 32 Opossum, A Sagacious - - 00 | Snake-bites - - = - 47 Orchid-genus Drakeea, Descrip- Spider, The ‘‘ Katipo,”’ or New tion of a New Form of - 174 | Zealand Poisonous - - 43 Palolo, The - - - 76,165 | Spiders and Rain - = 16 Pallas’s Sand Grouse’ - -.167 | Tern, The Black- cheese Noddy 72 Perga Lewisti, Notes on Habits Tree, A Large - - - 152 of - - - - = of | Trip to Upper Murray - 47, 51 Peripatus in Victoria - - 134 | Victoria, Peripatusin - - 154 Planarians, The Food of 48, 60 | Victorian Goodenia, A New - 12 Plants, List of Victorian - 14 | Victorian Hydroida, List of - 130 Plants, New Australian Victorian Lichens, New - - 3il 11, 54, 74, 96, 165 | Victorian Mollusca, List of - 111 Plants, Notes on Salsolaceous 96 Victorian and Queensland Rotts ReneS. Dhe late DoE — 72) | Lepidoptera - - 28 Protection of Lepidopterous Victorian Plants, List o - |4 Larvee, The Natural - 114 Victorian Sharks - - - 175 Ptilotus Carlsoni - - - 74 | Visit to Jenolan Caves - - 121 Rain and Spiders - - - 16 | Voluta undulata and Allied Rats and Plants - - 87 | Species - - - 155 Recollections of Nore West | Wild Flowers, Paina of - 107 Australia - - 98,117 | Wimmera, Natural History of Salmon in Tasmania - - 104 Western - - 145 Salsolaceous Plants, Noteson 96 | Zoology of Lake Nits cnice Select Extra-tropical Plants - 155 | District - - - - 38 Gat) Jeu) daw ay, I . - Page 54,—Insert ‘‘ ATHRIXIA CRONINIANA ” Page 111.—For ‘‘ (Minolia) vectiliginea ”’ Page 112.—For ‘‘(Ampullarina) Quoy and Desh.” Quoyana, Desh. Page 113.—Insert ‘‘ PAPHIA” Page 123, line 38.—-For ‘‘ western’ D> ’ Page 123, line 41.—For ‘“‘ eastern Page 123, line 42.—For ‘‘ western”’ Page 124, line 13.—For ‘‘ western ”’ 2) ars by Page fee line 22.—For ‘‘ Kastern Vilas Pe Page 1 25, line 26.—For ‘‘ western as 10th line from bottom. read ‘‘ (Minolia) vitiliginea.”’ read ‘*(Ampullarina as 13th line from bottom in Ist column. Page 114.—For ‘“‘ Lucinm” read ‘‘ Lucrna” in 3rd line, lst column. read ‘‘ eastern.” ” read ‘‘ western.”’ read ‘‘ eastern.”’ read ‘‘ eastern.’ read ‘‘ Easter.” read ‘‘ eastern.”’ Page 126, last line.—-For ‘‘ Australian ”’ oe ‘© Australasian.’ j Vou. V.—No. 1. May, 1888. We Eas Victorian Naturalist THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE OF THE Piela Baturalizts’ Olab of Victoria, The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. MiciMioMothiaMicodicaioalliaMoliiliotlliatlintlitliallcnall tliat tli ctMcabe Ai ctlicti atl tMi cli Mi tlhe Ai tM Mle wi tie Mle Mb ie ti til MioKottiotiottiotialialltiatlallcallottoMatiailiotlclatlcoMiotatliactMatlilltsilhiille ili ilti ili sie calli all SA cil, 4. cant. A ci. AcE delle 6. eli. cnn 0, ca fc cel a in ej, A, a a GONFEENTS. PAGE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FireLD NATURALISTS’ Cius oF VicTORIA— ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE .. ie fs ae fe eae D=ESCRIPTION OF AN HitHERTO UNRECORDED GooDENIA, INDIGENOUS ALSO TO Victoria. By Baron von Murwuer, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.R.S., &c. 11 colliailliciMialintlitlicati alilll SUPPLEMENT TO THE HINUMERATION OF VICTORIAN Puants. By Baron Furp. yon Murti, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.R.S., &. .. ws eae! siMaiMilliculli cll PRICE—SIXPENCE. AGENTS FOR EUROPE: MiMcitiiliotliiloattiootli MiMi alli : DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. : . CEQ elbourne ; = E A. H. Masstna & Co., Prinrers, 26 Lrrrzz Connins-stremr East. - - : 1888. Z on PoohM iliac MMM atliutliotbdteithaitheutlhethictlreatth ifs oilliasllenallctllecatflrcillsalbicailli sibs ual JAJES EXPRESS, 11 MARKET STREET, Natural History and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address in Britain, Sv. PER POUND. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. LONDON OFFICE: W. & SUTTON & C0. GOLDEN LANE, B.C. A. J. Aas (Twenty Years with Paun THomas), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS AND SHOR Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. CASH PRICES. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments Fs every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. A SWAN STON- STRESS (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street), MELUBOURN £.- THE Wictorvian Maturalixt, Vion Niow 1 MAY, 1888. No. 53. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ Cl OE WAC TN @IRAUA, ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, A. H.S. Lucas, Eso., M.A., B.Sc. Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, IN rising to speak of the work and progress of our Club during the past year, I am at once reminded of the eloquent address you have become accustomed to listen to at our annual conversazione from my genial predecessor. Mr. Halley has retired, after three years’ occupancy of the presidential chair, and we miss the familiar voice and presence of our able and popular chairman. It is, however, a great pleasure to me that we are still able to rely upon his counsel and hearty co- operation in the important work of the Club. The Club is in a highly prosperous condition. Our numbers keep up. Happily, our ranks have not this year been invaded by death. Two of our prominent members—both former Vice- Presidents of the Club—Dr. Lucas and Mr. Forbes-Leith, have left the colony, but both continue to send us communica- tions—the former from Queensland, and the latter from Britain. On the other hand, we have to record the accession of several valuable workers. Our finances are in a healthy condition. Unlike some other societies, we have nct the benefit of a Government grant. But we are able to pay our way, and especially to support the expense of the journal by means of which we endeavour to spread abroad the information we acquire. I am glad to say that we are not without recognition of our work from England and from the other colonies. But we could wish for a wider circulation, and for ampler means to extend and to illustrate our publication. Our meetings have been well attended, and there is no evi- dence of the interest in them falling off. The papers have shown that members have been actively working and thinking 2 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. during the year, and—a hopeful feature—they have given rise more frequently to discussions. Mr. Sayer has described his brilliant first ascent of Mount Bellenden Ker; Messrs. Le Souef and French have recorded their observations on the animals and plants respectively of the Mallee district, near Lake Albacutya ; and Mr. Stirling has written of the flora of Mount Hotham. Mr. A. J. Campbell has added to oological science a description of the nest of Queen Victoria’s Rifle Bird of~ Paradise, and of the eggs of sixteen species of Australian birds not previously described. Mr. Hunt has speculated in an interesting manner both on nidification and on the colouration of birds’ eggs. Messrs. Gatliff and Bracebridge Wilson have furnished well-authenticated lists of Victorian Mollusca. Baron von Mueller has continued his original descriptions of Aus- tralasian plants, including that of a fine New Guinea Rhodo- dendron, and has also given a supplemental list of over 300 hitherto unrecorded Australian lichens. The Cryptogamists, indeed, have given us several papers :—Mr. Tisdall on Fungi; Miss Campbell on Vegetable Pathology; Mr. Sullivan on Mosses; and the Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, two papers on Lichens. They have also added about 100 species to our lists of evascular plants. The exhibits, both at the ordinary meetings and at the Wild Flower Show, have been good and varied. At the latter no less than 250 species of wild flowers were exhibited ~ in the living state. We cannot, in justice to all exhibitors, and in mercy on your patience, enumerate all the objects that deserve mention. But we cannot pass by in silence the very excellent water-colour drawings by Mr. Brittlebank, in which he has delineated faithfully the different stages in the life histories of so many of our insects. This is new ground. The work is very valuable, and it is a great source of regret that the Club’s finances are not such as to enable them to reproduce Mr. Brittlebank’s careful and beautiful studies in the Victorzan Naturalist. The committee have this year made a new and wise departure, in drawing up at its commencement a programme of excursions for the whole twelve months. By this arrangement a more systematic and more varied series of outings has been secured, and interest has been revived. As railway communication is extended it becomes easy to reach, especially on holidays, localities affording fresh forms and phenomena, and the opportunities of the year have not been neglected. Parties of the Club have visited the Trentham Falls, Bacchus Marsh, Croydon, Ringwood, Lilydale, the Dandenong Creek, Berwick, and the Plenty River at Bundoora, in addition to the well- handled collecting grounds near town. But the great expedition of the year has been that to King Island. There have been campings out in previous years at Lily- THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 3 — dale and on Piuillip Island; but in November. last twenty-six members of the Club devoted themselves for over a fortnight to the exploration of King Island, and the examination of its flora and fauna. The Hon. Commissioner of Customs kindly allowed the use of the Government steamer—the Lady Loch— to convey the members of the expedition to and from the island. The members worked hard throughout, and full reports of the results secured by them have already appeared, constituting the January number of the WVafuralist. I will not here recapitulate them, but will simply quote the general conclusion of Professor Spencer that “there is little doubt, from the evidence obtained, negative and positive, that King Island is allied naturally, as well as politically, to Tasmania.” The expedition does not pretend to have exhausted King Island, and I have little doubt but that, profiting by the experience now acquired, a future party of our naturalists will succeed in wresting further spoil and knowledge from the difficult parts of the island not as yet reached. That much has been done the exhibits from King Island to-night testify. _ We have not forgotten our duties to the State this year. The subject of the protection of our native birds has been again brought under the notice of Government, and we have found the Commissioner of Customs very favourably disposed to our views. The Government have gone, indeed, even further in this matter than we ventured to suggest, and have proclaimed permanently-closed seasons for a large number of our useful and persecuted birds. I would especially call your ‘attention to the fact that it is now illegal at any time to take or destroy the Lyre-bird ; and it is to be hoped that the public will endeavour to support this attempt of the Government to save these rare and curious birds from extermination, by giving information should they become aware of any breach of the law. ' At the August meeting Mr. Gregory brought before the Club the desirability of at once taking steps to secure the permanent reservation of Wilson’s Promontory as a national park. The motion he introduced was carried unanimously, and it was decided to ask the other scientific societies of Victoria to unite in making strong representations to the Ministers of Lands and Customs on the subject. Accordingly, after much careful consideration had been given to the question by these bodies, a deputation, representing the Royal Society, the Geographical Society, and the Academy of Arts, as well as our Club, waited on the Minister of Lands, and pointed out to him the peculiar advantages of the Promontory for the purpose specified, its natural and effective boundaries, its variety of scenery, its future accessibility, the absence of vested interests, and the utility of part as a forest (kauri) reserve. The deputation was well received, and we are hopeful that Victoria will follow, in 4: THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. this respect, the good example set by the United States of America, by New South Wales, and by New Zealand, and will preserve this wild locality as a recreation ground for the colony. _ In other ways the Government has shown itself alive to the importance of developing our natural resources by scientific methods. Too much praise can scarcely be accorded te-the boldness and scope of the scheme of irrigation for the Interior. The effect in steadying, in extending, and in improving our agricultural and pastoral industries cannot be calculated. With a network of watercourses, as Baron von Mueller has pointed out, the crops can not merely be grown, but can be also insured against fire. Foryears, too, the Government botanist has strenu- ously advocated not merely the maintenance of certain of our present forests, but also the establishment of plantations of our most important native, and of suitable imported, timbers. Vic- toria, it is said, imports annually foreign timber to the value of over 41,000,000, and it is, perhaps, one of the countries of the world best suited for the growth of serviceable timber. The Minister of Lands has professed himself alive to the importance of fostering this native industry, and, whatever may be our general views on economic questions, few of us, I think, will be inclined to object to the protection of our valuable forest trees. The deterioration of our fishing grounds and inadequate supply of fish for even Melbourne consumption have made themselves felt, and the Government have accordingly secured the services of a highly-distinguished expert—Mr. Savile Kent —who has been occupied in examining the condition of the seas, lakes, and rivers of Victoria, and has already furnished valuable reports, full of exact information, and pregnant with suggestions for future culture. The office of Inspecter of Fisheries has become vacant, and it is to be hoped that the Government will follow up their wise beginning by appointing a man of scientific training and wide experience to superintend our fisheries, for no one else could be capable of coping with the complicated problems which are sure to arise, and which are ever changing their form from season to season. Our knowledge of the distribution of the food, of the enemies, and of the rivals, of our food-fishes and edible crustacea and mollusca is exceedingly scanty, and we know next to nothing of the localities where our fish spawn. To acquire this knowledge, which is essential to scientific fish- culture, and, to meet special difficulties as they are encountered, a properly qualified officer should be appointed. Here we may naturally turn to a good work which has been initiated during the year by the Royal Society. That body has appointed a committee to collect information as to the distri- bution, life history, associations, and incidentally the commercial value, of the life forms of Port Phillip, and, further, made a THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. a) grant of £50 for the practical expenses of the work incurred in dredging and preservation of specimens and in their con- veyance to specialists for exact identification, etc. The work was commenced in July last, and a good deal has been done both in the waters near Melbourne and in those near the Heads. You will be interested to know that several members of our Club are serving on that committee, and amongst them Mr. Bracebridge Walson, of Geelong, whose knowledge and experience of the dredging grounds of Port Phillip are unique. It is hoped, too, that memoirs of scientific value will be forth- coming on the material acquired. The year has been signalised at the Melbourne University by great developments. Students have been working through the first year of a scientific course for the newly-established Degree in Natural Science. One of the most noteworthy features of this course is that, after his first year of more general work, a student is required to specialise, to devote himself to one only of the four natural groups of sciences—to physics, to chemistry, to biology, or to geology. We may now look forward, then, to having amongst us men well and thoroughly trained in these sciences, who shall be able to speak with the authority of first- hand knowledge, and who, by their presence and influence, will be able to communicate to the University and to the common- wealth more—much more—of general scientific culture than could possibly be the case if all acquired the same smattering of some of the elementary, but of none of the advanced, principles and methods of all the sciences. Most satisfactory is the pro- vision already made for practical work. Under the skilled guidance of Dr. Masson, a well-equipped primary chemical laboratory has been erected, and is now in full working order. There are signs that the great difficulties of furnishing adequately a physical laboratory will be fairly grappled with. We are naturally most interested in the School of Biology. A new chair was created at the close of last year, and has been filled by the appointment of Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, of Oxford. Professor Spencer was already distinguished in Europe, on account of his researches in embryology, and by his magnificent monograph on the “ Pineal Eye in Lizards.” And he has shown himself an enthusiastic worker in all departments of his subject since his arrival in the colony. A first instalment of the Biologi- cal Laboratories is approaching completion, and is expected to be in readiness for the use of students in a few weeks. But lately Professor Spencer has been joined by Mr. A. Dendy, B.Sc., who has been previously engaged at the British Museum, and is the author of one of the important monographs of the Challenger Reports on the horny sponges. Additional ‘signs of the times” may, perhaps, be found in the 6 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. cordial reception by the members of the University Union of Mr. Topp’s valuable and suggestive lecture on the study of natural history, and by the recent declaration of the master of Queen’s College (whom we are glad to welcome as a member of this Club) ‘of the intention of that college to pay special attention to natural science. I may add that Trinity and Ormond Colleges do not by any means purpose to neglect “the science side.” I will now refer to some of the more interesting publications in the year relating to Australian natural history. In our own colony Professor M‘Coy has brought out Decades XIV. and XV. of his ‘*Prodromus of Zoology.” In these are beautifuily- executed plates, by Mr. Bartholomew and Dr. Wild, of several of our lizards and fish, including Banks’ oar-fish (fegalecus Banksii), which the professor considers to be the genuine “ sea- serpent’ of mariners, the gorgeous parrot-fish (Labrichthys Bleekeri,), the sea gar fish, whose silvery sides reflect the light in the lithograph almost as in the water, and the familiar, rugged form of the Melbourne crayfish, which Professor M‘Coy identifies with the palinurus of the Cape of Good Hope and of New Zealand, after close examination of the type specimens at Paris. ‘The decades have now illustrated thirteen species of our snakes, nine of our lizards, and forty-four of our fish, besides examples of many other classes. Dr. M‘Gillivray continues his work on the polyzoa, and Mr. Bale on the hydrozoa. Professor Spencer has in hand a monograph of :the giant Gippsland earth- worm for the Royal Society, in which he is exhaustively studying and illustrating its anatomy and histology. I will read the following note ‘from Baron von Mueller as to the botanical work done during the year :— ‘“‘ As particularly noteworthy should first be mentioned, that in conformity with the volume on Myoporine a dozen decades of the ‘ Iconography of Australian Acacias’ has been issued by Baron von Mueller within the year under the aid of Mr. G. Lueh- mann, the drawings and the lithographing throughout being by Mr. R. Graff. What makes this large contribution to pictural illustra- tive Botany all the more remarkable is the absolute originality of the work, none of the 120 species of Australian genuine Acacias, —thus alreaay delineated,— having ever been depictured before. This can be said of but few works in the whole range of botanic literature within the precincts of one genus. Pallas’ Species Astragalorum published in 1800 certainly illustrates about a hundred species partly of Astragalus and partly of Oxytropis, but only scanty analytic details are given. Boissier’s Icones Euphor- biarum published in 1856, also exhibit about 120 species of that genus, but the Iconography of Australian Acacias is to be -THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. ui extended to about 80 congeners more, as gradually the material may be completed, Baron von Mueller never publishing pictures of any plants without giving analyses from bud to embryo. Boott’s extensive work ‘Illustrations of the genus Carex, published between 1858 and 1867, contains however 600 plates ; but in many cases more than one plate is devoted to a species and of numerous of the species, illustrated, pictures appeared previously in other works. Baron von Mueller’s intention is to elaborate now delineatively next the about 120 species of Australian Salsolacez, so many of our ‘Saltbushes’ being highly valuable for pasturage, he foreseeing that in time the most nutritive kinds will have to be methodically reared on the cattle and sheep-runs. “His dichotomous key, we learn, has now been printed about three-fourth, al] the orders, all the genera and most of the dicotyledoneous species having passed through the press. Though the completion of the descriptive volume of the work became unavoidably delayed, this finally now proves a gain, because he found that to render such a publication really useful, he had to combine the brief dichotomia of the characteristics with a kind of abridged descriptive flora, a task almost doubly as great as such would prove for the whole British flora. Some progress has been made with descriptive elaboration of Australian plants, and it is hoped that when the more urgent work, just now requiring attention, shall have been finished, both Australian and Papuan plants will more extensively come under examination than latterly was pos- sible. Since the last Victorian edition of the ‘Select plants for Industrial Culture and Naturalisation’ did appear in 1885, much additional information has been collected for a new issue of this work, which will be brought out in time, to be used for the Centennial Exhibition. Another supplement to the census of Australian plants is due also, and indeed the manuscript ready for it. A wish has been expressed by some of the few, who are here particularly engaged in the study of evascular plants, that a descriptive volume concerning them should be prepared for Australia purposely or at all events for Victoria. The list of the evasculares, given in the eleventh volume of the fragmenta phytographize Australia 1881, com- prises 3516 species; since then vast additions have accrued in this direction of research ; so that, if even the descriptions were reduced as in Kuetzing’s classic work ‘species Algarum’ and the synonymy and records of special localities mostly omitted, we would still require for the evasculares of ail Australia a volume quite as large as that given in 1849 by the venerable author above mentioned, whose 80 years’ jubilee was celebrated a few months ago. But if the descriptions and quotations are to assume the extensiveness of detail displayed in the meritorious volume on 8 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. the ‘ Lichen-Flora of Great Britain and Ireland,’ by the Rev. W. A. Leighton, who devoted the spare time of half a century to the elaboration of this work,—then we would need now already for Mosses, for Lichens, for Fungs, and for Algs a volume each, to elucidate the Australian plants of these four large orders of vasculares, or two good sized volumes for Victoria alone. It seems therefore to our Gov. Botanist advisable, considering the large expenditure involved, and the enormous labour required to do justice to such an undertaking, that in first instance a small descriptive volume should be constructed for the genera of the Australian Evasculares only ; that would enable amateurs in cryptogamic Botany to work under some particular literary guidance, and meanwhile we would learn a great deal more of the specific forms pertaining to Australia, of their geographic and regional distribution, and of the limitability of their characteristics, which latter in almost endless instances are still obscure.” The Linnean Society of New South Wales maintains its position as the foremost science society in the colonies, and we cannot be too grateful for the solid series of papers issued in its journal. This year Mr. Masters completes a catalogue of 7200 described Australian coleoptera. Mr. Meyrick describes the 600th of his micro-lepidoptera, and is, moreover, at work on a revision of the larger moths, which have come into a sad state of confusion ; and for other work on insects we are indebted to the veteran M‘Leay, and to Mr. Sidney Olliff, formerly of the British Museum. Mr. Haswell has succeeded in obtaining some of the stages in the development of the embryo of the emu; and his observations are of interest, inasmuch as the development of a member of the struthioid group of birds has not before been traced. The observations are very incomplete, but the author has been able to throw light on some controverted points in avian development, and, amongst other things, claims to have shown that “‘the foundation of the mesoblast of the whole embryo is laid by the cells of the lower layer” (hypoblast). An appreciation of the difficulties of investigating this subject will be gathered from the fact that the period of incubation of the emu is three* months, as contrasted with the three weeks of the fowl. Mr. Haswell has also illustrated a genus of trematoda, ecto-parasitic on astacopsis, in the Q.J.M.S. Mr. Fletcher has been engaged in skilfully sorting our earth-worms, and has found time also, in conjunction with Mr. Hamilton, to work out some of the Australian land planariaus. He has been the first, too, to record the distinguished find of Peripatus in Australia. * T am informed by Mr. A. J. Campbell that he estimates the term of incubation of the emu as about eight weeks. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 9 Peripatus has, then, been found in Gippsland, and also by Mr. Olliff in New South Wales. Mr. Caldwell has published the first part of his researches on the embryology of our marsupials and monotremes in the pro- ceedings of the Royal Society of London. He secured material in Australia, which has enabled him to trace the growth of the egg-membranes in these low types of mammals, and to institute comparisons between these envelopes in the different classes of vertebrates. It is curious that the shellmembrane of the _platypus contains carbonate of lime, while that of the echidna apparently does not. The segmentation in both monotremes and marsupials is partial and telolecithal, thus connecting the group with the sauropsida. Further details and conclusions will be awaited with much interest. An unexpected discovery has been recently made by Mr. F. B Poulton It is also recorded in the Royal Society’s proceed- ings. He found true mammalian teeth, agreeing in disposition, in histological details, and in development with those of higher mammalia in the young platypus, beneath the site of the horny plates, which subserve mastication in the adult animal. ‘These rudimentary teeth indicate that the platypus is a degenerate form of a higher type, and the presence of the functionally use- less ‘‘marsupial bones,” taken in conjunction with Mr. Cald- well’s results above alluded to, indicates that that higher form was marsupial. It seems probable that a similar investigation of the jaws of the young echidna would be rewarded with a lke ‘discovery. The year has, then, been no barren one. Our knowledge is growing, and the number of workers is increasing. An Asso- ‘ciation was formed, a few months ago, in Sydney, to undertake for New South Wales the work which this Club has now been engaged in for eight years in Victoria. We wish it all success. The life-forms of Australia are but rarely confined to any one colony, and union amongst workers in all parts of the continent is essential if we are to obtain ‘comprehensive views of the affinities and distribution of our peculiar groups of indigenous plants and animals. I will conclude, therefore, by expressing my satisfaction—the ‘satisfaction, I think, of all of us—that in 1888 will be held the first meeting of the Australian Association for the advancement of Natural Science, and that henceforth there will be an annual opportunity for our naturalists and men of science to ba cheered and strengthened by intercourse with fellow-workers in ‘our sister colonies. D. M‘Alpine, Esq., F.C.S., delivered a lecturette on ‘‘The Movements of the Edible Mussel and its Various Parts,” illus- 10 . THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. trated by diagrams and preparations. The following is an abstract :— “The edible mussel, so common on our coasts, and occasion- ally sold on the streets of Melbourne, is naturally fixed to some object by means of a tuft of strong, silky hairs, called its beard, or dyssus. But, although thus naturally anchored, it may, on an emergency, move about a little. It has been observed to move both with and without its shell, and perhaps stranger still, if certain parts are detached from it, they, too, move about in various ways. The entire mussel has been seen to crawl up the sides of a glass vessel to the extent of three inches. in a single night; and without its shell it moves in a rotatory manner. This latter movement is due to innumerable delicate, microscopic, hair-like filaments, called cz/za, which cover various parts of the body. Portions of the body, when cut off, might naturally be thought to be dead and incapable of movement, but here large and important portions exhibit movement, when free to do so. Of these moving detached parts the principal are the mantle, which covers the body, as with a cloak; the gills, which hang down by its side; the so-called foot—a little, fleshy, tongue- shaped body on the under-surface ; and two triangular flaps on each side of the mouth, called labial palps. Each part has its own peculiar mode of motion, and some can stop and start again, can reverse the direction of movement and resume the original, and can even back out from obstacles when meeting with them in their path. The za/wre of the movement is usually either rotatory or translatory, or both combined. When rotatory the direction may either be the same as that of the hands of a watch or the reverse. The ra/e of rotation is variable. An average of 50 rounds gave 5 minutes per round, and the quickest was per- formed in 14 minutes. The rate of forward movement is like- wise variable. It may be as slow as an inch in 4 days for the foot, or as quick as an inch in 2 minutes for the gill. The quickest recorded for the gill was at the rate of an inch a minute, or 44 days per mile. “In the case of the gills they can move when placed either horizontally, vertically, or when turned upside down. Their vertical movement may average 1 inch in 10 minutes. ‘“As to the duration cf this power of movement, it has been known to last for at least 8 days. The fact that parts can move at all when detached from the body is sufficiently interest- ing, but that they do so in a definite manner and direction, even sometimes exhibiting a certain amount of will-power, increases the wonder. And while these movements throw new light on the uses of the parts concerned, they are not without some practical bearings on parts of our own bodies, for the lining membrane of the nose and of the windpipe, for instance, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 1} is richly ciliated, and the cilia are in active motion. The investigation of the action of cilia in the mussel, and the action of reagents upon them to increase their speed when they are sluggish, to revive them when they are drooping, or even to start them again when they stop, may find application in the domain of medicine. It has been generally believed hitherto. that cilia, when clothing parts of the body, act always in the same direction and in a mechanical way, but the mussel teaches us different, for there not only may the cilia be stirred into action by appropriate stimuli, such as the prick of a pin, but the direction may be reversed and even stopped altogether for a little.” DESCRIPTION OF AN HITHERTO UNRECORDED. GOODENIA, INDIGENOUS ALSO TO VICTORIA, By Baron von MuELuer, K.C.M.G., M. & PH.D., F.R.S. &c. GooDENIA PUSILLIFLORA. ANNUAL, never tall, generally diffuse or ascending, rather scantily beset with spreading hairlets; stems slender, nearly always branchless and only leafy at the base and inflorescence ; radical leaves crowded, pinnatilobed or some merely short- incised, the lobes mostly from semilanceolar to deltoid, entire or occasionally indented, the upper often somewhat confluent ;. floral leaves small, from rhomboid-cuneate to lanceolar, with but few incisions or indentations or completely entire; stalklets elongated, very thin, corymbously or somewhat racemosely approximated, unprovided with bracteoles; flowers quite small ;. lobes of the calyx comparatively broadish, about as long as the tube or longer, the latter at last considerably extending beyond the insertion of the lobes; corolla minute, almost or quite glabrous, downward dark-streaked, all its lobes expanding on both sides into yellowish or soon whiteish or purplish membranes; style very short; stigma-cover dorsally invested with very minute hairlets; fruit globular-ovate, nearly unilocular,. hardly exceeded by the calyx-lobes, few-seeded; dissepiment narrow crescent-shaped ; seeds rather large, collateral, quite flat, when ripe blackish, surrounded by a pale broadish membrane. Generally on sandy or somewhat saline ground. Yorke’s Peninsula, O. Tepper; near Flinders-Range, F.v.M ; neat the Broughton-River, Miss L. Wehl; near Mount Parry. Prof. Tate; Richardson’s Creek, Dr. Curdie; Wimmera, D. Sullivan; Lake Coorong, C. Walter; Looma-Rapids, Miss Campbell; Lake Albacutya, Ch. French; Murray-River, Mrs. Holding; Edwards-River, F. v. M.; Murrumbidgee, Dr. Lucas; Darling-River, Brueckner; Lachlan-River, F. v. M. ; Tarella, W. Baeuerlen. 12 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. The plant is of bitter taste and produces sometimes thread- like offshoots; the stigma-cover is comparatively broad and slightly contracted in the middle, so as to indicate some approach to that of Calogyne, which genus indeed might be considered a section of Goodenia. The appendages on the upper corolla-lobes for the protection of the stigma-cover are present. G. pusilliflora is generally not so large as G. pinna- tifida, of more depressed and probably always annual growth, its vestiture is less dense and more spreading, the floral leaves are proportionately broader, the flower-stalklets more dispersed, the flowers always very much smaller, but the calyx-lobes broader; the corolla is never so brightly yellow, the membranous expansions are on both sides of all corolla- lobes developed ; the dissepiment is not reaching far up into the cavity of the fruit; the seeds are fewer in number and not of much less length and breadth than the pericarp, Individual plants of G. pinnatifida, which might show a close approach to G. pusilliflora, may have possibly arisen through hybridism, both growing occasionally intermixedly. From G. coronopifolia the species now described is separated by its laxer habit, more developed vestiture, broader leaves with less distant and not so narrow lobes, the floral leaves particularly being never so elongated-linear, by which means the aspect of the whole becomes very different, but the flowers and fruits of both species are very similar, though the stigma-cover of G. coronopifolia is not at all bilobed ; the seeds of the latter plant are not yet available for comparison in our collections here. The relationship of G. O’Donnelli, which species has recently been brought by Mr. Nynlasy also from the sources of the Victoria-River, is more distant. The writer of these remarks avails himself of this opportunity to draw attention to another Victorian Goodenia, but concerning which further field-observations should be instituted. It is treated by Bentham in the Flora Australiensis as a variety of G. glauca, of which indeed it may only be a form; it differs however from the typical state of that species in more developed vestiture, in dark-green and also partly indented leaves, more crowded near the root, the upper generally quite narrow, in usually smaller flowers, in bright yellow dilatations of the corolla-lobes, in almost glabrous style, in more compressed fruit with thinner pericarp and in the nucleus of the seeds being not so perceptibly pointed at the base;--from G. pinnatifida it diverges in often lobeless basal leaves, in the frequent presence of one or two stem-leaves below the flowers, in the corolla never glabrous out- side nor its upper lobes unequally dilated, in nearly or quite glabrous style and in not black colour of the seeds ;—from G. elongata it is separated by less scattered leaves, outside densely invested corolla, nearly glabrous stigma-cover, never reversed THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 13. stalklets of the fruit, quite flat and broadly margined seeds. This plant, to which as a mere variety or as a distinct species the name subinfegra might be assigned, has a far wider range than the ordinary form of G. glauca; thus it is now known from Sturt’s Creek and Flinders-River (F. v. M.), Field-River (W. Field), Eyre’s Creek (Kayser), Finke-River (R. Warburton), Charlotte- Waters (Chr. Giles), the Thompson-River (Dr. Poulton), Lake Eyre (E. Giles), the Paroo (L. Morton), the Ballandool (Looker), Gosse’s-Range (Rev. Mr. Schwarz), Lake Blanche (Burkitt), Barcoo (Dr. Wuth), Stokes-Range and Wills’ Creek (Howitt), the Bulloo (R. S. Moore), Grey-Range (W. Neal), Maranoa (Sir Thos. Mitchell), Dawson-River (F. v. M.), Comet-River (O’Shanesy), Warrego (Mrs. Cotter), Lachlan-River (Brueckner), Darling-River (Dr. Beckler), Lake Urana (H. Crouch), Edwards and Murray-River and Wimmera (F. v. M.)., Yorke’s Peninsula (Tepper), Burenda (Miss Hood). The following are as yet unrecorded localities for species of this genus : G. hederacea : Genoa 3500’ (W. Baeuerlen). G. elongata: Cudgegong (Dr. Barnard), Upper Murrum- bidgee (Miss Chamberlin), Genoa (Bauerlen), Cann-and Bemm-River (Edwin Merrah). ; G. barbata: Genoa (F. v. M.), New England (F. Campbell). G. glabra: Warrego (Mrs. Cotter), Paroo (Mrs. Spencer). G. incana: Pallinup-River (Miss Crouin). G. pterygooperma : Israelite-Bay (Miss Brooke). G. calcarata : Mt. Poole (Baeuerlen). G. Chamberst: Near Lake Eyre (Hon. J. Newland). G. cycloptera: Rawiinson’s Range and Lake Eyre (E. Giles), Cooper’s Creek (Flierl), Finke-River (Rev. H. Kempe), Gosse’s Range (Rev. J. Schmidt), Storm-Creek (Lieut. Dittrich), Field’s River (Winnecke), Lake Torrens (Prof. Tate), Comet- River (P. O’Shanesy). G. pinnatifide : Canoe-Creek (C. Hartmann), Upper Mac- quarie-River (Rev. J. M. Curran), Omeo (J. Stirling), Manero (Baeuerlen), Fowler’s Bay (Warburton), Eucla (Oliver), between the Great Bight and Victoria-Spring (Alex. Crawford). G. glauca : Mount Wood (Baeuerlen), Ballandool (Looker). G. heteromera: Wimmera and Lachlan-River (F. v. M), Urana (H. Crouch), Gwydir (C. Moore), Severn (C. Hartmann), Darling-Downs (Lau). G. gracilis : Wimmera (St. Eloy D’Alton). G. lamprosperma: Norman’s and Gilberts River (Th, Gul- liver). G. Mueckeana: Rawlinson’s Range (E. Giles), Tempe-Downs /Thornton). 14 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. SUPPLEMENT To THE ENUMERATION OF VICTORIAN PLANTS, COMPRISING THE SPECIES ADDED SINCE PART II. OF THE KEY To THE SYSTEM OF OUR NATIVE VEGETATION WAS PUBLISHED, WITH ADDITION OF A FEW SPECIES INADVERTENTLY BEFORE OMITTED. By BARON FERD. voN MUELLER, K.C.M.G., M. & PH.D., F.R.S. &c. Cabomba peltata, F.v. M. N.E. Eriostemon capitatus, F.v. M. N.W. Sida intricata, F. v. M. N.W. Phyllanthus thesoides, Bentham. N.W. Casuarina paludosa, Sieber. E. Dodonaea lobulata, F. v. M. N.W. Kochia microphyila, F.v. M. N.W. Muehlenbeckia gracillima, Meissner. E,. Oxylobium trilobatum, F. v. M.. E. Jacksonia Clarkei, F. v. M._ E. Zornia diphylla, Persoon. E. _ Desmodium brachypodum, A. Gray. E. Acacia linifolia. Willdenow. E. ; Acacia mollissima, Willdenow. S.W.,S., N.E., E. Haloragis Baeuerleni, F.v. M. E. Darwinia micropetata, Bentham. N.W. Kunzea parvifolia, Schauez. S.W., N.E. Kunzea capitata, Reichenbach. E. Backhousia myrtifolia, Hooker. E. Callistemon linearis, De Candolle. E. Xanthosia Atkinsoniana, F.v. M. E. Sium erectum, Hudson. S.W. Notothixos subaureus, Oliver. E. Persoonia revoluta, Sieber. E. Hakea saligna, Knight. E, Hakea Macreana, F.v. M. E. Pimelea hypericina, Cunningham. S%., E. Opercularia hispida, Sprengel. E. Aster dentatus, Andrews. E. Aster lepidophyllus, Persoon. N.W., S.W., S., N.E., E. Podolepis rutidochlamys, F. v. M. N.W. Helichrysum adenophorum, F.v.M. S.W. Ammobium alatum, R. Brown. E. Glossogyne tenuifolia, Cassini. E. Goodenia pusilliflora, F.v. M. N.W. Gentiana quadrifaria, Blume. E. Anthocercis albicans, Cunningham. N.E. Glossostigma Drummondi, Bentham. N.W. Prostanthera saxicola, R. Brown. E. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 15 ee _ Newcastlia Dixoni, F. v. M. and Tate. N.W. Styphelia microphylla, Sprengel. E. Styphelia esquamata, Sprengel. E. Styphelia costata, F.v. M. N.W., S.W. Styphelia appressa, Sprengel. E. Styphelia attenuata, F.v. M. E. Epacris crassifolia, R. Brown. | E. Thelymitra epipactoides, F. v. M. S. Thelymitra fusco-lutea, R. Brown. S.W. Diuris alba, R. Brown. N.E. Pterostylis pedaloglossa, Fitzgerald. S. Dianella coerulea, Sims. E. Tricoryne simplex, R. Brown. E Potamogeton lucens, Linné. E. Philhydrum lanuginosum, Banks. S.W. Fimbristylis ferruginea, Vahl. E. Schoenus ericetorum, R. Brown. E. Andropogon affinis, R. Brown... N.W., N.E. Psilotum triquetrum, Swartz. S.W. Adiantum diaphanum, Blume. E. Aspidium tenerum, Sprengel. E. Hypolepis tenuifolia, Bernhardi. E. Thus 60 species and 1o genera have to be added to those recorded before as Victorian, bringing the total of the number of genera up to 556 and that of the species up to 1898. A few others, of which the characteristics have as yet not well been studied, were laid aside for subsequent critical examina- tion. It may however be assumed that in course of time, when the remotest and the most impervious regions of Victoria shall also have become botanically traversed, our flora will offer us yet fully another hundred of species, several genera, and perhaps also some additional orders of plants for phyto- graphic records. The present access to the list we owe to field-work of Messrs. W. Baeuerlen, St. Eloy D’Alton, C. French, T. Jephcott and C. Walter. Future enrichments of our lists of indigenous plants may mainly be expected: 1, From near the junction of the River Darling with the Murray, as doubtless many more of the plants of the Darling- region follow that large water-course to within our territory, than we are yet aware of ;—z, from the numerous rocky hills and ranges of the Hume-district, where likely some more of the plants of the Blue Mountains will yet be noticed to re-appear ;—3, from the most eastern part of Gippsland, including the elevated Waratah-region, the whole only quite recently opened up for itinerations and settlement. Indeed Mr. Baeuerlen, who, under some slight support from the Phytologic Department of Mel- bourne, went over extensive grounds not remote from the 16 THE VICTORIAN: NATURALIST. Genoa-River, demonstrates through his collections already, that the following plants approach the Victorian boundary almost within a day’s good walking distance :— Hibbertia monogyna, R. Brown. Philotheca australis, Rudge. Eriostemon umbellatus, Turczaninow. Boronia rhomboidea, Hooker. Boronia Burkeriana, F. v. M. Monotaxis linifolia, Brogniart. Elatostemma reticulatum, Weddell. Oxylobium scandens, Bentham. Oxylobium cordifolium, Andrews. Mirbelia pungens, Cunningham. Mirbelia reticulata, Smith. Pultenaea pycnocephala, F. v. M. Bossiaea Kiamensis. Bentham. Acacia obtusata, Sieber. Acacia binervata, De Candolle. Callicoma serratifolia, Andrews. Melaleuca styphelioides, Smith. Actinotus minor, De Candolle. Choretrum Candollei, F. v. M. Olax stricta, R. Brown. Symphyonema paludosum, R. Brown. Banksia ericifolia, Linné filius. Candollea laricifolia, F. v. M. Candollea linearis, F. v. M. Logania pusilla, R. Brown. Chloanthes parviflora, Walpers. Woollsia pungens, F. v. M. Epacris Calvertiana, F. v. M. Dracophyllum secundum, R. Brown. Dendrobium teretifolium, R. Brown. Dendrobium Beckleri, F. v. M. Blandfordia nobilis, Smith. Smilax glycyphylla, Smith. A NATURALIST has recently pointed out in a London scientific paper that when there is a prospect of rain the spider shortens the filaments from which his web is suspended, and leaves them so as long as the weather is variable. If he lengthens the filaments the weather is likely to be fine and calm, and for g period which can be judged of by the length they are let out. If the spider remains inactive it is a sign of rain; but if he keeps at work during rain it shows the rain will not last long, and will be followed by fine weather. The spider makes changes in his web every 24 hours, but if these changes are made in the evening, just before sunset, the night will probably be clear and beautiful. Field Naturalists lub of Victoria, President : A. H. S. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S. ‘THis Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested ; for the Exhibition of Specimens; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Hxcursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from 1st May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets, Vol. I (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. Il. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title-page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal- motes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, etc. can be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. eG, aero: Caxizermist anx thuerier, 220 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, ete., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order, Lessons given in Taxidermy, CG, KH. MUMM & GO., REIMS CHAMPAGNE Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. -—— $$ 00 Bee SOLE AGENTS FOR VICTORIA: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & GO., 16 LITTLE COLLINS STREET EAse FELTON. GRIMWADE & Co, Wholesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALYANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL. AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &c., &. SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES. BECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin. and din. objective, in case, £4 12s. 6d. BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPHS, from £7 6s. to £11 11s. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. a La TCD CD oly i oot aC: : Victorian Nithisalist ; THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE : OF THE = - Fiets Waturcalists’ Olab of Bictoria. The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. Aicototfillatliticatloilalill Mat cithaliithe allth caf. EL PAGE = Tue Frevp Narurauists’ Cuus or VICTORIA .. Be A eae sy, = Tue AnnvaL ConvERSAZIONE a: Be te Gy) = Nores on VicToORIAN AND QUEENSLAND Lepipoprera. By Dr. T. >. ue = BRIsBANE 50 50 ote ki 23 Nores on THE DiIsTRIBUTION oF EUCALYPTS. Be A. W. Here F.GS. 27 © Descriptions or Two New Licuens anp a List or Appitionan LicHEns ; = New to Victoria. By Rey. F. R. M. Witson on ae in Ore = CORRESPONDENCE .. ee 36 os oe “ ro POM : PRICE—SIXPENCE. AGENTS FOR EUROPE: Wi icil ll otlitllialliMcillicalle N HiiMiaiMicithialintticatlicttbs cafe ccllh. calli illi all wlll fia DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. GEA clbourne ; : A. H. Masstna & Co., Printers, 26 Juirrne CoLuins-strenr East. EB 1888. JAJES EXPRESS, 11 MARKET STREET, Natural History and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address in Britain, Sn. PER POUND. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. LONDON OFFICE: W. 8. SUPTON & CO, GOLDEN LANE, BC. (Iwenty Years with Paunt THomas), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS AND SHOBe Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. CASH PRICES. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. 41° SVWANSTON STRESS (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street), IME 22 a SS. Coes a IN ea Neel PBictorian BMaturcalixt, Vou. V.—No. 2. JUNE, 1888. No. 54. @HE FIELD NATURALISTS” CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 9th April, 1888. In the absence of the president and vice-presidents, Prof. W. Baldwin Spencer, B.A., was voted to the chair, and about fifty- five members and visitors were present. A letter was read from the Christ’s College Natural History Society, Hobart, desiring to open correspondence and make exchanges with the members. The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following donations to the library :—‘‘ Proceedings of Linnean Society of New South Wales,” second series, Vol. II., part 4, from the Society; ‘‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales,’’ Vol. XXI., part 3, from the Society; “‘ History of New Sperm Whale” (reprint), from trustees of Australian Museum, Sydney ; “The Trochidz of South Australia,” part 1, by Jno. Brazier, C.M.Z.S., and other conchological papers from the author; ‘‘ Report on Liver Fluke,” by A. P. Thomas, M.A., 1882, from Dr. Springthorpe ; and “Journal of Pharmacy,’ March, 1888. The hon. secretary reported that a party of the members had visited the National Museum on Saturday afternoon, 17th March, and had spent an interesting afternoon. On a ballot being taken, Messrs. T. C: Alston, H. Massey _ Bindon, T. H. Campbell, and G. Lyell, jun., were duly elected members of the Club. Attention was drawn to the great destruction of the platypus in various parts of the colony, and it was decided to communi- cate with the Zoological Society as to the desirability of bring- ing the matter under the notice of the Government. PAPERS READ. 1. By Miss F. M. Campbell, entitled “‘Notes of a Trip to Cabbage-tree Creek, East Gippsland.” This wasan interesting description of a visit to the only spot in Victoria where the cabbage palm is found, and its most southerly habitat in Australia. The journey was through almost inaccessible country, and the vegetation was almost of a tropical country. 2. By Mr. A. W. Howitt, F.G.S., “Notes on the Geographi- cal Distribution of Eucalypts.” The author briefly noted the various species of eucalyptus seen when travelling on the various roads in the district between Morwell and Bairnsdale, and Walhalla and Stockyard Creek. i8 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. The chairman strongly recommended members to make similar records when on their excursions, as they would be of great value to botanists and others in making general deduc- tions on the fauna and flora of a district. 3. By Mr. I. Batey, “‘ Notes on Fluke.” The author gave his views on the life history of the liver fluke of the sheep, which, in the main, coincided with the most recent opinions of English scientists. . The paper gave opportunity for an interesting discussion, during which Prof. Spencer gave an account of Mr. Thomas’ researches in England. Dr. Springthorpe referred to the author’s suggestion that the liver fluke and the hydatid were identical creatures, and said that this idea was erroneous. Prof. Spencer drew the attention of the members to several live specimens of Amphzoxus, a very low form of fish recently obtained by Mr. J. Bracebridge Wilson, M.A., of Geelong, and now exhibited alive for the first time in Australia. The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :— By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard. orchid in bloom (Pterostylis reflexa), grown by exhibitor. By Mr. C. C. Brittlebank, water-colour drawings of Victorian lepidoptera ( Heferonympha). By Mr. R. C. Chandler, a frontal shrike-tit (Halcunculus frontatus), from Dandenong Ranges; a superb fruit-pigeon ( Prilenopis superbus j, from Queensland ; fossil shells and fruit from Warburton and Reefton, Upper Yarra; and petrified nest of English hedge- sparrow. By Mr. C. French, F.L.S., lepidoptera from hill country, Ceylon. By Mr. C. French, jun., eggs of Pacific gull, silver gull, sooty oyster-catcher, and white-breasted oyster- catcher, from King Island; Bass’ Straits tern, black-backed porphyrio, and great brown kingfisher, from Victoria. By Master G. Hill, New Zealand insects. | By Master H. Hill, New Zealand insects, including the rare ‘‘snow butterfly,” from Mount Cook. By Mr. F. Longmore, the rare longicorn beetle (Macrotoma heros), from Fiji. By Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M G., a Goodenia, new to Victoria; moving bee, from Mexico; also, letter from Prof. Kuetzing, now over eighty years of age, referring to new Victorian alge. By Mr. J. Searle, insects collected since last meeting; also, metamor- phosis of moth, Secuszo annulata. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, nest and egg of the swallow diceeum (Diceum hirundinaceum ), found near Kew; also three new lichens, collected by exhibitor in Gippsland, Hamatomina Babbingtoni? (Massalongo), Glyphis colliculosa (Knight), and Zrypethelium scoria (Fée). After the usual conversazzone the meeting terminated. Tue monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 14th May, 1888. In the absence of the president and vice-presidents, the Rev. J. J. Halley was voted to the chair, and about forty-five members and visitors were present. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 19 Circulars were read from the secretaries of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, and the hon. secretary announced that Dr. J. C. Cox, of Sydney, had con- sented to act as the Club’s delegate on the Council of the Association. The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following dona- tions to the library :—‘‘ Journal of the Geographical Society of Australasia” (Victorian branch), and “Journal of Pharmacy,” April, 1888. The hon. secretary reported that the excursion to Oakleigh on Saturday, 28th April, was fairly attended, but the specimens obtained were not particularly rare. Persoonia juniperina was noted in flower. Plants of Chiloelotlis diphylla were seen, and a number of cocoons of the moth Chelopteryx coélsiz were obtained. On a ballot being taken, Miss L. Elder, Mr. H. R. Hogg, and Mr. A. Dendy, M.Sc., were duly elected members of the Club. It was suggested that a special comversazione be held by the Club during the currency of the Centennial Exhibition, so as to afford foreign scientists an opportunity of becoming acquainted with Victorian natural history, but the matter was deferred for further consideration until the next meeting. PAPERS READ. 1. By Mr C. French, jun., entitled ‘‘ Notes on a Trip to the Upper Murray.” The author gave an interesting account of his collecting experiences in the district around Ournie, about eighty miles up the Murray from Wodonga ; also, of a visit to Wheeler’s Creek, some twenty-five miles higher up, mentioning the prin- cipal birds, plants, etc., noted at each place. 2. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, entitled “ Descriptions of Two New Lichens, and List of Lichens New to Victoria.” The author gave a detailed description of Amphiloma glaucescens (Wilson), from Queensland, and of Gomphillus beomyceoides (Wilson), from Bloomfield, Mount Macedon, and Black Spur, Victoria ; also, a list of twenty-five additional species of Victorian lichens. 3. By Dr. T. P. Lucas, entitled “‘Notes on Victorian and Queensland Lepidoptera.” The author compared in an interest- ing manner his experiences as a collector in Victoria and around Brisbane, remarking various species of moths, etc, common to Gippsland, Fernshaw, and Brisbane. ‘The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :—By Mr. F. G, A. Barnard, twenty-two species of shrubs collected in the mallee scrub at Warracknabeal and Dimboola. By Mr. J. M. Campbell, a walking leaf insect from Mauritius. By Mr. E. A. Dombrain, a white egg of emu, ostrich egg, and egg of white- faced xerophila (length, 214 lines), By Mr. C. French, F.L.S., group of Goliath beetles, family Cetonide. By Mr. R. Hall, 20 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST Australian insects. By Master H. Hill, Victorian moths. By Mr. G. Lyell, jun, W. moths ( Zhailina clara), from Brighton. By Mr. J. E. Prince, ‘‘ Key to Genera of Tasmanian . Mosses,’” andhand book by R. A. Bastow, F.L.S. By Mr. J. Searle, three Tasmanian snakes, fungi, etc. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. THE ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE. THe eighth annual conversazione of the Club was held at the Masonic Hall, Collins street East, Melbourne, on Thursday evening, the 26th April, when there was again a very large attendance of the members and their friends, some 750 ladies and gentlemen being present. The presidential address, which appeared in full in our last issue, was delivered in the smaller hall on the first floor, which was filled to its utmost capacity. Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., patron of the Club, occupied the chair, and, on conclusion of the address, moved a vote of thanks to Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., for his excellent review of the Club’s doings, and remarked that it seemed a pity that the exhibits so skilfully brought together by the members of the Club should only be on view for the one evening. The motion was seconded by H. K. Rusden, Esq., hon. secretary of the Royal Society, and carried by acclamation. Mr. D. M‘Alpine, F.C.S., then delivered a lecturette, entitled “The Movements of the Edible Mussel and its Various Parts,” a resumé of which will be found on page tro of our last number. The exhibits were displayed in the large hall, and were arranged on a series of tables, occupying altogether nearly gooft. of space. The following is a list of the exhibitors, with particulars of their more important exhibits :— Mr P. H. Anderson, Melbourne—Numerous specimens of insect architecture, also geological specimens, and, under micro- scopes, a variety of interesting objects. Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew—Groups of Victorian beetles, orthoptera (phasmidee, etc.), and hawk-moths; groups of Aus- tralian beetles and of Queensland butterflies ; also, a number of growing Victorian ferns, including Glecchenia flabellata, Lomaria fiuviatilis, Davallia dubia, etc. Mr. D. Best, Hawthorn—Ten cabinet-drawers of Australian coleoptera. Mr. C. C. Brittlebank, Springvale—A large series of water- colour drawings of the metamorphoses and perfect forms of Victorian insects. Mr. A. Coles, Melbourne—Cases of wood-duck, southern THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 21 stone plover, and plain plover, each with nest, eggs, and young ; a case of Pacific gulls and young from King Island; a group of native animals—native bears with young, opossums, and native cat; a case containing an Australian goshawk, a cygnet, and native cat; a group of regent birds of various ages; a group of Australian birds, an Australian bittern, etc Mr. A. W. Coles, South Melbourne—A wedgetailed eagle killing rabbit, a laughing-jackass killing snake, a boobook owl, painted snipe, New Holland snipe, Eyton’s ducks, flying phalangers, black snake, river turtle. etc. Reeve WV: Cresswell, Iles og Camberwell—Geological speci- mens. Mrs. Flatow, Carlton—A collection of Victorian and Australian shells, seaweeds, sponges, etc. Mr. C. French, F.LS., South Yarra—A group of goliathus (cetonidz) beetles, a group of Australian and exotic lepidoptera, photographs of group of Australian longicorn beetles (with pectinated antennee), photographs of incidents connected with the King Island expedition. Mr. C. French, jun., South Yarra—A collection of about 100 species of dried plants from King Island. Mr. J. T. Gillespie, Malvern—A case of Australian birds’ eggs. Mr. R. Hall, Williamstown—A number of zoological speci- mens. Master Hellicar, Hawthorn--Mounted Victorian birds, viz., white ibis, curlew sand-piper, pair of wood-ducks, land rail, and pair of cockatoo parrots. Masters H. and G. Hill, Windsor—Six cases of Victorian and other beetles, butterflies, and moths. Mr. ‘T. Hyland, Richmond—A case of Australian birds’ eggs. ear. E. E Johnson, Northcote—Native animals: Kangaroo, wallaby, platypus, bear with young. Victorian birds, including wedge-tailed eagle, whistling eagle, podargus, heron, pelican, quail (four species), spoon-bill, plover. azure kingfisher, wonga pigeon, robins, finches, bower-bird, lyre-birds, etc. Birds’ eggs: Cassowary (New Guinea}, lyre-bird, emu, teal, etc. Nests of bell-bird, magpie lark, etc. Victorian snakes. Black fish. Collec- tion of minerals, crystals, corals, etc. Collection of New Zealand woods, polished and in rough. Mr. I. Judd, Kew—Cabinet-drawers of British lepidoptera, collected by exhibitor over fifty years ago. Mr. G. A. Keartland, North Carlton—Collection of Australian animals, birds, birds’ eggs, reptiles, insects, and shells, from King Island, etc. Mr. H. Kennon, Hawthorn—A case of fossils, shells, etc. oe, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Mr. W. Kershaw, Windsor-—Cabinet-drawers of Australian lepidoptera, foreign lepidoptera, and foreign buprestid beetles. Mr. D. Le Souéf, Royal Park—A young platypus about four days old (in spirits) ; carpet and diamond snakes (non-venomous), alive ; stump-tailed and blue-tongued lizards, alive ; collection of snakes, etc. (in spirits). Mr. A. H. 8S. Lucas, M.A., South Yarra—A pin-tailed duck (a rare British specimen, shot in Norfolk) ; a series of fossil remains, illustrative of British carboniferous flora ; dissections of common star fish (asterina calcar), dried Victorian plants. Mr. D. M‘Alpine, F.C.S.. Toorak—Living specimen of long- necked river tortoise, from Goulburn River; a unique specimen of an egg within an egg; dried specimens of slugs, water and land leeches; skull of native bear; also, specimens illustrative of lecturette. Baron F. von Mueiler, K.C.M.G., South Yarra—Fruits of Adansonia Gregorii (Baobab tree), North-West Australia ; proof plates of late decades of “ Acacias of Australasia,” drawn and lithographed by R. Graff; drawings of Australian fungi, by Miss Wehl, Mount Gambier. Mr. R. H. Nancarrow, Neilborough—Nest of << SOLE AGENTS FOR VICTORIA: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 LITTLE COLLINS STREET EAST. FELTON, GRIMWADE & Go. Wholesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHEWS. IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALVYANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &., &. SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES: ERECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin. and jin. objective, in case, £4 12s. 6d. BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from £7 6s. to £11 11s. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. Frise ah wn Oe i : THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE OF THE Hielx Baturaliste’ Ohab of Dictoria, The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. BT aah TL) LC CO 7m CONTENTS. Te eye it bg b> R te) a Tur Firup NaturRAuists’ Chus oF VICTORIA .. Pe el BS P Nores on THE Zoonocy or Lake ALBAcutya District. By C. re F.L.S. 35 > On tHE Katreo, orn Potsonous SprpER or New Zeauanp. By T. S, rt Raueyx, M.R.C.S.E. ae oe ie ae ae Vas 3 EneuisH Notes .. ep Hi BM a Ee Ua PAG - Norzs on A Trip To THE Upper Murray. By C. Frencu, Jon. Seale L CoRRESPONDENCE .. a ae ak ae is Wane Ary al : PRICE—SIXPENCE. : : AGENTS FOR EUROPE: a . DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. : : GE) elbourne ; : E A. H. 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CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall on Monday evening, rith June, 1888. The president, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., occupied the chair, and about sixty members and visitors were present. A letter was read from the Zoological Society supporting the Club’s suggestion to endeavour to have the platypus protected, and mentioning from 1st August to 31st December asa suitable close season. A circular was read from the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science announcing the alteration of the inaugural meeting to 28th August. The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following dona- tions to the library :—‘“‘ Bees,” by Bagster ; ‘‘ The Microscope,” by Hon. Mrs. Ward; “‘ Taxidermists’ Manual,” by Captain Brown; “ British Birds’ Eggs,’ by Atkinson; ‘‘ Taxidermy,” by Mrs. Lee; and “‘ Natural History of Birds, etc.,” by Tiler, from Mr. Hugh Kennon:; “ Proceedings of Linnean Society of New South Wales” second series, Vol. III., part 1, from the Society; “‘ Journal of New York Microscopical Society,” April, 1888, from the Society; ‘‘ Melbourne University Review,” Vol. IV., No.1; and “ Journal of Pharmacy,” May, 1888. The hon. secretary read an account of the Club excursion to Frankston on Queen’s Birthday (zath May.) The outing did not prove so successful as had been anticipated, as the day turned out showery, and made the scrub so wet that a thorough exploration of it was impossible. The party went as far as the Mount Eliza ridge, on the Hastings road; then, turning south- ward and westward, made across the hills to Frankston again. Though early in the season, some twenty-five species of plants were obtained in bloom, among which may be mentioned Pimelia octophylla, Aster ramulosus, Putersonia glauca, Melaleuca squarrosa, Prasophyllum intricatum, etc. The Epacris was in splendid bloom, of all shades, from pure white to deep crimson. 34 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. On a ballot being taken, Messrs. R. A. Bastow, F.L.S., G. F. Chamberlain, T. S. Hall, J. Lynar, A. C. Macdonald, F.R.G.S., Dr. Nicholson, J. S. Robertson, A. Turnbull, Rev. E. I. Watkin, D.D., and A. A. Wood were duly elected members of the Club. Messrs. P. H. Anderson and D. Best were elected to audit the accounts of the Club for the past year. PAPERS READ. t. By Mr. C. French, F:L.S.; entitled “‘ Zoological Notes from the Wimmera.” The author gave an interesting account of the various mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, etc., noticed during a visit to the Lake Albacutya district, in the mallee scrub, nearly 300 miles north-west of Melbourne. The botani- cal observations during the trip were recorded some time ago, and published in the Waturalist for July, 1887. 2. By Dr. T. S. Ralph, entitled “Some Account of the ‘Katipo,’ or Poisonous Spider of New Zealand.” The author described the haunts and habits of the spider, which greatly resembles one found in Victoria—viz., a deep velvety-black species, with a vermilion stripe down the back ; and said it had been known to produce fatal results. He exhibited live speci- mens, also preparations of parts under the microscope. The paper gave rise to an interesting discussion relative to the virus of spiders, and Mr. D. M‘Alpine drew the attention of the members to a garden spider, which had recently caused him considerable inconvenience, and which he proposed to experiment with as to its poisonous properties. The following were the principal exhibits of the evening:— By Mr. C. French, F.L.S., a male and a female copper-headed snake (Hoplocephalus superbus), in illustration of letter in June Naturalist. By Mr. C. Frost, Preiss’ blind snake, and a two- hooded Furina from the Murray district. By Mr. R. Hall, Murray turtles (Chelomys Macquaria), from Lake Boga; eggs of Murray River crayfish from Swan Hill ; hornet’s nests from Lake Boga. By Mr. J. E. Prince, sponges from Airey’s Inlet, near Cape Otway. By Mrs. J. Simson, Capparis nobilis and other plants from New South Wales. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, seven new Victorian lichens—viz., Odryzum myriopus (sp. nov.) Wilson, TZvrachylia concreta (sp. nov.) Wilson, Gomphillus beomyceoides (sp. nov.) Wilson, Plophoron conglomeratum (sp. nov.) Wilson, Slastenta coccinea (sp. nov.) C. Knight, Arthonia fusco-rufa (sp. nov.) C. Knight, and TZrypethclium fumosa- cinereum (sp. nov.) C. Knight; and two from Queensland—viz., Biatorinopsis versicolor (sp. nov.) Wilson, and Amphiloma glaucescens (sp. nov.) Wilson. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 35 NOTES ON THE ZOOLOGY OF LAKE ALBACUTYA DS TRC By C. FrencH, F.L.S. ( Read before Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 11th June, 1888.) You will, doubtless, remember my promise to read, when there was a scarcity of papers, a few notes on the fauna of this part of the Wimmera district, and I much regret the circum- stance of my having to redeem my promise sooner than I anticipated. I must here remark that I left Melbourne totally unprepared, and without any appliances whatever for collecting zoological specimens, having determined to do what I could, during the limited time at my disposal, towards the collecting of the plants of the district, and which, as I have previously stated, was the sole object of my visit, and thus it happens that these notes are necessarily very fragmentary and imperfect. At a casual glance in passing through the mallee on the road up from Dimboola, I could not help noticing the apparent scarcity of birds, particularly the smaller kinds; but on alight- ing from the buggy, and proceeding on foot but a short dis- tance into the mallee scrub, 1 soon saw that I was mistaken, as many curious forms were not at all uncommon, though in some ‘cases unknown to those who have been accustomed to collect only in the districts near Melbourne. The first old favourite noticed was the well-known rose-hill, or rosella parrakeet (Platycercus eximius), which were here in numbers. The gigantic kingfisher (laughing jackass, if you like) (Dacelo gigas) were also plentiful enough; whilst the wedge-tailed eagle (Aguila audax) was to be seen hovering around, waiting, I suspect, Micawber-like, for anything to turn up. Whilst on the subject of eagles, I may remark that these fine birds are highly spoken of as destroyers of rabbits; but, on the other hand, they have a very great liking for young lambs, and I noticed that they (the eagles) are always considered fair game for a “pot shot’’ whenever occasion offers, and thus their numbers have been greatly reduced. Lizards of various sizes and colour seem common about here, and, if time permitted, a very good collection of these animals ‘could be got together in this district. Regarding ants, this country would be a perfect paradise for an observer of the Sir J. Lubbock type (unfortunately very rare), as there are, I dare say, 50 or 60 species to be found within an easy walk from Dimboola, and I have reason to believe from what little I saw that many of these little insects are either new, or as yet unpublished, species. 36 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Spiders were, so far as I could see, not so plentiful, several which I noticed being of the commoner kinds found also near Melbourne ; still I think other rare, and possibly new, species are to be found if properly looked for. In and around the station, and on the borders of Lake Albacutya, were several small species of lepidoptera, amongst which I noticed several’ old acquaintances as being found in the Dandenong and other districts. JI have no doubt, however, that later in the season many good finds would reward the diligent searcher. This would seem to bea poor place for the larger diurnal lepidoptera, but the large trees showed traces of being bored by the larve of some of our larger moths, and Mr. Kershaw has shown me some very fine specimens of various timber-feeding hepialidz, etc., which he found in the more western parts of the Wimmera, although some of them probably occur here also. The common crow (Corvus Australis ?) was very plentiful all the way up from Dimboola. I have always disliked these birds, and, although they have many friends, I cannot forgive their ‘‘eye-picking-out”” and ‘“‘ young-duck-stealing”’ propensities. Mr. Scott, the day before I left, shot one which had just killed a young duck; and again, was it not a crow who stole our soap. whilst we were camped at Chinaman’s Flat P Snakes, so far as I could learn, are almost unknown in these parts, although, as Mr. Le Soueéf has told us, specimens of the deaf-adder were ‘‘ turned up” out of the ground in the neigh- bourhood of Tullyvea; but, although I travelled a good deal over this district on foot, I did not see any traces of them, although they have been seen occasionally by others; and on rare occasions the non-venomous carpet snake (Morelia variegaia) has been seen in the back country towards the Murray River. This news is very gratifying to those good people who are afraid of snakes, also to such as have been accustomed to travel in ‘“‘snaky” parts of the colony, as the Moe, Upper Murray, and other districts. The black-faced kangaroo, which our Mr. Le Souéf was so anxious to obtain, were scarce, being probably in fear of any of Mr. Le Souef’s Field Naturalist Club confederates, or (which is more likely) does not, so I was informed, come from the back country until later on in the season. In driving along the sandy roads we saw, although so early in the season, many specimens of the so-called ‘ wallops,” a lazy, sleepy-looking lizard, who, when he looks up, almost seems to implore you to drive over him. We saw many of a smaller kind, also one not unlike our common Cyc/odus, or blue-tongued lizard, but a somewhat stouter animal. Hymenoptera and diptera seemed scarce. I noticed very + ; THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. be Sp igs Uy) few, but I should think this would be, in the summer months, a good place for them—that is, when the mallee is well in bloom ; and, whilst speaking of hymenoptera, I may just mention that bees are not uncommon about these parts, but whether they were escapes from the neighbouring stations or farms I had no means of ascertaining. Water being scarce, I did not expect to see many of the Lzbellulide, or so-called dragon-flies, but a few very pretty species were flying about in open places. I also saw a few of the Myrmeleo family, but no orthoptera to speak of. On the lake the little dotterel was to be seen scampering about, and a very fine and peculiar shaped brown hawk (which I took to be a buzzard) seemed inclined to hold some dispute with an eagle, but the latter (fortunately, perhaps, for the buzzard) seemed to be peaceably inclined, and soared away nearly out of Sight. What might have proved a very awkward adventure happened near to my camp at this place. I went for a stroll one morning whilst the billy was being boiled, and was ‘exploring’ the branches of a fallen tree for lichens, when I suddenly heard the rattle of a chain close to me, and, turning sharply around, I found that the calf of my leg was not more than a couple of feet or so from a very large eagle, which had been caught ina rabbit trap. I made a remarkably active jump, or I might have been seriously injured. Anyone who has seen an eagle “ perform- ing’’ on the carcase of a dead animal will be able to appreciate the situation. JI shot the eagle, which, I was informed, must have flown seven or eight miles with the trap attached to its foot, which was much crushed, and the bird had become so exhausted that it was unable to rise more than a yard or so from the ground. I did not skin the bird, as it was much damaged, probably owing to its struggles to free itself from the trap. The emu and wild turkey, I was told, are occasionally seen about the lake, but I saw neither. Mr. Scott, however, informed me that emus with a ring of white feathers around their necks have frequently been seen in the district. Not even my old Murray friend, the native companion, was seen. A few beautiful specimens of Leadbeater’s cockatoo (Cacatua Leadbeater?) were seen some distance from the lake and inland, and it was not far from this spot where I found the curious Battarea fungus, which, I am now able to inform you, is not new, a single specimen of it having been previously found in the Murchison district of Western Australia, and from the unique specimen has been named Batfarea phalloides, so I am not the original discoverer. The handsome rock-pebble parrakeet (P. melaneura) is very common in these parts, and makes a splendid pet; and one which the young ladies at the station had used to fly for a long 38 » “ THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. distance and then alight upon their shoulders, and sometimes upon one’s head. They fly very rapidly, and the whirring sound of their wings before they alight is somewhat peculiar. The nests of these pretty birds—often known also as smokers— are made in the hollows of trees, and are somewhat difficult to get at. The blacks, as a rule, do not seem very willing to collect zoological specimens. In fact, I believe that their good pastor in some way discourages such matters, as it was with some difficulty that I obtained the few eggs which I purchased for my son on my return from Albacutya, although I paid a good price for them, at which they (the blacks) seemed much pleased. These people can now make fair wages among the selectors, at fencing, clearing, etc., and thus they are to some extent independent of the itinerant naturalist. 1 purchased a very good stone tomahawk, which had probably belonged to some of their now defunct ancestors. I had a desire to obtain for a friend in Europe a skeleton of an aboriginal native, and, although there are many to be obtained near the mission station, I could not venture to broach the subject to my worthy friend the superintendent, as I have a vivid recollection of my reception at my own house when I was on a former occasion indiscreet enough to unpack one from Northern Queensland; my wife remarking that, although she was willing to encourage in every reasonable way my love for natural history, I must ‘‘draw the line” at human skeletons. In my former paper, I mentioned the fact of a very large nest of the wedge-tailed eagle which I saw near Mud-brim Spring. I may add that situate about 12 feet or so above the former nest was a nest of some large hawk. I am not aware whether the smaller nest was in use, or whether the birds had quarrelled (?) with the usual result, the survival of the fittest. It seemed strange to me that two birds of prey of different species should have occupied the same tree wherein to build their nests, as there were other large trees in the vicinity. Possibly some of our ornithological friends could give us their experience in such matters, or at least explain the circum- stance. The smaller kinds of mammals seemed very scarce. I saw hardly any, save a large Paddy-melon and a couple of kangaroo- rats (?) or something very like them. Marsupial mice are found in the north-west. Of the echidna I saw no traces, although I believe they are to be found to the north-east of where I visited, as in similar country on the Murray they are not uncommon. Opossums are not numerous in this district; but about Pine Plains, some distance to the north-east, they are plentiful, and many handsome rugs of excellent quality are prepared by THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 39 the station hands, who dispose of them to squatters and others ~ in the district. The mallee opossum, a yellowish species, is, I believe, not uncommon in these parts. Very fine rugs of dingo skins are likewise prepared, and are both ornamental and useful. The Xoala, or native bear, is, I believe, unknown in these parts; at least, so I have been informed. I was constantly on the look-out for the beautiful red and black cockatoo (Calyptorrhynchus Leachiz), but did not see any, although I should think this dry country a good place for them. The white cockatoo (Caca/ua jalerita) was plentiful near Dimboola, but I saw very few when further inland. Black cockatoos are not uncommon here. Our old Murray friend, the iguana (Hydrosaurus varius), was not seen, which surprised me somewhat, as this country, with its numerous rabbits, ought to bea perfect elysium for these graceful saurians. After rabbits, the principal scourge in this part of Victoria is the wild dog (Canzs dingo). ‘This animal is a very formidable enemy to the squatter, free selector, or farmer, particularly to the former, as it destroys vast numbers of sheep, evidently for the sake, tiger-like, of killing them. These pests are caught by means of large iron traps, with a very powerful spring, and these traps are always laid in the middle of a road or path, so that when the dog comes along, which he generally does in the middle of the road, he is caught in the teeth of the trap, which, by the way, is always covered, or rather buried, out of sight inthe sand. This affords fine and profitable sport for the station hands, who generally devote the Sunday afternoon to riding to the various traps and having every dog brought to the homestead, the finder being rewarded with 30s.,so that many of these men are thus able to considerably augment their salaries. These traps are very dangerous to persons travelling on foot, because one can never see them, and, unless you happen to know their whereabouts, stand a good chance of being caught and held, dog fashion, until released. On the journey down to Lake Hindmarsh station we came across the trail of a slut and litter of puppies of these dogs. They were travelling across a sand-hill in an easterly direction, and on our arrival at the station we informed the manager, Mr. Binns, who soon raised a hue and cry after them. ‘These dogs, by cross-hybridisation, are larger and more savage than were the pure dingoes, and when they get amongst a flock of sheep make sad havoc. In my former paper I gave you a short description of the dog and rabbit-proof fence, which extends from Swan Hill to the Adelaide border, and although this fence seemed to me to be 40) THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. quite a formidable affair, the one surrounding Mildura must surely be much more imposing, when we learn from the A/z/dura Cultivator that the place is surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and, when completed, it affordsa complete barrier against rabbits, dingoes, and all other creeping vermin, including book agents. The southern stone plover is very common in these parts, as is also the spur-winged plover, and of the former I obtained five eggs on a small mound in a swamp, which I found whilst wading for water-plants. Black swans (Cyguus atrata) are very plentiful, and I was informed that in the laying season at Lake Hindmarsh the eggs are collected in cart-loads and sold for food purposes in Dim- boola, Horsham, etc. I saw very few of these fine birds, as the lake was, as I have before stated, obscured by a heavy mist. Pelicans, spoonbills, etc., are here in numbers. Ducks of many species were somewhat numerous, and on every little flat place where the water had collected the black duck and another kind seemed to be numerous, the young birds being in many cases just able to waddle. I could have procured some for the Royal Park, but I had no means of bringing them down to Dimboola. A curious bird attracted our attention when driving past a swamp only a few miles from Albacutya station. In appearance it seemed from a distance to be like a bantam hen. It ran very fast, and I suspect that it was some species of the “ rail” family. I do not remember having seen it before. I have since learned that it is the Tribonyx. The well-known and beautiful mallee hen (Lezpoa ocellata) is plentiful enough in the more dense parts of the mallee, and their mounds were not at all uncommon. I need not describe the latter, because Messrs. Le Souéf, Campbell, and others have already given you most interesting accounts of these most singular structures. It may not be out of place to remark that, to mount skins of this bird well, great care should be taken in the posing as well as in the filling out of the skins, I have seen several stuffed specimens, but very few I thought ever approached the proper and natural position. Specimens of these (and the tule applies to other birds also) should be, if possible, studied whilst in the living state. Regarding the beetles of these parts, I may say that I saw very few indeed, but then I was too early for them, as I recog- nised many plants which, when in flower, are frequented by insects of all kinds, and I have no doubt but that it is a good place for collecting beetles uring the summer months, as I have had some rare species from the Wimmera, amongst which were Stigmodera Fortnumt, Stigm. vitticollis, Stigm. Bakeweli, Xypeta erallaria, Tryphocharia Mitchelli, and many others. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. ‘Al + On the large trees I noticed many specimens of the common tree-creeper, often called by colonists the wood-pecker and these ‘curious little birds were busily engaged in their usual spiral ascent of the gum-trees, and probably were in search of insects. Not far from what I may call Paul’s camp is a large gum-tree, in the upper fork of which an eagle had built her nest. I got one of the men to climb the tree. and he got one egg of a most singular size, shape, and colour, it being larger, longer, and almost without blotches of any kind. The specimen was too advanced to be cleaned, and although Mr Campbeli: tried his best to remove the contents, he was unable to do so without breaking the specimen. I have in my time seen a good number of eggs of the wedge-tailed eagle, but none like the specimen alluded to. A very beautiful green and blue parrakeet, with a collar of darker green around the neck, was not uncommon on the borders of the lake. I think it must be Barnard’s parrakeet (P. Barnard: ), and it is often found in company with the “‘ rock-pebble” before mentioned. There seemed to be very few insects on the many beautiful acacias, but on some leptospermum I saw some hymenoptera of large size, probably belonging to the thynnidz and mutillide ; also on the wing were two species at least of Neuroptera. Fish are said to be plentiful in the Wimmera River, but I did not see any ; neither did I see any tortoises, which, I believe, are ‘sometimes to be seen in the river and along its banks. Platypus are not uncommon in the river. I saw whilst wading for plants a few fresh-water shells, genus Physa, etc., although I suspect there are representatives of other genera to be found if carefully looked for. Leeches and water-bugs (/Vefa) were, as I have occasion to remember, not rare, and the former are, so far as their blood- sucking qualities are concerned, quite up to that of their Murray brethren. On the flowers of the Murray box (Zucalyptus largifiorens ) were vast numbers of a smail parrot, which, at a distance, looked like either the musky or swift lorikeets, but of this I am not certain, as they were up amongst the highest branches of the trees, abstracting honey, I suppose, from the flowers ; and I saw but one pair of the green leek (?. Barrabandi), so common in the Lower Murray country, but these beautiful birds are, perhaps, more plentiful later on in the season. A few specimens of the long-billed cockatoo ( Lzcmetis nasica ) were seen, and these were in flats amongst the high sand-hills, and I heard the well-known cry of a flock of ‘“‘wild geese” as they passed over our camp at night. One of the “night jars” ( Podargus) kept up its mournful and peculiar cry of “‘ Morepoke,” and as the note seemed somewhat Fa 42 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. weaker than I had been accustomed to hear, I turned out of bed to try and interview this nocturnal visitor, but the bird flew away before I got near toit. From what I could see, it seemed a smaller species than our common one. Iam not aware whether a smaller species has been found here, but perhaps someone present this evening can enlighten us upon this subject. Frogs, as a rule, were not plentiful. iI saw but one green one, about half the size of the “well-to-do old gentleman” who. “does” the musical honours in the swamp near the new Prince’s. Bridge. A whitish species ot the tree frog ( Hy/us ?) and a small, grizzly-coloured and unhappy-looking toad will complete, so far as. I saw, the “ frog fauna’ of Albacutya district. These parts are rich in centipedes. Some of those seen were quite formidable-looking fellows, of bluish green colour, with very strong mandibles; one of these, which I killed, measuring nearly six inches in length. I did not see any scorpions, although I should think that in such a dry country they are plentiful enough. I noticed that many of the Aucalypti had their tops very much eaten by insects, and I found that, as in our portion of the colony, this destruction had been the work of the larve of a saw-fly, an hymenopterus insect of the genus erga. ‘These larvee, which are horrible, black, ugly-looking caterpillars, you will have noticed on the gum saplings around Melbourne, and when tecuched with a stick the whole cluster writhe about, and emit a green juice, which the larvze has extracted from the tree. There are a good many species of this genus in Victoria, all of which are more or less destructive. A pair (male and female) of the handsome sheldrake ( Casarca tadornoides) paid regular visits to the dam, which was close to the homestead. They were very tame, and evidently considered themselves under the protection of Mr. Scott and his people. I cannot close my remarks on the zoology of this district with- out mentioning the very novel and pretty team of six sheep which the two little girls of Mr. Scott had yoked up, with proper yokes and bows; and the ‘“‘ team” used to draw logs, etc. It was. to me quite a unique “turn-out,” and could not fail to cause some considerable amusement to those who visited the station. I have thus endeavoured to mention a few of the most promi- nent of the many natural history treasures to be found in this. comparatively little-travelled part of Victoria. JI hope some day to make a more extended trip to these parts, when I may have something of interest to show you, but should I again revisit the scenes of my former exploits I shall sadly miss the assistance and advice of the former kind and hospitable proprietors of Lake Albacutya Station, who have since left the mallee, its pleasures, and its inconveniences. ‘ : THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 43. ON THE KATIPO, OR POISONOUS SPIDER OF NEW ZEALAND. IB A SRN WIR Gaselas (Read before the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 11th June, 1888.) ; My first acquaintance with the katipo in New Zealand dates back thirty-five years ago. The Maoris believe it to be poisonous, and for this reason I had considerable difficulty in obtaining a specimen for examination. Habits.—As far as my experience goes, and the information I have been able to collect, this spider is not met with in other localities than on sandy soil and under plants living on sand- hills, chiefly on the sea coast. And unless one had a practical experience regarding its haunts and habits, it would be difficult to light upon the katipo, as this creature hides itself well away under its protecting bushes. The danger of being bitten by any one of them seems to me to be very remote, so that unless a man makes these sand-inhabiting bushes a resting place for the night, or unless such localities are invaded by children playing about and under them, and the spider 1s roughly handled or intruded upon, they are not likely to cause any injury. At the date to which I refer, I made some observations, and these reaching England, found their way, through a friend, into the proceedings of the Linnean Society of London; and lately, on visiting New Zealand, I occupied a short space of time in renewing my acquaintance with these creatures. I may here mention that my name has been treasured up in Wellington in relation to these spiders, so that I was spoken to by a man who in his youth had heard of katipos, and with them my name duly enbalmed. Through this meeting I was able to obtain speci- mens, for we immediately chummed and went together to the hunting-ground—viz., to the sandy ridge separating the harbour of Wellington from the cpen sea. Tradition states—with what truth I cannot say—that over this isthmus or ridge Captain Cook sailed in his earliest visit to Wellington, the ridge being then fairly under water, but has evidently been raised up by earthquake movement since his day. On this occasion of our exploration we got for our share of plunder some forty or fifty spiders. But the natural ferocity of these creatures must have been greatly excited, as the majority of them were killed in a general melée on their way to my home, and so they were lost to science, though still to memory dear. Since then, lately finding myself again in their habitat in Wellington, I went to my old quarters, and had a good hunt. On this occasion I was much assisted by my wife, who, though at first inimical to my way, soon fell into the line of activity, and beat the bushes, and discovered their quarry for me. I captured them by pick- g44 THE VICTORIAN. NATURALIST. ing them out of their hiding places by means of a pair of for- ceps, and carefully consigned them to safe keeping. Some two of these are to be seen alive in a bottle; others have had their share of methylated alcohol or glycerine, so that I am fairly well prepared to exhibit them to-night. As I have stated, they are to be found under low-lying shrubs on sand-hills. We went to work by taking hold of the extended branches of the shrub which gave them shelter, and, lifting them up, looked for the web-like galleries which. the spider forms, and around which were scattered the remains of beetles and other insects which had been killed for food. The sight of these fragments led at once to a further search, when perhaps a cocoon containing eggs was discovered—a tolerably sure sign this of the living parent being close at hand, and presenting herself, a black spider with a vermilion streak on the back. One sees that nature herself holds out the warning sign of danger, which even men have adopted, in the bright red colour which is now so freely used in the streets of this city as indicating the necessity for caution. Query—Can this adoption of the red colour as a danger signal be due to a remote inheritance? ‘This, ez passant. I am not an arachnologist—that is, I am not given to spider arranging—yet I have in this particular direction a great interest, which I will endeavour to make plain. For one thing, I myself verified the accounts of the poisonous property of this spider, and I believe the native statement regarding the venomous nature of the bite is true. One case, whicn happened many years ago, was that of the child of a European, somewhere in the Hawkes Bay district, which terminated fatally. Another case was that of a native infant, who suffered severely, but with what result I do not remember. Another point of interest is that there is a kind of cousin- german of this katipo in Australia, to which I will refer by and by. The katipo is about the size of a small pea; the body and legs quite black; in fact, velvety black. A bright vermilion stripe passes down the back, and gives the characteristic mark of the creature to the ordinary beholder. The cocoons, or bags, which the katipo weaves for her eggs are fully the size of a pea, and are generally found mixed up with the irreguiar web constituting a gallery at the lower portion of the shrub which shelters the spider. In the bottle which contains the living specimens I exhibit to-night, there are two of these cocoons which have yielded up their contents in the form of a number of minute baby spiders, which, however, have been perhaps starved out for want of proper infant spider food. On occasions I have fed the small colony with flies, and I have seen these attacked by the older spiders. For the last six weeks, however, there has been no | " f THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 45, further supply of fresh food, but these creatures, I know, are able to put up with long fasts. This reminds me that the lady spiders are apt to devour their mates—the gentlemen spiders—according to the old Latin poet (Horace, I believe), who spoke of these ladies as “ Sceva, etiam in amore,” which means cruel in their affections. A legal friend has suggested that all this severity may be due to jealousy—that,. in fact, it may be the method of spider divorce; if so, it is certainly a somewhat high-handed proceeding When the young katipos make their appearance they are of a grey colour, with black spots on the body and legs. They moult off three or more times, I believe, and with each moult the vermilion stripe on the back is produced. At first there is a small spot, next a series of red spots down the back, and in the final stage these spots unite into a stripe, which is curiously notched along each edge, thus ||., When I first noticed these katipos I observed that some of them—I suppose the older ones —had a red stripe crossed over the back as well as the vertical one, so it would seem that these spiders not only have their laws of divorce, but also put on the blazonings of a Red Cross Knight. But as it is long since I have met with one of these cross-band spiders, possibly this is a sign of a departed chivalry, the days of the Red Cross Knights having passed away. I once killed a mouse by the bite of one of these spiders. The mouse died in twenty-four hours, and presented extensive congestion, which affected the limbs and the head of the animal, and gave evidence, also, of an extensive paralysis of the principal nerves regulating the functions of the body. Being somewhat of a greenhorn in those days as regards the examination of the blood under the microscope, I did not determine the existence of any change in it as the result of the poison. When I related the result of the above experiment to the late Mr. Sharpe Maclea, of Sydney, a well-known naturalist, he expressed great surprise at the informa- tion. At the same time, he informed me that the katipo was closely related to a reputed poisonous spider of Jamaica, called “mal a pert.” This brings me to my experience in Victoria, where there is a similar—if not an identical—spider, whose bite is quite as poisonous as its relation of New Zealand. kut it appears to meto followa somewhat different habit, inasmuch as itis found in out-of-the-way places, such as old out-houses and sheds, and under old verandahs. I have had one patient who suffered from the bite of this creature, and the sufferer—a strong man— was laid up in bed for a couple of days, suffering severe pain. I met another man who told me that he had been severely bitten by a spider, and he brought me a specimen of one which resembled that which had bitten him—it was a red-backed, velvet-black spider. I have made experiments with the Victorian *s s, les 46 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST katipos, and killed a mouse and a powerful rat, which died forty- eight hours after being bitten. Among all the Victorian specimens I have never seen any appearance of the Red Cross form to which I have alluded. Since my lecturette, I have been informed that the red-backed Victorian spider’s thread is made use of for micrometer threads at the Observatory, as being most serviceable for that purpose. But the creature is rather indisposed to promote scientific inquiry, being shy in spinning her yarn in order to measure the heavenly bodies. Tue Katipo.—A venomous insect occasionally found among the tufts of grass on the sandy beaches of New Zealand. Its sting creates a painful swelling. I don’t think it is often fatal. It is a very retiring insect, seldom seen unless sought after. The Maories used to describe it as something like a centipede, with ared head. There is a proverb among the Maories respecting it— Kaua koe e noho ki runga ki te papapa o te onepu: ka katia koe e te katipo.” If you will sit on the tufts on the shore you may expect to be stung by the katipo. Moral.— Don’t put yourself in the way of temptation. The derivation is from kati, to sting—po, the night.—Rev. S. IRonsips, Balaclava. EncLisp Notes.—Letters received by the hon. secretary from Mr. T. A. Forbes-Leith, a former vice-president of the Club, now in England, contain several items of interest to naturalists. He has added to his collection of parrots several very handsome species, among them being a specimen of the rare and beautiful little blue Otaheite parrakeet. He expresses himself in strong terms of admiration at Miss North’s gallery of paintings from nature, praising her perseverance, genius, etc., and her execution and exhaustive manipulation of detail in many of the most difficult of foreign trees, flowers, and birds—in fact, to his mind, is far superior to many of the old masters. He mentions being present at a sale of natural history specimens in London, when an egg of the great auk (believed to be extinct) was sold for 4160. After some considerable trouble, he procured a photo- graph of another auk’s egg in a private collection, and describes it as being about five inches long, and resembles in shape an Australian native companion’s, though much larger. It has somewhat large, dark spots towards the smaller end of the egg, with other fainter and smaller ones on the other portion. India has fixed a close season for birds owing to the great destruction of birds for hat decorations, ete. A golden eagle—a bird rarely met with in England—has been shot in Surrey. In a later letter Mr. Leith mentions having been present at the sale of another auk’s egg, which fetched the enormous sum cf £225. He has added to his collection three humming birds’ nests, with eggs, the nests being not larger than half a walnut. <3 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 47 NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE UPPER MURRAY. By C. FRENCH, JUN. (Read before Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 14th May, 1888.) - I terr Melbourne by the 2.55 p.m. train on Cup Day, 1886, in company with a friend, Mr. S. Jephcott, at whose invitation I was visiting the Hume district. We reached Albury about r1.10, and stayed at the Albury Hotel for a day, we having heard that the coach for Ournie had just gone, so we thought it better to cross the river and go down with the coach on the Victorian side. Having to wait in Wodonga for a couple of days, we paid a visit to Mount Huon, a distance of about two miles east from the township. On the way to the mount, we found in the eucalyptus trees numerous nests of the yellow- rumped geobasileus with eggs. On the mount there is a fine view of the Snowy, Buffalo, and Kosciusko Mountains; Kosciusko and Snowy, being covered with snow, presented a very pretty sight. The plants noticed were very much the same as may be found. growing around Melbourne—namely, Helichrysum semipapposum, H. scorpiotdes, Leptorrhynchus squamatus, Wahlenbergia gracilis, Caladenia Fatersont, Chetlanthes tenut- folia, C. vellea, Arthropodium strictum, etc. The reptilia noticed were the copper-headed and_ black snakes. Lace lizards were very numerous, but birds were rather scarce, the only ones noticed being magpie-larks (Grallina picata), garrulous honey-eater (Myrzantha_ garrula), black fantail (Sauloprocta motacilloides), black-backed porphyrio (Porphyrio melanotus), little grass-bird (Sphenaeacus gramtneus), brown tree-creeper (Climacteris scandens), yellow-rumped geobasileus (Geobasileus chrysops), also several species of honey- eaters. We spent the remainder of the time in Wodonga searching the waterpools. and in them found Azolla rubra and a species of 2zccza. (Zo be continued.) CORRESPONDENCE. SNAKE-BITES. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Str,—As one who has seen much of the action of snake poison, I have read, with very great interest, the letter of your correspondent, Mr. Charles French. During a long residence in South Africa I have seen several natives, and on one occa- sion a Madras coolie, while suffering from snake-bite; also, I have known bullocks, a horse, and several dogs to be killed by venomous snakes. Every human patient coming under my 48 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. notice has recovered. ‘The remedies used were eau de luce and spirits (brandy, hollands, or rum). The eau de /uce we certainly looked upon, if promptly administered and continued during the crisis, as a specific. I have never myself seen a white man under the influence of snake poison; I was, however, acquainted with men who had been bitten by venomous snakes and recovered under the treatment indicated. A personal friend in South Africa once told me that he had seen black snakes fighting (he spoke of the kind known by the native name Imamba Mnyama, and which is, I believe, almost identical with the Cobra Naje of India), but he was unable to say what was the result of the combat, he being on horseback at the time and anxious, I take it, to get a valuable animal out of the way of, probably, the most dangerous and aggressive of the ophidian race. The question as to the effect produced by the bite of a poisonous snake upon one of the same species, or even of the same genus, is of the greatest interest to all practical naturalists, and items of evidence are as rare as they are valuable.—Il am, sir, yours obediently, W. H. TORRIANG: 142 Cecil-street, South Melbourne, 16th June, 1888. FOOD OF PLANARIANS. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Dear Sir,—During one of my night rambles I found one of those banded, leech-like worms. I think they are called Planarian worms, or terrestrial Planarie. In Darwin’s. “Voyage of a Naturalist,” page 27, he mentions keeping some of these worms and feeding them on rotten wood. If these terrestrial Planarize are the striped leech-like worms we find here, I think they feed on animal food as well as vegetable. The worm I found had captured one of those zmsects known as. wood-lice or slaters. It caught this insect by means of the mucous coating with which these worms are covered, and, after crawling over it a short time, it protruded an organ from the under side of the body, and, after some time, inserted it between the segments on the under side of the slater. In ashort time 1 noticed the worm had increased in size; also that it had become a much darker colour, from the contents of the slater flowing into its body, and it was not long before the empty shell was all that remained of what had once “been a slater or wood- louse. I found one of these worms devouring the larva of a ground beetle, but, as I did not see the worm kill the larva, I took no further notice, although the worm had the same organ buried in the larva. I mention this, as Darwin speaks of rotten wood as the food on which he fed those kept by him.—I am, yours truly, CHARLES C. BRITTLEBANK. Leylands, Spring Vale, 26th May, 1888. | Field Naturalists lub ot Victoria, President : A. H. §. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S. THIS Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested ; for the Exhibition of Specimens; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from 1st May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Melbourne, at $ p.m. The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Hditor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets, Vol. I (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title-page and index for binding. 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BECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pimion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin. and din. oa ive, in case, £4 12s. 6d. a ee ee ee, eee 7. BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPHS, from £7 6s. to £11 Ils. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. Sa Ta a yoyeny ee eS ey rye = Von. V.—No. 4, a Aveust, 1888. Distorian THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE OF THE he records, CONTENTS. EXXCHANGE.. se ato de on ne if PRICE—SIXPENCE. AGENTS FOR HUROPE: DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. GE elbourne ; 1888. td Wielx Haturalistx’ Oluk of Victoria. The eianor of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions A. H. Masstina & Co., Printers, 26 Lirrnn Coxznins-srrent East. Tur Frenp NatuRALists’ Cuup oF VICTORIA .. aae Nores on A Trip to THE Upper Murray. By C. Frencu, ae SGT, Nore on THE CrEntTRAL-AusTRALIAN ActinoTtus ScHwaRrzir. By Baron von Moenuer, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.RB.S., &c. ee esha eR DESCRIPTION OF A New ATHRIXIA FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA. By Baron yon Murtier, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.R.S., &. .. ae sen Oa A Sacactous Opossum a : a = Re HxPHRIMENTS WITH THE VICTORIAN “ Kanrpo ? ce E eee Notus oN THE Hapits oF PerGa LEwisit es ain es el OF Mimicry .. ne 36 i ie ce a ies: THe CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION an oa mE aa 60 CORRESPONDENCE .. de as eK tis a 6G Mic ailiscifth nti siti TATE’S EXPRESS, 11 MARKET STREET, ‘Natural History Zips other Packauee all sizes, delivered any address | ) in Britain, Son. PER POUND. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. LONDON OFFICE: W. & SUTTON & CO., GOLDEN LANE, B.C. A. J. El A aes (Twenty Years with Paun THomaAs), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS AND SHOR. Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. CASH PRICES. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. Al SYWANSTON STRESS (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street), MELBOUVURIN £.- z ny he ial cess = iene Pr THE Wictorian Haturalizst, Mounve——No. 4. AUGUST, 1888. No. 56. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall on Monday evening, 9th July, 1888. The president, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., occupied the chair, and about seventy members and visitors were present. A letter was read announcing the formation of the Melbourne University Science Club, which was received with applause. The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following donations to the library :—‘‘ Quarterly Mining Reports, March, 1888,” from the Mining Department; “The ‘Taal Volcano,” by Rey. ap E. Tenison-Woods, F.L.S., from the author ; Journal of Pharmacy, June, 1888, from the ‘Pharmaceutical Society ; also eighteen volumes of works, reports, etc., on the Natural History of New Zealand, from Sir James Hector, K'¢.M..G> (hen. member F.N.C.). On the motion of the president and Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Sir James Hector, K.C.M.G., for his valuable donation, to which he suitably replied. On a ballot being taken, Mr. J. A. Cohen was duly elected a member of the Club. Nominations were received for office-bearers for 1888-9, the election to take place at next meeting. Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, B.A., read an extract from a letter he had received from Professor Alfred Newton. of Cam- bridge, congratulating the Club on the success of the King Island Expedition, and asking whether any traces had been observed there of the now extinct Tasmanian emu, or whether any information about it could now be obtained. Sir James Hector, K.C.M.G., exhibited a series of recent and fossil oyster shells from different parts of the New Zealand coast, and made some very interesting remarks on the characteristics and the habits of the several species. Some little discussion ensued, in which Professor Spencer, 50 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. B.A., Mr. D: M‘Alpine, F.C.S., Dr. Wigg, Mr. C. French, #1S_ and the president took part, the first named speaker expressing a desire that a similar series of oyster shells from the Australian coasts might be got together for comparison with Sir James Hector’s specimens. Owing to the lateness of the hour, the papers for the evening —‘‘On the Natural Protection of Lepidopterous Larve,” by Mr. C. C. Brittlebank; and “ Botanical and Geological Notes of a Visit to New South Wales,” by Mr. C. A. Topp, F.L.S., were postponed to a future meeting. Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., made a few remarks on a new umbelliferous plant, Actinotus Schwarziz, from Mount Sonder, Central Australia, and exhibited specimens of it. Mr. C. Frost contributed some interésting notes of experi- ments conducted by him with a Victorian poisonous spider, closely resembling the New Zealand ‘ katipo,” and exhibited a number of the spiders obtained at Kew, of various ages, in order to show the differences in their appearance. Professor Spencer, B.A., drew attention to the approaching meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in Sydney in August, and trusted that the movement would be well supported by the members of the Field Naturalists’ Club. On the motion of Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., and Professor Spencer, B.A., it was determined to organise a party to camp out and collect for two or three weeks in the Cann River District, East Gippsland, leaving town within a day or two of Christmas, 1888, and a sub-committee, consisting of Professor Spencer, B-A., Messrs. C. French, F.L:S., A. |2) Campbellege: Frost, and F. G. A. Barnard, was appointed to make inquiries and arrange the necessary details. The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :— By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, some fine specimens of the moth ( Chelepteryx Collest), with cocoons, from Oakleigh. By Mr. A. J. Campbell, case of rare and beautiful Australian birds’ eggs, includ- ing those of the black-cheeked noddy tern (Anous melanogenys ), from North Queensland ; a crab, from Cossack, West Australia; and two fine groups of beetles, butterflies, and moths, from the Himalayas, India. By Mr. E. M. Cornwall, specimens of the flying opossum mouse (Acrobates pygmaeus, Shaw). By Mr. C. French, F.L.S., two specimens of beetle (/Pentaceras Frankliniz/, from Thursday Island. By Mr. C. French, jun., fossils from Muddy Creek, near Hamilton. By Mr. C. Frost, poisonous spiders, from Kew. By Mr. T.S. Hall, B.A., graptolites, from Sandhurst. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, a spine-billed honey- eater, a Wonga pigeon, and four species of quail. By Mr. C. Lane, Mytilus magellanicus, with blind crab ( Pinnotheres) inside, a messmate, from New Zealand. By Mrs. W. Martin, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Pll forty rare Australian mosses. By Mr. J. Searle, nine species of fresh-water shells, from Merri Creek—genera, Physa, Limnea, Planorbis, Bithynia, etc.; also, some curious insects’ cocoons, By Mr. C. A. Topp, F.L.S., dried plants, from New South Wales. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. MOrHs ON A TRIP TO THE UPPER MURRAY. By C. FReENcH, JUN. (Read before Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 14th May, 1888. ) ( Concluded. ) Leaving Wodonga for Ournie at 6 a.m., we had a pleasant drive of eighty miles along the Murray. On the road several black snakes were noticed, the road on the Victorian side bein very rough compared with the one on the New South Wales side, and very steep in several places. Dodonaea viscosa grew everywhere along the banks. We reached Ournie about eight o'clock p.m., having to cross the Murray in the punt to get. to Mie ok: Jephcott’s house, which was my destination, had tea, and turned in. Next morning we went fora short collecting trip close to the homestead, but got very few plants, amongst which were Dodonaea viscosa, Pherostylis longifolia, Pteris falcata, Felipterum incanum, Flelipterum anthemoides, Gompholobtum Fluegeli. Mr. Jephcott next day took me to see one of the prettiest sights in the way of plants that I have ever seen. It was a very large swamp covered with the beautiful Lzmnanthemum crenatum, a water plant with beautiful, yellow, fringy flowers, which, as they were all in full flower, presented a very pretty sight. Black, and also copper and brown, snakes were very numerous here, and you can hardly go 100 yards without meeting several, especially in the marshy swamps. I heard for a fact “that at a station a few miles lower down the river ninety-two black snakes were taken out of an old log. I also heard, with regard to crows, that they have been known to drag a fowl off its nest and take the eggs, and are also very destructive to birds’ nests. We paid a visit to Ike Mount, situate about nine or ten miles from the homestead, on the New South Wales side of the river. We started at daylight in the morning, passing along several small creeks, kangaroos darting from the scrub in all directions. On the way to Ike Mount we found several interesting plants. Green tree-snakes are found here, but we could not manage to capture one on this visit. Reaching Ike Mount about one o'clock, we had a bath in a small creek, which was very refreshing after our rough walk, after which we boiled the billy 52 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST, and had lunch. After dinner, we proceeded down the creek some distance and found Prerostylis cucullafta and Pterostylis pedunculata, then we went up the mount and collected several nice plants, amongst which was Gastrodia sesamoides, Comes- perma ericinum, Helipterum corymbifiorum, Cyperus Pseudo-Cyperus, Grevillea alpina, Stackhousta linarifolia, Diuris maculata, Caladenia carnea, Pterostylis longifolia, etc. We came down the creek again and followed it fora few miles, and found several nests of the white-eared honey-eater, but they contained no eggs. We then went to a fern gully on our way home. This gully is very fine indeed. Dvzcksonia Antarctica is the only species of tree-fern we noticed. On a large eucalypt was situated the nest of the wedge-tailed eagle, but out of all reach. Ike Mount is composed of huge granite rocks. On the way home, and growing amongst the grass-tree (Xanthorrhea Australis), was found the rather rare orchid, Caladenia suaveolens. We also went to several small hills on our way back, and collected Grammitis rutifolta, Gastrodia sesamordes, Styphelia sp. Chetlanthes vellea, Lindsaya linearis, Thelymitra aristata, Helichrysum semi- papposum. We reached home about eight o’clock, much pleased with the day’s outing. The Murray turtle, also the platypus, is very common at Ournie. Our next trip was to Pine Mountain, situate about six miles from Mr. Jephcott’s, on the Victorian side of the river. We left home at daylight, crossed the Murray in the punt, and walked along the road till we came to within about a mile from the mount; then we followed up several small creeks till we reached the foot of the mount. The echidna or porcupine may be seen burrowing in the ground, and it is very hard to dig them out, for they burrow very rapidly. On the way up the mount we collected Dampzera Australis, Callitris verrucosa, Clematis aristata, Lxocarpus cupresstformis, Acacia lanigera, Cynoglossum suaveolens, Patersonia sericea, Pterostylis longifolia, Kunzea parviflora, Caladenia carnea, Pultenaea stypheloides, etc. On the top of Pine Mountain the rock wallaby is very common, and may be seen jumping about in all directions. Birds seemed rather scarce, the only ones noticed being wedged-tailed eagle, white cockatoo, satin bird, black magpies, native hen, plovers, garrulous honey-eater, zosterops, friar-bird, white-plumed honey-eater, Gang Gang cockatoo, bee-eater, kingfisher, fire-tailed finch, Rose Hill parakeet, etc. From the top of this mount a fine view of Mount Kosciusko can be obtained. We had a bath ina hole formed in a large piece of granite at the very top, which was very refreshing after our climb. Descending the mount, we found Zhryptomene Mitchelliana, Pultenaea stypheloides, Patersonia sericea, Acacia lanigera, Tetratheca ertiifolia, Dodonaea sp. Pultenaea retusa, Loranthus celastroides, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 53 and Prerostylis rufa var. Mitchelli. Wace lizards were very com- mon everywhere on Pine Mountain. We reached home about 6 p-m., much pleased with the outing, but very tired after the long day’s tramp. I remained close to the house collecting for a day or two, but did not get anything of much interest. I made several trips to a small rise called Bull Hill, about three miles from the homestead, on the Victorian side of the Murray, and collected a few plants, amongst which were Cherlanthes vellea, Pterostylis rufa var. ALitchelli, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Grammitis rutifolia, Calo- chilus Robertseni, Prasophyllum patens, Diuris sulphurea, D. punctata, Flelipterum corymbifiorum, and LFfelichryswm scorpioutes. We also saw several blue-tongued lizards on the mount, or hill, as it is called. Bee-eaters (AZerops ornatus) were found near the house. We also found several nests in course of building in the bank of the river, but it was too early for eggs. We also found nests and eggs of rufous-breasted thickhead near the house. Our next trip was to a place called Corryong, about twenty-five miles further up the river. Crossed the punt at Tintaldria, made for Corryong, and followed up the Wheeler Creek for some miles further, having on our right the Mittitate and Wornatongri Hills, along which flows the Cudgewa Creek, which falls into the Murray at Tintaldra. We had to go through many swamps, in which grew the pretty little Utricularia dichotoma. Several snakes were noticed swimming the swamps. On the eucalypti and in the sweet-briar bushes were noticed the nests of the fire-tailed finch, and eggs; also in the same nests was an egg of the bronze cuckoo (Lamprococcyx plagosus). We reached our destination, Corryong, at about five o’clock -—just in time for tea, which was very acceptable after our ride on horseback. The next morning we started for Wheeler’s Creek, a few miles further on, to several small hills, and col- lected Prerostylis mutica, Diuris pedunculata, Helipterum anthe- moides, Gastrodia sesamoides, Clematis aristata, etc., etc. We returned to Corryong in the evening, and packed up our traps for the return to Ournie next morning, which we reached at about 2 p.m., much pleased with our trip. The remainder of my time was spent in collecting in the vicinity of the home- stead, and I then had to say good-bye to my kind entertainers, and left by the same route as I came, and reached home again by the midday train from Albury. This being my first real col- lecting trip, and having now a pretty fair idea of the country on this part of the Upper Murray, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal to be done both in plants and animals, and can only regret that I had not more time for a longer stay. Baron von Miieller has been kind enough to name my plants for me. The remaining portion of the names I have obtained from various authenticated sources. 54 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. NOTE ON THE CENTRAL-AUSTRALIAN ACTINOTUS SCHWARZII, By Baron von MuELLeER, K.C.M.G., M. & PH.D., F.R.S., &c. Two years ago the Rev. W. F. Schwarz of the Mission- Station on the Finke-River ascended Mount Sonder in the Macdonnell-Ranges for the purpose of gathering plants, particularly at its lofty and rocky summit. Thus the leaves and peduncles of a plant were obtained, which—though devoid of flowers and fruits—was referred to the genus Actinotus, and recorded preliminarily in the transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 1886 as A. Schwargit. Recently the rev. gentleman reiterated this toilsome and rather perilous tour, and succeeded in carrying away from almost inacessible declivities further material for the elucidation of this and some other peculiar plants; thus it is now possible to confirm the temporary position of this Actinotus, and to contrast it with allied species. It has the habit of A. Helianthz, the tufts attaining a height and expansion of about 2 feet. Foliage and vestiture are also like those of A. Helianthi; the peduncles are solitary, from few to several inches long; the umbels resemble in size and indument those of A. /eucocephalus, but the involucral bracts are worn away already on the few specimens obtained, and must therefore be compared on some future occasion; the numerous pedicels are + inch or less long ; the flowers, still remaining unshed in the aged umbels before me, are all staminate only, the filaments hardly reaching beyond the calyx; the latter is densely beset with soft whitish almost appressed hairlets; the anthers are also similar to those of A. leucocephalus; the fruit remains unknown. Phyto- geographically also the plant is quite noteworthy ; it is the only one of this—to us endemic—genus, which reaches the tropic of capricorn, and is also the only one which extends to Central Australia. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ATHRIXIA FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA. By Baron von MUELLER, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.R.S., &c. Dwarf, ascendent, much beset with very soft rather long spreading hairlets ; leaves crowded at and towards the base of the stems, lanceolar or broad-linear, their margin closely and broadly recurved, the edges thus almost contiguous ; upper portion of stem peduncular, bearing numerous spreading lanceolar or oftener setular-linear villous bracts; headlet of flowers small; involucral bracts linear or capillary-setular, .long-cilielated ; corollas all conformous ;_ pappus-bristlets capillary, slightly thickened and minutely ciliolated upwards. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 55 about as long as the corolla; fruit glabrous, hardly narrowed at the upper end. Near the eastern sources of the Blackwood-River; Miss Crouin. It differs from A. tenella in the longer and softer vestiture, in the stronger copiously bracteated peduncle and in the more elongated but not plumous pappus-bristlets. A. tenella occurs at Fowlers Bay (Mrs. Richards), Eucla (Oliver), Point Culver (Carey). A. stricta attains a height of 3 feet; it is now known also from near Stirling’s Range (F. v. M.). A. australis grows at the Serpentine-River (F. v. M.) and the Blackwood-River (Miss Hester). A. gracilis extends from Swan-River (F. v. M.) to Mount Ridley and the vicinity of Esperance-Bay (Dempster). A. multiceps can now also be recorded from the Greenough- River (F.v. M.), the Tone-River (Muir) and Israelite-Bay (Miss Brookes). A SAGACIOUS OPOSSUM. THE opossum is not usually credited with the possession of a wonderful amount of sagacity, and the subjoined account of the experiences with regard to a pet animal will, no doubt, be read with interest. The authority is Mr. Joseph Mack, J.P., the genial president of the Hampdenshire Council. Mr. Mack relates that several years ago his sisters were disturbed one night by the sound of soft scratching on the window, as if some animal were trying to enter. Upon opening the window they Saw an opossum, an animal that was rarely seen in those days on the plains. They fed the animal with sugar, and continued to do so night after night until it became quite domesticated. Some time after a clergyman, the Rey. Mr. Smith, was visiting the station, who expressed a desire to get a tame opossum to take home with him. He was made a present of the one that had taken up its abode in such a peculiar manner at the station. Mr. Smith took the opossum with him when he resumed his homeward journey to Bellarine, about 65 miles distant. About nine nights after the Misses Mack were again disturbed by the sound of something scratching at the window, and, on lifting up the sash, to their great surprise they saw the pet opossum which had been given to the clergyman. Some months afterwards Mr. Smith was again at the station, and he then informed the family that he had taken the opossum home to Bellarine, and placed it in a presumably secure place for thenight. It effected its escape, however, and the ninth night later it returned, as already stated, to the station, 65 miles distant, and resumed its scratching at the window, with the object, no doubt, of attracting attention.— Camperdown Chronicle. 56 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. EXPERIMENTS WITH THE VICTORIAN ‘ KATIPO.” Wuitst listening to Dr. Ralph’s interesting paper on the “ Katipo” of New Zealand, at our last meeting, I was much surprised on learning that the red-backed spider so common around Melbourne is the veritable “‘katipo,” and, as I believe, (from the little I saw of the specimen exhibited by Dr. Ralph) identical with the New Zealand species. Having frequently picked up this spider with my bare fingers, quite unconscious of any danger, I became anxious— after learning the nature of its bite—to know what amount of risk I had run, and if it possessed to the same extent the dangerous qualities attributed to the New Zealand representa- tive. As I found no difficulty in obtaining specimens of the ‘“‘katipo,” I determined to make some experiments, and believing a mouse to be an uncertain test—it being well known that a mouse, if confined in a trap, will die in from 20 to 30 hours without the aid of poison or any other deadly agent—l decided to try the experiment ona brood of chickens, about six weeks old, the whole of which I was prepared to sacrifice in the event of my finding spiders poisonous enough to be the executioners. Taking one of the hardiest—that it might not be said “the standard of vitality had been lowered ”—I placed the spider on its comb, and, after a good deal of squeezing, succeeded in making it bite. On removing the spider, there appeared two small specks of blood, a short distance apart, at the spot where the spider’s head was placed. After cutting the feathers of the chick’s tail, to mark it from its mates, I let it go, so that its condition was in no way altered, except from the effects of the bite. I am glad to say the bite was not fatal, although I believe the chick was affected by it. It moped about for four or five hours, with its head almost buried in its neck, and its eyes closed, declining all food, although I tried to tempt it with a few choice morsels. On the following day, however, it appeared as lively and as hearty as the rest of the brood. I have since tried three others, allowing two spiders to bite each, one on the comb, and another under the wing; but in neither case was the chick affected to anything like the extent of the first. The “ katipo” having shown itself unequal to the task in regard to the chicken, I decided to try on smaller game, and a few days after succeeded in capturing a large mole-cricket, which, judging from the length of time it will resist the effects of spirits, 1 counted a fair test. The difficulty now arose how to make the “‘ katipo” bite the cricket without risking my finger. It takes a good squeeze at any time to induce the “‘katipo” THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 57 to bite, even when the victim remains still, but in this case the cricket refused most determinedly to keep quiet. However, the deed was accomplished at last, and with a fatal result. After being bitten I placed the cricket in a box with a handful of earth, under which it immediately burrowed, but on turning it out about ten minutes later it was quite dead. Judging from the result of these trials Iam convinced that the bite of the Victorian ‘“‘katipo,” although more poisonous than most spiders, would not be fatal to a healthy child, nor even to a mouse. That the bite of this spider is more venomous than most spiders of the same size is, I think, shown by the nature of its prey, which consists chiefly of wasps, ants, earwigs, the larger kinds of beetles, and spiders sometimes twice its own size. Kew, July, 1888. (CISUNS,, JOINOISIC, NOME OVON THE HABITS OF PERGA LEWISTL: THE insect which forms the subject of these notes belongs to the order Hymenoptera, family Tenthredinidz, more commonly known by the name of saw flies, from the ovipositors of the females being divided into a pair of horny saws. The way in which Perga Lewrsi deposits her eggs is worthy of notice. I find that, in the cold weather, the eggs are always placed on the north side of the bush or plant so that they can feel the sun’s warmth nearly all day. This insect, after trying a great many leaves of the pepper- mint, at last finds one to her satisfaction, and, after a careful survey, prepares to deposit her eggs, which is accomplished as follows :—On the upper surface, and a little below where the leaf stalk joins the leaf, the insect inserts the point of her Ovipositor, and moves the saws gently backwards and forwards until they are buried in the substance of the leaf. The saws are then expanded and withdrawn. On examination an egg is found in the wound, and this is repeated until as many as thirty or forty are deposited. It is also worthy of notice that the insect cuts through the midrib of. the leaf. This may be only because the rib is above the general surface of the leaf, and therefore keeps the saws from slipping on the smooth surface, or perhaps the insect uses the midrib as a guide to keep the eggs in line. But I think the real purpose for cutting the midrib is to keep down the flow of sap, so that the injured vegetable substance shall not recover too soon, and thus crush the newly laid eggs. The eggs are about the one-twentieth of an inch in length, but they appear to absorb moisture, and increase to nearly double their original size. These under notice were deposited 58 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. on rst April. I found that the head of the embryo larva was visible through the egg skin on 22nd April. By 3rd May the eggs were al] hatched with the exception of three or four that were deposited last; and these were, I think, unfertile, as they were still soft, and full of liquid, but showed no sign of containing larve. A curious habit of this insect is that of watching over her eggs from the day they are deposited until the larvae are able to protect themselves. It will be seen that this insect watched over her eggs and brood from the 1st April to the 18th May; and during this time I think the parent insect has taken no nourishment, that is, for 48 days. She has kept watch over the eggs and brood, following the latter about as they devour the leaves. It is well known that social Hymenoptera watch over their eggs after they are laid, but I do not know of single insects outside bees and wasps doing so. I have seen mason flies return, after three or four days, to the cells they have constructed, and, after examining them with their antennz and finding all right, fly away to return in a few days for another inspection. The larve of this saw fly (7. Lezwizisiz) are social. Now, a question worthy of discussion is—Do these larvae remain together for protection, under the idea that “union is strength,” or is i the remains of a habit which goes to prove that some time in the past the larvee of this sp. saw fly lived in companies, and were watched and fed by the parent fly, as is common with our bees and wasps. The manner in which this insect looks after her prood points, I think, to a different manner of rearing to that now adopted by these insects. I find brief mention of Perga Lewisii in Packard’s “ Study of Insects,” page 215, to be seen in Melbourne Public Library. CHARLES C. BRITTLEBANK. Springvale, June, 1888. MIMICRY. By far the most wonderful examples of protective adjust- ments are found where the further disguise of form is added to that of colour, and to this only is the term mimicry strictly applicable. The pitch of intricate perfection to which mimicry has attained in an undisturbed and unglaciated country like Central Africa is so marvellous and incredible that one almost hesitates to utter what his eyes have seen. Before going to Africa I was, of course, familiar with the accounts of mimetic insects to be found in the works of Bates, Belt, Wallace, and other naturalists ; but no description prepares one in the least for the surprise which awaits him when first he encounters these THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 59 species in nature. My introduction to them occurred on the borders of Lake Shirwa—one of the smaller and less known of the great African lakes—and I shall record the incident exactly as I find it in my notes. I had stopped one day among some tall dry grass to mark a reading of the aneroid, when one of my men suddenly shouted ‘‘Chirombo!” ‘‘Chirombo” means an inedible beast of any kind, and I turned round to see where the animal was. The native pointed straight at myself. I could see nothing, but he approached, and pointing close to a wisp of hay which had fallen upon my coat, repeated ‘‘ Chirombo!”’ Believing that it must be some insect among the hay, I took it in my fingers, looked over it, and told him pointedly there was no ‘“‘Chirombo” there. He smiled, and, pointing again to the hay, exclaimed ‘“ Moio !”—‘‘It’s alive!” The hay itself was the Chirombo. I do not exaggerate when I say that that wisp of hay was no more like an insect than my aneroid barometer. I had mentally resolved never to be taken in by any of these mimetic frauds; I was incredulous enough to suspect that the descriptions of Wallace and the others were somewhat highly coloured ; but I confess to have been completely stultified and beaten by the very first mimetic form I met. It was one of that very remarkable family the Phasmide, but surely nowhere else in nature could there be such another creature. Take two inches of dried yellow grass-stalk, such as one might pluck to run through the stem of a pipe; then take six other pieces nearly as long and a quarter as thick; bend each in the middle at any angle you like, stick them in three opposite pairs, and again at any angle you like, upon the first grass-stalk, and you have my Chirombo. When you catch him his limbs are twisted about at every angle, as if the whole were made of one long stalk of the most delicate grass, hinged in a dozen places, and then gently crushed up into a dishevelled heap. Having once assumed a position, by a wonderful instinct he never moves or varies one of his many angles by half a degree. The way this insect keeps up the delusion is, indeed, almost as wonderful as the mimicry itself; you may turn him about and over and over, but he is mere dried grass, and nothing will induce him to acknowledge the animal kingdom by the faintest suspicion of spontaneous movement. All the members of this family have this power of shamming death; but how such emaciated and juiceless skeletons should ever presume to be alive is the real mystery. These Phasmidz look more like ghosts than living creatures, and so slim are they that, in trying to kill them for the collecting-box, the strongest squeeze between finger and thumb makes no more impression upon them than it would upon fine steel wire, and one has to half guillotine them against some hard substance before any little life they have is sacrificed to science.— Tropical Africa. 60 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. THE CENTENNIAL. EXHIBITION. THE prize schedules of the horticultural shows to be held in connection with the above exhibition have just been issued, and contain the following items, which may be of interest to members of the Field Naturalists’ Club :— Class A. Open to all comers. Pot grown plants.—1. Col- lection of indigenous plants named. z. Twelve indigenous plants named. 3. Collection of terrestrial indigenous orchids, distinct species. 4. Six terrestrial indigenous orchids. 6. Col- lection of native grasses most suitable for forage. 18. Collec- tion of ferns indigenous to Victoria. Class B. Open to all comers. Cut flowers.—61. Collection of wild flowers. 98. Bouquet of native Victorian flowers. The dates of the shows are 15th and 16th November, 1888, and in January, 1889 (dates to be fixed). Full particulars can be obtained on application to the secretary. CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Dear Sir,—I believe I can corroborate the letter in your last issue as to the food of ‘‘ Planarians.” I first observed one with the empty shell of a slater clasped in its folds; and again, on lifting a cabbage leaf, I saw a cluster of young leeches round and on a dead slug. They were only about a third of an inch long, and dark coloured, and I could not be sure how they fed. Three or four were fastened to the slug, which was partly eaten, and they seemed to be sucking the substance out of it. I have further been told by a gardener that when a dead slug or worm is left on the walk at night these leeches will be round it in the morning, sucking the juice out of it. He does not think they kill for themselves. Another thing about slugs has been noticed here—that is, that in the early morning they may be seen eating or sucking the common earthworm, leaving only a skin. Perhaps some other observer may throw light on the subject. Yours truly, J: Ae Merrang, 30th July. > EXCHANGE. Mr. F. A. A. Skuse, the Linnean Hall, Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, is working up the Australian Diptera, and will be glad to send insects of other orders, or, if preferred, zamed species of Diptera, in exchange for Victorian Diptera. ub of Pictoria, | President : A. H. 8. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S. ___ ‘Txts Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested ; for ihe Exhibition of Specimens; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with -a Short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian, Naturalist.” Annual subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- -respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets, Vol. I (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title-page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal- notes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, etc. can _ be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. A. COMES, Caxidermist ana Dhivrier, 220 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, ete., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order, Lessons given in Taxidermy, REIMS © es a TAM NE = CHAMPAG? Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. ap Soko ee SOLE AGENTS FOR VICTORIA: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 LITTLE COLLINS STREET EAST. FELTON, GRIMWADE & Co Wholesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHER ere iMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALVANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &c., &c. SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES. EERCKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, doubie mirror, fire adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin. and din. objective, in case, £4 12s. 6d. BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from £7 6s. to £11 11s. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPSS, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. ~ THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE ae ; OF THE | Ppela Haturalist:’ Oli of Pictoria. The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. = CONTENTS. Tur Firtp Narurauists’ Cuup or Victoria .. oi aS ae GL BoranivcAL AND GEotogicat Novres on A Visit to New Soura Waues. By C. A. Torr, M.A., F.L.S. Lag oe Rae He ela ‘Miuicry se oc ae Se ze 23 ee se 09 ‘Tse DIspERSION OF SEEDS AND PLANTS re Pa Bie aie a al PRICE—SIXPENCE. AGENTS FOR EUROPE: --DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. Gr elbourne ; A. H. Massina & Co., Printers, 26 Tiirtzum Connins-street Hast. 1888. (ee, eS A, AN Ae le A ah ti ll Ne a lil cls als stl Alcala fa : TATE'S EXPRESS ca History and other Ba cleaned, all sizes, ‘delivered. any address a : in Britain, Sp. PER POUN D. Over I0lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. © — NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. LONDON OFFICE: W. R. SUTTON & CO, GOLDEN LAND, B.C. A Jf. ee De = iu (Twenty Years with Paun THomas), ‘IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER © S ae ae EB a4 4 — 4 ‘7 _ 7 a 4 a = o a ao f E ik a vg t OF FIRST-CLASS “BOOTS AND SHOES. Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Boots and Shoes made to Order. CASH PRICES. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New re ee A every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. Ad SWANSTON STREET (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street), MELBOUVU RIN £.- THE Wictorian Baturalist. Vou. V.—No. 5. SEPTEMBER, 1888. No. 57. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA. Tue eighth annual meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall on Monday evening, 13th August, 1888. Mr. C. A. Topp, M.A., LL.B., F.L.S., one of the vice-presi- dents, occupied the chair, and about fifty-five members and visitors were present. The hon. librarian acknowledged the receipt of the following donations to the library :—“‘ Iconography of Acacias of Austral- asia,” Decades g, 10, and 11, from the Victorian Government ; “ Light,” No. 1, from the editor, Sydney; ‘Christ’s College Magazine,” Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, from the Christ’s College Natural History Society, Hobart; and ‘“ Journal of Pharmacy,” July, 1888, from the Pharmaceutical Society. The hon. secretary read a short account of the Club excursion to Sandringham on Saturday, 14th July, when the afternoon was devoted principally to a search for fungi under the ti-tree fringing the coast. The party was fairly successful, the following species being among those obtained :—Agaricus (Hammula ) crociphyllus, C. and M.; A. ( Nancoria) pusiolus, Fr.; A. ( Psilocybe) comptus, B. and Br. ; Amanita gemmatus, Fr. ; and Stereum, sp. On a ballot being taken, Miss Leake, Mrs. B. Glass, Mr. G. S. Perrin, F.L.S., and Mr. V. Tonneau were duly elected members of the Club. ANNUAL REPORT. The hon. secretary read the eighth annual report, which will be printed and distributed to the members as soon as possible. It congratulated the members on the continued prosperity of the Club. During the year 1887-8 about sixty ladies and gentlemen had been elected members of the Club, the total number of members now amounting to nearly 2to. Twenty-three papers dealing with the various branches of natural history had been read. The exhibition of wild flowers had been very successful, some 250 species being shown. The annual conversazione was again a great success, and was attended by over 750 persons. The excursions had been fairly successful and very enjoyable, and a lengthy expedition had been made to King Island, with 62 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. good results. The financial position of the Club had improved, notwithstanding the heavy expenditure incurred in printing and publishing the Club’s journal, the fourth volume of which had been completed. Regret was expressed that the Government had not placed a small annual grant at the Club’s disposal so as to warrant the expenditure of money in illustrating the magazine. Reference was made to the effort to have Wilson’s Promontory reserved as a national park, and to the success of the Club’s request for the protection of the platypus and more of the native birds. The establishment of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science was mentioned as likely to greatly foster scientific work in the Australian colonies, and, in conclusion, the members were urged to do their utmost to maintain the Club in its present prosperous condition. The balance-sheet showed that the receipts for the year had amounted to £189 tos. 6d, and the expenditure £179 1s, thus adding £10 gs. 6d. to the credit balance of the Club, which now amounts to 450 9s. 4d. The Rev. J. J. Halley moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, and in doing so referred to the prosperous con- dition of the Club, and expressed a hope that the incoming committee would not lose sight of the question of the reserva- tion of Wilson’s Promontory, and also would again urge the Government to place a small annual grant at the Club’s disposal for publication purposes. Mr. F. R. Godfrey suggested something might be done towards organising a system of local correspondents in the various country districts for the purpose of forwarding to the Club local natural history notes. The motion for the adoption of the report was seeonded by Mr. J. N. M‘Kibbin, and carried unanimously. OFFICE-BEARERS, 1888-9. The following office-bearers for 1888-9 were duly elected, there being no opposition, viz. :—President, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., F.GS.; vice-presidents, Mr. C. A. Topp, M.A., LL.B, F.LS., and Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, B.A. ; hon. treasurer, Mr. D. Best; hon. librarian, Mr. R. Hall; hon. secretary, Mr. F. G. A. Barnard; and hon assistant secretary, Mr. G. Coghill. A ballot was taken for five members of committee, which resulted! in! Mr: G@) French; F. Jess) Rev. J. J. HlalleyssMesscs: G. R. Hill, O. A Sayce, and H. T. Tisdall, F.L.S., being elected. Votes of thanks were unanimously accorded to the retiring office-bearers for their services during the past year, and to Mr A. H. S. Lucas, M A., for his services as editor of the Naturalist. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 63 PAPER READ. Mr. C. A. Topp, M.A., F.L.S., read a paper entitled “ Botanical and Geological Notes of a Trip to New South Wales.” The author described, in an interesting manner, the characteristic flora and geology of the vicinity of Sydney, and compared the vegetation there with that found around Melbourne, illustrating his remarks with a fine series of dried specimens. The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :— By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, skull found in a blackfellow’s oven at Mortlake, supposed to be a wombat’s. By Mr. C. French, jun., eggs of long-legged tern, straw-necked ibis, spotted ground thrush, friar bird, and satin bird, from Victoria; southern tern and Caspian tern, from Tasmania; and common heron, from New South Wales. By Mr. J. T. Gillespie, eggs of wedge- tailed eagle (Aguila audax), from Riverina. By Mr. R. Hall, crustaceans and fish, from Malden Island, Pacific Ocean. By Master H. Hill, case of Victorian butterflies and moths. By Mr. G. Sweet, fossil nautilus shells; also, a large fossil shark’s tooth, five inches by four (Carcharadon megaladon), M‘Coy, from the miocene deposit, Muddy Creek, Hamilton ; trilobites, flomolanotus delphinocephalus, Phacops ( Dalmannia), etc., from upper silurian (Wenlock shales), Dry Creek, Wandong ; also, Pleurodictyum megastomum (M‘Coy), from Broadhurst’s Creek, near Kilmore. By Mr. J. Searle, egg of dog-fish, five species of Victorian land shells, lichens, etc. After the usual conversazzone the meeting terminated. BOTANICAL AND GEOLOGICAL NOTES ON A VISE tO NEW sOULA WALES. BY CivAy Worpa MeAe yas. I PROPOSE in this paper to give a short account of some of the localities near Sydney which will be found of interest to the botanist or geologist, and which are easily accessible from the metropolis of the mother colony, as well as to make a few remarks on the relations of the flora of Victoria and New South Wales. Though the first part of my paper may not come strictly within the province of our Society, since its special function is to investigate the natural history of our own colony, the recent expedition to King Island furnishes a precedent for an occasional incursion into our neighbours’ territory; while the experience gained, and the wider knowledge won, by collecting, and by studying nature under conditions of soil and climate somewhat different to our own, are likely to enable us to prosecute our researches in our own colony with more effect. 64 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Although a good deal of the scrub land round Sydney has been cut up into building allotments, though roads have been cleared and the beautiful flowering shrubs burnt, there yet remain, fortunately, large areas on the shores of the harbour and the adjacent outer coast where the native flora may be seen in all its beauty. In this respect the botanists and entomolo- gists of Sydney are decidedly better off than we are in Melbourne, who are restricted for an afternoon’s excursion to the rapidly diminishing moors of Brighton and Cheltenham, and to a narrow strip on ‘the banks of the Yarra. My remarks on the scrub flowers round Sydney are based on afternoons spent at Manly Beach, Bondi, and Botany Bay, all within an hour’s tram or boat journey of Sydney. The general aspect of the country is the same at all these places. The soil is of a light, sandy character, with outcrops of the Hawkesbury sandstone, frequently forming little rocky plateaus, with perpen- dicular sides, four to ten or twelve feet high, varied occasionally by gullies having steep, rocky banks. My visits were made in April and May, perhaps the most barren months for flowers, and exceptionally so this year, owing to a drought of three or four months, which had retarded the springing up of the winter herbaceous plants. I had expected very little, and was most pleasantly surprised to find, notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances, sufficient shrubs in flower to enable me to picture to myself the character of the scene in the spring, and to form a comparison between the vegetation clothing the shores of Sydney Harbour and that of Port Phillip. At first sight the appearance of the two is not very dissimilar, but the flowering scrub round Sydney is somewhat higher than that we find about Mordialloc and Oakleigh, and of a rather deeper green. It is formed chiefly of shrubby banksias, acacias, hakeas, and other proteaceous bushes, not mainly, as with us, of Lepto- spermum and Ricinocarpus. My attention was soon caught by a bushy banksia (&. ericzfolia) with linear leaves, presenting, in this respect, a striking contrast to those familiar to us on the shores of Port Phillip, by also a dwarf acacia in full flower, with bipinnate leaves (A. dzscolor), the only common species of this genus in Victoria with leaves of this character being our well- known wattles. Another bush largely prevalent which excited my curiosity was Pefrophila pulchella, belonging to the same tribe as Jsopogon, with divided rigid leaves of the same character as those frequent in that genus, and whitish, downy flower spikes, these and the fruit cones being terminal or in the forks of the branches. A much more showy bush of the same family, also of a genus unknown to Victoria, was Zam- bertia formosa, with terminal clusters of beautiful crimson flowers, differing from those of the allied genus Grevillia in being straight tubes, and resembling the Soath African genus Protea in the involucre of coloured bracts. It is remarkable that the THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 65 two genera, Petrophila and Lambertia, are confined to the west and the east of the colony, and are not found in South Australia or in Victoria. Of genera familiar to me, I noticed Hakea pugiontformis in fruit and Hakea gibbosa or actcular’s. The only Grevilleas in bloom were an erect shrub with clusters of dull, red flowers, covered with a white down (G. buxzfolia), and a handsome crimson-flowered bush (G. punicea/), both unknown in Victoria. The pea-flowered plants were Pultenwa elliptica, with terminal orange-coloured clusters, and Bossiwa heterophylla, with axillary orange and brown flowers ; the latter was very abundant, and gave a gay appearance to the coast near Botany Bay. Strag- gling over the sand,I noticed a plant with twisted stem, and large, glossy green obovate or lanceolate leaves; for a long time I could not find any flowers, but at last perseverance was rewarded, and I found two or three large, pale yellow flowers, an inch and a half or two inches across, of the familiar Hibbertia character; the plant was, in fact, Aibbertia volubilts, the largest flowered species of the genus, and it must give a very bright appearance to the ground in the spring time. Kennedia rubicunda (not in flower) was also noticed trailing over the ground and climbing up the bushes. Coming to the Epacrids, I was struck by the absence of our familiar native heath (LZ. zmpressa); its place was, however, occupied by Woolsia pungens, a plant of similar gregarious habits, of about the same height, and with dense terminal racemes of white flowers, but not of the same waxy texture, and more open. The genus Lyeinema, with which this plant is classed by Bentham, is another of those almost peculiar to Western Australia, and not found in the southern colonies. Lpacris longiflora is a large, straggling bush, with racemes of tubular red flowers, with greenish tips, which present a lovely appearance against a back- ground of grey sandstone. The most beautiful of the Epacrid family was, however, S. /ubzflora, which I saw in bud. It has tubular flowers an inch and a half long of a rich crimson hue. Another piant of the same genus, S. vzvid7s, presented a striking appearance from its clusters of tubular, pale green flowers, with corolla lobes rolled back, and projecting orange brown anthers. At my feet I recognised an old friend in S. humzfusa, while a closely allied species, S. pznzfolia, was new to me. Of other orders, I noticed at the Manly Beach large bushes closely resembling in growth and colouring the common rosemary of our gardens; these were Westringia rosmartfolia. Another small, shrubby plant of this order, with pretty lilac flowers, was Hemigenia purpurea. A queer-looking little plant, with rugose leaves and green flowers, Chloanthes stoechadis, represented the indigenous Verbenacee, while the introduced Lan/ana gave a gay appearance to many of the rocky banks with its clusters of red and yellow flowers and black berries. 66 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. The large order of ARufacee was poorly represented at this time of year by flowering plants, though in the spring time much of the beauty of the bush is due to the great variety and abundance of the large flowered Boronias and Eriostemons. One handsome representative of this order, however, occurred in shady spots, £. Cvowez, a shrubby, erect plant, bearing pretty pink flowers about an inch across. In damp spots two members of the sedge family—Caustzs flexuosa and C: recurvata—the one with curiously curved branchlets, the other with most delicate green ones, resembling in appearance one of the ornamental asparagus plants, con- trasted favourably with the duller greens of the adjacent bushes. The ferns were neither novel nor very abundant, and comprised Glezchenias, Lomarias, Preris, and Blechnum. I had an opportunity of seeing vegetation between Sydney and Newcastle of an entirely different character to that of the coast. About ten miles north of the Hawkesbury, near the Oarimba railway station, are the remains of some cedar brush. Here for some miles you may walk or ride along roads cut through a dense forest of semi-tropical character, the like of which is not to be found in any part of Victoria, except, perhaps, in the far east. Magnificent specimens of both the feather and the fan palm (Ptychospermum Cunninghamt and Livistona Australis) stand on either side the track, or bend over the water-courses. I estimated the height of some of the former at from 60 to 80 feet. Nearly every broken branch or angle in the trunk of the larger trees is festooned with the stag-horn fern (FPlatycertum alcicorne) and the birds’ nest (Asplentum) may be seen encircling the trunks of the trees in shady spots. A great variety of creepers, some furnished with sharp spines and recurved prickles, stretch from tree to tree, and render it difficult to penetrate far into the recesses of the forest. This striking and interesting bit of woodland scenery is within three or four hours by rail from Sydney, and will! well repay a visit. Of the wooded districts of New South Wales I may say generally that there is a greater variety of timber trees than occurs in Victoria, and the forests, are not, therefore, as mono- tonous, though, no doubt, where the soil and aspect are for many miles of a uniform character, you may meet with as few species of trees as in our stringy bark or box forests. The great family of the Myrtacez is represented among the forest trees by Angophora, Metrosideros, Backhousia, and Rhodomyrtus, as well as by Eucalyptus. M. (Syncarpia) laurifolia, as a young tree, with its large, deep green leaves and its conical crown of foliage, affords a pleasing contrast to the duller green and more straggling and irregular growth of the eucalypts. One of the large Ango- phoras, with a smooth, reddish bark, hasa peculiar aspect stand- ing out against a dull green background. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 67 On the Blue Mountains the forest timber is stunted, but a large number of Banksias, Persoonias, Acacias, and other small trees and shrubs occur, which possess interest to the botanist, and I was glad to meet with many Waratah plants, not, of course, in bloom. I may mention also that even within the railway fences between Ourimba and Newcastle I saw many plants of Doryanthes excelsa, the beautiful spear lily, or more correctly amaryllis; these had already shot up the long flower stalk six or eight feet high. Near the Hawkesbury, also, I saw fine specimens of an order (Cycadz) quite unfamiliar to a Vic- torian, these were probably Lxcephalartos (Macrozamia) spzvales. It may be of interest to notice that the coast plants which I have spoken of asin bloom, such as Pefrophila, Bossiwa hetcro- phylla, E. longiflora, etc., wcre probably the first Australian flowers which gladdened the eyes of Sir J. Banks and Dr. Solander when they landed with Cook on the shores of Botany Bay on the zoth April, 1770; were also the first specimens of the flora of Eastern Australia sent to Europe, and (with the exception of a few collected on the western shores a century earlier by Dampier) the first to make European botanists acquainted with the varied and characteristic vegetation of the great south land. Before making a few remarks on some of the differences between the Victorian flora and that of New South Wales I may say a few words on one or two of the geological features of the district surrounding Sydney, or easily accessible from it. I believe the most remarkable geological feature close to Sydney is a basaltic dyke intruded in the Hawkesbury sand- stone, which forms the precipitous cliffs near Bondi, on the Pacific coast. A pleasant drive of less than an hour on the top of a ’bus brings one to Rose Bay, on the road to the South Head. Leaving the ’bus here one may strike across the bush for the outer coast, botanising on the way. On reaching the cliffs a mile or so north of Bondi, and looking seaward, one may observe a reef against which the Pacific rollers beat some 100 yards beyond the cliff on which we stand. ‘This is part of the basaltic dyke, the harder stone of which has withstood the action of sea and air better than the softer sandstone, and therefore remains projecting beyond the cliff, whose rock has been gradually undermined and weatherworn, and has fallen in and been swept away. On examining the cliff itself the strip of basalt may be readily made out, though on the surface it has weathered to nearly the same colour as the sandstone. It is interesting to observe, too, that the adjacent sandstone has been metamorphosed into quartzite. I am indebted to Mr. Fletcher, the learned and courteous secretary of the Linnean Society, for introducing me to this interesting spot. My other geological excursion was on the shore below the 68 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. cliffs on which the fortress of Newcastle stands. On the face of the cliff several thin seams of coal are visible, with intervening layers of shale. The main seam is just exposed at low water, — and on the beach are boulders of the shale which have fallen from the cliff and been more or less rounded by the action of the waves. On splitting these open the prints of several interesting fossil plants of the coal measures are exposed. The number of species is not perhaps great, but the number of individuals is very large, and the pictures of the plant life of this remote age are beautifully preserved. The fossils I saw were, I believe, species of Phyllotheca, Calamites, Annularia, Sphenopteris, and Glossopteris. I was fortunate in meeting on my ramble with Mr. Waterhouse, of West Maitland, an accomplished geologist. who kindly showed me where to find the fossils, gave me much interesting information, and afterwards showed me his large and admirably arranged collection. Though Newcastle is 60 miles by sea and roo by rail from Sydney, it can be very conveniently visited, as a steamer leaves Sydney in the evening and arrives at Newcastle next morning, giving a whole day for eeologising, visiting the mines, etc., and the tourist can return next night by steamer or rail. In concluding this paper I will mention two or three facts which must strike a Victorian botanist in visiting the mother colony. The first is the occurrence of many tropical and Asiatic forms, exemplified in the palm trees, cycads, and fig “trees, in close juxtaposition with plants of strictly Australian types and of families confined to the temperate zones. Another is one of which I have already given an example—the occur- rence of species belonging to genera mainly represented in South-Western Australia and absent in the southern part of the continent. ‘These facts have, of course, been duly noted by Sir Joseph Hooker in his masterly introductory essay to the flora of Tasmania; by the late George Bentham; and by Baron von Mueller in his admirable essay in connection with the Melbourne Exhibition of 1866; but it is interesting to be able to verify them in a short visit to a very small part of New South Wales, and in a journey of an hour or two to pass from tropical vegetation to a flora of so entirely different a character as that of Western Australia. Another fact which I have not seen recorded, and which I think is of some interest, and might be worth verifying by more extended observations, is that in the coast flora of New South Wales there is a greater prevalence of the higher forms of the genera common to that colony and to Victoria than with us—that is, of plants with more richly- coloured and deeper corollas, and adapted, therefore, for cross fertilisation by the higher orders of insects. I will give a few examples. Our only coloured epacrids round the shores of Port Phillip are the pink variety of Z. zmpressa (and that is rare), THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 69 S. humifusa, and Sprengelia incarnata. On the other hand, round Sydney Harbour the pink and red species are commoner than the white; besides S. humzfusa and Sprengelia incarnata, both common there, the following species, with long, crimson, tubular corollas, occur abundantly:—£Z. Jlongzflora, S. triflora, purpurescens, tubiflora, and pinifolia. Again, of the Ruzacee, the only species found in the vicinity of Port Phillip are the Correas, which are white or greenish yellow, the red variety of C. speciosa being absent or very rare near the coast. In the neighbourhood of Sydney, on the other hand, pink or blue- flowered species of this order are the most frequent, e.g., Borenia capitata, pinnata, serrulata, ledtfolva, cerulescens, Kriostemon Crowet, exalata, and lanceolata. I have mentioned among the Proteacee Lambertia formosa, with long, tubular, crimson flowers. No similar shrub is found in Victoria, and though we have some red or pink Grevilleas, I think there are more deep red species, such as G. punzcea, in New South Wales. Then, again, while we have only one species of Telopea in Victoria, and that occurring only in a district which botanically is an appange of New South Wales, in the latter colony there are two species, and one with rich crimson flowers is widely spread around Port Jackson and on the Blue Mountains. Not to be wearisome with tedious details, I will merely mention the superb Doryanthes, with its head of crimson flowers, as another conspicuous example of a plant with richly coloured corolla mot ‘represented in our‘colony. There ,can, I suppose, be little doubt that the fact of the greater prevalence of red and purple flowers in New South Wales is due to the lepidoptera and hymenoptera of the colony being larger, more abundant, and furnished with longer tongues than those of the southern districts of Australia, and I should be glad to know whether any of our entomologists can confirm this supposition in regard to these families of insects which occur round the shores of Port Jackson. The somewhat greater number of days of bright and strong sunlight in the more northern colony may also favour the deeper colouration of flowers in species which are able to grow in dry, unshaded situations, though the rather longer days of a Victorian summer should be in favour of our flora. MIMICRY. I SHALL refer to another mimetic form, which for cool Pharisaism takes the palm from every creeping or flying thing. I first saw this menteur a triple étage on the Tan- ganyika plateau. I had lain for a whole week without stirring from one spot—a boulder in the dried-up bed 70 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. of a stream, for this is the only way to find out what really goes on in nature. A canopy of leaves arched overhead, the home of many birds, and the granite boulders of the dry stream-bed, and all along the banks, were marked with their white droppings. One day I was startled to see one of these droppings move. It was a mere white splash upon the stone, and when I approached I saw I must be mistaken; the thing was impossible; and now it was perfectly motionless. But I certainly saw it move, so I bent down and touched it. It was an animal. Of course it was as dead as a stone the moment I touched it, but one soon knows these impostures, and 1 gave it a minute or two to become alive —hastily sketching it meantime in case it should vanish through the stone, for in that land of wonders one really never knows what will happen next. Here was a bird-dropping suddenly become alive and moving over a rock; and now it was a _ bird- dropping again; and yet, like Galileo, I protest that it moved. It would not come to, and I almost feared I might be mistaken after all, so I turned it over on its other side. Now, should any sceptic persist that this was a bird-dropping, I leave him to account for a bird-dropping with six legs, a head, and a segmented body. Righting the creature, which showed no sign of life through all this ordeal, I withdrew a few paces, and watched developments. It lay motionless on the stone, no legs, no head, no feelers, nothing to be seen but a flat patch of white—just such a patch as you could make on the stone in a second with a piece of chalk. Presently it stirred, and the spot slowly sidled across the boulder until I caught the impostor and imprisoned him for my cabinet. I saw in all about a dozen of these insects after this. ‘They are about half the size of a four- penny-piece, slightly more oval than round, and as white as a snowflake. This whiteness is due to a number of little tufts of delicate down growing out from minute protuberances all over the back. It is a fringe of similar tufts round the side that gives the irregular margin so suggestive of a splash; and the under surface of the body has no protection at all. The limbs are mere threads, and the motion of the insect is slow and monotonous, with frequent pauses to impress surrounding nature with its moribund condition. Now, unless this insect, with this colour and habit, were protectively coloured, it simply would not have a chance to exist. It lies fearlessly exposed on the bare stones during the brightest hours of the tropical day, a time when almost every other animal is skulking out of sight. Lying upon all the stones round about are the genuine droppings of birds ; and when one sees the two together it is difficult to say whether one is most struck with the originality of the idea, or the extraordinary audacity with which the 7é/e is carried out.— Drummona’s Tropical Africa. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 71 THE DISPERSION OF SEEDS AND PLANTS. In a letter to Mature, Consul Layard, of Noumea, writes as follows :— “Thousands of acres of pasturage have been destroyed in this island by the distribution by birds of the Lanfana, which was, unfortunately, introduced here by the first Roman Catholic missionaries, to form a hedge for their property at St. Louis or Conception. The ‘Gendarme plant’ (an Asclepiad) was brought here in a pillow by a gendarme from Tahiti. It wasa seed attached to a wing of silk cotton. The genzdarme shook out his pillow; the wind carried the seed to a suitable spot, and now it vies with the Lan/ana in destroying our pastures. “T have shot the great fruit pigeons of Fiji and this island with several seeds of the Canarium (?) in their crops, as Mr. Morris says, as big as hen’s eggs. The seeds of water-plants are conveyed, with the eggs of fresh-water mollusca, to vast distances, adhering to the hairs and feathers of the legs of water birds—ducks, herons, and waders of all sorts. In London the basins of the fountains in Trafalgar Square were peopled by Lymnea brought thither from the Serpentine, attached to the feathers of the sparrows who bathed first in one.and then in the other. ‘“‘ Another plant which occurs to me as being largely indebted to man for its distribution is that known as the ‘Cape goose- berry, which is a native of South America. I forget its botanical name. The Kaffirs call it the ‘ white man’s plant,’ and say it follows the white man everywhere. I know it is found in India, Ceylon, Africa, Fiji, New Caledonia, and New Hebrides. I really believe boiling it into jam does not destroy the vitality of the seeds. We have just got a plant here, bear- ing a lovely flower, but whence it comes no one knows. It has hard wooden seed capsules, each furnished with two hooks as hard as steel and as sharp as needles. These, hooking into the hide of any animal, would be carried fer days until forcibly dislodged. “The ‘Bathurst burr’ (Xanthium spinosum) was introduced into the Cape in a cargo of wool wrecked at Cape Lagulhas, and spread out to dry, first there and then at Simon’s Town, at both of which places the ‘burr’ sprang up. I believe and hope I destroyed the first and last plant of it that sprang up in New Zealand some twenty-five years ago. The seed had been brought in the living fleece of a fine merino ram. The owner of the pasture was cherishing the ‘wonderful new plant,’ and was not a little horrified when I took out my knife and carefully cut it down. He was more horrified when I told him what it was. Mie, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. “The seeds of some of the Indian banians, I believe, require to pass through the bodies of birds to enable them to germi- nate. A minute bird (Dzceum/) feeds on them, and is so small that its droppings cannot fall clear of the branch on which it sits, consequently it is glued to the bark, and takes root. Sometimes this takes place on a palm tree; the roots then run down the trunk, and finally smother their host. ‘°E. Lo PAAR ** British Consulate, Noumea, 15th May.” BENDIGO SCIENCE SocIETY.—We are glad to notice that this society has recently been advancing with rapid strides, and now numbers over one hundred members. At the June meeting papers on “ The Integumentary System,” by Mr. J. B. Lillie Mackay, A.K.C.L., F.C.S., and ‘‘The Necessity of a More Extended Knowledge of Geography,” by Mr. D. Hickie, F.R.G.S., were read; whilst Mr. G. W. Knight made a good display of rare orchids, other objects of interest being contributed by members. At the July meeting Dr. Colquhoun read a paper on ‘‘ Evolution,” which was received with much satisfaction. BLACK-CHEEKED Noppy TERN (Anous melanogenys).— Locality, coast of North Queensland, and throughout Polynesia. Egg, of a soft, warm, white colour, sparingly smudged and spotted with rusty brown, the markings being generally confined to the larger end of the shell A few clouded markings also appear underlying the shell’s surface. Dimensions fairly regular; average of six examples is 1 inch 94 lines by 1 inch 3¢ lines. Rev. F. M. Nobbs, who kindly forwarded me speci- mens, informs me that this tern breeds on Norfolk Island during December. It breeds in colonies. One egg only is deposited, in nests of seaweed very firmly secured to branches of trees. Some nests are placed on large trees half a mile inland, others on dwarf scrub close to the seashore.—A. J. CAMPBELL, Armadale, July, 1888. We deeply regret to announce that Mr. Thomas Henry Potts, an old resident of Canterbury, N.Z, and well known as a naturalist, died suddenly in Christchurch. Mr. Potts, who was 62 years of age, was a man of considerable means when he arrived in the colony, and was therefore able to pursue his hobby at a time when the leisured class were few. His papers, “‘ Out in the Open,” made his name known outside the colony. rector, President : A. H. S. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S. ‘Tas Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of soe = Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects i in which they are mutually interested ; for the Exhibition of Specimens; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions to various collecting — : grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating _ from 1st May. e The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. _ The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Nate iat. i “Annual subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) __. With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the citang! cor- siihe ‘| respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and _ ghoald be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets, Vol. I (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. _ {1886-87), 12 numbers, 6s. ; Sok set with title-page and index for binding. geo Che numbers forwarded post free to any as on receipt of remittance (postal- __ notes preferred). ‘Copies of the Annual Report and List of Megieeee for 1886-87, with Rules, etc. can be obtained on Eopeucation to the Hon. Sec. Mm A COLES, | Taxidermist and Shaerier, An 220 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE. : : Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. oe ‘Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. " pee Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order, ‘Lessons given in Taxidermy, * OG H MUMM & On 4 REIMS CHAMPAGNE Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. - = —o3fo 4c SOLE AGENTS FOR VICTORIA: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 LITTLE COLLINS STREET EAST. FELTON, GRIMWADE & GO. Wholesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALVANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &., &€. SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES. BECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye- piece, lin. and din. objective, in case, £4 12s. 6d. BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from £7 6s. to £11 11s. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST, __ ¥ Sy %, ‘ V.—No. . OctoBER, 1888. by aR PAY, atu THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE Peps OF THE 9 he records. PRICE—SIXPENCE. AGENTS FOR EUROPE: DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. GErelbourne : _ A. H. Masstna & Co., Printers, 26 (New Nos., 277 and 279) Lirrin CoLLINS-STREET Hast. : 1888. K Abe g tai + = + The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions CONTENTS. | : | = PAGE Tue Frevp Narvranists’ Cuus or Vicroria .. 2 oe oe «673 SCRIPTIONS or New West-Austrauian Puants. By Baron von MvELzeEr, ~ K.C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.RS. .. “ : - 3G A Curious PHENoMENON .. pe Be oc fc oo 76 Norzs on Dr. E. P. Ramsay’s ‘List or Austranian Brros.” By A, J. _ CaMPBELL 25 oc oe ae be oe Ap = fis} CoRRESPONDENCE .. aie os “9s A e236 _ ERRatuM oo eo ee oe ee eo eo e. 88 TT TT ‘ Z TlatliaMncttnaMithoille MiatliatloallbiatlicalMatlinliatliaillnntallictiatballantl il ftv LMiMiMaMotoMntinMoallnoMit Ma cliMliaMinattiaitiolioilles Matlin Miatlballioatiit tala alll ntlh LMM MtiottititinitinititinttiitiwtiiliitiitintioiiTliiMitaitiniMailiiMiMooiMvifiilliifniMs ll I - pe . TATE S$ EXPRESS, ‘MARKET STREET, Natural rene and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address hd in Britain, | Sv. PER POUR D. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. ; CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Golonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. LONDON OFFICE: W. &. SUTTON & CO., GOLDEN LANE, B.C. x tT EA Te ey (Twenty Years with Pavun THomaAs), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS AND SHOBS Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. CASH PRICES. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail,-direct from the Manufacturers. 414 SWANSTON STREET 9 MELBOURWN S&- THE Pictorian Maturalist. ver V—No. 6. OCTOBER, 1888. No. 58. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA, THE monthly meeting of the Club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall on Monday evening, 10th September, 1888. The Rev. J. J. Halley was voted to the chair, and about fifty ‘members and visitors were present, among the latter being rofessor KR. Vate, F.G.S., Adelaide; Mr. F. M. Bailey, F.L.S., Government botanist of Queensland; and Mr. E. Swan, of Tasmania. The hon. librarian acknowledged the receipt of the following donations to the lbrary :—‘‘ Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay,” from Dr. Cox, F.L.S., Sydney; ‘‘ Transactions. Royal Society of South Australia,” vol X., 1886-7, from the Society ; ‘“‘ Transactions of Royal Society of Queensland,” vol. V., part 1, from the Society ; catalogues, etc., from Australian Museum, Sydney ; ‘‘ Annual Report of Minister of Mines and Water Supply, Victoria,” from department; “‘ Light,” No. 2; “University Review,” vol. IV., No. 2; and “Journal of Pharmacy,” August, 1888. The hon. secretary reported that the excursion to Box Hill on 18th August had been fairly attended, and the results in the departments of fungi and lichens had been very good. On a ballot being taken, Messrs. A. Crawford, C. Duncan, J. Foulk, and A. Shaw were duly elected members of the Club. The attention of members was called to the annual exhibition of wild flowers, which is to take place on Tuesday evening, 16th October. . The chairman stated that Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., expected to have the first part of the “Key to the Victorian Plants” ready before next meeting. Papers for ensuing meetings were promised by Professor Tate, heGes., and Mr. H.S. Tisdall, F.L.S. PAPERS READ. 1. Mr. C. C. Brittlebank read a paper, entitled ‘‘ Notes on the Natural Protection of Lepidopterous Larve.” The author gave some interesting details of the habits, and means for protection of several of the larve of familiar butter- flies and moths, and illustrated his remarks with some excellent drawings of the different insects. a 74 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 2. Mr. A. J. Campbell read a paper, ‘‘ Notes on Dr. Ram- say’s List of Australian Birds” in which he pointed out a num- ber of inaccuracies in this list, and brought forward evidence of new localities for several species mentioned. The paper gave tise to considerable discussion, which in the main supported the author. 3. Mr. D. Best read a paper entitled ‘‘Some Recollections of my Residence in North-West Australia, by a Non-naturalist.” The notes referred principally to the habits and customs of the aborigines, with some remarks on the fauna of the district, and excited considerable interest. The principal exhibits of the evening were :—By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, shale containing fossil portions of fern fronds, from the Hawkesbury sandstones at Wooloomooloo Bay, N.S.W. By Mr. A. J. Campbell, the grass owl (Strix candida/, new to Victoria; Platycercus pennantit var. nigrescens, Ramsay, from Rockingham Bay, and other birds in illustration of his paper. By Mr. H. B. Coles, birds from Cape York. By Mr. A. Coles, a pair of young emus and a pair of young Australian coots. By Mr. E. M. Cornwall, mounted specimens of the delicate owl (Strix delicatula), the musk lorikeet ( Z7zcho- glossus concinnus), and the spur-winged plover (Lobzvanellus lobatus). By Mr. C. French, jun., a delicate owl. By Mr. J. T. Gillespie, eggs of the little chthonicola (Chthonzcola sagitiata), and scarlet-breasted robin (Petreca multicolor). By Mr. G. A. Keartland, a pair of avocets and a white-winged chough. By Baron F. von Mueller, a new plant (Candollea Merralliz) from Western Australia. By Mr. J. Searle, fungi, lichens, etc., collected at Box Hill excursion. By Mr. A. Yelland, various cocoons and nests of insects, crystals from basalt, etc. After the usual conversazzoue the meeting terminated. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW WEST-AUSTRALIAN PLANTS; By Baron von MUELLER, K.C.M.G., M. & PuH.D., F.R.S. PTILOTUS CARLSONI. Diffuse or prostrate ; stems leafy throughout, short, laxe, often flexuous, beset with mostly appressed and _ straight hairlets ; radical leaves trom spatular-to elliptical-cuneate; stem-leaves smaller, generally lanceolate-linear, much narrowed downward, all flat and nearly glabrous or soon glabrescent; spikes terminal, solitary, capitular, but all the flowers fascicularly verging upwards; bracts lanceolar, dark-coloured, hardly half as long as the sepals, bracteoles of the length and form of the bracts, but colourless, transparent ; sepals from the middle upwards glabrous and bright-yellow, at the summit very blunt and minutely den- ticulated ; the hairlets of their basal inside vestiture straight ; THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 75 stamens all very much shorter than the sepals, partly sterile ; perfect anthers roundish-cordate, pale; style about as long as the stamens, glabrous, almost lateral ; fruit oblique, very slightly beset with minute hairlets. Between York and Hampton-Plains; W. Sayer and A. Carlson. Vestiture from very tender articulated hairlets. Root thin. Radical leaves inclusive of the petiolar base hardly above 13 inches long or shorter; upper stem-leaves shortened to about half aninch. Capitular spike broader than long, at least in its earlier stage, attaining nearly an inch diameter, very blunt at the base. Bracts almost blackish, externally bearing rather long but delicate hairlets. Sepals tubularly connivent, about half an inch long, connected only near the base; their outer vestiture even below the middle imperfect, the yellow colora- tion upwards gradually more intense. Ripe fruit as yet unknown. Strange among its congeners as regards the colour of the flowers, thus rather reminding of some Helichrysum or Helipterum at first sight. What has been seen by the writer hitherto may indicate only a small state of the plant; its habit is that of P. spatulatum and P. holosericeum during their first year’s growth. The upwards extensively glabrous sepals bring P. Manglesii into recollection. Some affinity to P. grandiflorus must also be conceded. The reduction of the genus Trichinium by Poiret to Ptilotus was effected nearly a year earlier than the union reversedly made by Sprengel. Cassia CUTHBERTSONI. Dwarf-shrubby ; leaves short-stalked ; stipules small, subulate, slightly spinescent, deciduous; leaflets in six or fewer pairs, small, of thick texture, almost sessile, from narrowly elliptic. cuneate to obovate or even almost orbicular, slightly recurved at the margin, above dark-green, shining and glabrous, beneath as well as the branchlets, leaf-rhaches, flower-stalks and stalk- lets, sepals and ovulary beset with a whitish velvet-like vestiture ; glandules on the rhachis absent, replaced by tufts of very minute black hairlets; peduncles axillary, rather short, bearing terminally from two to four flowers ; stalklets about as long as the largest sepals or somewhat longer, but considerably exceeding the always small bracts; petals glabrous; stamens ten or occasionally less, all much shorter than the petals; anthers almost of equal size, the lowest on short filaments, the others nearly sessile; style very short; ovulary nearly semi- circular-curved. On the Upper Ashburton-River ; W. Cuthbertson. Where found only one foot high. Leaflets mostly from i to 5 inch long. Petals roundish, deep-yellow, about 4 inch long. Anthers dull-brownish. Fruit unknown 76 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. In same respects allied to C. pruinosa, but with very different stipules, less flat and blunter leaflets, shorter pedicels and peculiar but imperfect indument, by which latter characteristic this species also differs from all other Australian congeners, even those of the group of C. artemisioides CaNDOLLEA MERRALLII. (Stylidium Merrallii, F. v. M. coll.) Erect or diffusa, rather dwarf, beset with very short spreading partly glandule-bearing hairlets; leaves small, flat, of rather firm consistence, those at the root or at any nodes rosette-like crowded, from linear-to obovate-cuneate, glabrescent, thickly white-margined, minutely apiculated; stem-leaves spreading,. from elliptic-lanceolar to broad-linear, scattered but approxi- mated, unmargined ; floral leaves smaller, opposite, all of them sessile; racemes few-or several-flowered, without any separate stalk, solitary or two together; stalklets much shorter than the calyx; tube of the latter nearly narrow-ellipsoid ; lobes very short, almost elliptical; corolla quite small, nearly gla- brous; gynostemium about twice as long as the corolla, quite glabrous ; fruit cylindric-ellipsoid, slightly compressed, bursting in its whole length; seeds minute, brown, turgidly ovate, almost smooth. Near Lake Brown; Edwin Merrall. Stems weak, often somewhat leafy throughout, proliferous,. occasionally branched ; the outer of the rosette-leaves attaining half an inch in length, the inner gradually shorter; scattered stem-leaves from $ to 4 inch long; calyx-lobes without any scarious margination ; corolla nearly pale when dry, but with a slight bluish hue, its paired segments «blique-obovate, the lower two also somewhat cuneate; labellum minute, roundish, turgid, with two subulate basal appendages; fruit about 4 inch long, the two valves inflexed along their margin, several times longer than broad. The species is well marked, and is—as far as we are hitherto aware—very local; its systematic position might best be near C. breviscapa. By an oversight the omission of the name A/¢Ar¢xia Croniniana occurred in the August issue of the ‘“‘ Victorian Naturalist,” where a description of that lately discovered plant was given. A CURIOUS PHENOMENON. THE palolo is a very curious, thread-like sea-worm, appearing in the reef openings once a year only for the single hour immediately before sunrise. On their arrival the natives assemble in their canoes and sccop them up in balers of all sorts, esteeming them immensely as an edible delicacy. The Samoans can calculate to a moment when their arrival is due by observing the juxtaposition of the moon with a certain THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. - 17 star. However, should they not appear upon that day they can be safely calculated upon to arrive that same day four weeks. This fishing, one of the romps of the season, is looked forward to by both young and old. When collected, the natives send the palolo all over the island post-haste, as complimentary presents to one another, in the same way that presents of game. are made in the old country. Before daylight this morning we were aroused, and soon in the boat ez route for the passage in the reef where the palolo were expected to assemble in their millions for their annual single hour’s outing either that morning or in four weeks’ time. After an hour’s slow rowing in the dark we arrived some- where—at what particular spot it was impossible to tell, but, judging from the heaving of the boat, we knew that we must be where the sea had an uninterrupted passage through the reef, whose immediate presence was announced by the deafening boom of the breakers dashing on it. As soon as there was sufficient light we found that we were in the company of quite fifty canoes, of all sorts and sizes, prettily and lightly balancing themselves for a moment at a time on the summits of the swells as they sullenly roiled in through the now visible passage, guarded on both sides by an expanse of seething water, where the interrupting coral bars the onward course of the ever-persistent billows. As the light grew apace, everyone there, scoop in hand, prepared alike for business and for a practical joke—which here consists in upsetting one another’s canoes—and each determined, with light heart, devoid of all care, to make the best of the most cherished, though shortest, annual festival. The canoes now scattered about in all directions, the occupants anxiously scanning the water as they flitted here, there, and everywhere in search of the game, but with no result. The little animals had evidently determined upon availing themselves of the four weeks’ grace that Nature, in obedience to some inexplicable law, or in some freak, had granted them. (A month later)—Spread all about the passage, this time quite smooth, we anxiously examined the water on all sides, in which to some depth nothing at all could be discerned ; but suddenly, as if let loose at the one exact time, were to be seen wriggling and writhing up from the nethermost depths millions upon millions of long, thread-like worms of many colours, all seeming to be racing at their topmost speed to arrive at the surface and make the most of the short time per- mitted them for their annual exhibition. Up they came in myriads until the surface was thickly covered with one solid vermiculating mass of living animals. 78 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Shouting and laughing, everyone now plied his or her scoop as busily as possible, baling up the writhing delicacies at top speed, to make as good use of the short time available as. could be. No sooner had the sun thrown his first ray on the water than as if by magic, with the same common accord with which they had ‘risen to the surface, they all disappeared, sinking lower and lower to the depths below, until not a single sign of their pre- sence was to be observed in the very spot where, a moment before, the water was perfectly muddy with animal life. Our share of these doubtful delicacies was three great. pailsful of an almost solid mass of repulsive, coloured worms,. writhing and twisting about in slimy embrace, in anything but an inviting manner for creating an appetite. Although I tried to harden myself to tackle this forbidding-- looking tit-bit aw naturel with a piece of stick, I could not manage it, and our hosts, seeing the failure, had some cooked. In that state they were, in appearance, like balls of dark-green spinach, and by no means unpalatable, tasting somewhat like a mixture of oysters and sea-weed.—/rom “‘ Aly Consulate tw Samoa,” by Wilham B. Churchward. NOES ON DRO EZ P: RAMSAY'S “Lisi Ok Nts- TRALIAN BIRDS.” By A. J. CAMPBELL. (Read before the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 10th Septem- ber, 1888.) MucH interest is centred at the present time in the Geographi-- ca] Distribution of Species. We owe a debt to Dr. Ramsay for his tabular list of all the Australian birds at present known, showing the distribution of the species over the Continent of Australia as well as adjacent islands. The list is full of interest to naturalists generally, but to the working ornithologist and oologist it is to be highly prized as a useful and valuable reference. I should recommend those who have it not to purchase a copy, which may be ordered through George Robertson and Co., Limited, Mel- bourne; and if the author has not already presented one, the committee would do well to secure a cepy for the Club’s lib- rary. Dr. Ramsay states the present edition is merely a forerunner of a great work he is preparing for the Press on the birds of Australia. In view of this fact, and in order that Dr. Ramsay’s Geo- graphical Distribution may be as complete as possible, I shall now endeavour to treat the list under consideration in a generous but critical spirit, which, I trust, will be accepted as: THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST, 719 such by the talented author, by pointing out a few slight inaccuracies and by extending localities of many of the species. Also for so doing, I perceive I have a precedent in ‘‘ Notes. by Captain Hutton on Dr. Buller’s ‘ Birds of New Zealand’” in Vol. VI. of the ‘‘ Proceedings of the New Zealand Insti- tute.” Dr. Ramsay has divided his list into fifteen districts. -Of course, birds do not recognise the geographical boundaries of man, yet we are all more or less interested in the avifauna of our respective colonies ; therefore I think it is a pity that Dr. Ramsay has clubbed Victoria with South Australia. Besides, many birds are found in the one province which are not found in the other, and wzce versa. For instance, Leadbeater’s honey- eater (Piilotis cassidix) and the lyre-bird (Menura Victorie@) are found in Victoria, but not in South Australia, and the Adelaide parrakeet (Platycercus Adelaidensis), western ground parrakeet (Pezoporus occidentalis), Mortier’s tribonyx (Tribonyx Morttert), and others are found in South Australia, while there is no data of their appearance in Victoria. To proceed— 4. Astur nove-hollandie. The white hawk has been noted in the Rockingham Bay district. 7. Astur cruentus. 1 am pleased Dr. Ramsay considers this “‘a good and distinct species,’ for undoubted examples have been taken in Victoria and South Australia, in addition to the localities indicated by him. 12. Haliaetus leucogaster. It is commonly known that the white-bellied sea-eagle is found in Tasmania, including the intermediate islands, yet Dr. Ramsay has not informed us of the fact. Examples were taken on King Island during the Club’s expedition last year. 20. Baza subcristata should have been filled in in the Interior column. 22. Falco hypoleucus should be indicated in the Victoria and South Australia column. Excellent specimens of this beautiful falcon have been in the National Museum, Melbourne, for years. 27, Iinnunculus cenchrordes is omitted from the Tasmanian list. I noticed one or two examples in the Hobart Museum, and have also received a clutch of kestrel’s eggs taken from a deserted crow’s nest on the island. 32. Strix candi/a. The grass owl is now recorded a Vic- torian bird for the first time. Dr. Ramsay will, no doubt, be pleased to note this occurrence. I have seen several examples taken lately in Victoria, one of which I exhibit here to-night. [It is difficult to suggest a reason for the number of owls of many species seen in Victoria this season except that the wonderful migration of mice that has been taking place in the interior is attributive. | 80 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 38. lVinox connivens may be recorded for the Dawson River. During my visit to that district one of the winking owls was flushed from a nest in a hollow tree which contained fledglings. 42. Winox rufa. Askin of this owl is in the Queensland Museum from the Rockingham Bay District. 56. Caprimulgus macrurus. I have never heard of this species having been taken in Victoria, nor yet in South Australia. , 62. Lagenoplastes ariel. Mr. Wintle, F.L.S., found this species breeding at Bridport, Tasmania, in 1883. Gould says :—‘“ In Western Australia it (the fairy martin) is common between Northam and York.” Yet Dr. Ramsay has omitted to show its existence in either of these colonies. 67. Dacelo gigas should have been shown for the Rockingham Bay District, since its presence was recorded there in the Naturalist, February 1886 (page 126). I saw several of the birds in that locality, and felt somewhat of a murderer for having shot a laughing jackass from a tree overhead our camp to make sure of its identity so far north. 72. Halcyon pyrrhopygius. . Referring to the red-backed kingfisher, Gould says :—‘‘ I have received specimens from the interior of Swan River.” Yetagain Dr. Ramsay has not debited the bird to West Australia. 124. Ldolivsoma tenuirostre. I shot a male Jardine’s campe- phaga in East Gippsland, 1881. Examples from other parts of Victoria are also in the National Museum. 126. Lalage tricolor. Dr. Ramsay does not credit West Australia with this migratory bird, notwithstanding it is quoted in Gould to be a summer visitant to that part of the continent. 141 and 146. Collyriocincla parvula and C. rufigaster. I took particular notice of the smaller shrike-thrush in the Dawson district. It appears, undoubtedly, to be rvufigaster, and not parvula. Dr. Ramsay has probably in error transposed the species. 145. Collyriocincla rufiventris is found in South as well as West Australia. 154. Chibia bracteata. An example from Victoria is in the National Museum, and the species has been recorded in Tasmania. Both places are blanks on Dr. Ramsay’s list. 158. Rhipidura rufifrens. Dr. Ramsay may remove the “query” standing against this fantail for the Rockingham Bay district, since undoubted examples were taken there and on the adjacent Barnard Islands. See JVatwralist, February, 1886, page 126. 167. Myiagra concinna. I think by some inadvertence Dr. Ramsay has omitted this flycatcher from the Dawson River district, because he had previously described the eggs from that locality. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 81 174. Monarcha melanopsis. I shot examples of this flycatcher in the Rockingham Bay district, and an example from Victoria is in the National Museum. Both localities are wanting in the doctor’s schedule. 200. Amaurodryas vittata. It is very questionable whether the dusky robin is found in South Australia. It certainly has not been taken in Victoria. 218. Psophodes crepitans. I heard the unmistakable whip- crack-like note of this bird among the tropical jungle of Dal- rymple’s Gap, Rockingham Bay. It has also been recorded as far north as Herberton by another member of this club. 222. Malurus lambert? may be recorded for the Dawson River. A nest, containing eggs of this species, was taken there | during my visit, 1885. 251-2. Dr. Ramsay shows Cvstzcola lineocapilla for ‘Tasmania. The species we obtained on King Island was rujiceps. Dr. Ramsay appears to have adopted all (4) Gould’s species of Cisticole, while Mr. R. B. Sharpe, of the British Museum, con- siders them all identical with C. exzlzs of Vigors and Horsfield. This would be an interesting point for the ornithologists of the club to determine, as various of the so-called varieties are found breeding together convenient to Melbourne at Caulfield, Dan- denong, Heidelberg, etc. 257. Sericornis levigaster. 1 think Dr. Ramsay will find that this Sericornis should have been recorded for the Dawson River district. 274. Ephthianua albifrons. This species is met with in Tas- mania. See ‘Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” page 25. 280. Calamanthus fuliginosus. Although not indicated by Dr. Ramsay, this field lark is common to both Victoria and South Australia. 284. Cincloramphus cruralis has been noted in the Dawson River district. 289. Calamoherpe Australis. During a visit to Tasmania, 1883, I heard the merry song of these warblers in the reed beds bordering the Tamar River. See my manual ‘“ Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds,” page xxix. The reed warbler is also in Colonel W. V. Legge’s list, but not on Dr. Ramsay’s for Tasmania. 296. Estrilda temporahs. It is well known to almost every member of the Club that this little finch abounds in many parts of Victoria. The fact must have escaped the doctor’s memory. 297. Lstrilda ruficanda. I noticed this finch in Rockingham Bay district. 306. Péephila cincta. Dr. Ramsay credits us with the banded grass finch. I am not aware of it having been taken in Victoria except it has been an escaped cage bird. 82 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 308 and 310. fvephila atropygialis has been noted in the Rockingham Bay district, and I have handled skins of the lovely grass finch (P. gouldie) from the same quarter. 326. Sericulus melinus. J once saw a skin of the regent-bird (an immature male) taken in the Dawson district. 328. Arluredus viridis. To my knowledge the cat-bird has- not been seen in Victoria; certainly not in South Australia. To save Dr. Ramsay, it is to be hoped the Club’s expedition may find it in the Croajingolong Mountains at Christmas. 354. Pomatostomus rubeculus. Dr. Ramsay has evidently recorded this bird for the Dawson River instead of P. femporalis. In justice to myself I may state I have described eggs of P. rubeculus purported to have been taken at the Dawson River, and birds identified at the Australian Museum. But when I visited the district I could detect no difference in the so-called P. rubeculus from the southern variety (P. femporalis). There- fore, I had skins submitted to Professor Alfred Newton, of Cambridge, who pronounced them to be P. ¢emporalis. With this opinion Dr. Gadow concurred. 356A. Meliornis longirosir’s. Specimens of the long-billed honey-eater have been taken at Encounter Bay, S.A. 370. Ptilotis flavicollis. Gould recorded this species for New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, as well as. Tasmania. Dr. Ramsay has raised a query (?) against the species for his colony (N.S.W.). But I think he should have been bolder and have expunged it altogether, as well as from Victoria and South Australia. I have sought carefully for this. lively and attractive bird in all parts of Victoria, and have failed to detect its presence, and have come to the conclusion that the yellow-throated honey-eater is confined to Tasmania and the intermediate islands only where I have seen it. 388. Stomiopera urtncolor. Dr. Ramsay may possibly recollect I produced a skin of this bird to him when returning from Queensland. He was kind enough to turn up Gould’s figure and identify it for me. One would have thought the doctor would have seized such an opportunity for extending the locality of the honey-eater to Rockingham Bay district, especially when I informed him I took it at Townsviile, together with its nest and eggs. 390. Meliphaga phrygia. I beg to remind Dr. Ramsay that this species is found both in Victoria and South Australia, not- withstanding he has left these localities vacant. I took num- bers of their nests in the Caulfield district, 1869, and in the Sandhurst district, 1880. My last note of the beautiful honey- eater is recorded on znd November, 1886, when I saw an extra- ordinary flock of about 40 warty-faced honey-eaters at Don- caster Creek, 10 miles from Melbourne, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. $3 397. Acanthochera carunculata. ‘This wattle bird is not found in Tasmania. 403 and 423. Philemon cttreogularis and Myzantha garrula. Both have been taken in the Dawson district, where they breed. 422. Melithreptus letior. In a former list Dr. Ramsay gave Lake Eyre as a habitat of this species, yet it is not shown for the interior on his new list. 428. Diceum hirundinaceum. The Swallow Diczeum has not been taken in Tasmania, but has been recorded for West Aus- tralia. Dr. Ramsay has reversed localities. 430. Zosterops cewrulescens is common to Tasmania. I noted numbers on the north part of the island. See manual ‘“ Nest and Eggs of Australian Birds,” pages 40 and 29. 440. Climacteris erythrops. There are mounted in the National Museum skins of this tree-creeper taken in Victoria. 467. Cacatua galertta. This familiar cockatoo has been taken in the Dawson district, also its eggs. 474. Calyptorhynehus banksit may be recorded for Victoria and South Australia. 490 and 760. Platycercus pennanti, etc. In 1885 I showed Dr. Ramsay a VPlatycercus I took at Cardwell (Rockingham Bay.) On account of its smaller proportions and other details, and the different vocality of the flock of birds out, of which I shot a pair, | took it to be different to the well-known fen- nant, and remarked so tothe doctor at the time. With this he did not agree. Since, however, he has described a precisely similar bird from the same district as Platycercus pennantit (variety) zzgrescens. If it be really a sub-species then P. pen- nani does not exist in the Rockingham Bay district as shown by Dr. Ramsay. 492. FPlatycercus flaviventris, to my knowledge, has not been taken in Victoria nor in South Australia. 511. Luphema petrophila. Many rock parrakeets have been taken near Adelaide, and Gould says :—‘‘I have received speci- mens of this bird from Port Lincoln, in South Australia.” Yet Dr. Ramsay only debits the bird to West Australia. 514. Melopsitiacus undulatus. 1 noted this species on the Fitzroy River, Queensland. _ §16. Pegoporus occidental’s. ‘This parrot was taken by the late Mr. F. W. Andrews in the interior, and shown before the Royal Society of South Australia. 520. Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus. 1 do not think this lorikeet has ever been observed south of the Murray. 533. Lopholaimus antarcticus. The top-knot pigeon is Vic- torian. January, 1887, Mr. W. Kershaw, a member of this Club saw one of these large birds shot from a number that were about the scrub near the Lakes’ entrance, Gippsland. 550. Macropygia phasianella has not been taken in Victoria. 84 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 558. Zurnix melanotus has been secured both in Victoria and South Australia, Dr. Ramsay notwithstanding. 563. Coturnix pectoral’s. All of us are liable to error, but we do not doubt that eminent authority Gould, when he says he obtained specimens of this well-known quail from West Australia. Dr. Ramsay has overlooked the fact. 575. Maematopus longirostris may be recorded for North-West Australia, since I have received eggs of this oyster-catcher from King Sonal 578 and 580. Lobivanellus lobatus and Sarciophorus pectoralis. Both these plover are well known to Tasmania; nevertheless, Dr. Ramsay has omitted such prominent objects. 583. Ludromias Australis. Eggs of this dottrel have been received from West Australia by me. 598. Acteturus longicaudus. Bartram’s sandpiper several times has been taken lately in South Australia; also (602) Zringa cinerea. 606. Glareola grallaria. ‘This pratincole may be recorded for Rockingham Bay district, Victoria, and South Australia, since it has been observed in all these localities. 609 and 610. Cladorhynchus pectoralis and Himantopus leuco- cephalus. These interesting waders are undoubtedly amongst the avi-fauna of Tasmania, although evidently not to the knowledge of Dr. Ramsay. 611. Limosa mélanuroides. The black-tailed godwit has been taken in Victoria and South Australia. 624. Xenorhynchus asiaticus. Examples of the jabiru have been received at the Adelaide Museum from the interior. 634. Demiegretta sacra. Both the blue variety and the white of the reef herons I have seen on Phillip Island, Victoria, and possess their eggs from the north-west coast of Tasmania. The birds were reported for the first as Tasmanian in the JVatwralist, the journal of this Club, April, 1885. 636. Wycticorax caledonicus. If we are to believe Gould, the night heron is found in West Australia, for he says the aborigines of the lowland districts of that colony call the bird “ gnal-gan- ning.” 650. Hypotenidia philippensis. The omission of the common pictoral rail from the Tasmanian column by Dr. Ramsay must surely be a clerical error, for I cannot believe it was omitted ignorantly, seeing it 1s such a familiar bird on the island, and possessing, as it does, such a vast range, not only over the whole continent of Australia, but also over New Zealand and many other islands of the Pacific. 659, 660, 666, 667. Anseranas melanoleuca, Branta jubata, Dendrocygna eytonit, and Stictonetta nevosa. All these swimmers have been noted in Tasmania. The last three appear on THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 85 Colonel Legge’s list. It is true that some may be only stragglers, yet Dr. Ramsay must admit them on the same grounds as he has. done Piilopus superbus and Lopholaimus antarcticus. 665. Dendrocygna vagans is a Victorian duck. There are splendid examples mounted in the National Museum since 1884. 678. Fodiceps nove-hollandie is found in the Dawson district, where its eggs have also been taken. . 682. Eudyptula undina. Since the National Museum possesses specimens taken in Port Phillip, the fairy penguin should undoubtedly have been debited to Victoria on Dr. Ramsay’s list. 688. Stercorarius crepidatus. In passing, I should like to state it has been published that, amongst other birds not mentioned in any previous lists to Dr. Ramsay’s, is the above species. I beg to remind members that it duly appeared in the Club’s printed list of Victorian birds in the Vaturadis¢, August, 1884, and that the presence of a second skua in Australia was first recorded by me in the Southern Science Record, vol. III. (1883), page 256. 690. Sterna caspia should be added to West Australia. I have seen eggs of this tern from that part recently, and Gould records it for the same locality. 691. Sterna anglica is undoubtedly Victorian. Specimens have appeared mounted in the National Museum for a length of time ; also, it will be remembered, I exhibited, last year, eggs of the long-legged tern, taken in Victoria. Therefore, it is hoped that on Dr. Ramsay’s next list he will restore to us this interesting tern. 731. Puffinus nugax. This petrel may be included in the Tasmanian list if Dr. Ramsay thinks the fact of the Club’s expedition having identified it off King Island is sufficient evidence. Besides, as the allied petrel frequents the Victorian coast, it is reasonable to suppose it is also found on the other side of the Strait. 84. Artamus cinereus; 108. Cracticus torquatus ; 146. Collyrio- ciucla rufigaster ; 294. Estrilda bichenovit ; 536. Phaps chalcoptera ; 596. Zotanus canescens ; 619. Geronticus spinicollis; 678. Podiceps nestor; 740. Plotus nove-hollandie ; 754. Graculus melanoleucus ; and 755. G. stictocephalus. All these species were enumerated on a “ List of Birds collected at Derby (N.W.A.) by the late T. H. Boyer-Bower, Esq., with Notes,” by Dr. Ramsay. See P.L.S. of New South Wales, vol. II. (1887}. It would, indeed, be interesting to learn why the eleven species were omitted from the doctor’s present list without given reasons. The absence of any explanation greatly embarrasses those who, like myself, are studying a subject so full of fascinating interest and of instruc- tion as the geographical distribution of Australian birds. 86 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. CORRESPONDENCE. KING ISLAND. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Sir,— Reading in your journal the interesting account of the exploration of King Island by the Victorian Naturalists’ Club, I have wondered whether it could not be utilised as a zoological reserve for the famous Tasmanian hyena and OUrsine dasyure (native devil). These animals, the most remarkable living carnivorous representatives of an ancient race, are found in no other place in the world except the fastnesses of our sister island and colony, Tasmania, and will in time go the way of all wild beast flesh, before the advancing tide of civilisation. In the beginning of 1867 I was six weeks collecting plants in the Ringarooma district of north-east Tasmania. I heard much of these animals, and bore away skulls, which are at present in my cabinet. The skull of the hyena ( Zhy/acinus ) far exceeds in beauty and complexity that of the dog, and in size equals the deerhound. JI was on settlements in mountainous districts, where I was told they had completely cleared off large flocks (some hundreds) of sheep. King Island is, no doubt, a bit severed from Tasmania, but entirely resembles it in fauna and flora. In it the animals would live on the wallabies, and as a poisonous plant prevents the stocking of the island with sheep and cattle, they could not do much harm. But it may be said, granting they do no harm, why preserve them? They would be interesting objects to show our visitors in return for so much that they can and do show us when we go ‘“‘home” to Europe, America, or India. We cannot show much yet in the way of art—or, when I think of the estimable efforts of our Melbourne young ladies, I will say, at least, not of ancient art; but we have unique wonders of nature. Some have already, and even recently, passed away from New Zealand, which is our Alps and Iceland combined. We have lost the moa, an ostrich seventeen feet high, which could have given a long start to an express railway train, as Mr. Kingston has so humorously pictured for us. ‘Our own great diprotodon is dead. Notice his head in the University Museum ; three feet long, with lower incisor teeth six inches long. Had we to choose shoulders for this gigantic fellow, it is to the elephant we should have to go among living animals; and he was common here. Ata glance you see his relationship to kangaroo and opossum. Well, almost alone in the earth, we possess living representatives of this wonderful order, the vanguard of the mammal race. Nowhere are there such large carnivorous members as those in Tasmania. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 87 They are not only early in time, but in organisation—a link between lizards and the mammals of Europe. They carry what may be called portable nests, with food ‘supplies laid on, being born almost as undeveloped as eggs, -and remaining unconscious in the nest (pouch) for weeks. Might not the larger of these—the hyena—be allowed a home in an island which is almost useless, except to naturalists; .and for the other zoological oddities asacred asylum be found at ‘Wilson’s Promontory? WALTER K. BISSILt. Belvoir Park, Ravenswood, 23rd August, 1888. RATS AND PLANTS. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. DEAR Sir,—I have been extremely annoyed at, and for some time surprised as to the cause of, the destruction of several orchids I have been cultivating. During last season I collected several orchids, and have been looking eagerly for their re-appearance this season. Imagine my feelings when I find that as soon as a green shoot shows above the earth it is eaten -off. At first I attributed the cause to slugs, and spent many an hour in searching for the supposed enemy under the flower- pots, stones, etc. Last week not only was the young shoot of wSpiranthes Australis eaten off, but the earth was scraped out of the pot and the tubers eaten. This put all idea of slugs out of ‘the question. I then set several snares round the flower-pots. These solved the mystery, and showed the depredators to be vats. They have also eaten off the young fronds of several ‘small ferns. This vegetarian taste in rats is something new to me, though I know they have a decided penchant for lead piping. Since writing the above they have completely destroyed ‘several ferns and fuchsias, leaving nothing but bare stalks. J. SEARLE. 18th July, 1888. THe Monkey As A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATOR.—Under the heading of “‘ Psychology” the American Naturalist for May has a curious paragraph on “The Monkey as a Scientific Investi- gator.” In the interesting little “Zoo” connected with the National Museum at Washington there is a fine male grivet monkey ( Cercopithecus erythreus), who shares a large cage with four opossums. To human beings he shows himself anything but amiable, but “‘ he takes kindly to his strange companions, and they have been the best friends from the first.’ The 88 _ THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. attention of the attendant was lately drawn to the cage by the excitement of a crowd in front of it, and on going to ascertain the cause he was surprised to see the monkey seated in the middle of the cage, with one of the opossums lying quietly on her back on his lap, and her head under his arm. ‘‘ The monkey had just discovered the marsupial pouch of the opossum, and was diligently investigating it. Had he not been a close observer, it certainly would have remained unseen, for it was so tightly closed as to: be perfectly invisible in its normal condition. The monkey carefully lifted the outer wall of the pouch, and peered into the cavity. Then he reached in with his hand, felt about for a moment, and, to the astonishment of every- body, took out a tiny young opossum, about two inches long, hairless, blind, and very helpless, but alive and kicking. Jock held it up to the light, where he could get a good view of it, scrutinised it with the air of a savant, and presently returned it to the pouch very carefully. After replacing it he looked into the pouch again, and presently drew out another for examination, which he looked at with solemn interest, smelt it, and then care- fully put it back. It was thus it became known to the attendants. that the old female opossum had the young ones, which had previously been looked for in vain.”—Vature. HuUMMING-BIRD AND Manrtis.—In a letter lately submitted to the Elliott Society, and printed in its Proceedings, Mr. G. W. Alexander, of Charleston, 5.C., tells a strange tale of a humming-bird. Mr. Alexander heard in his garden what he knew must be a cry of pain, and going toa vine,. from which the cry seemed to proceed, he found a humming- bird ‘‘struggling violently, but unable to extricate itself.” He took it in his hands, and, to his astonishment, saw that it was in the clutches of an insect, which he identified as a mantis, popularly known in those parts as ‘‘ Johnny-cock-horse.” “The bird,” says Mr. Alexander, ‘‘ was wounded under the wing, upon one side of the breast, which had evidently beem lacerated with the powerful mandibles of its captor. The wound looked ugly enough to lead me to fear that it would prove fatal; nevertheless, my children and I cared for it as tenderly as we knew how, but we found it difficult to administer nourishment to a humming-bird, so at night I placed it among the leaves of the vine, for it was a warm night, and in the morning the little sufferer lay dead on the ground beneath.” —Nature. ERRATUM. Vol. IV., page 120 (December, 1887), read Tachyglossus for Trachyglossum. President : A. H. 8. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc. pans around the Metropolis. ; ‘Nol Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. _ The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria-street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. . The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual subscription, 6s. 6d. , post free. (To members free.) en With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- es respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. _ Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. 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FELTON, GRIMWADE & C0, Wholesale Drug Merchants, — MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALYANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL a AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &., &c. SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES. PECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- a ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin.and dine objective, in case, £4 12s. 6d. BECKY’ “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from £7 6s. to £11 ils. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. BECKS’ “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may a be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST, aap CHAMPAGNE Vou. V.—No. 7. NovEMBER, 1888. Victorian turalist THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE OF THE Piela Datucalist’ Olab of Victoria. The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. CONTENTS. Tue Frerp Narurauists’ Crus or VICTORIA Surrace SHetis. By F. R. Goprrey ae ave ae Sree Ol Notes on Some Satsonacnous Prants. By Baron von Mveuuer, K.C.M.G., e - io) oOo Minaflinaill loll aiflinatfinaMisatfliallt il M. & Pu.D., F.R.S. ne : So on a3 pee Jone Recontections or My RESIDENCE IN Nowa WEST ET By A Non- : NATURALIST ae promoting Observations in the Field by means oF Excursions to various CouCClNs pa grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, rece copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. See - The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of ‘specimens, with a short convyersazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal poetely: s Hall, Victoria- street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. _ The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” _ Annual subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularising the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor ait the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets, Vol. I. (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. Il. (1885-86),.12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. IV. (1887-88), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title- page and index for binding. _ The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal- notes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, ete., car = be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. A COLES, Taxidermist and Iurrier, 220 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bi Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order, \ ' Lessons given in Taxidermy; LG, i, MUMM & Ci, | REIMS CHAMPACNE ‘Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. Lo ee SOLE AGENTS FOR VICTORIA: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 LITTLE COLLINS STREET EAST. FELTON. GRIMWADE & Co. _ Wholesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF ee sey MICROSCOPIC ACCESSORIES, GALYANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &c., &e. _ SUPERIOR STUDENTS’ MICROSCOPES. BECKS’ “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, dounle mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, lin. and din. objective, in case, £4 12s. : BECKS’ “ECONOMIC” RORORGDEES. from £7 6s, to £11 11s. BECKS’ “POPULAR” MICROSCOPHS, from £12 5s. to £27 5s. . BECES' “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £38 10s. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best ‘English and For eign Makers, may. be had on application. MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. Write tit tint ie et In NE NN RIN NI NANI NASIR NT RIN ISNA NINES ne rt, ~ ---- January, 1889. PDAS t ? Va : ie ish? f if ane Vic arian atau | THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE : ee <> The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions ie he records. SS Cow E Baws: ne ce ; PAGE Norrs oF A VISIT TO THE JENOLAN Caves. F.G. A. BARNARD 121 “List OF VICTORIAN Hyproipa. W. M. BALE, F.R.M.S...._ 130 CORRESPONDENCE: PeERtpaTus. A. Denby, M.Sc. Sele 3Ase Review: SELecr ExTra-TROPICAL PLANts _ New AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA & PRICE SIXPENCE. ® Agents for Gurope: & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. EE Melbourne : MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 9 MACKILLOP STREET. 5 : 1889, Bim iieie Simm imiie TATE’S EXPRESS. Natural History and cther Packages, all sizes, delivered any address — in Britain. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. aN LONDON OFFICE : W, R. SUTTON and CO, GOLDEN LANE, EC, A. J. EPA Pes (Twenty Years with PAUL THOMAS), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER GF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS anv SHOES, Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. 41 SWANSTON STREET (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street, IVE ed Be OU eo INT ee THE Mictorian Maturalist. Vou. V.—No. 9. JANUARY, 1889. No. 61. ge 4 NOLHS TOF A VISIT TO THE JENOLAN CAVES, NEW. SOUTH WALES. By F. G. A. BARNARD, (Read 8th October, 1888.) THE following notes of a recent visit to the Jenolan Caves and district are offered more with the view of giving our members some idea of what they may expect to see should they ever have the opportunity to visit this Australian wonder-land than of attempting to adequately describe the many beautiful and mysterious shapes and forms resulting from the action of moisture on limestone. These caves, formerly known as the ‘“‘ Fish River Caves,” from the usual route taken to reach them, though they are on the other side of the Great Dividing Range to the Fish River watershed, and also as the “‘ Binda Caves,” from being situated in a spur of that mountain, are now known as the “ Jenolan Caves,” from the district in which they are situated. This name is said to have been obtained by leaving out the full stops in the name of Mr. J. E. Nolan, the original surveyor of the district. This adapta- tion of a name, it seems to me, would be a very happy one to adopt in many cases, and would save our maps from becoming crowded with persons’ surnames who have no particular claim to be immortalized—being, by this plan, still recorded, but to a certain extent hidden from view. To my mind the name “‘ Jenolan Caves” is far preferable to ‘ Nolan’s Caves,” as they might have been called had the usual plan been adopted. But I am wandering from my subject, and before getting our first glimpse of the ‘‘ Grand Arch’”’ you must permit me to make some remarks on the journey from Sydney, the necessity for which you will see presently. Besides the business meetings of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science recently held in Sydney, a number of excursions to places of interest were arranged. Among these. were the Jenolan Caves. Along with some nine or ten others, I put down my name for what I expected would be a very interesting trip, as some good names appeared on the list as 122 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. leaders. However, on getting to Redfern (Sydney) Railway Station shortly before nine on the morning of Friday, 31st August, I was much disappointed to find only two other gentlemen intended venturing on the trip, one of them being Mr. S. E. Wills, a fellow-member of our club, our companion being a gentleman from Scotland. There are three ways of reaching the caves, which are situated, as the crow flies, about 70 miles due west of Sydney. Firstly, by railway to Katoomba, 66 miles, and thence 27 miles on horse- back. Secondly, by railway to Mount Victoria, 77 miles, and coach thence 36 miles. Thirdly, by railway to Tarana, formerly called Fish River, 120 miles, and coach vid Oberon, 35 miles. Our route was planned out for us by the Association to go wa Tarana, and return v7@ Mount Victoria, which | certainly think is a very interesting one, as it embraces some of the finest scenery in New South Wales. We left Sydney at 9 a.m. on a very warm morning, and as we passed through Parramatta a regular hot wind was blowing. How- ever, the air became cooler as we ascended the Blue Mountains ; but our views of the country, as we travelled along, were greatly spoiled by the dry appearance of the vegetation, owing to the long- continued drought, from which almost every part of New South Wales was suffering. Several pretty wild flowers were growing alongside the line, Acacia discolor, Boronia pinnata, and several others, being conspicuous by their yellow, pink, and white flowers. Soon after leaving Wentworth Falls, the traveller begins to get glimpses of the great perpendicular sandstone cliffs so character- istic of the Blue Mountains. Passing through the Clarence Tunnel, where the train was travelling at a height above the sea level of 3,600 ft., equal to the top of our Mount Macedon, the great Zigzag at Lithgow Valley, the termination of the Blue Mountains was reached in due course. From here the ordinary tourist usually returns by rail to Mount Victoria ; but if the drive vid Bowenfels and Hartley to the mount be taken, some mag- nificent scenery is passed through. Our destination was Tarana, some twenty-five miles further. Before reaching this we crossed the main dividing range, near Rydal, at about 3,220 ft., and entered the watershed of the rivers flowing into the Darling, and were now on the edge of the famous Bathurst Plains. On arrival at Tarana, about 4 p.m., we found vehicles waiting to convey our supposed party of nine to Oberon (eighteen miles) ; but as only three had come up we were not crowded. The road takes a southerly direction, up and down some rather steep hills, passing chiefly through sheep stations. Evan’s Crown, some remarkable bosses of granite on the top of a hill away to our left, the crossing of the Fish River near Mutton’s Falls, and the Dog Rocks, also of granitic formation—close by which we passed—were almost THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 123 the only objects of interest, except the distant views of the mountains before daylight disappeared. The road seemed after- wards to pass through some fair scenery, but it was too dark to make out distinctly. As we neared Oberon the reflections of bush fires were seen in several directions. We reached the Royal Hotel at about 7.30 p.m, and again found provision made for the mysterious nine; so there was no lack of good things. We spent a very pleasant and comfortable evening here, and heard a good deal about the wonders we were to see on the morrow. Next morning broke with heavy rain, and as we started from Oberon about 9 a.m. in a four-horse coach it was still raining. Near the township several nice farms were passed ; the road takes a south-easterly course, crossing the Fish Creek and Fish River, and winding along the hillsides, till it finally crosses the main dividing range at 4,120 ft. above the sea. Here we passed for some time through a snowstorm, which, to a Melbournite lke myself, was at least a novelty. We now began to descend, and as the weather cleared up we were able to get some magnificent views of the country. About two miles further, when on the side of a spur, our driver pointed out the galvanized iron roof of the Cave House, some 1,200 ft. almost straight below us, but to reach it we had to traverse three miles of steep zigzag road down the end of the spur, arriving at our destination just in time for lunch. The views at each turn of this road were very fine, and were well worth all the discomforts of the journey ; and should any of our members visit the caves by the Mount Victoria route, which does not touch this road, I would advise them to take a three-mile walk up this hill, as, though the gradient is rather steep (about 1 in 4), they will be amply repaid for their trouble. Some remarks about the formation of the country will here be necessary, in order to enable you to understand my future details. The Cave House is situated in a deep, narrow valley, running east and west, and when I say the sun sets to the residents some three or four hours before it does to the tops of the surrounding hills, you may perhaps get some idea of the steepness of the sides of the valley, which is only about a quarter of a mile long. The western end would be blocked by a narrow ridge connecting the sides if it were not for the ‘Grand Arch,” an immense cavern running right through the hills, being about 120 yards long, 70 ft. at its highest, and 200 ft. at its widest parts. The eastern entrance is about 5oft. wide and z3oft. high, and the western 150 ft. wide and 120 ft. high. As the Mount Victoria road ter- minates on the hillside, on the other side of this arch to Cave House, travellers by that route make their first acquaintance of the caves by carrying their luggage or leading their horses through this great chamber to the accommodation house or temperance 124 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. hotel. As the Government, in reserving the locality, have pro-. hibited the sale of any intoxicating liquors, visitors have therefore to take their own comforts with them. The floor of the “ Grand Arch” is strewn with immense blocks of limestone, which have evidently fallen from the roof and sides as their supporting stones have been worn away during long ages by the action ofa running stream, which in those times must have been much larger than the one which now finds its way through the cavern. Though appar- ently dark on entering, the cavern is fairly lighted, being open at each end, and one soon gets accustomed to the subdued light, as also to the hollow sounds caused by striking the stones against one another. On turning round to the left at the western entrance the visitor enters a similar cavern, but of far larger proportions, called the “‘ Devil’s Coach-house.” This is said to be 5ooft. long, 4oo ft. wide, and 275 ft. high, a cavern which would easily contain such a building as the Scots’ Church, in Collins-street, spire and all. Here also are immense blocks of limestone, some whose sides must measure 30 ft. or 40 ft., lying in all sorts of positions, some leaning against others, so that there is a sufficient space for one to walk upright between them. In the roof of this cavern, or, as it is now called, the Eastern Cave, is a large hole, open through to the surface of the hill, and with its fringe of shrubs and grass forms a very pretty sight. In flood time M‘Ewan’s Creek rushes through this cave, and as it tumbles and twists among the rocks what a clatter it must make; but at ordinary times it disappears some two miles up the valley, and, continuing a subterranean course, reappears about 20 yards below the Coach-house, where the Camp Creek, flowing through the Grand Arch, joins it, and, forming the Jenolan Creek, eventually finds its way into the Nepean and Pacific Ocean. Perhaps the next point of interest and wonder in the outer sights of the district is the “Carlotta Arch.” ‘This is a natural arch situated on the top of the ridge, which, were it not for the two caverns just mentioned, would form a huge stone dam across the Camp and M‘Ewan’s Creeks. This arch is about 60 ft. high, 4o ft. wide, and 20 ft. through, and the view looking through this down the valley below the “‘ Grand Arch,” over which we are now almost standing, is lovely in the extreme, the gray limestone rocks forming a natural picture frame to the wooded landscape. Close by is the entrance to the Elder and Arch Caves, which latter also opens into the Devil’s Coach-house. A path leads up over the top of the Carlotta Arch, where it is only a couple of feet wide, and at least 100 ft. above the hill. Wire-rope handrails have been provided by the Government in order to prevent acci- dents, and several dangerous openings in the hillside have like- wise been protected with railings or gratings. ‘The view from the THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 125 top was, as might be expected, very fine, extending over a great expanse of wooded ranges and deep valleys. Having given you a brief sketch of the sights accessible to any visitor, I will now attempt to briefly describe some of those which cannot be seen without a guide. The original discovery of the large caverns is said to have been made about 1830, but for many years nothing was known of the beautiful sights hidden away in the sombre hillsides. At last one or two venturesome persons explored some of numerous openings, which are everywhere, and their wonders gradually attracted attention. The leader of most of these explorations was Mr. J. Wilson, through whose persistent efforts the Government at last reserved the locality, and in 1868 appointed him to the post of curator, which he still ably fills. The caves have thus been secured from the depredations of sight- seers, before whose hands some of the stalactites were beginning to vanish. It must not be supposed that all the wonders have yet been found, as new openings and caves are continually being made known, and perhaps the famous Imperial and Lucas Caves may yet be excelled. Visitors are taken into the cave at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily, and new arrivals have to go wherever the senior visitors are going. Thus it fell to our lot at 3 p.m. on the Saturday after- noon to visit the right-hand branch of the Imperial Cave, which is considered the gem of the series. ‘The entrance gate to this is reached by a steep flight of steps, some 20 ft. or 30 ft. above the floor of the Grand Arch, and near its western entrance. ‘This cave is partly lighted by electricity, incandescent lights being used, and to give you some idea of the extent of the galleries, about 234 miles of double wire were used for the right-hand branch alone. The wire is, of course, insulated, so there is no danger from touching it, and is arranged in sections so that the guide turns it on and off as he proceeds; there are also a number of switches situated near special features, so that he can attach a portable electric lamp, and thus throw additional light on the subjects. This branch of the Imperial Cave reminded me very much of the drives in a mine, but of course was more irregular in shape, being a succession of passages from chamber to chamber, principally about the same level, but twisting and turning in every direction. One of the first sights is the Shawl Cave, so called from a most beautiful form taken by the lime- stone, which resembles a number of shawls hanging from the roof, some creased in folds, others smooth, some variegated with lines of colour produced by the infiltration of iron. These are only about an inch thick, and, being semi-transparent, when the lamp was shown behind them a very pretty effect was produced. The Coral Grotto appears as if its walls were still in their original coralline structure. Passing on, new beauties unfold at 126 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. every turn. The Grand Stalactites comprise a series of stalactites of all sizes, from those only as large as a penholder to others as thick as an ordinary telegraph pole. It is impossible to mention even the names of half the wonders of this underground fairy land. Here ‘“‘Lot’s Wife,” one of the finest white stalagmites in the caves, stands in all her purity; but unfortunately, like many other sights, it is partially obscured by wire netting which it has been found necessary to fix near special objects to keep visitors’ fingers from picking and stealing. The “ Alabaster Column,” some 2 ft. in diameter; “‘ Nelly’s Grotto,” a pretty little cavity guarded by a row of stalactites and stalagmites ; the ‘“‘ Mysteries,” where small stalactites stand out at right angles; the ‘‘ Crystal Palace,” the “ Fairy Bower,” and the “ Vestry,” are more of the wonders of Nature, here seemingly outdoing one another, so that it is hard to say which one prefers. In ‘‘ The Queen’s Diamonds” the limestone has crystallized in most beautiful forms on the wal] of a little opening. The ‘‘Gem of the West” once seen can never be forgotten—a bunch of the purest needle-shaped stalactites, hanging from a projecting ledge. Another beautiful sight is the ‘“‘ Fairies’ Retreat,” which can only be visited by one person at a time crawling through a small tunnel in the wall, but it is worth any amount of trouble—roof, sides, floor, all covered with the purest brilliants reflecting the light of the electric lamp from their thousand sides. Having spent over two hours among these crystal palaces and weird scenes we returned to outer air. We found the cave much drier than we expected, though water could be seen dripping in many places—this, I was somewhat surprised to find, had no taste of lime. The guide said that no appreciable change in the size of the stalactites, &c., has been noticed since the caves were first discovered. I ought to mention that the Government have spent a considerable amount of money in making the caves easier for visitors by enlarging passages, building steps, con- structing bridges, fixing ladders, &c., so that ladies and children can go through most of them with comparative ease. Of course great care has been taken not to damage any of the sights. The temperature was very even, being about 63°, and there was no oppressive feeling in walking along ; this must be due to cracks and refts in the rocks leading to some of the numerous openings in the hillsides, allowing free circulation of air, though at no point did we feel any draught. On returning to Cave House we were much exercised as to how to get another glimpse at the caves, as no person is allowed in on Sunday, and we were timed to leave for Mount Victoria at eight on Monday morning. However, on representing to Mr. F. Wilson, who was then in charge, that we were the excursion party from the Australian Association, and that it was through no fault THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 127 of ours that we had arrived at midday on Saturday, he kindly allowed the guide to show us over the Lucas Cave after tea. Accordingly, about 8 p.m. we sallied forth, and having obtained our candles—for this cave is not yet provided with the electric light—we ascended the hill over the Grand Arch, and, turning to the right and continuing along the hillside, where a false step would have sent us hundreds of feet into the valley below, came to the gateway of the Lucas Cave. This cave we at once found was of quite a different character to the one we had explored in the afternoon. Here everything was on a large scale. The first chamber, the ‘ Cathedral,” is some 200 ft. high and vast in proportion. Our general route was descending from one chamber to another. Presently we came to the “ Broken Column,” one of the finest and most awful sights in the whole of the caves. This is an immense white column which has been broken across some 2 ft. from its base, owing to the rock on which it rested giving way, and this tilting a little, the base is now at an angle with the upper part, so that no deposit of lime can ever unite this unique sight. Near by is another but smaller column, which has a space between its upper and lower parts of about an inch, which may in time be repaired, as a thin needle of lime now unites the two portions. Descending still deeper, we at last came to a bridge over a dark pool, said to be goo ft. below the surface of the hill. This cave extends through the hill at the back of Cave House, and, it is said, an entrance could be made into it by less than twenty yards of driving. Here we were shown the small passage from which the model in the Exhibition was taken, and, as far as I can recollect, it is a very good represen- tation. It is needless to say that it would be quite impossible to model any of the lovely shawls, curtains, &c.; to see these it is necessary to go to Jenolan. We found the Lucas Cave much warmer than the Imperial, which may perhaps be accounted for the extra exertion necessary to see it, owing to the great amount of climbing or descending required to be done. There were also shawls, &c., here, but not nearly so beautiful as the Imperial. In the “ Lurline Cave” many of the stalactites point obliquely down, showing that there must have been great subsidences here at some remote period. The ‘Field of Potatoes” was rather curious—a bank covered with round knobs, like so many potatoes strewn about. Now came one of the longest stalactites yet seen, about 11 ft. from the roof to its tip. Journeying on, we came to a point where our guide asked whether we would return by the way we came or do a stiff climb of a hundred feet or so. We chose the latter, and were surprised in a few minutes to find ourselves at the entrance gate. To see this cave properly, the guide burns magnesium wire in a special apparatus, which, giving a light of a pure white colour, is very much better than electricity, but the 128 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. latter is a great improvement on candles for travelling by. Groping our way back along the hill, we were not sorry to turn in, about half-past ten, well satisfied with our day’s sight-seeing. Next morning, Sunday, broke beautifully fine, and as nothing could be done underground, a Government inspector of works at present engaged at the caves kindly offered to conduct us to several of the outside sights. We first of all visited the Carlotta Arch, which I have already described, then made our way up the dry, rocky bed of M‘Ewan’s Creek for about a mile and a half, past the entrance to the Mammoth Cave, which, as its name implies, is very large, but as it Is very rough and contains no par- ticular groups, is little visited. In this the underground course of the creek can be reached with some trouble. On the opposite side of the valley, some 80 ft. or roo ft. above the flat, our con- ductor pointed out an opening in the rocks, up to which we climbed. This is known as M‘Ewan’s Hole, from a bushranger who is said to have lived here for several years, so securely as even to cultivate a little land in the valley below. This is now the resort of numerous wallabies, who seem to have found a para- dise in these hills, the stones at the entrances to the various small caves being beautifully polished by the constant hopping over them of these interesting little animals. We spent some time scrambling about in the semi-darkness of the numerous twists and turnings of this undoubtedly formerly inhabited cave. It was owing to the discovery of this place that further explorations were made, and the Jenolan Caves became known as one of the sights of Australia. In the crevices of the rocks here I obtained speci- mens of a fern new to me, I fancy a Zindsayea, which I hope to exhibit at some future meeting when it becomes reconciled to its Victorian location. We returned over the hill, and struck the Oberon-road near the last turn of the zig-zag. After lunch our friend took us through the ‘Grand Arch” to the spot where the underground river reappears, then to the waterfall, a pretty spot, but very difficult for the pedestrian to pass ; however, the Govern- ment are now providing steps and a handrail. Growing on the rocks here numerous specimens of Dendrobium and Sar- cochilus (epyphital orchids) were seen. Wandering down this creek, some fifteen varieties of ferns were noticed; here the maiden-hair fern was over two feet in height, and Adiantum hispidulum equally fine. After doing a couple of miles of as rough travelling as any tourist could wish for, and gathering a large bunch of splendid watercress for the tea-table, we made our way up the steep hillside to the Mount Victoria-road, and through the Grand Arch home. Having found that it would be no gain to start so early for Mount Victoria, we determined to put it off till midday, and make a hurried visit to the left-hand branch of the Imperial Cave, which THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 129 is perhaps not quite so beautiful or nearly so extensive as the other branch, but still contains many beauties ; in fact, the finest shawls are in the “‘ Lucinda Cave.” These it was long before we could leave, the formation being apparently so wonderful ; then more ‘‘ mysteries’—how water can crystallize in a horizontal posi- tion, or twist and curl, is beyond my powers of thought. Here was a beautifully draped window, the curtains being worked in solid limestone, “ brides’ veils,” ‘The Madonnaand Child,” a statuette of pure white, and many other beautiful sights. But I must hurry on, or you will be tired of my paper. We finished our exploration of the caves with a visit to the “‘ underground river,” which properly belongs to the right branch. ‘This is reached by descending a well-like opening on a rope ladder some 4o feet long. At the bottom flows a clear stream, reflecting on its unruffled surface the arching roof and hanging stalactites above it. Fish were seen here (these are not sightless, as many cave fish are said to be), though no fish are found in the creek below the caves. Attempts have been made to explore this under- ground stream, but the roof and floor approach so closely in some places that it is impossible to get along. This morning we had a lady in the party, who was deterred by nothing, and even visited the underground river. Our time for departure was now at hand, and, packing up our luggage, we made our way for the last time through the Grand Arch, to the buggy waiting for us on the Mount Victoria-road, and soon started on our 36-mile drive, and bade adieu to the Jenolan Caves. The commencement of this road is a splendid piece of siding, and for five miles gradually ascends the side of the range, making many sharp curves, until it reaches the crest of the main divide, where, near Mount Binda, one side of the road drains to the Pacific Ocean, the other to the Murray and Southern Ocean. About here the track to Katoomba branched off to our right. Our road was a good bush track, and our pair of horses made very light work of it. At many places we obtained fine views of the surrounding country, especially as we approached the valley of the River Cox. Crossing this we were soon in the long ago named Vale of Clwydd, and travelled along the old Bathurst- road, through the old town of Hartley, the scene of many a stirring sight in bullock-team days, but now almost deserted. We now came to the Victoria Pass, a famous road made by Sir Thomas Mitchell and his convict gangs over fifty years ago. It will take us long to forget the beautiful effects produced by the setting sun on the rocky sides of Mount York and the Kanimbla Valley— scenes which would require the brush of an artist to do them justice, and even then the colours used might be thought unnatural by a large number of persons. ‘This road should certainly be traversed by every visitor to Mount Victoria, and as it is not two 130 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. miles from the township it is easily accomplished. With our arrival at the Imperial Hotel, at Mount Victoria, about half-past six on the Monday evening, ended our trip to the Jenolan Caves. As I have already occupied your attention, I fear, with too many details, I will not say much about our trip on the following day, one which, however, should be omitted by no visitor to the district, as it gives rise to such bewildering thoughts about these wonderful Biue Mountain gorges. Briefly summarized, it was a flying visit to Mount Paddington and the Kanimbla Pass and cave before breakfast; then the 22-mile drive from Mount Victoria, 77d Govett’s Leap—a sight the grandeur and immensity - of which no description I have yet read does more than partially convey to the reader’s mind ; and on past the “ Explorers’ Tree,” recording the gallant attempts of Messrs. Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth to cross these mountains for the first time in May, 1813 ; through Katoomba to the Wentworth Falls and Prince Regent's Glen, a truly lovely spot. At Wentworth Falls station you can take the afternoon train, and reach Sydney by six p.m. LEST OFF VICTORIAN HYD ROMD Ate By W. M. Bate, F.R.M.S. zr. Allman.—Report on the “ Challenger” Hydroida. First part, Plumulariide. London, 1883. Bale.—Catalogue of the Australian Hydroid Zoophytes. Sydney, 1884. 3. Kirchenpauer.—Nordische Gattungen und Arten von Ser- tulariden. Hamburg, 1884. Von Lendenfeld.—The Australian Hydromeduse. Proceed- ings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1885. Allman.— Description of Australian, Cape, and other Hydroida. Linnean Society’s Journal, 1885. Bale.—The Genera. of the Plumulariidee, with observations on various Australian Hydroids. Royal Society of Victoria, 1886. 7. Bale-—On some new and rare Hydroida in the Australian Museum collection. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1888. tN ON ee te * This list includes all the species of Hydroid Zoophytes hitherto recorded from the coast of Victoria, and from the adjacent waters of Bass Strait. The reference numbers apply to the appended list of recent publications on Australian species, which includes all those of later date than the Catalogue of the Australian Hydroid Zoophytes. All necessary references to earlier works are given in the Catalogue, and I have not thought it desirable or useful to extend this list by inserting them here. Synonyms, also, are only given where they are of recent determination, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 131 ELEUTHEROBLASTEA. HypRIDzZ Hydra oligactis, Pallas (2).—Melbourne. GYMNOBLASTEA. TUBULARIID Lubularia Ralphir, Halley (2).—Hobson’s Bay. EUDENDRIIDA ELudendrium generale, von Lendenfeld (4).—Port Phillip. CoRYNIDZ Sarsia radiata, von Lendenfeld (4).—Port Phillip. ATRACTYLIDE Dicoryne annulata, von Lendenfeld (4).—Port Phillip ; Port Jackson. CALYPTOBLASTEA. CAMPANULARIDA Campanularia marginata, Bale (2, 7).— Queenscliff ; Portland. Campanularia tuncta, Hincks (2).—Port Phillip ; Portland. Campanularia caliculata, Hincks (7).—Port Phillip. Obelia geniculata, Lin (2).—Port Phillip. Monosklera pusilla, von Lendenfeld (4).—Port Phillip. Eucopella campanularia, Von Lendenfeld (2, 7).—Port Phillip. LAFOEIDZ Lafoéa fruticosa, Sars (2).—Bass Strait. LINEOLARID Lineolaria spinulosa, Hincks (2).—Port Phillip; Portland. Lineolaria flexuosa, Bale (2, 6).—Williamstown ; Port Phillip. HALECHUD Haleciwm (? tenellum, Hincks).—Port Phillip SERTULARIUDA Sertularia operculata, Lin (2).—Southern Coast, common. Sertularia bispinosa, Gray (2, 6).—Warrnambool. [Dyphasia symmetrica, Von Lendenfeld (4).] Sertularia trispinosa, Coughtrey (2).—Warrnambool. Sertularia Maplestonet, Bale (2).—Portland. Sertularia bidens, Bale (2).—Queenscliff ; Williamstown. Sertularia australis, Kirchenpauer (2, 6).—Williamstown ; Sealer’s Cove. Sertularia elongata, Lamouroux (2, 5).—Southern Coast, very common. Sertularia ungwiculata, Busk (2).—Southern Coast, very common, | Desmoscyphus ungwiculata, Allman (5). | Sertwlaria geminata, Bale (2).—Queenscliff ; Portland. Sertularia flecilis, D’A. W. Thompson (2).—Sealer’s Cove. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Sertularva tridentata, Busk (2).—Bass Strait, 45 fathoms. Sertularia macrocarpa, Bale (2).—Portland ; Queenscliff; Williamstown. Sertularia dwergens, Lamouroux (2).—Williamstown ; Portland. Sertularia tenwis, Bale (2).—Williamstown. Sertularia bicornis, Bale (2).—Queenscliff. Sertularia acanthostoma, Bale (2) —Belfast. Sertularia crenata, Bale (2).—Schnapper Point. Sertularia tuba, Bale (2).—Portland ; Queenscliff. Sertularia minima, D’A. W. Thompson (2, 5, 6).—FPort-° land ; Williamstown ; Queenscliff. Sertularia minuta, Bale (2).—Sorrento. Sertularia loculosa, Busk (2, 6).—Portland; Queenscliff; Bass Strait, 45 fathoms. Sertularia irregularis, Von Lendenfeld (4).—Port Phillip. Sertularia orifissa, Allman.—Bass Strait. | Desmoscyphus orifissus (5). | Synthecium putulum, Busk (2, 7).—Queenscliff ; Williams- town ; Bass Strait, 45 fathoms. Diphasia subcarinata, Busk (12).—Queenscliff ; Williams- town; Griffiths Point; Portland; Bass Strait, 45 fathoms. Sertularella polyzonias, Lin (2).—Williamstown. Sertularella microgona, Von Lendenfeld (4, 7).—Port Phillip. Sertularella trochocarpa, Allman (5).—Bass Strait. Sertularella indivisa, Bale (2, 7).—Hobson’s Bay ; Queens- cliff ; Portland, Sertularella solidula, Bale (2, 7) —Queenscliff ; Williamstown. Sertularella macrotheca, Bale (2).—Griffiths Point. Sertularella levis, Bale (2).—Williamstown. Sertularella pygmcea, Bale (2).— Queenscliff ; Griffiths Point ; Portland. Sertularella Johnstoni, Gray (2, 6).—Queenscliff ; Portland. Sertularella infracta, Kirchenpauer (3, 6).—Hobson’s Bay ; Bass Strait. [? S. divaricata or S. Johnstonz. | Sertularella sub-dichotoma, Kirchenpauer (3).—Bass Strait. [? S. divaricata, var. sub-dichotoma, Bale (7).| Sertularella reteculata, Kirchenpauer (3).—Bass Strait. Sertularella divaricata, Busk (2).—Bass Strait. Sertularella neglecta, D’A. W. Thompson (2).—Queenscliff ; Portland. Thuiarra lata, Bale (2).—Griffiths Point ; Queenscliff. Thuiaria fenestrata, Bale (2, 7).—Port Phillip Heads. Idia pristis, Lamouroux (2).—Griffiths Point. [Diphasia rectangularis, Von Lendenfeld (4). ] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 133 PLUMULARIIDEZ Plumularia campanula, Busk (2, 7).—Portland ; Williams- town; Bass Strait. [P. lawa, Allman (1) ; P. Torresia, Von Lendenfeld (4). ] Plumularia Buskiz, Bale (2).—Griffiths Point. Plumularia setaceoides, Bale (2, 7).—Wiulliamstown ; Queens- cliff ; Portland. Plumularia setacea, Ellis (7).—Port Phillip. [P. tripartita, von Lendenfeld (4). | Plumularia delicatula, Bale (2).—Portland ; Griffiths Point. Plumularia Wattsi, Bale (6).—Port Phillip. Plumularia filicaulis, Poeppig (2).——Portland. Plumularia CGoldsterni, Bale (2).—Queenscliff ; Portland. Plumularia pluma, Allman.—Bass Strait. [Heteroplon plum2, Allman (1). | 2? Plumularia alata, Bale (7). Plumularia obliqua, Saunders (2, 6).—Portland ; Williams- town. Plumularia spinulosa, Bale (2, 7).—Queenscliff. Plumularia pulchella, Bale (2).—Queenscliff. Plumularia hyalina, Bale (2).—Queenscliff. Plumularia compressa, Bale (2, 7).—Portland. Plumularia australis, Bale (2).—Portland ; Port Phillip. Azygoplon productum, Bale (7).—Portland; Queenscliff ; Williamstown. [Plumularia producta, Bale (2).| Diplocheilus mirabilis, Allman (1).—Bass Strait. Aglaophenia divaricata, Busk (2, 6).—Southern Coast, common. [? Plumularva ramosa, Busk, and Lytocarpus ramosus, Allman (5). | Aglaophenia plumosa, Bale (2).—Williamstown ; Queenscliff ; Portland. Aglaophenia parvula, Bale (2, 6, 7).—Queenscliff ; Portland. Pentandra parvula, Von Lendenfeld (4).—Southern Coast. Halicornaria superba, Bale (2).—Queenscliff; Griffiths Point. Halicornaria ascidioides, Bale (2).—Queenscliff. Halicornaria Baileyi, Bale (2).—Schnapper Point. Halicornaria longirostris, Kirchenpauer (2).—Southern Coast, common. Halicornaria humilis, Bale (2).—Queenscliff ; Schnapper Point. Halicornaria prolifera, Bale (2).— Queenscliff. Halicornaria ilicistoma, Bale (2).—Queenscliff. Halicornopsis avicularis, Kirchenpauer (z).—Southern Coast, common. [Azygoplon rostratwm, Allman (1). ] 134 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. CORRESPONDENCE, PERIPATUS IN VICTORIA. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturaltst. DEAR S1R,—It may interest some of the readers of your journal to know that last week, while collecting in a fern-tree gully at Warburton, on the Upper Yarra, Victoria, I had the good fortune to discover two specimens of Perdpatus, belonging, as I think, toa new and very beautiful species. I hope to publish a full description, with figures, of the species as soon as possible, but I am now preparing for a visit to Tasmania, and some time must necessarily elapse before I can complete the work. I should, therefore, be greatly obliged if you could find space for this letter in the Victorian Naturalist. In his “Monograph on the Species and Distribution of the Genus Peripatus,” recently published in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, Professor Sedgwick makes no mention of the occurrence of the genus in Victoria, though he describes in detail the Queensland and New Zealand species. In a note in the ‘‘ Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales ” (vol. II., part I., 1887), however, Mr. Fletcher has recorded the discovery of the genus in Victoria. He says :—‘‘ The specimen which I exhibit this evening was given to me a fortnight ago by my friend Mr. R. T. Baker, of Newington College, who. had obtained it a few days previously either in or under a rotten log at Warragul, Gippsland, Victoria. It has fifteen pairs of claw- bearing appendages, and has nearly the same dimensions as are given in the abstract referred to. It is, therefore, in all probability an.example of P. Leuckartii Sanger.” From Mr. Fletcher’s account, I am not able to say definitely whether the specimens obtained by me belong to the same species as the single specimen which he mentions; but after carefully studying Professor Sedgwick’s full description of P. Leuckartii, I am fairly certain that they do not belong to that species, but toa new one, which I for the present refrain from naming. Both of my specimens were captured under fallen logs, where they were lying quite still. The first appeared to be dead soon after it was caught, and was therefore placed at once in alcohol. The second was found under a damp, rotten log, probably of Eucalyptus, in the same gully. It was taken home alive and put to crawl about on a newspaper, when it appeared very active. It elongated considerably when crawling, so that the legs came to be much further apart than when the animal was at rest, and when crawling it measured about 39 millimetres in length, excluding the antennz. When irritated at the head end it ejected a sur prisingly large quantity of an intensely sticky fluid of a whitish colour’from the oral papillee. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 135 The species has, as in the two already described Australasian forms, fifteen pairs of claw-bearing legs, but it differs very strikingly indeed both from P. Leuckartii and from P. Move Zealandie in the colour and markings of the body. The general tint is brownish- red, with only traces in one specimen of the bluish colour so characteristic of the two above-mentioned species. The markings on the body are singularly distinct and well defined, and identical in the two specimens. All down the dorsal surface there runs a median, broad, reddish-brown or chestnut-coloured band, divided into a series of diamond-shaped patches by regular lateral indenta- tions, one diamond corresponding to each pair of legs. In the middle of this band there is a thin, median, whitish line. On either side the chestnut-coloured band is edged by a narrow black line which follows the indentations of its margin, and outside this comes a broad band of darker brown, and then at the edge of the dorsal surface a narrow band of light brown. The ventral surface is light yellowish-brown, speckled with spots of very dark pigment, especially abundant at the base of each leg. In the mid-ventral line there is a row of white spots, one between the two legs of each pair except the first (?) and the last (where, of course, the genital opening is situated). The antenne are light brown, closely ringed all the way up with very dark brown or black. This species, though small, is to my mind even more beautiful than any of those figured by Professor Sedgwick, and I think there can be little doubt as to its distinctness. The anatomical features I hope to describe at a later date, and perhaps they will throw further light upon its relations to previously-described forms.—Yours truly, ARTHUR DENDY, Demonstrator and Assistant Lecturer in Biology in the University of Melbourne. 18th December, 1888. REVIEW. Ar the same time we have two works by Baron Von Mueller issued from the Government press—the seventh edition of ‘‘ Select Extra- tropical Plants,” and the “ Key to the System of Victorian Plants,” in two parts. The “Select Plants” has now grown into a goodly volume of over 500 pages, and affords a good instance of natural develop- ment, of survival of the fittest. Originally issued unostentatiously in the form of appendices to the Annual Reports of the Victorian Acclimatization Society, in response to demands from the other colonies, from India, Germany, and the United States, the valuable information furnished in the appendices has gradually taken the 136 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. form of the present work of reference. Now, “ what these writings may perhaps aspire to is to bring together some condensed data, in popular language, on all the principal utilitarian plants hitherto known to prosper in extra-tropical countries.” The Baron is to be heartily congratulated upon his success in producing so widely useful a work, and that his book has already been adapted by Professor Naudin for the use of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. For the volume is full of suggestive and of scrupulously exact information, which, when practically applied, will tend to the revival of agriculture in the countries of the Old World as to its establishment in the New. The Baron’s ambitions are noble: To clothe the plains of the interior with herbage for our flocks and herds, to preserve or renew or establish forests of useful timber trees, to introduce varieties of fruits ‘‘all over the Australian Alps,’’ to teach selector and squatter and others who have the land in their hands how they may make the best and most varied use of it. These can compare with the highest achievements of pioneer or statesman. ‘These aims have had much direct success already, and the issue of a seventh Victorian edition, much enlarged and with valuable appendices (especially that of Genera indicating herbage, culinary roots, cereal grain, &c., &c.), will do much more. Every journalist, and everyone who wants to know what to do with his land, should furnish himself with a copy. Of the “‘ Key” we have already spoken fully. It has extended to 560 pp., and is a complete Flora of Victoria. The Baron has further defended his position with regard to the use of separate terms in botanical and zoological descriptions, in a paper read before the Australasian Association last year, and published in the proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales. We have not space at present to speak of this. No doubt members of the club will make good use of their new Flora. New AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA.—Dr. Lucas continues his enthusiastic work amongst the Lepidoptera. He writes that he has now some 3,000 species of Australian moths and butterflies. He has recently (26th September) described nine new species of the genus /odis in the “ Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.” One of these is Victorian, and was obtained at Fernshawe and Moe; the rest are Brisbane moths. The Doctor considers Brisbane a much richer collecting ground than Melbourne. He has been especially fortunate with “the Blues” and “the Emeralds,” of both of which he has beautiful collec- tions, a : ae ‘. ees eros Dh SEN ° Biely Qsturalists’ Club of Victoria. SSAA NAAR A AAAARARAR AAP . President: A. H. S. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc. “PuHis Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of attording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested ; for the Exhibition-of Specimens ; and for “promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. _ The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with . short conyersazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria Street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. > The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual Subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularizing the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. ; Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets. Vol. I. (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. IIE. (1886-87), 12 numbers. 6s.; Vol. IV. (1887-88), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title- page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal notes preferred). ' Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, etc., can ‘be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. « A. COLES, »® Taxidsermisf and FHurrier, 220 ELIZABETH ST., MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order. Lessons given in Taxidermy. «< REIMS, ® SS. \ A) « » LS ; ¥ v Ww = i x ee NV Y x wy = » ANY Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. ame Sz} SS Sole Agents for Wictoria: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 Little Collms Street Hast. FELTON, GRIMWADE &60., bolesale Drug Merchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF SS MICROSCOPICAL ACCESSORIES, GALVANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &¢., &€. SUPERIOR STUDENTS!’ MICROSCOPES. BECK’S “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, z in. and Yin. objective, in case, L4 12s. 6d, BECK’S “ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from 47 6s. to Art tris. BECK’S ‘POPULAR” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to 427 55. BECK’S “‘“NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £38 ros. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. N oS MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. Ae Aw ee ae ee ee a ee Pe ND I I OI OI III S VoL. V.—No. 10. Che Victorian Jlaturatist; THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE Ghe Field Naturalists Olub of Wictoria. —~ The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. CON Tey PS. PAGE THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA aut poe ey) AN Hour ON A CoRAL ISLAND. Rev. F. R. M. WILSON ... 141 NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE WESTERN WIMMERA District. C. FRENCH, F.L.S. ee ap eels ENGLISH NOTES, &c. eas hia ae aA pci ee Se “& PRICE SIXPENCE. Agents for Gurope: DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. Melbourne : WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 9 MACKILLOP STREET. 1889. 2 ; { ( 6 ‘ m ‘ ) ) é ( c ‘ ¢ ( ¢ ( ( ( ; ¢ ¢ } ) TATE’S EXPRESS, 11' MARKET STREET, Natural History and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address in Britain. 9p. PER POUN D. Cver 10lb., Gd. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. ae ‘Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. EEE eee NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. EO LONDON OFFICE : W. B. SUTTON and CO, GOLDEN LANE, BC. tx. J. HA Bae (Twenty Years with PAUL THOMAS), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER CF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS ann SHOES: Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. DOI I Oa CASH PRICES. NAR RRA RAR RR ern A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. 41 SWANSTON STREET (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street, IME ES Ta Ong te WN. Ea. THE WMictorian Yaturalist. Vout. V.—No. 10. FEBRUARY, 1889. No. 62. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall, on Monday evening, roth December, 1888. The president, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., occupied the chair, and about forty-five members and visitors were present. The hon. librarian acknowledged the receipt of the following donations to the library :—“ Iconography of Australian Acacias,” decade xiii., and ‘‘ Mineral Statistics of Victoria,” 1887, from the Government ; “Transactions of Royal Society of Victoria,” vol. i., part 1, from the society; “Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland,” vols. i1., part 1 and 2, iil., iv., and v., part 3, from the society ; ‘Annual Report of School of Mines, Sandhurst,” 1887-8, from the school; ‘“‘ Melbourne University Review,” vol. iv., No. 3; ‘‘ Journal of Pharmacy,” November, 1888 ; and “ List of Named Insects in South Australian Museum,” by J. O. Tepper, F.L.S., from the author. The hon. secretary reported that the excursion to Dandenong on Saturday, 17th November, was fairly successful. The day was very hot, and insects were somewhat scarcer than anticipated ; however, the following were obtained, among others— Uracanthus triangularts, Distrochocera Kirbyt, D. par, Flesthesis plorata, Hebe- cerus australis, H. crocogaster, and several species of Stigmodera. These were principally obtained on the flowers of Leptospermum lanigerum. No flowers of any importance were obtained. On a ballot being taken, Miss A. E. Roberts and Mr. H. K. Jackson were duly elected members of the club. The president and Mr. J. E. Prince referred to the recent publication of “ The Key to the Victorian Plants,” part 1, by Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., which led to a discussion as to the best method of recording times of flowering, &c., of the various plants, and it was determined to make a club record of the various items. The president also referred to the fact that the gold medal of the Royal Society of England had been awarded to Baron von Mueller, K.C.M.G., patron of the club, for his eminent services in the cause of Australian botany. PAPERS READ. 1. The hon. secretary read a paper by Rev. J. E. Tenison Woods, F.G.S. (hon. member), entitled “The Geology of 138 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Arnheim’s Land, N.A.” The writer briefly mentioned the various formations met with, and gave some particulars of their principal characteristics. The Rev. A. W. Cresswell expressed his pleasure at hearing the paper, but regretted that the cretaceous deposits, with their fossils, were to a great extent absent. 2. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, entitled “An Hour on a Coral Island.” The author gave an interesting sketch of the various objects of interest met with during a brief visit to the island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, and exhibited a EOS of lichens, corals, shells, &c., he had collected there. The president also briefly narrated his experiences on the island, which he visited in 1883. The president mentioned that Mr. G. Sweet, a member of the club, had found in the Devonian rocks at Buchan, Gippsland, a rare fossil, being the shield of a ganoid fish at present undeter- mined. The hon. secretary brought before the meeting some peculiar facts in the life history of the butterfly, Za/menus evagorus, Don., as recently noticed by him, which created some discussion. The principal exhibits of the evening were :—By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, specimens of butterfly, Ja/menus evagorus. By Mr. R.C. Chandler, about 95 specimens of birds, collected during a recent trip to the Clarence and Richmond river districts, New South Wales, including the rifle bird, regent bird, magnificent fruit pigeon, noisy pitta, &c.; also large iguana, death adder, and land shells, from same locality. By Mr. C. French, jun., eggs of following Tasmanian birds—Black-cheeked falcon, white-fronted falcon, collared sparrow-hawk, southern tern, Australian coot, Tasmanian swamp quail, diving petrel, grey-backed storm petrel, and blue reef heron. By Mr. J. Kershaw, eggs of following Queensland birds—Little eagle, white goshawk, crested hawk, pheasant cuckoo, Australian egret, boobook owl, moth-plumed podargus, dollar bird, spine-tailed orthonyx, and barred-rumped godwit. By Mr. G. Lyell, jun., lepidoptera, collected during the month. Mr. J. E. Prince, specimens of rocks from bore 1,000 ft. deep, at Carlton brewery, Melbourne. By Mr. J. Searle, larva, chrysalis, and imago of butterfly, Za/menus evagorus, Don. By Mr. G. Sweet, various species of PAragmoceras, specimens of Spirifera and Murchisonia, from the Devonian rocks, at Buchan, North Gippsland. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, 26 species of lichens, from Diego Garcia, also corals, &c., in illustration of paper. After the usual conversazzone the meeting terminated. The monthly meeting of the club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall, on Monday evening, 14th January, 1889. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 139 The president, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., occupied the chair, and about forty members and visitors were present. The hon. librarian acknowledged the receipt of the following donations to the library :—“ Prodromus of Zoology of Victoria,” decade xvii., “‘ Practical Mining,” and ‘“ Reports of Mining Registrars,” September, 1888, from the Government; ‘“ Pro- ceedings of Linnean Society of New South Wales,” 2nd series, vol. iii., part 3, from the society ; ‘‘ Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland,” vol. v., part 4, from society ; ‘‘ The Gastropods of the Older Tertiary of Australia,” part 1, by Professor Ralph Tate, F.G.S., from the author; “ Journal of New York Micros- copical Society,” vol. iv., parts 3 and 4, June and October, 1888, from the society ; ‘‘ Annals of National Museum, Costa Rica,” for 1887, from the Museum ; “Bulletin of the Vaud Society of Natural Sciences,” vol. 24, part 98, from the society ; and “Journal of Pharmacy,” December, 1888 ; also photographs of drawings of the extinct birds, the dodo, and the great auk, presented by Mr. T. A. Forbes-Leith. The hon. secretary reported that the club excursion to the Plenty River at Bundoora on Saturday, 15th December, had been much interfered with by the showery weather experienced. Of flowering plants noted, Pvostanthera lastantha, Leptospermum myrsinoides, L. lanigerum, Dipodium punctatum, and Convolvolus erubescens were the most conspicuous. Numerous nests of the fire-tailed finch, stri/da (Zoneginthus) bella, Lath., were seen, but in only one case were the young not sufficiently grown to be able to leave their birth-place. Two fine specimens of the nest and eggs of a honey-eater were taken. Insects were scarce owing to the wet, a few Stigmodera and longicorn beetles, specimens of a wasp, Polistes sp., with nests, being almost the only captures. A platypus was seen in the stream, and later on a pair of nankeen cranes. ‘The party reached town vz@ Greensborough and Heidel- berg about 8 p.m. On a ballot being taken, Mr. L. Grayson was duly elected a member of the club. In response to the desires of several members of the club, Mr. J. G. Luehmann, of the Government Botanist’s Department, gave a practical demonstration of the method of using Baron von Mueller’s Key to the Victorian Plants, making use of the plants Acacia implexa and Goodenia ovata, and supplementing his remarks with sketches of the more important parts on the blackboard. Papers READ.—1. By Mr. A. H.S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., entitled “ Notes on Victorian Sharks.” The author gave brief descriptions of the ten sharks resident in Victorian waters, and of six others which have been found at various times on the Victorian coast. He remarked that 140 species of sharks were recorded for the world, of which Australia claimed 37, and as Tasmania possessed 18 species, probably others would be found in Victorian waters. 140 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Mr. E. M. Cornwall made some remarks on the sharks of Western Port Bay. 2. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, entitled “ Notes of a Day among the Birds at Melton.” This was a very interesting account of an outing at Melton, about 23 miles N.W. of Melbourne: a district which, the author stated, would well repay the attentions of ornith- ologists, as, during several visits to the district, he had noted 83 species of birds within a radius of six miles of the station. 3. By Mr. A. J. Campbell, entitled ‘“‘The Oology of Australian Birds,” being the supplement No. 5 for 1888. He described the eggs of the following birds, taken for the first time in 1888, viz.— Strix tenebricosa, the sooty owl; Minox maculata, spotted owl; LV. boobook, boobook owl; Chzbia bracteata, spangled dronga shrike ; Ardea sumatrana, great billed heron; Porzana fluminea, spotted water crake ; P. fabuensis, tabuan water crake; P. palustris, little water crake, and Prerodroma gouldii, great winged petrel. _ Naturat History Notre.—Mr. F. G. A. Barnard read some further notes on the life history of the butterfly /a/menus evagorus, Don. The principal exhibits of the evening were :—By Mr. D. Best, boxes of longicorn beetles (duplicates). By Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, wasps with nest from Plenty River, butterflies in illustration of notes. By Mr. A. J. Campbell, nine species of Australian birds’ eggs in illustration of his paper, those of Strv7x tenebricosa, Ninox maculata, Chibia bracteata, and Porzana fluminex, beng exhibited for first time. By Mr. A. Coles, pair tippet grebes (mounted) with young, and egg. By Mr.C. French, jun., eggs of Australian tippet grebe, hoary-headed grebe, black-throated grebe, straw- necked ibis, and little water-crake from Victoria, and red-necked rail from Queensland. By Mr. W. R. Guilfoyle, flowers of three different coloured varieties of ucalyptus ficifolia (F.v.M.), “Scarlet flowering gum-tree” from Broken Inlet, Western Aust- ralia, grown at Melbourne Botanical Gardens. By Mr. R. Hall, fresh-water and marine shells. By Master G. Hill, case of coleop- tera. By Master H. Hill, case of Victorian house-building lepi- doptera, also specimens from the Hot Lakes, New Zealand. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, 32 birds in illustration of paper; large collection of this season’s birds’ eggs from King Island; also eges from South Australia. By Mr. A. H.S. Lucas, M.A., sea- urchin Gonocidaris tubaria, also two fish ( Chilobranchus rufus and Syngnathus margaritifer) new to Victoria. By Mr. G. Lyell, jun., butterfly Aeteronympha cordace, from Jindivick, Gippsland. By Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., rare and partly new Aus- tralian plants. By Mr. F. Pitcher, orchids, Ovthoceras strictum, and Cryptostylis longifolia, from Frankston and Langwarrin. By Mr. C. Yelland, specimens of Stzophanthus, a poisonous plant from Central Africa. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 141 AN HOUR ON A CORAL ISLAND.—BY A STUDENT OF LICHENOLOGY. By Rev. R. F. M. WILSON. (Read before the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 10th December, 1888.) 16TH October, 1884.—On board one of tne Orient line of steamers on the way to Australia. The ship is taking in coals at Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, 74 degrees south of the line ; and is lying at anchor inside the coral reef, with islands all around. Alongside the ship is a boat which belongs to one of the white men, an Englishman, living on the island. Some of the passengers wish to get on shore and they are crowding about the gangway. ‘Two of us wish to explore the island botanically. I wish to see what it has in the way of lichens. My companion, a Victorian clergyman and a member of this club, takes a special interest in mosses ; but he does not expect much in that line. We both edge forward through the crowd towards the ladder. At length permission is got to use the boat, and there is a bit of a rush to getin. My companion and I are among the first. I very nearly get a ducking, as a fellow-passenger stumbles into the boat and lays hold of me to steady himself. At that moment I am trying to do the very same thing, and have scarcely got my balance. He makes me lose it altogether, and down we come, but fortunately inside the boat. Well! after a little confusion we shove off. A motley crew we are: three young Roman Catholic priests, two Presbyterian ministers—no longer young, a rollicking Irishman, who is an inn- keeper in Australia ; one or two wild young Englishmen, with a fowling-piece among them ; two Victorian musicians, and a few others, of whose nationalities and occupations I know nothing. The Irishman takes an oar ; but after catching crabs several times and fouling the oars occasionally, he is deposed, and one of the priests is promoted to his place. ‘The priest is a slight improve- ment—only slight, however. ‘The other oars are in rather better hands; but the passengers are excited and restless. Fortunately the water is comparatively smooth. When we get about half a a mile from the ship, and see the land so apparently far off, say a mile, and the waves pretty high, I begin to think that, if I had known what an unsailorly and careless lot we were, I would have perhaps—but here we are, and in due course we get safely to land. The shore is composed of broken and water-worn pieces of coral of various sorts ; and, where we land, it slopes up to about 4ft. or 5 ft. high. Bushes are growing close to the water’s edge, and trees of several kinds rise up beyond them. I leap on shore. As I look round I feel my ignorance very deeply. Not 142 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. only the species, but the very families of some of the plants are quite strange to me. It is all as unlike Victorian vegetation as it can be. Instead of the narrow, drooping frondage of Australia, the leaves here are large, broad, and umbrageous. The majority of the trees are cocoanut. I step forward to them, and am soon in a deep shade, which is very pleasant after rowing under the tropical sun. ‘The green tinge which is cast upon everything by the light coming through the cocoanut leaves is remarkable and very refreshing after the glare of the open sea. Hallo! What can that be? If I were in Australia I would say it was a rabbit that popped down that hole. But, of course, there are no rabbits here. Again! Another has bolted round that tree. I run round, and see two large crabs backing up into a crevice, and threatening me with huge open claws. I leave the poor creatures alone. I believe they live on the cocoanuts, and that they are themselves good eating. I might secure a specimen. But I am in a hurry to study the vegetation, for I have only an hour on the island. I gather a few cocoanuts, and a few flowers, some of them very remarbable and interesting. Among them I gladly recognize the well-known form of the convolvulus; but the leaves are new to me, and the seeds are very large and very hard. Lichens, however, are what I am after. And here they are! What a beautiful one on that tree—the colour a splendid greenish blue, the shape circular, and about 6 in. in diameter. How regu- larly the narrow divisions of the thallus are arranged! And the black apothecia scattered round the centre add to the beauty of the plant. It is evidently a Pzyscia. I select one or two smaller specimens, and, taking out my knife, cut off the lichens along with the very thick bark of the tree, and wrap them up in newspaper, with which I came plentifully supplied. I come out of the deep shade and find another, apparently the same /hyscia, but it is white, doubtless from the action of the sun. However, I cannot stop to examine closely. Hah! what is it that gives such vivid colours to the stems of those cocoanut trees >—yellow and orange, rich brown and snowy white. Lichens, I see; and apparently Verrucarias. Here are some Graphidea,; and there are other forms new to me. I get excited, I collect largely of each kind, pushing on through the grove of cocoanuts, but keeping my eye on the direction I am going ; for I have not been a traveller in the Aus- tralian bush without learning prudence. My carefulness, however, is very much thrown away ; for I soon come to the other side of the island, which seems to be no more than half or three-quarters of a mile across at this part. I am now on the ocean side of the island. I notice a cocoanut lying on the shore with a yourg green shoot rising up from it to a height of 18in. or so. It has thrown a vigorous root THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. (143 down into the broken and disintegrated coral, which forms the subsoil of the island. How wonderfully suited the cocoanut is for growth on these coral islands! No doubt this nut has fallen from a tree on some island to the east of this, and from some tree over- hanging the sea. Its thick husk and hard shell preserved it as it floated on the ocean and was rubbed and bruised on the coral. By the action of the wind and waves it was landed on the shore. And here it has rooted, and here it will grow into a tree, asking no other soil than the rotten coral with its polyp remains, and no other moisture than the salt water. By the by, I am informed that fresh water can be got almost anywhere on the island by sinking a well 8ft. or roft. deep. This is very remarkable, for the whole island scarcely exceeds toft. high at any part. I am told also that coral islands often have an unpleasant smell. I suppose this must arise from the dead polyps in the coral. I perceive no unpleasant smell here, however. But that may arise from this island not being one of very recent formation ; perhaps, © also, from the depth of the soil, for, in passing through the grove, I noticed that there is a good thick coat of vegetable soil over the coral, evidently formed by the large quantity of foliage which falls from the cocoanut and other trees, and is rotted down by the frequent heavy rains of the tropics. It seems to be characteristic of the phanerogamous plants grow- ing here that the seeds are in every case, so far as I have seen, defended by a thick episperm, sometimes hard and glossy and sometimes tough and stringy. They are thus well suited to float on the sea from one shore to another. And this is the only apparent means of their transportation ; for there are very few, if any, frugivorous birds on the island. Those young Englishmen have evidently not found many birds, for I have scarcely heard a shot from their fowling-piece ; and it is very likely that the report or two which I have heard was not from their shooting at a bird, for I guess that, failing a bird, they would shoot at any mark, just for the pleasure of shooting. There is one thing on the island that reminds me of Australia. The ant family is well represented here. I have no time to examine closely, and I have no means of preserving specimens ; but, from a cursory inspection, I would say that they are very like those found in Victoria. I see none quite so large as the largest of the Victorian species ; but what I do see might, from their sizes and shapes and colours, and the style of their nests, be identical with. those which inhabit Victoria. To the question how they could have found their way to a distant island like this, it is not very difficult to imagine an answer. ‘They could spread from shore to shore in the trees which are carried hither by the western currents of these seas. So that there is no reason why they should not be genuine Australian emigrants, 144 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Ah! What a large piece of bamboo! It must have been washed on the shore from some far-away land; for, of course, there are no bamboos growing here. What a lot of water-buckets could be made out of it just by sawing it across under the joints ! Its length must be from 12 ft. to 15 ft., and its diameter must be from 1 ft. to 18 inches, and nearly the same diameter all its length. It must, indeed, have been a tall stem when growing. I walk down to the water’s edge, and find among the broken and rubbed pieces of coral a large quantity of pumice stone. There must be tons of it lying on this beach. Surely it would pay to collect it and take it to England; for it is evidently just the kind of pumice that is used by painters, &c. While coming along in the ship, we saw great collections of it on the surface of the sea, blown by the wind into wreaths and carried along by the current. These wreaths I saw for about ten degrees on each side of the equator. The vast quantities of this stone floating on the sea, over twenty degrees of latitude, and lying so plentifully on the Islands of the Indian Ocean, show what a tremendous volcanic eruption there must have been a year ago at Krakatoa. For it is to that spot that the pumice is traceable. I pick upa piece or two, and continue my walk along the beach. I find a number of shells of various kinds. As I go up from the beach towards the bushes I am surprised to see more than a hundred shells of the same kind moving about under the bushes with a somewhat rapid, bobbling motion. I walk forward, and the shells stop and seem to fall flat on the ground. When I stand still for a little, they gradually rise and recommence their gro- tesque movement. I pick one up, and find it inhabited by a hermit crab. Some are large and strong, with one of their claws of a rather formidable size. I select three or four smal) ones, and wrap them up in newspaper. ‘These I took on board the ship, and supplied with food of various kinds. I brought them to Victoria, and kept them several months in my house in Kew. My children used to amuse themselves by setting the creatures to run along the verandah in the sun. The warmer the day the more quickly they ran; until, as the weather grew colder, they moved with less and less alacrity, and at last, one after the other, they died. On returning through the cocoanut grove I came across a dis- mantled mia-mia, or something of the sort, with remains of cocoa- nut husks, leaves, &c. This, I suppose, was one of the camps of the Malagasy labourers who are employed by the French on the island to collect the cocoanuts and to make copra. I believe they used to make a large quantity of cocoanut oil here, besides catching and preserving fish. Some of these Malagasies came on board the ship and brought for sale shells and other curios, including some most lovely delicate pieces of coral, which they had got from the reefs under the sea, and the forms and colours THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 145 of which cannot, I think, be surpassed in beauty by anything in nature. The hour has flown by far too rapidly, and with regret I return to the ship, leaving many species of lichen ungathered, and a most interesting botanical field unexplored. NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE WESTERN WIMMERA. By C. Frencu, F.L.S. (Read before the Field Naturatists’ Club of Victoria, 12th November, 1888.) Mr. CHAIRMAN, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN,—The following brief notes have been collected during a flying visit, and a very limited stay, to the so-called Tatiara country, now generally known as the Western Wimmera ; and this portion of Victoria may be said to commence beyond Dimboola, extending to the Adelaide border. For some time past I had had a desire to visit that portion of the colony on which the newly-formed railway township of Serviceton now stands ; and, for the information of those who are not acquainted with the district, I may state that Serviceton is the last station in Victorian territory, on the overland line between Melbourne and Adelaide, distance 300 odd miles or so from Melbourne. I left Melbourne by the 4.6 p.m. express and reached Service- ton at 3.5 on the following morning; and being anxious to see the place as soon as possible, I sat in the arm-chair before the fire—the morning being very chilly—until daylight, when I went out to look at the country and to see what would be my probable chances in the botanical line. My first impressions of Serviceton were not of the most cheerful nature, the township being situated in a low, damp place, covered with bog holes, which were filled with water, blocks of wood having been fixed in front of the doors of many of the houses so as “to enable the occup.nts to pass from one house to the other, and mud everywhere. I found, also, that, instead of this place being, as I had supposed, quite a newly-settled locality, it is in reality the centre of an extensive squatting district, Lockhart station, now owned by Mr. Tully, being a very ancient sort of place; and I soon found out, what I ought to have known before, that sheep runs, whether old or new, are not favourable grounds for the plant hunter, the station itself being but three miles or so from the railway station. Wandering about for a couple of hours or so before breakfast, I could plainly see that the neighbourhood of Serviceton is not a good one for plants—I mean for flowering plants—but I have no doubt that many cryptogams of interest 146 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. may be found, if carefully looked for ; but as Baron von Mueller was anxious that I should try, if possible, to make some additions to the Victorian flora, so as yet to be in time for insertion in the ‘“ Key,” I paid more attention to the flowering plants than I might otherwise have done. As.on my last trip to Lake Albacutya district, I was very much surprised to see so many introduced weeds growing here, there, and everywhere, the well-known Cape weed, Cryptostemma calendulacea, being very common; ranun- culi, lychnis, sonchus, and’ many other well-known weeds being in great numbers, and from between which the beautiful Szazv- sonia procumbens pushed forth its pretty lavender-colouréd, pea- shaped flowers. Returning to the hotel for breakfast, I could judge, from what little I had seen, that I should be losing my time in hunting for plants anywhere near the township; so I engaged a trap and drove out to the Mallee, distance to the N.W. about 9 miles. The place for miles was fairly one continuous chain of mud holes, interspersed with saline flats, covered with surface-water ; and the day being very hot, the mosquitoes were in clouds—huge fellows, with a long proboscis—and were very annoying to both men and horses. Lockhart station is very prettily situated on an eminence above the so-called Tatiara Creek—why this is called a creek did not seem very clear, as It is simply an old watercourse, and, although now so wet and green, is, I understand, quite burned. up during the summer months. In the neighbourhood of the station, and for miles around it, everything has been eaten down by sheep, even the prickly-box (Bursaria spinosa) having been bitten down to a low stunted shrub of about 2 ft. high, and in one of these tussocks I found a specimen of Dampiera rosmarinifolia, a somewhat rare plant. We now came to a paddock—in which grew thousands of plants in full bloom—of Cvraspedia Richea, Chamescilla, Hypoxis, Bulbine, and many other of our commonest Melbourne plants, and these I, of course, did not collect. The Mallee was reached in due course, but such a desolate place —not a plant in bloom save a few Eucalyptus gracilis and two or three acacias. I found a few specimens of a dwarf Cassinia, on which the flowers of last season still adhered. The dog and rabbit proof fence runs through this belt of Mallee, which looked as dry and barren as the former part of the drive from Serviceton looked wet and miserable ; but had I had time, I should have much liked to have gone through along this line to Albacutya—distance, I believe, some sixty or seventy miles in a direct line; to travel this distance, however, water would have to be carried in canvas water-bags, and this means, of course, time and trouble. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 147 Having had a few hours in the Mallee, we had lunch, and rested the horses ; and here, in a shallow pool, I found a few specimens of two species of fresh-water shells, which belongs probably to the genus Physa (?), or near to it. On our way home, we started clouds of ducks, also a few cranes; and the pretty little native hen (Zrzbonyx) were very common indeed, and had time permitted we might, I think, have found several of their nests. We arrived at the township about dark, so I resolved to go on to Border Town the next morning, and work back towards Albacutya. I found, however, that [ had a couple of hours to spare before starting, so I went out to a large piece of land fenced off for a water reserve, expecting to find something of interest; but in this I was disappointed, nothing but the wretched weeds and long coarse grass everywhere, so, having waded about through the mud for some time, I got back, and started for Border Town. I had intended to have stayed for a day at the Wolseley station, about seven or eight miles from Serviceton, but the district is, I was informed, an agricultural one, and as it did not look particularly inviting, I pushed on, arriving at Border Town about noon. The old settlement of Border Town is one of the prettiest places I have visited, being beautifully situated on the banks of a creek, which is very picturesque, tall specimens of the red-gum (Lucalypius rostrata) \ining its banks on both sides. This creek is however, I believe, dry in the summer. Being anxious to stay here for some days I “put up” at the Woolshed Hotel, the proprietor of which, Mr. Ward, very kindly gave me much valuable information about the district, also as to the most likely places for plants. The country around Border Town is to the N.W. mallee, interspersed with box (fucalyptus largiflorens) flats, on which grew many of the little terrestrial orchids which are to be found so common in our Cheltenham and Brighton districts. The Mallee, which extends for an immense distance right into and through the Ninety-mile Desert, is not nearly of such a dreary and sterile nature as that near Serviceton. Many very beautiful shrubs, as Laeckea crassifolia, B. Behrii, Styphelia Sonderi, S. costata, &c., being found growing there in consider- able numbers. The scrub is, however, swarming with rabbits, which burrow in the sand, and otherwise do much damage to the crops and grass in the neighbourhood. I have said that I reached Border Town at noon, so I spent the afternoon in the Mallee with some young people whom Mr. Ward had kindly sent out with me, and who knew the best places for collecting. I did very well, and got a number of good 148 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. plants. We got back by dark, and I was very well satisfied with our afternoon’s work. The Salvation Army have a branch here, and whether intentional or otherwise, I noticed that so long as I stayed at the hotel these good people, with their band (which consisted of a very vigorous cornet, drum, and triangle), used nightly to pay us a visit, and perform close to the window of the room in which I used to lay out my plants after having had dinner. Near to the settlement are two camps of blacks, and being anxious to procure some eggs for my son, I drove over on our way out to try to induce them to collect, as there were two grown-up lads amongst them; and, having shown them the blow- pipe process, they promised to devote two days to collect a pair of such eggs as was to be found in the district. I was much pleased at the prospect, and, in an evil moment, gave them some silver to procure, as they said, ‘‘some baccy”; but, instead of this, they, it seems, went down to the township, and purchased two new loaves and some mutton, the result being that when I returned from my trip (which lasted two days), I found them barely able to walk, let alone to climb trees. They had not been out to look for eggs—another instance of the truth of the old saying, never to pay beforehand. I felt very much disgusted ; so, after using some slightly powerful language in disapproval of their conduct, I left them. This little incident has strengthened my previous convictions with regard to the Australian aboriginals, viz., that they will not work if they can at all help it, the proverbial Yarra-bank loafer being, in my opinion, a smart business man compared with the average Australian blackfellow. On the way out to the country lying to the N.W. of Border Town, and working back into Victorian territory, we came across some very good places for plants ; and it was close to the dis- puted boundary where I found Xerotes juncea, new to Victoria, it having previously been found in Western Australia only. I saw a good many plants of it, but only the one in flower. The country about here is very like the place where I had left off last year, and many of the plants found were identical with those found at and near Chinaman’s Flat, amongst the best of them being Boronia jilipes, Melaleuca Wilsonit, Prostanthera chlorantha (out of flower), Acacia farinosa v. glabra, &c., &c. Keeping a north-westerly direction, on the way out to Red Bluff station, we came across, also, some very likely country for plants; and about here were seen numerous tracks of kangaroos and wild dogs, the latter being much too numerous in this scrubby country. Thanks, however, to a plentiful supply of strychnine, coupled with a constant vigilance, these dingo pests have been consider- ably thinned out. Flocks of the southern stone plover were THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 149 every now and then started, and in the miserable stringy-bark ranges birds of many kinds are very numerous. In the mallee are to be found several kinds of ants, one of them being a large black and yellow bull-dog ant. These fellows are far more pug- nacious than any which I knew of before, as they jump about after the style of the little and well-known black ant, with the yellow mandibles, commonly known as jumpers. I was much amused at the real fightable nature or disposition of these large ants, as, when we approached the mound or nest, they sallied out in droves, advancing in all directions, stopping every now and then to sting the sand, but for what purpose I could not make out. 1 had my forceps with me, and, upon closer examination, I found they had very formidable stings, and seemed very anxious to use them. ‘This species I found only in the dense mallee, and do not recollect ever to have seen it before. In the flats which we crossed on the return journey to Border Town I noticed that the small plants—as Zoxanthus Muelleri, Drosera, &c., &c.—were the same as those which grow so common in and around Dimboola, although I did not see a single plant of Aster pimeleoides, the handsome white shrub which I saw last year on my way up from Dimboola to Albacutya. Having reached the hotel, I learned that a gentleman had called during our absence and reported having seen “ a regular flower garden of wild flowers.” So, the next morning, we made an early start, and drove out about eighteen miles S.E. from Border Town, passing Nelanj station, which is very prettily situated on an eminence, in country quite English and park-like. Upon arrival at our destination, we found the said flower garden to be—well, simply the finest patch of Lpacris impressa that I, at least, had ever seen, the plants being very robust and the flowers of the most intense, dark- crimson colour, but beyond these, and a few very pretty white Styphelias, there was nothing else ; so I felt somewhat dis- appointed. Returning homeward, we crossed some very wet flats, in which the Odtelia was just making its appearance; and, from a few straggling plants of Hutaxza empetrifolia, I collected a good many specimens, and near to some farm houses which we passed were numbers of the native hen before mentioned. [ had no idea that they were so tame as they were amongst the domestic fowls and ducks. Amongst the box trees, many of which were in flower, I noticed several kinds of parrots, the Rose Hill, Pennants, and Swift Lorikeet being the most numerous ; and the large gum trees here were covered with a white scale-insect (not lerp), which was quite new to me. ‘This I intend to send, with others, to Mr. Maskell, of New Zealand, whose labours amongst the Coccide is so well known and appreciated. ‘There are a good many lizards in this neighbourhood, our old friend the “ wallops,” or stump 150 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. tail, being very common. I brought one home alive, and my little girl used to feed it regularly ; but one day it bit her very severely on the forefinger, and, whether intentional or not, it was with some difficulty that it was made to relinquish its hold. The top of the finger became quite black and discoloured, but the bite, although painful, was, of course, not poisonous ; still the lesson gained by simply feeding a wallop will not have been thrown away. I did not see any snakes, as these reptiles are, I believe, scarce; but I had a very pretty little specimen of the ringed snake, “ Vermicilla,” given me. It was taken out of an old mallee stump, near to Lake Hindmarsh. I had hoped to have been able to spend a few days in the Ninety-mile Desert; but, upon my arrival back at Border Town, I read a telegram informing me of the illness of my wife, so I had very reluctantly to make a start for home much earlier than I had expected. What little time I had to spare was spent in collecting near the Victorian boundary, and it was here I found the rare Styphelia Woodsii ; and, in a drain alongside the road, I was fortunate enough to find Lepilena australis, a plant also new for Victoria, and only previously recorded from Western Australia. Baron von Mueller, who has been kind enough to identify these plants for me, was very pleased to be able to add these two inter- esting plants to the Victorian flora. I had now to leave for home ; so, after making a short run up towards Mount Monster, I left Border Town by the midday train for Serviceton, which was reached in good time. I left the next morning for Diapur Town, about twenty-five miles nearer to Dimboola, and reached there at g a.m. I spent the day in collecting, and found it a very good place for plants, the mallee reaching to within a few hundred yards of the township. Diapur Town, I may explain, is an agri- cultural district, wheat-growing being carried on rather extensively, as many as 25,000 bags of wheat being stored at the railway station a few weeks prior to my being there. The country to the S.W. is composed of dwarf stringy-bark ranges, very dry and poor, contrasting strongly with that to the N.W. and S.E., which is open grass country, lightly covered with casuarina (bull oak) and box (£. lazgifiorens). In the Mallee flats, I saw large numbers of plants of the beautiful pink-flowered melaleuca, JZ. Wilsonii, but as it was too early for the flowers, I had to content myself by collecting a nice lot of seed-capsules. Some very robust plants of Callistemon, also not yet in bloom, were common enough in the old and now dried-up water-courses. The beautiful yellow-flowering shrub, Arzostemon Jlepidotus (variety, stexophyllus), is very common about Diapur Town, and this fine plant would, I am sure, be a welcome addition to our shrubberies. In the drier parts of the Mallee I noticed a great variety of THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 151 ants, also a good many small lizards, and coming to a pool of water I saw’growing in it plenty of chara, also a plant or two of Limosella Curdieana. Tracks of dingoes were very plentiful near this pool. The dwarf stringy-bark (£2. capitellata) seems to extend for an immense distance ; and where this tree is found, the place is poverty itself, the sandy, loamy soil having the appearance of baked sand, which in some places is as hard as rock, and in others quite soft. The porcupine grass is very common in most of these stringy-bark patches. In the Mallee I found some very pretty shrubs, one (Daviesia pectinata) being of a very singular form, and not unlike the well-known garden shrub, Col/etia. It struck me as singular that nearly all of the above plants were dead, and although I saw—I may say—hundreds of them, I was only able to get the very small specimen (not in flower) which I show you, with my other plants, this evening. Thryptomene ciliata, Grevillea tlictfolza, and several other pretty shrubs grow here in great quantities, and Diapur Town would be well worthy of a visit about the months of October..and November. I must not forget to mention that there was a grand school féte on the night which I was at Diapur Town, and the children, under the able guidance of my old friend, Miss Turner, sang splendidly, and would, I am sure, have done credit to many a school of much greater pretensions. The schoolhouse was very prettily and tastefully decorated with wild flowers, from which I got a Grevillea I had not previously met with. I left Diapur Town by the 8 a.m. train, passing several flocks of the native companion (Grus Australicnsts) on the way, and in a few hours reached Dimboola, where I remained all day. Little to interest me at Dimboola, I having pretty well exhausted the distriet on the occasion of a former visit. I gota few small things as Zoxotus, Sisymbrium, &c., &c., but nothing worthy of special mention. I had almost forgotten to mention that, during my absence from Serviceton, our Mr. Bastow had visited the place, and, so far as I could learn, had been fairly successful in his particular line (mosses); and although I was much disappointed at not meeting him, I am very pleased to hear of his success, and trust that he will give the club the benefit of any researches which he may have made on that occasion. Having made.arrangements with several persons to collect plants, I left Dimboola at 1 a.m., and reached Melbourne at 9.30 on the following morning. Upon the whole I was fairly successful, having been absent but eight days, during which time I collected about 76 species of plants in flower (the very common weeds, &c., I did not collect), two of which were 152 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. additions to the flora of Victoria, and altogether about 600 specimens. In insects I did little or nothing, as I was too early, and my time was too short. Appended is a list of such plants collected as Baron von Mueller considers to be worthy of special notice; and those marked with an asterisk are, in my opinion, well worthy of cultivation :— LIST OF PLANTS CONSIDERED TO BE RARE. Those marked * are worthy of cultivation. ee farinosa, v. glabra * Diuris palustris >, vigens v. tenuior * Dampiera rosmarinifolia Eas bes obliq ua * Hriostemon lepidotus, var. * Adenanthos Feit nals Lepilena australis 9 Doronta: filifolia Leptomeria aphylla » coerulea, v. alba * Melaleuca Wilsonii ee ericoides * Pultenea prostrata Choretrum glomeratum Santalum Persicarium Cryptandra vexillifera wey yphelia costata s subochreata 35) W oodsii Chorizandra euodis “4 adscendens * Didymotheca pleiococca Toxanthus Muelleri * Daviesia pectinata *Templetonia Muelleri * ,, brevifolia *NXerotes juncea WE are pleased to notice that Mr. W. E. Matthews, F.C.S., F.L.S.,°and a member of the F.N.C. of Victoria, has been appointed director of the new School of Mines, at Maryborough, Victoria. Tue LarGEst TREE IN THE WoRLD.—In a letter to the A7gus, dated 16th January, Mr. David Boyle, of Forest Hill, Nuna- wading, states that a eucalyptus tree (probably 4. amygdalina), growing in the ranges not 25 miles from Melbourne, has recently been measured and photographed by himself and Mr. N. J. Caire, a member of the F.N.C., and found to be 466 feet high, with a circumference 4 feet from the ground of 81 feet, and at the base of 114 feet. The tree was measured by him some ten years previously, before it lost its top, when it was 525 feethigh. Some fine photographs of other large Victorian trees were exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition, but none approached near to the dimensions of this giant of the forest. EnciisH Note.—In a recent letter from Mr. T. A. Forbes- Leith to the honorary secretary, he mentions that Pallas’s sand grouse had migrated to Britain in great numbers last season, its real habitat being the deserts of Central Asia. Mr. Leith also forwarded for the club’s library photographs of drawings of the great extinct birds, the dodo and the great auk. iol Daturalists Club of Vistoriss. President: AVG. IS.) LUCAS yoMrA: = B.Sc; THIS Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested; for the Exhibition of Specimens ; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions. to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria Street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual Subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularizing the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, cin be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets. Vol. I. (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers. 6s.; Vol. EV. (1887-88), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title- page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal notes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, etc., can be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. “& A. COLES, * Waxtoermist and Surrier, 220 ELIZABETH ST., MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order. Lessons given in Taxidermy. CG. H, MUMM & GO, Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. Sat + fs Bole Anuenits for Nictoria: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 little Collins Street Hast. FELTON, GRIMWADE & CO. CAbolesale Deng AMerchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPIGAL ACCESSORIES, GALVANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &¢., &c. LO Oe SUPERIOR STUDENTS!’ MICROSCOPES. BECK’S “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, I eye-piece, x in and Yin. objective, in case, Li 12s. 6d BECK’S ‘‘ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from £7 6s. to fir 11s. BECK’S ‘‘POPULAR” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £27 55. BECK’S “‘NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from 412 5s. to 438 tos. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. MELBOURNE: 81 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. PON FN FNS NN NIN NINN NE NO NEN ON ANNI , . an N ‘3 x , \ vi ‘ / \ . ‘ . ‘ >> ONIN IN II INDIO NINO IN INN INNS MAakCtt, 1889. al fe Che Vie grian Ae tralis THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE — OF — Che Field PAaturalists’ Club a Wictoria. eee The Author of each article is deena. for the facts and opinions ie he records. CONTENTS. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA THE GEOLOGY OF ARNHEM’s Lanp, I. By Rev. oy: E, TENISON-Woops, F.G.S., F.L.S. On VoLUutaA UNDULATA AND ALLIED SPECIES. By PRor, Re LATE, PG: Si OoLoGy OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. SUPPLEMENT V. By A. J. CAMPBELL... se bud THE PaLoLo. By Rev. Lorimer Fison, M.A. NoTEs ON AUSTRALIAN LOGANIACEA, By Baron VON MUELLER, K.C.M.G., M. AND Pu. D., F.R.S. ON THE IRRUPTION oF PALLAS’s SAND GROUSE. By PrRor, ALFRED NEWTON, M.A.. F.R.S. ge ate NOTES ON THE BUTTERFLY, IALMENUS EvagorRUS. By F, G. A. BARNARD... ae te «= PRICE SIXPENCE. *& Agents for Gurope: DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. —— 3-4-8 Alelbourne : WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, 9 MACKILLOP STREET, 1889. iimiiimiie Cie ne te tit 1 TATE'S EXPRESS, MARKET STREET. Natural History and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address in Britain. Sop. PER edie dis << Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. DI IOI I NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. AAR A AAR AAR AAA LONDON OFFICE : W. R. SUTTON and CO, GOLDEN LANE, ZC, A. JT. HATS (If'wenty Years with PAUL THOMAS), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS anno SHOES, Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. eee CASH PRICE Ss. A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. 44 SWANSTON STREET (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street, IME aE SE SC) Uae ini Ba THE Mictorian Waturalist. Vou. V.—No. 11. MARCH, 1889. No. 63. THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the club was held at the Royal Society’s Hall on Monday evening, 11th February, 1889. The president, Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B.Sc., occupied the chair, and about seventy members were present. Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., introduced as visitors Dr. Kirtikar, of Bombay, and Mr. Alex. Morton, of Hobart, who were very cordially welcomed. The former, in acknowledging his reception, mentioned the pleasure he had derived from the inspection of the private collections of two or three of the members, and expressed his willingness to do anything in his power to promote exchanges with members of the Bombay Natural History Society. Mr. Morton referred to the necessity to professional scientists of amateur observers, and the advantages to be derived from opening the museums on Sundays as in Sydney and Hobart. The hon. librarian acknowledged the receipt of the following donations to the library :—“ Proceedings of Royal Society of Canada,” 1885, 1886, and 1887, from the Society ; and “ Journal of Pharmacy,” January, 1389. The hon. secretary reported that the excursion to Heidelberg on Saturday, 19th January, had been fairly attended. Attention was principally devoted to entomology, and some twelve species of longicornes, together with a few species of other families, were obtained. On a ballot being taken, Mr. H. Pausey, Miss C. Taylor, Miss J. Taylor, and Mr. S. Wylie were duly elected members of the club. The meeting was then devoted to the reception of the report of the party who recently spent nearly a month in easternmost part of Gippsland. Professor W. Baldwin Spencer, B.A., read the report, which, 154 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. taking the form of a diary, detailed the events of the trip. The party, which consisted of five members, traversed the whole distance, some 250 miles, on foot, being accompanied by a guide and pack horses. Their route was, starting from Orbost, on the Snowy River, to the Brodribb, with a divergence to the Upper Cabbage-Tree Creek—the only locality in Victoria where the fan palm (Zivistona australis) is found in its native state—then along Bruce’s track, north-easterly over Mount Goon-merk, and on to Bendoc, then turning westward to Bonang, thence southerly to the top of Mount Ellery (4,425 ft.), from thence south-westerly to the Brodribb, and back to Orbost. The report was well illustrated with a map, and pencil and water-colour sketches of several notable groups of trees, palms, &c. The account gave rise to some little discussion, in the course ot which Baron von Mueller advocated the reservation of the palm groves, and moved a vote of thanks to Professor Spencer and the party, which was seconded by the Rev. J. J. Halley, and carried by acclamation. On the motion of Messrs. Sweet and Cornwall, it was decided to interview the Minister of Lands ze the reservation of portion of the Cabbage-Tree Creek district. [This has since been granted. —Ep. V. WV.| The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :—By Mr. P. H. Anderson 8 species of acarus, and two of hemiptera, mounted for microscope. By Mr. A. J. Campbell, a polished piece of tumana wood, or Alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum ino- phyllum), from Queensland. By Mr. J. E. Dixon, 80 species of coleoptera, from Kerrisdale, Goulburn River. By Mr. C. French, F.L.S., mounted and named botanical specimens from East Gippsland. By Mr. C. Fiost, 30 species of spiders from East Gippsland. By Mr. C. French, jun., eggs of wandering albatross, from Auckland Islands. By Mr. H. R. Hogg, specimens of poisonous spiders from Riverina.. By Mr. W. B. Jennings, fossil coral from Portland, fossil earbones of whale, dolphin, and porpoise from Cheltenham, and skull of platypus from Warrnam- bool. By Mr. E. E. Johnson, abovt 36 species of Victorian and other Australian birds. By Mr. G. A. Keartland, a white-headed stilt from Laverton. By Mr. S. Lamble, specimens of sand- encrusted roots (probably ti-tree) from Anglesea River. By Mr. M‘Gillivray, eggs of Strix delicatulus, Elanus scriptus, Haliastus sphenurus, Anas punctata (?), Peristera histrionica, and Tinnunculus cenchroides, from Eastern Creek, near Cloncurry, North Queens- land. By Mr. J. Searle, a five-legged frog from Yarrawonga. After the usual conversazzone the meeting terminated, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 155 THE GEOLOGY OF ARNHEM’S LAND, N.A. By THE Rev. J. E. Trenison-Woops, F.G.S., F.LS. (Hon. Member.) (Read before the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 10th December, 1888.) In 1886 I furnished to the South Australian Government a report on the geology of the Northern Territory. As this report is mainly occupied with the mineral riches of the colony, a little additional information on the geology of the country and its physical geography may be of interest to the Society. Seven principal formations are found in Arnhem’s Land, which may be thus enumerated in the ascending order: 1. Granite, pegmatites, &c. 2. Crystalline schists, slates, and gold- bearing reefs, with other minerals. 3. Limestones. 4. Con- glomerates (waterworn). 5. Volcanic remains and _ trap-rocks. 6. Fluviatile sandstones and conglomerates, 7. Desert sand- stone. From this enumeration it appears that the cretaceous deposits so extensively developed in Western Queensland have dis- appeared, and there does not seem to be any formation between the crystalline schists and the desert sandstone. GRANITE.—This is extensively developed in belts, all of which are of an eruptive character. It is of two kinds, pink and red granite and blue granite. Instances of the red granite in extensive tracts may be seen along the telegraph line, at the Finnis, where it forms a narrow belt, extending a long distance to the eastward ; and at Yam Creek, where it forms an unbroken mass as far as the Driffield. It is coarse-grained, with large crystals of orthoclase felspar, such as is called granite porphyry. At M‘Minn’s Bluff and other places a remarkably fine-grained granite takes the place of the granite porphyry, probably forming dykes or elvans belonging to a subsequent intrusion. The blue granite is exten- sively represented to the eastward of the telegraph line. This is also an orthoclase felspar, with Muscovite mica. Both the blue and red kinds rise into isolated hills, seldom exceeding 100 feet in height. Usually, the granite country is level, forming plains, out of which great bosses and boulders continually project. The soil is of a light sandy description, only able to support small trees and poor grasses. It is arid and waterless in the winter, and in the summer or rainy season very boggy. One may know at once, from the aspect of the country, when the underlying rock is granite. It is unmistakably an eruptive rock which has broken up the ancient formations, and therefore a newer intrusion in the geologic history of the continent. The pegmatite is a granite without mica, occupying an extensive tract at the head of the 156 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Katherine, and forming, like the granite, low broken ranges and hills) The name was bestowed upon this formation first by Leichhardt, though now almost obsolete in geology. The country formed by this rock is even poorer than that of the granite, the soil being a grey pipeclay of the most worthless description. CRYSTALLINE SCHISTS, SLATES, &c.—These form isolated patches of low, stony ranges, not exceeding 500 feet in height. The strata form a series of anticlinal folds, abounding with quartz reefs and mineral veins of gold, silver, tin, copper, lead, antimony, and other metals. I believe that these strata, which we may term archzean, have been folded into the ridges by the intrusion of the granite when the great system of the paleozoic rocks was broken up into fragments and crushed into folds. Possibly, at this time, some of the veins may have been injected. In the centre of the ranges, generally speaking, the gold is found ; while the tin, lead, silver, and copper seem more restricted to the edge of the schistose formation, or on the very boundaries between that and the granite. The archeean rocks are generally conspicuous for the large amount of mica they contain. Where metamorphic action has been very complete the rock is altered into a white quartz, with a mass of large crystals of mica (Musco- vite) three or four inches across, mingled with rich oxides of metals, especially tin. Otherwise the crystalline schists are highly variegated, and glistening with small particles of mica. They are much faulted with systems of joints which do not correspond usually with the planes of stratification. The slates are highly fissile, with lenticular masses peculiarly elongated by pressure, the longer axis being parallel to the plane of lamination. LIMESTONES.—Resting upon the southern edge of the crystalline schists is a small patch of limestone strata of not more than a few acres in extent. The strata are broken by denudation into the most fantastic figures and pinnacles. Some of the strata seem to have been much softer than others, leaving heaps and piles of overlapping layers, sometimes of hard, flaggy stones and blue limestone. The heaps of such fragments, little more than a foot in diameter, make the locality appear like a tiler’s or a potter’s yard. Strange to say that the area, small as it is, has in its centre one of the very rich silver, lead, and copper mines of Arnhem’s Land. The limestone is completely marmorized and destitute of fossils. It is, however, easy to see that it belongs to a very ancient system, not later than the paleozoic. There is, however, another lime- stone outcrop on the edge of the desert sandstone, and forming a broken stony country like the desert sandstone itself, on the sides of the valley of the Katherine River, near the telegraph station, about 200 miles south of Palmerston. This limestone has an old look, being completely marmorized, though there THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 157 is none of that peculiar stratified or tiled structure which is visible at the Eveleen mine already referred to. I believe it is the same formation, but I do not understand its relation to the edge of the table-land with which it seems to be associated. A similar formation is seen on the side of the Victoria River, with large crystals of calcite. In both cases I was unable to ascertain its stratigraphical position. CoNGLOMERATES.—Lying upon the top of the granite, and underlying the desert sandstone, there are patches of con- glomerate in which the pebbles are perfectly rounded and aver- aging a gauge of three inches or so. There are no fossils, and the formation is one due to fluviatile, and not marine action. The pebbles are derived from the crystalline schists. There may be some formed of granite pebbles also, but of this I cannot be sure. As to its age, nothing more can be stated than that it is subsequent to the intrusion of the granite, and may be as late as tertiary. Since it was deposited, the granite has been cut down to a depth of 100 feet and more by rain and rivers. The base of the next formation is a conglomerate too; and they may not be distinct formations, only in some places the earlier bed is completely isolated, and forms beds without sand- stone, resting on the granite, about 10 feet in thickness. It is highly ferruginous at the base, and thus may be distinguished from the quartz conglomerate in the strata above, which forms large boulders and coarse gravel of milk-white colour, but com- pletely waterworn. Votcanic Rocks, Dykes, &c.—AIgneous rocks are very common throughout Arnhem’s Land, and have played an important part in the form of dykes as well as extinct craters and intrusion of ancient lavas. Of the latter there is an extensive outflow at the Margaret River, 114 miles south of Palmerston, on the telegraph line, forming a rich tract of good agricultural country. The rock is diorite, that is, a well-marked crystalline and granular admixture of triclinic felspar and hornblende of dark-green colour to greenish black. It forms intrusive sheets rising into low ridges, with much broken stone upon the surface decomposing into a reddish-brown rock. Probably this forma- tion is one of the ancient trap-rocks of the country. At about ten miles north of the Katherine River, on the telegraph line, there is a volcanic area of several hundred square miles, with very rugged hil!s and peaks rising to a height of four or five hundred feet. I did not examine the locality closely, but I encamped on a creek at the junction of the trap-rocks with the edge of the limestone table-land. The rocks were tertiary, with much vesicular basalt and chrysolite (olivine). A dyke of light- coloured rock, like some of the altered miocene basalts of Victoria, was much used by the natives for the manufacture of 158 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. flint implements and weapons. The ground around my encamp- ment was extensively strewn with flakes and chips, showing that the locality was one to which the natives had had recourse for stone weapons for ages. Other volcanic areas were to be found east and west of Port Darwin, and at the head of the Victoria and Fitzmaurice rivers. Isolated hills, which may have been points of ejection of volcanic material, diversify these areas, which are always more fertile than the surrounding country, with black soil and nutritious grasses. Fisher and Stevens’ station, at the head of the Victoria River, is on such a volcanic tract. Besides these trap-rocks, all through Arnhem’s Land one meets continually with an outcrop of a blue, compact, particularly hard, igneous rock, which runs parallel with the ranges of crys- talline schists. It is probably an ancient rock, for it stands out in lines of flags six or eight feet high like gravestones, mostly in the valleys or flats at the base of the hills. There are also many dykes of basalts and dolerites with small porphyritic crystais of labradorite, cropping out in the granite, pegmatite, and crystalline schists. (To be concluded in our next. ON VOLUTA UNDULATA AND ALLIED SPECIES. By Proressor RaLpu Tate, F.G.S. (Hon. Member). (Read before the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 12th November, 1888.) Tuis very beautiful and very distinct volute, singularly remarkable for its undulating colour-lines, has been known by figure and description for nearly three-quarters of a century; and though frequently described and illustrated up to the last three or four years, yet the conchologists of the country which produces it actually do not know it correctly. Lamarck figured it in “ Ann. du Mus.” vol. v., p. 157, t. 12, fig. 1, and it was described: by him (“ Animaux Sans Vert.,” vol. vil., part i, p. 345, 1822) from specimens obtained by Peron, the naturalist to the French Exploring Expedition, under the com- mand of Captain Baudin (1800-4), in Bass Straits and Maria Island. The locality in Bass Straits is probably King Island, as the exploring ships sheltered there for a considerable number of days. hain, had we any doubt about the identification of the Lamarckian species, Quoy and Gaimard’s interpretation of it should set us right. The admirable figures of the shell and animal of this species given by these authors are of specimens collected by them at Western Port, in Victoria. During the last twenty-five years an allied species has THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 159 been known to occur in South Australian waters, which has usurped the Lamarckian title through an inexplicable blunder of local naturalists. Thus, Angas in Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865, p. 165, says, “This species (that is, the South Australian one) must not be confounded with the Tasmanian species hitherto known also as V. undulata, which has been lately accorded specific rank by Mr. Sowerby under the name of V. Angasi in the ‘Thesaurus,’ fig. 99, sp. 73; and again, in 1867, loc. cit., p. 193, says, “‘ The true V. undulata, Lamarck, is from Port Lincoln.” The Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, in “ Proc. Roy. Soc., Tasmania,” 1877, says, “That this species Voluta Angasi, Sow., was long confounded with V. undulata, which it closely resembles.” Petterd, in “‘ Jour. Conchology,” 1879, p. 342, falls into the same error, recording V. undulata, Lamk., from South Australian coast, and V. Azgasi, Sow., from Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales. Lastly, Tryon, in his ‘‘ Manual of Conchology,” vol. iv., p. 92, suppresses the name of V. Angasz, but as the figure to which he applies that name represents /. undulata, it seems to me probable that he had not the two species before him. It is pretty clear that the Voluta undulata of Lamarck, and of Quoy and Gaimard, has had the name of V. Angasz given to it by Angas, Woods, Petterd, and others, and that they have given Lamarck’s name to the South Australian shell. The rectification of this blunder involves a new designation for the South Australian volute. The synonyms of the two will stand thus :— 1. VOLUTA UNDULATA. Lamarck, id Quoy, and Gaimard. V. Angast. Sowerby and others. Hab., coasts of Bass Straits, Port Jackson, and Port Stephens. . 2. VOLUTA ANGASI, spec. nov. V. undulata. Angas and others (non Lamarck). ffab. Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay, South Australia. Whatever value we may attach to the differences between the two shells, yet, for classificatory purposes, the differences are so constant that it is not possible to make confusion :—Firstly, in respect of shape, V. uzdulata has a shorter spire, smaller pullus, and the last whorl is somewhat protuberant round the posterior part, in consequence of which there is a slight concavely-depressed area in front of the suture. The lip of the adult of V. Angasi is slightly ascending posteriorly, and the post-angulation of the aperture is not so pronounced as in V. uxdulata. Secondly, in respect of colouration ; here the differences are very conspicuous. The reddish-coloured transverse lines in V. uadulata are sharply and deeply plicate ; whereas, in V. Angast, the undulations are little more than somewhat sharp insinuations. The three following species, occurring in Bass Straits, are 160 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. usually regarded as mere individual variations of V. undulata ; and though my knowledge of them is limited to the excellent figures accompanying Dr. Cox’s descriptions, yet, from my general acquaintance with the genus, recent and fossil, I am well dis- posed to accord them specific rank. V. SCLATERI is more angulated posteriorly, and the slope of the spire is less regular, than in V. wxdulata, apart from the absence of colour. V. Kinci, another uniformly coloured shell, cas by its convex spire whorls. V. AUSTRALIZ has too small a pullus, and is too narrow to be the young of /” uwzdulata, irrespective of the style of colouration, which resembles that of V. fusiformis. OOLOGY OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. By A. J. CAMPBELL. (Read before the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 14¢h Fanuary, 1889.) SUPPLEMENT.—PART V. 30. STRIX TENEBRICOSA—(Sooty Owl). Zocalé¢y—Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. &gg—In shape almost round, colour white, surface dead (z.e., devoid of lustre or polish), shell slightly granulated. Length, 1 inch 9# lines; breadth, 1 inch 7} lines. This egg was taken at Pimpana, Southern Queensland, by a collector (who also produced the bird) of Mr. A. Coles, our skilful taxidermist. 37. NINoxX mMacuLaTtA—(Spotted Owl). Locality—South Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. &£gg—Nearly round, both ends alike in shape, white, surface slightly polished. Length, 1 inch 7 lines; breadth, 1 inch 44 lines. This is the smallest owl in Australia, and I am indebted to our honorary member, Mr. E. D. Atkinson, of Tasmania, for this example. Authenticated eggs of the Boobook Owl, in my own col- lection, are larger than the Spotted by ? line on either dimension. I learn from Mr. A. E. Brent, who has taken many nests of the Spotted Owl in Tasmania, that a clutch of two eggs is deposited in a hollow tree generally about the first week in November. Eggs have also been taken at Christmas, probably laid by some bird whose eggs had been taken earlier in the season ; but, whether by the same bird or not, the same nesting hollow is often resorted to season after season. Another fact worth recording is the curious method whereby the birds store dead mice about the THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 161 hollow, in the splinters and cracks ; and when food is abundant some of the little carcasses are there left to dry up like mummies. At this time I am pleased to be able to add two descriptions of owls’ eggs to our oological lore, especially as many species of these birds have been brought prominently under our notice by their presence in great numbers in Victoria this season. It has been conjectured that the wonderful migration of mice that tock place in the interior, or the prevailing dearth in the more northern parts, or both, are the cause. In parts, I understand, they were observed “as thick as bats,” hawking all night round haystacks for mice. By way of reminder, I should like to mention that all these useful vermin destroyers are perpetually protected in Victoria, and partially in Queensland and South Australia. It is to be hoped that the other colonies will immediately follow suit. 132. CHIBIA BRACTEATA—(Spangled Dronga-Shrike). Locality —Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria (1885), Tasmania (1888). _£gg—Longish and gracefully shaped, colour of a deli- cate pinkish blush or tint, sparingly speckled with pinkish red and purple and a few spots of chestnut, except upon the apex, or larger end, where the markings thicken, and in some instances amalgamate. The eggs are exceedingly pretty, and at first sight resemble a light variety of the better known eggs of the Friar Bird (P/clemon corniculatus). Dimensions of a LER 1) 1 inch 3 lines x 104 lines; (2) 1 ee 3 lines x 102; (3) 1 inch 2# lines x 107; and (4) 1 inch 2? lines x ro} lines. According to Mir Coles’ collector, the nest containing the above was taken at Wonga Wallan, Southern Queensland. It was very loosely constructed of vinelets (so much so that the eggs were visible from below) and placed in a “ stringybark ” tree. 480d. ‘TURNIX SCINTILLANS—(Speckled Turnix, or Quail). Locality—West Australia. &gg—Inclined to be pear-shaped in form. Colour, ‘‘ pepper and “salt,” or very finely and uniformly speckled over the whole surface with light brown, grey, and dark purple or black. In some specimens the brown and grey speckles prevail. Length, 1 inch 1 line; breadth, 10}-11 lines. 546. ARDEA SUMATRANA—(Great-billed Heron). Localtty— North Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales. /gg—An example from Dr. Kutter’s collection, taken in the Moluccas, is light bluish green, a very long oval, and measures 2 inches 8 lines x I inch 7} lines. 564. PoRPHYRIO BELLUS—(Azure-breasted Porphyrio-Coot). Locality—West Australia. Agg—Form, ova], slightly swollen towards the larger end. Colour, deep warm S “one, fairly marked with spots and patches or blotches of purplis th brown of various 162 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. shades, the dull shades appearing as if under the shell’s surface. Length, 2 inches 24-3} lines; breadth, 1 inch 7% lines. ANOUS MELANOGENyS (Black-cheeked Noddy Tern). Locality—Coast of North Queensland and throughout Polynesia. Egg—Of a soft, warm, white colour, sparingly smudged and spotted with rusty brown, the markings being generally confined to the larger end of the shell. A few clouded markings also appear underlying the shell’s surface. Dimensions fairly regular ; average of six examples is 1 inch 9} lines x 1 inch 34 lines. The Rev. F. M. Nobbs, who kindly forwarded specimens, informs me that this tern breeds on Norfolk Island during December. It breeds in colonies. One egg only is deposited in a nest of sea- weed, very firmly secured to branches of trees. Some nests are placed on large trees, half a mile inland ; others on dwarf scrub, close to the sea shore. (A. J. C., Victorian Naturalist, September, 1888.) LaRUS LONGIROSTRIS — (Long-billed Gull). Locality—West Australia. £gg—Long in shape, of a light olive colour, fairly distributed all over with spots and patches of darker olive and grey, the latter colour, as usual, appearing as if under the shell’s surface. Length, 2 inches 2 lines; breadth, r inch 5 lines. 573. PORZANA FLUMINEA (Spotted Water Crake). ocality— Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. #ge—Ground colour pale olive, very minutely freckled with reddish brown, and also fairly distributed with larger mark- ings, or round blotches, of reddish and purplish brown. Shell comparatively strong, finely grained, and surface polished. The eggs resemble in a remarkable degree Porphyrio and Gallinule’s eggs in miniature. Length, 1 inch 3 lines; breadth, 103 lines. I am indebted to Mr. E. D. Atkinson for the pleasure of first examining and describing a set of these rare and interesting eggs. It may be remembered, in describing the eggs of Lewin’s Rail (Hypotenidia brachipus ), in my last “Supplement,” I stated that Gould had in error described one of the Povzane@—an error quite pardonable, considering the similar habits of both birds. It will now be seen there is no room to doubt that the Spotted Crake’s eggs were taken by the great author for the Rail’s. Mr. A. E. Brent, by the aid of a favourite Gordon setter, was very successful in finding three of the Spotted Crake’s nests in the reedy lagoons formed by the overflow of the River Derwent, in Tasmania, and, therefore, had ample opportunities for identi- fying the birds. He states that two nests contained each four eggs, and the other five. It was about the first week in Novem- ber. The nests were among bunches of rushes, partly on the water and constructed of aquatic weeds for foundation, and lined with soft “band” grass, which was damp. A staging or track led up from the water to the nest. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 163 The eggs in my own collection (a set of four) were from Slab Creek, South Queensland. They are similar in every respect to the Tasmanian eggs, with the following dimensions in lines, viz. : —(1) 144 x 102; (2) 14x 104; (3) 154 x 11; and (4) 14x 103. In the case otf this nest, it was taken among water-lilies and rushes, and was composed of dead rushes in a wet state. Since my figure and description of Tabuan Crake (P. ¢fabuensis) in ‘‘Nests and Eggs,” I have received another example from Tasmania, which is more elongated in form, and is 1 inch 24 lines x Io lines as against 1 inch 2 lines x 11 lines in the figure. The late Mr. T. H. Potts’s dimensions are rin. 4 lines x 10 lines. The nest of the Tabuan Crake is found near water, constructed of soft grass, and generally situated under a thick tussock of grass, on the lee side, where it droops over. The complement of eggs appears to be four in number. The nest and eggs of the Little Crake (P. palustris) have been accurately described by Gould. The White-eyebrowed Crake (Zrythra quadristrigata) is the fourth and last of the Australian water crakes. Dr. Ramsay described an immature egg taken from the oviduct of this bird in 1868. But, through the goodness of Dr. Kutter, of Germany, who thoughtfully forwarded me extra pages of “ Cabanis’ Zeitschrift fiir Ornithologie” (1884-6), containing a more complete descrip- tion of his examples of nest and eggs of this Crake, taken in the Austro-Malayan Archipelago, I embody with much pleasure the following :— 576. ERYTHRA (Porzana) QUADRISTRIGATA (cénereus), (White- eyebrowed Water Crake). Locality— North Australia and Queensland. gg—The form is somewhat elongated, with well- rounded ends; the ground colour a light clay-yellow. The markings consist of specks or dots, usually close together, and partly confluent, and blotches of reddish-brown. Shell pretty thin, slightly lustrous, and of fine uniform texture. Length, 1 inch 3 lines; breadth, ro} lines. Two nests were found on the ground, 11th and 14th April, 1883, with two and four eggs respectively, slightly incubated. One nest was somewhat shallow, constructed of the bottom part of rushes and covered with fine grasses. Diameter about 2} x 12 inches. The other was, according to the description of the collector, built of the leaves of rice-straw. The eggs resemble the former description, but are somewhat broader, and of more compressed form. The markings on the light clay-yellow ground are usually stronger and of a reddish- brown, and a few violet dots and spots are distributed sparingly over the surface of the shell. Only at the larger end are the markings in the form of a belt or zone, so that some of these 164 tHe VICTORIAN NATURALIST. specimens approach in their type those of the Ga//inuline, and are very like miniature examples of the eggs of Erythra phenicura. Dimensions, between 1 inch 14 lines x 10} lines and 1 inch 23 lines x 114 lines. It is of great interest and importance that the eggs of all these diminutive waders are now known, because “ doctors differ,” and the birds have been placed under six or more genera. Gould, who was dubious of his own classification, and, alluding to one of the crakes, stated—‘ I can assure them (the rising ornithologists and, I may add, oologists of Australia) that the study of the eggs will greatly assist them in assigning the birds to which they belong to their proper genus.” The eggs of the Little Crake (P. palustris) and the Tabuan (P. tabuensis) undoubtedly appear to be typical of the true Porzane, as contrasted with Spotted Crake (P. fluminea) and White-eye- browed (P. cenereus), which appear oologically different; or, as Dr. Kutter remarks, with reference to the last-named, they approach in their type those of the Galénuline, and form a well- defined oological sub-group of the family Ra/izde, or Rails. 627. PTERODROMA MACROPTERA— (gouldit), (Great-winged Petrel). Locality—New South Wales and Tasmania. 4ge—An example taken in July at Cape Maria Van Diemen, the extreme north of New Zealand, is white, well proportioned in shape, with a somewhat broad apex, in contrast with the smaller end, which is sharper, but gradually rounded off. Texture of shell rather fine, except at the smaller end, where it is slightly granulated. Length, 2 inches 8} lines ; breadth, 1 inch ro} lines. _ The egg of this petrel is mentioned in the “ Manual of the Birds of New Zealand” (Buller) ; one egg is laid in a burrow, with a few leaves and grass for a nest. In the Hauraki Gulf, Reischek found them breeding in colonies in the beginning of September ; the young are full grown in February. It is interesting to record the occurrence of the egg of the Bronze Cuckoo (Chalcites basalis) in the nest of the Grass Warbler (Cisticola ruficeps). This curious combination clutch, which is exhibited here to-night, was taken on King Island. I also take this opportunity of recording the White-fronted Chat (Ephthianura albifrons) amongst the foster parents of this Bronze Cuckoo, undoubted evidence of which I received a season or two ago. Note.—The following new eggs have been described by Mr. A. J. North, F.L.S. :—Zopsaltria capito (Large-headed Robin), Stictoptera annulosa (Black- rumped Finch), Ad/eradus macilosus (Queensland Cat-bird)— reference, P.L.S., N.S.W., vol. iii., part 1; and Rkipidura priess? (Priess’s Fantail)—same vol., part 2. By Mr. R. D. Fitzgerald, jun., Sphecotheres maxillares (Southern Sphecotheres)—P.L.S., N.S.W., vol. il., part 4. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 165 THE PALOLO. [In connection with the note on the habits of this worm, as noticed by Consul Churchward, which we published in our last October issue, p. 76, we have received the following from the Rev. Lorimer Fison, M.A., so well known for his ethnological studies in the South Seas.—Eb. | The following is an extract from the Sydney Morning Herald of 13th December, 1881 (own correspondent’s letter) :—“ The mbalolo also has put in its annual appearance after its own queer fashion, and the natives have rejoiced in their yearly feast upon it. This extraordinary seaworm comes to the surface but once a year, and always at the same time. — It appears in thickly crowded masses, near the reef, in the early morning; and, as the day grows hot, its swarms apparently melt away and disappear, to be seen no more until the waning of the next November moon.” The true explanation of this phenomenon was first discovered, I believe, by the Rev. S. J. Whitmee, of the London Mission in Samoa ; but his discovery does not appear to have attracted the attention it deserves. The swarming of the mbalolo is the coming together of the sexes, and this event is the termination of mbalolo existence. When it takes place, both individuals burst, dissolving as it. were in a shower of spawn, and nothing is left of them but little black specks, which the natives call their “heads.” The spawn, or ova, sink down into the crevices of the coral reef, and nothing further is seen of them until they come up, fully developed, in the following year to burst and disappear in their turn. It might be possible to construct an aquarium in which the ova could be preserved and their develop- ment watched. In ‘“Hazlewood’s Fijian Dictionary” the following note appears :—‘‘ Ba/lolo (the B is mb), a kind of seaworm found only on some reefs about the 25th November. It is much esteemed by the natives when cooked. It gives the names to the months Balolo-/ad/ai and Balolo-lev (“ttle and g7eat). From its appearing so seldom, we have the proverb— E kua gona ni balolo, me na kua sara”—(‘“ Now or never.”) Literally—“ If you don’t (eat) balolo (now), you won’t eat it at all.” Essendon, 18th February. NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN LOGANIACEAE. By BARON vON MUELLER, K C.M.G., M. & Pu.D., F.R.S., &c. LOGANIA FLAVIFLORA. Almost herbaceous, never tall, imperfectly beset with very short hairlets ; branchlets slightly furrowed; leaves short, very narrow, pointed, in distant pairs ; flowers solitary, rather large, almost sessile ; segments of the calyx linear, acute; corolla somewhat or hardly longer than the calyx, bright-yellow glabrous or bearing only extremely minute papillular hairlets; anthers nearly sessile 166 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. between the lobes of the corolla, several times longer than broad, whitish ; stigma ellipsoid-cylindrical, longer than the style, smooth ; ovulary scantily beset with hairlets. Near the most eastern sources of Swan-River (Edwin Merrall) ; found also by James Drummond, but not so far inland, as 651 of his earlier collections belongs also to this species. Logania sperma- cocea differs already in much longer hairlets, quite pale almost white corollas, shorter anthers, style longer than the stigma, and the fruit of the two may also be different. Just as I/ttrasacme lutea is the only species with throughout yellow corolla within its genus, so Logania flaviflora also :tands alone among its con- geners in this respect. It belongs to the eastern slope of the country in Western Australia, whereas ZL. spermacea pertains to the litoral tracts there. Logania paniculata (Kunth and Bouché, index semin. hurt. Berolin. 1847, p. 12; Walp. Annal, i. 513) has been identified by Al. Braun as ZL. longifolia ; Bureau’s L. nerisfolia (“ Thése de la Famille des Loganiacées” 1856, p. 80), with an analytic draw- ing, is doubtless also reducible to one of the previously described species. L. stenophylla occurs near Eucla (G. R. Turner). L. micrantha has been sent by Mr. Th. Muir from near the eastern sources of Swan-River in a variety, with crowded and shorter leaves, pentamerous flowers and bilobed stigma. L. floribunda reaches southward to the Genoa. Miss H. Carter, on Hunter’s River, noticed the flowers to exhale quite a powerful perfume. Thus the generic name ewosma is not altogether objectionable. L. pusilla has been gathered on the Brisbane-River by Mr. F. M. Bailey, on the Myall-River by Mr. Ch. Fawcett, on the Shoal- haven-River by Mr. W. Baeuerlen. Mitrasacme Archeri. grows also at Lake Fenton (F. v. M.) Leaves rigid and shining. M. montana was found on Mount Arrowsmith by Messrs. Thos. and Benj. Gulliver. M. serpillifolia was noticed between the Nicholson-River and Tambo (Schlipalius), and on the Clyde (Baeuerlen). M. pilosa occurs in a sphagnum-bog between Mount M‘Intyre and Mount Burr (Prof. Tate). M. alsinoides was also sent from the Myall-River by Mr. Ch. Fawcett. M. polymorpha grows on the Clarence-River (Fawcett), near Broger’s-Creek and Jervis-Bay (Baeuerlen). M. gentianea extends to the Ord-River (O’Donnell). M. distylis was obtained near the Onkaparinga (Tate), Yarra- Yarra (F. Reader), Barwan (J. B. Wilson), in Kangaroo- Island (Tepper). Strychnos psilosperma extends to Trinity-Bay (Sayer). THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 167 On the Irruption of Syrrhaptes paradoxus (Pallas’s Sand Grouse), (Communicated by Professor Newton, M.A., F.R.S., to Mr. A. J. Campbell). THE author began by observing that twenty-five years before, almost to a day, he had made a communication with the very same title to the section at Newcastle, and he had then been bold enough to anticipate a recurrence of the irruption of which he then treated, a full account of which appeared in “ The Ibis” for 1864. After briefly pointing out the peculiarities of this singular form of bird, and tracing what was known of its early history, especially of its appearance in Europe prior to the first great irruption of 1863, he proceeded to notice the two small and less known visitations of 1872 and 1876. In the former of these it had only been observed in two localities—one on the coast of Northumberland, the other on that of Ayrshire—in both cases in the month of June, though in neither was any specimen pro- cured. In the latter (1876) it was observed in three localities— one being near Winterton, in Norfolk (in May), another near Modena, in Italy (in June), and the third in the county Wicklow, Ireland (in October). The irruption of the present year had been on a large scale, at least as large as that of 1863, if not larger—certainly the number of observations was greatly in excess. It had also taken place fully a month earlier. From the information at present in his possession it had extended further to the southward—in Italy to Orvieto, and in Spain (which country had been for the first time reached) to the Albufera of Valencia; and to the westward—to Belmullet, in the county Mayo; but at present it seemed to have fallen short as regards its northern limits, though very possibly time would prove that localities quite as far towards the north as on the former occasions (the Nord Fjord, in Norway, and the Feeroes) had been attained. The limits of all the irruptions from 1859 to 1888 were shown on a map, and in this way it was evident that the general direction of all was practically identical. The discovery of the “radiant point ” (which might be assumed to be beyond the Caspian Sea) was very desirable, and on this matter the author hoped trust- worthy information might be received from Russian observers. With regard to the causes which had led to these extraordinary movements, he wished to express himself cautiously ; but their apparent regularity inclined him to think that they were not due to any “convulsion of Nature,” as some persons supposed, but rather, as he had before suggested, to the natural overflow of a redundant population. When more complete information had been obtained he hoped to treat this irruption at length in “ The Ibis ” for the year 1889 in some such way as he had treated that of 1863 —Report Brit. Assoc. Bath, 1888. 168 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. NoTES ON THE BUTTERFLY, Jalmenus evagorus, Don.—At the December meeting of the Field Naturalists’ Club, I brought forward what to me was a very curious case of apparent sociability between ants and the larve of this pretty little butterfly. The matter was, I found, known to a few members ; but none of them were able to clear up the singular habits of these insects, the general opinion being that the caterpillars were dependent for their well-being on their friends, the ants. Since last meeting I have had an opportunity of getting specimens of the larvee, and watching their growth. In their natural habitat, they were found on poor, stunted, and almost leafless specimens of the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata), and in every instance, where- noticed, numbers of small black ants, about 3-16ths of an inch in length, were running up and down the shrubs, and about and over the caterpillars, even where there were only chrysalides, the ants were just as numerous; and I found, on further search, it was quite useless to look for the larvee on bushes where no ants were to be seen. Examining the larve closely, no reason for this extraordinary behaviour could be seen, no visible moisture for the ants to clear away being exuded by the caterpillars. I determined to take a few specimens home and rear them, if possible, away from the ants, in order to test the theory before mentioned, and see if it would make any difference in their development. These, perhaps, were not fed quite so regularly as they should have been, and all but one have, up to the present, gone through the chrysalis stage and become perfect insects, apparently none the worse for their removal from the attentions of the ants. The length of time spent in the chrysalis stage was twenty to twenty-two days. It was very curious to watch the little butterflies on emerging from their chrysalises. I timed one or two, and found that in quarter of an hour from the time of emergence, their wings had expanded to their full size, and in another half-an-hour they were able to make use of them to fly. Another point which is rather singular about these butterflies is the amount of chloroform they can inhale before it overcomes them ; for their size, they are the most difficult insect to kill by this means that I know of. From these observations I think that the absence of the ants is no hindrance to their proper development, and whatever the functions of the ants may be, can only be found out by observations on the spot, as it would be impossible to remove them with the larve. I shall be glad if any member, observing similar cases either with these or other insects, will forward notes on the subject to the Editor of the Naturalist, and thus increase the value of our journal as a medium for the exchange of opinions and ideas.—F. G. A. BaRNarpb, Kew, 8th January, 189. Hield jeateralints hub of Qictoris. President : A. H. S. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc, ‘THIS Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested; for the Exhibition of Specimens ; and for promoting Observations in the Field by meane of Excursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., ame from Ist May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with 2 short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria Street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. ‘The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” ‘Annual Subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularizing the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets. Vol. I. (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. II. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III. (1886-87), 12 numbers. 6s.; Vol. FV. (1887-88), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title- page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal- notes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with piler etec., can be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. “« A. COLES, ® Waxidermist and HULVeY, 220 ELIZABETH ST., MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed and skilfully Mounted. Bird and Animal Skins, Eggs, Shells, Aboriginal Weapons, etc., always on hand. Furs, Muffs, and Rugs for Sale, Repaired, or Made to Order. Lessons given in Taxidermy. REIMS, | S) Sat Sake Mm i) S : R 32 \ SAN \ . ‘ \ Has the Largest Sale of any Champagne. tea bh eet Sole Agents for Bictoria: ADOLPH JOSKE, BEST & CO., 16 Little Collms Street Hast. FELTON, GRIMWADE & C0. GAbolesale Drug AMerchants, MANUFACTURING CHEMISTS, IMPORTERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF MICROSCOPES, MICROSCOPICAL ACCESSORIES, GALVANIC BATTERIES, CHEMICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, &c., &c. BECR’S “STAR” MONOCULAR MICROSCOPE, with rack and pinion coarse adjust- ment, iris diaphragm, double mirror, fine adjustment by screw, 1 eye-piece, 1 in. and %in. objective, in case, 44 12s. 6d BECK’S ‘‘ECONOMIC” MICROSCOPES, from 47 6s. to rr 11s. BECK’S ‘‘POPULAR” MICROSCOPES, from £12 5s. to £27 55. BECK’S “NATIONAL” MICROSCOPES, from 412 5s. to £38 ros. Particulars of various other Microscopes, by best English and Foreign Makers, may be had on application. _— OOO MELBOURNE: 31 & 33 FLINDERS LANE WEST. AS Vv. ‘ : ) ) > ) ) 2 ; ¢ / ) \ $ 2 ; 5 2 2 ; 5 ; ‘ 5 > ‘ > ) y ? > > 2 y 2 2 ) 2 ‘ APRIL, 1889. The Uictorian Paturalist THE JOURNAL AND MAGAZINE Ghe Field Maturalists’ Club of Wictoria. —— The Author of each article is responsible for the facts and opinions he records. Cow Lew LS: THE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA THE GEOLOGY OF ARNHEM’s LAND, N.A.—ParT II. By Rev. J. E. TENISON-Woops, F.L.S., F.G.S. (Hon. MEMBER) Ws ie Ne ee ai DESCRIPTION OF A NEW FORM OF THE ORCHID-GENUS DRAKZA, INDIGENOUS TO NEW SOUTH WALES AND VicTorIA. By BARON VON MUELLER, K.C.M.G., M. AND Pu. D., F.R.S. ive eae VICTORIAN SHARKS. By A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., B. Sc. CORRESPONDENCE ... & PRICE SIXPENCE. & Agents for Gurope: DULAU & CO., 37 Soho Square, London. ——$ $8 ot 38._—_ Stl elbourne : WALKER, MAY & CO., PRINTERS, ‘9 MACKILLOP STREET. 1889. Olle OOOO TT TT TT Te iiimiiimiiimiiimiiimil ijimitimilimilimiii mii dm SDD ONO NNN NINN NTN NNN ONIN IO CS NANNIES iimiiteiiimin JATE S EXPRESS, MARKET STREET, Natural History and other Packages, all sizes, delivered any address in Britain. 9Op. PER POUND. Over 10lb., 6d. per Ib. CONTINENT & AMERICA, Slightly Higher. Weekly. Colonies, Very Low Rates. Daily. a SO EOEeOEOEeeeee NO TROUBLE. NO OTHER CHARGES. OO OOO LONDON OFFICE: W. R SUTTON and CO, GOLDEN LANE, EC A J. tt A Eee (Twenty Years with PAUL THOMAS), IMPORTER AND MANUFACTURER OF FIRST-CLASS BOOTS awn SHOES. Ladies’ and Gentlemen's Boots and Shoes made to Order. ON aes CASEI PRICE Ss. NAR ARARA RA RRA RR RAR RRO A SPECIALITY in Ladies’ SENSIBLE Boots and Shoes— Low Heels and BROAD TOES. New Shipments by every Mail, direct from the Manufacturers. 44 SWANSTON STREET (Between Flinders Lane and Collins Street, ONT Seats ES > GU) ES aN ee THE WYictorian Taturalist, None SNoy 12) APRIL, 1889. No. 64. 2eaE FIELD NATURALISTS’ CLUB OF VICTORIA. THE monthly meeting of the club was held at the Royal Society's Hall on Monday evening, 11th March, 1889. In the absence of the president and vice-presidents, Mr. D. Best (hon. treasurer) was voted to the chair, and about 50 members and visitors were present. A letter was read from Mr. W. B. Waterfall, Bristol, England, thanking the club for the insertion of his exchange notice ve mosses in the JVafuralist, and offering to assist members in any way possible in England. The hon. librarian reported the receipt of the following donations to the library :—‘ List of the Genera and Species of Sponges descibed by H. J. Carter,” by Mr. A. Dendy, M.Sc., from the author; ‘“‘ Key to Victorian Plants,” part 1, and “ Select Extra-tropical Plants,” 7th edition, by Baron Von Mueller, K.C.M.G., from the Government ; “ Proceedings of Royal Society of Tasmania,” 1886 and 1887, from the society ; “ Proceedings of Royal Society of Queensland,” vol. v., part 5, from the society ; “Proceedings of Victorian Branch of Geographical Society of Australasia,’ vol. vi., part 2, from the society; ‘‘ Descriptive Catalogue of Sponges in Australian Museum, Sydney,” by Dr. R. von Lendenfeld, from the Museum Trustees; ‘Journal of New York Microscopial Society,” vol. v., part 1, from the society ; “Journal cof Bombay Natural History Society,” vol. iii., part 4, from the society; “Journal of Pharmacy,” February, 1889; “ Rural Australian,’ March, 1889. On a ballot being taken, Messrs. E. F. J. Love, M.A., A. S. Hemmy, and G. Neilson were duly elected members of the club. PAPERS READ, 1. By Rev. F. R. M. Wilson, entitled “A Hunt for Lichens in East Gippsland” and “A List and Descriptions of New Victorian Lichens.” ‘The author gave an interesting account of a visit to the country around Orbost, on the Snowy River, and around Cunninghame, at the Lakes’ Entrance, which latter district he thought in a more favourable season,—z.e., one free from bush- fires—would be well worth the attention of naturalists.. He submitted a list of 66 species of lichens new to Victoria, and descriptions of 30 species new to science, which were taken as read. 170 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 2. The hon. secretary read a paper by the Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, F.G.S. (hon member), entitled ‘‘The Geology of Arnhem’s Land,” part ii. This continued the description of the characteristic geological features of the Northern Territory, and gave some account of the mineral resources of the country. NATURAL History Notes.—Mr. T. G. Sloane, of Mulwala, New South Wales, forwarded a note on the effect produced on certain beetles of the group Carenides by preserving them in methylated spirits of wine, which created some little discussion. Mr. A. J. Campbell read a note on the crested penguins of Australia and New Zealand, Catarractes chrysocome (Latham) and Liudyptes pachyrhynchus (Gray), which he considered identical species. The following were the principal exhibits of the evening :—By Mr. A. J. Campbell, mounted specimens of crested penguins, Catarractes chrysocome (Victoria), with eggs, and Hudyptes pachyrhynchus (New Zealand); the little penguin, Audypiula minor, and the fairy penguin, &. undina. By Mr. A. Coles, birds from Ceylon, blue and orange-faced eutymiza, and cobra de capello, from Ceylon. By Mr. C. French, jun., eggs of red- necked avocet, New Holland snipe, friar bird, olivaceous thick- head, from Victoria ; red-necked rail, from Queensland ; and great acanthiza, A. Azing7, and great-tailed thickhead, from Tasmania. By Mr. H. Grayson, a collection of New Zealand diatomacez, mounted for microscope. By Mr. R. Hall, specimen of Ceylon tea plant, with seeds. By Mr. G. A. Keartland,a whistling eagle, Jardine’s harrier, Australian shoveller, and nest and eggs of lanulated honey-eater. By Mr. H. Kennon, bivalve shells from South Pacific Ocean. By Baron F. von Mueller, K.C.M.G., a new Victorian orchid, Drakea Huntiana (F. v. M.), from East Gippsland. After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. THE GEOLOGY OF ARNHEM’S LAND, N.A.—PART II. By THE Rey. J. E. Tenison-Woops, F.L.S., F.G:S. (Hon. Member.) (Read before the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria, 11th March, 1889.) FLUVIATILE SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES.—These are extremely hard sandstones, found only on the banks of streams. The stone is horizontally stratified and crossbedded, the finer laminations being marked with black specular iron ; it contains much rounded and waterworn quartz gravel, varying greatly in size. A few waterworn fragments of the underlying porphyry are also found in the conglomerate. . The majority of the pebbles THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. eval are of white quartz, of which, strange to say, there are no veins in the porphyry rock. This sandstone forms table-lands on both sides of the Katherine River a mile, or two in width, for some miles. Then the metalliferous slates succeed, with tin and alluvial gold. The fluviatile sandstone formation is much broken into immense boulders, and rocks of most fantastic shapes. It is very hard, but being full of cracks and fissures, it weathers easily, and gives rise to an exceedingly rough and almost inaccessible country. It is composed of sandbanks and river boulders which have hardened since the rivers cut through them. : The formation dips away to the east along the existing streams at an angle of about 30 degrees. Mount Douglas will afford an illustration of this. Itis a castellated hill, quite abrupt on its south-western end, and showing in section 400 ft. to 5ooft. of these fluviatile conglomerates. It forms the extreme end of ranges of very broken meridional hills not exceeding 500 ft. in height. The strata dip away from the River Mackinlay at an angle of 30 degrees, possibly representing the direction of the currents wherein the conglomerates were formed. I have noticed a similar dip at the Margaret River, Kekwick’s Springs, near the head of the Mary, and at the Katherine and Victoria Rivers. This uniform dip, its hard flaggy nature, and the included waterworn pebbles, are unmistakable characters of this formation. These conglomerates have probably been derived from a river channel through the paleozoic rocks, which contain an abundance of quartz reefs. The sand has been an ash deposit filling up the channel and mingling with or covering up the conglomerate, which generally increases towards the base of the formation, to the exclusion of the sandstone. This formation does not differ essentially from what are called the ‘“‘drifts” of Victoria and other colonies. Desert SANDSTONE.—This peculiar formation varies much in colour and character, though mostly of a bright and livid red, yet it is often white, yellow, mottled, &c. It is usually composed of small, somewhat rounded sand grains, though in some places there are admixtures of magnesite, carbonate of magnesia, Xc. It gives rise to a desert country with scanty vegetation, is generally destitute of fossils, and is of a broken, precipitous character, forming table-lands with precipitous faces, and round, flat-topped hills. It is nearly always of uniform height, and is probably underlain throughout Arnhem’s Land by the crystalline schists. Mr. Daintree, who named the formation “ desert sand- stone,” was of opinion that it at one time covered the whole continent ; but my own observations and microscopic examina- tion of the sands have led me to conclude that it is derived from 109 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. volcanic ashes. This conclusion is borne out by the fact that recent volcanic formations are nearly always found in close proximity to it. The formation is found in patches throughout all tropical Australia. The geological age of these sandstones is uncertain, but they probably belong to the two great volcanic periods of tertiary age. The lowest beds lie upon the cretaceous formation. The following report upon specimens of desert sandstone has been made by Professor Liversidge, at my request :—“I have carefully examined the two specimens—one labelled ‘ Building stone, Palmerston ;’ and the other, ‘Cliffs, Fanny Bay, Port Darwin.’ Both of them are essentially indurated white argilla- ceous rocks, such as are commonly called pipe-clays. ‘They are both only slightly soluble in strong acid, and do not give off carbonic acid, and they both give the reactions for alumina; the Palmerston one is free from magnesia (z.é., in the acid solution— I have not examined the insoluble portion, except for alumina) ; and the Fanny Bay stone give a trace of magnesia only—hence the name magnesian sandstone is hardly applicable. They seem to correspond to the white indurated clay found in the Hawkes- bury sandstone about the North Shore, &c.” Mrinerats.—Arnhem’s Land has frequently been represented as a country poor in minerals, or, at any rate, one whose mineral resources were not of a paying kind. It is much to be regretted that the statements of incompetent persons in this matter have prevented speculators from risking their capital. ‘The country is, in fact, fairly rich in minerals; and if, hitherto, the mines have not paid well, the true cause will be found in the fact that the climate is unsuited for European labour. ‘There is no scarcity of gold, though, doubtless, improved methods of extraction, as well as steady and persevering industry, are required to make it pay. But the important point to be remembered is that Mount Morgan, one of the richest mines in the world, has been found under geological conditions which are by no means uncommon in the Northern Territory ; and it is not improbable that careful pros- pecting should lead to the discovery of mines not inferior in value. Silver is found in many parts of the territory in quartz veins, and also associated with lead and copper. ‘The silver-lead veins have generally been found on the edge of the slates, and near the junction of the granite. Comparatively few of them have been prospected as yet, and only one or two have been worked. The Eveleen mine is situated on a small outlier of ancient crystalline limestone. The Northern Territory may be said to be exceedingly rich in tin; in fact, it is decidedly a tin country, the lodes being more extensive and numerous than in any other part of Australia. Tin, THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Was however, is a very uncertain mineral, and its tendency to appear and disappear unexpectedly is likely to have a depressing effect on speculators in the mines of Amhem’s Land. There are in many places along the edge of the granite country “‘ pockets” of extraordinary richness. ‘They are not, I believe, connected with veins. A little stream-tin has been found in a few streams, but the great mass of the tin ore remains in its matrix in the crystalline schists. Copper is found in many parts of the territory, and would be found in many more if prospected for. Iron occurs everywhere, and there are several indications of nickel, graphite, manganese, zinc, antimony, and bismuth. J have also seen excellent specimens of platinum, which is said to be abundant. This nearly completes all that is to be said about the economic geology of Arnhem’s Land. There is, however, something remaining to be told about curious and interesting geological facts. First, with regard to the volcanic period, which I consider to be intimately connected with the desert sandstone. The consequences of the pliocene volcanic period are of tremendous importance. The line of volcanic action seems to have kept mostly along the sea coast, nearly all round the continent, and this fact would indicate that it had something to do either with subsidence or upheaval. The most extensive evidences of upheaval are on the south side, where it has taken place to the extent of about 6booft. for over 1,000 miles. A tremendous ejection of material from below, chiefly volcanic ash, dust, glass, and sand, with lesser quantities of lava, &c., has accompanied the volcanic period, covered the ground with hills of sandstone, and rendered the sea of North Australia shallow for a great distance off the coast. The chemical character of the ash strata was very varied, as they were composed of ferruginous and siliceous sandstones, magnesite and volcanic glass, and had many other local peculiarities. The physical features of these volcanic areas are most interesting. Having fallen, like snow, in loose heaps not more than 700 ft. thick, they only lay undisturbed where the foundation was secure. It will be easily understood that in the river valleys they would be swept aside, and form cliffs overhanging the water. These valleys are now lined with great boulders and piles of sandstone, looking as if tremendous earthquakes had shaken and riven the rocks to their foundation. But, in truth, there have been no subterranean forces, and the present state of the strata is probably due to some portions having become sufficiently hardened to resist the action of the water, while the looser portions have been washed away. ‘The effect of running water on loose volcanic beds is clearly shown in the cliffs and gorges of several of the rivers in the Territory. Doubtless these same 174 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. rivers existed during the volcanic period, and easily cut channels through the loose ejectamenta, which time and weathering have modified into their present state. Finally, with regard to the vegetation of this period. It is probably buried in the form of thin coal seams or carbonaceous material. Leaf impressions have been found in similar deposits in other parts of Australia and in Tasmania, attributable, I believe, to the same volcanic period, but none in the desert sandstone. It may be, however, that fossils of the ancient flora may yet be found at the base of the sandstone ; but I do not anticipate that such vegetable remains will be very numerous in Arnhem’s Land, as the conditions favourable to their preservation seem to have been absent. The foregoing epitome of the geology of Arnhem’s Land 1 have purposely made very brief, to meet the requirements of the space at the disposal of the Field Naturalists’ Club. The facts here stated have not, however, been previously placed before the public. It forms the briefest possible account of the geology of North Australia, which, though discovered nearly 300 years ago, has only lately been explored. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW FORM OF THE ORCHID- GENUS DRAKA‘A, INDIGENOUS TO NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA. By Baron Von-Mvue.ter, K.C.M.G., M. & Pu. D., F.RS. DRAK#A HUNTIANA. Leafless at flowering time ; empty bracts, two ; flowers three or two; stalklets much longer than the floral bracts; all three calyx-lobes about as long as the pair of petals, reflexed, some- what shorter than the prolongation of the gynostemium ; petals linear-elliptical ; stalk-hke portion of the labellum almost longer than the horizontal portion ; the latter glandular-bilobed at the lower end, beset with purplish hairlets at and towards the middle, extended at the upper end into a fringed comparatively long membrane ; gynostemium provided at and below its summit with opposite semilanceolar membranous much pointed appendages ; fruit narrow-ellipsoid. Between loose stones on Mount Tingiringi, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet (W. Baeuerlen). In our present state of knowledge, concerning specific demar- cations, this plant cannot be considered conspecific with D. irritabilis, because that plant, from all its hitherto known localities, has very short flower stalklets, unequal calyx-lobes, very narrow petals, a much shorter protraction of the gynos- temium and an unfringed appendage of the labellum. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 175 On this evidently rare and autumnal-flowering Drakza has been bestowed the name of Robt. Hunt, Esq., C.M.G., F.G.S., Master of the Sydney-Mint and Vice-President of the Com- mittee of the Technological Museum there, in recognition, how- ever inadequate, of his favouring for a long while the collecting journeys of the discoverer of this plant. Two observers have drawn into doubt the irritability of the labellum of D. irritabilis, a characteristic on which, in 1856, I founded the specific name of that plant. But Mr. Baeuerlen also noticed in D. Huntiana, that at the slightest touch the labellum snatches across to the anther and stigma, subsequently returning with slowness to its remote positions. On one specimen before me is observable, that the new growth of D. irritabilis commences with leaves; these however have withered away, when the stem advances to the flowering state. Unrecorded localities of D. irritabilis are: Cave-Creek (W. Armitt), New- castle (R. Fitzgerald). DD. e/astica occurs on Stirling’s Range (F. v. M.), at Geographé-Bay (Miss Bunbury). Of the nearly-allied genus Caleya we have species now from the following localities, also :—C. mayor, Airey’s Inlet (Mrs. E. C. Parke), Barghurk-Creek (J. Johnson), Moe (Dr. Lucas), Fulham (Mrs. Martin), Lal Lal Creek (Weidenbach), Richmond-River (Fawcett). The empty bract is, in some instances, placed near the stem-base ; occasionally as many as six flowers occur. C. minor, Ulladulla (Baeuerlen). The plant however, which as such is mentioned in the “ Fl. Austr.” from New England, proves to be a small state of C. major. C. nigrifa, Upper Swan-River (Miss Sewell). VICTORIAN SHARKS. IBA. Yel TES LIONS, NEVA Baste (Read before the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 14th January, 1889.) I wave thought that it will be convenient to put together a brief account of the members of this sub-order of fishes which are to be met with near our coasts. Whether seen swimming around, or, as has occasionally happened, within, our public baths, or captured after an exciting chase by a crew of indignant fishermen and exhibited at one of our seaside resorts, or when tossed on the shore contemptuously as the nets are emptied, or when pulling familiarly at the line which the disgusted amateur is trailing for flathead or snapper, the shark, great or small, when- ever and wherever he appears, is interesting. It is easy to tell a shark or dog-fish (for dog-fish are but small sharks) from one of the ordinary bony fishes. The shark has five gill-slits on each side of his neck; other fish a single, usually wide, slit protected by a number of flat bones arranged to 176 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. form an “operculum.” His mouth is not on the front border of the head, but on its under surface, hidden away as if to suggest to the world at large that he really has not got a mouth at all, you know. ‘Thus when a shark turns it means more than when the worm does. His skeleton is not bony but cartilaginous, and thus the suppleness of his long body is secured, while his two pairs of fins are relatively larger and stouter than those of his neighbours, and worked by formidable batteries of muscles. His cerebellum is large, and, in consequence, he can deftly steer and dexterously regulate his movements. The lobes of his tail- fin are very markedly unequal, and if he has scales -they are tubercular or spiny, and scattered in their arrangement. The rays are closely allied to the sharks, but are adapted for life on the sea bottom, and flattened horizontally. The head is very wide from side to side, and the five gill-slits accordingly appear on the under surface. Owing to their great swimming powers, which renders dis- persion easy, and also to their antiquity—for their pedigree can be traced back to early geological periods—the distribution of sharks is world-wide. The larger forms abound in the tropics, as a rule, and hence everyone knows the danger of bathing in the Caribbean or the South Seas, but the smaller forms abound in temperate regions, and it is tree, though not a matter of alarm, that the shores of England are beset with millions of sharks, which swarm in her waters. Even some of the species are world-wide in their distribution. In November, 1883, I was attracted by a placard in Swanston- street, announcing that a huge shark, 36 feet long, was on view within. It was a Basking Shark (Se/ache maxima). It had never previously been met with out of the Northern Hemisphere. In all probability this individual shark was captured in the middle of a voyage round the world, which recalls the daring and fili- bustering expeditions of Drake and his comrades. Another solitary visitor from European Seas, a specimen of the Spiny Shark (Zchinorhinus spinosus), was captured at Portland in November, 1886, and has been secured by Professor M‘Coy, and can be seen, beautifully mounted, at the museum. In an adjoin- ing part of the building is a European specimen, with which our strayed one may be compared. One cannot say that he seems to have suffered in the globe-trotting. In neither of these cases has a second individual, apparently, been detected in Australian seas. But single specimens of each have since been taken off New Zealand. One of the terrible Carcharius melanopteris, allied to the ‘ Blue Shark ” of European seas, a fellow 15 feet in length, and with 112 serrated teeth, is recorded from Hobson’s Bay by Professor M‘Coy. He had probably strayed from the North. The form is common in Torres Straits and off North Australia. The Blue Shark itself, singularly enough, is common in Port Arthur, Tasmania. It does THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 177 not seem to have been yet recorded in Victoria, but will probably be taken on our side of the Straits. Other species, which roam widely, reach us more frequently. The Seven-gilled Shark (Votidanus or Heptanchus indicus ), about 5 feet, usually, in length, is occasionally found in Hobson’s Bay, and as it also appears in Port Jackson and in Tasmanian waters, we may fairly claim it as a member of our fauna, though its home is in the Indian Ocean. It has, indeed, been taken anywhere in the seas between the Cape and California. The Thresher or Fox Shark ( Alopecias vulpes), with a tail.as long as his body, attaining a good to feet in length, is one of those found in the English Channel. Professor M‘Coy says that it is very rarely met with here ; he has two examples in the Museum, both obtained at Hastings. Mr. Bracebridge Wilson informs me that he has seen a school of them in Port Phillip, below the Quarantine Ground, in 1882, lashing the water with their long tails like so many porpoises. This fish has been noticed, too, in Port Jackson and about Tasmania. It follows the schools of herrings and allied clupeids, and when we have further visits from these we may expect to see more of the Fox Shark. The most terrible and infamous monster of all this notorious family—the great White Shark of the West Indian Seas (Carcharodon Rondeletii)—has himself deigned to call on a voyage of inquiry. Two specimens can be seen in the Museum. Both were caught in Hobson’s Bay, near Brighton—- one in 1873, the other in 1877. The genus is furnished with those huge, flat, triangular, serrated teeth, which impress the fossil-collector at Cheltenham. They are ranged in three ranks around the capacious gape. These sharks sometimes reach a length of 40 feet, and such carnivora as the Felidz must be nibblers merely compared with such rapacious animals. One might make one bite of a dolphin, and then look round inquiringly for more. And the existing species is a pigmy in comparison with those of eocene and miocene times. There seem to be only about ten kinds of strictly resident sharks as yet known or recorded, but there are almost certainly more. The list comprises the Hammer-head, the Grey Nurse, the Carpet Shark, the Angel-fish, a spotted Dog-fish, the common European Picked (or Spined) Dog-fish, the Australian Tope and Australian Smooth-hound, the local Saw-fish, and, lastly, the world-famous Port Jackson or Bull-head Shark. The Hammer-head (Zygena malleus ) seems to be well established with us. It lives mostly in rather deep water, and is, in conse- quence, more rarely met with. The Port Phillip specimens are small. The Hammer-heads have a bad reputation for their ferocity, by which they seem to make up, to a certain extent, for their comparatively small size. They are at once recognized by the great lobes, one on each side of the head, which give the animal aT shape. This shark is to be found in most of the oceans, 178 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. The most dangerous of our local sharks is the Grey Nurse of the Sydney fishermen, or Bull Shark ( Odontaspis Americanus or taurus). This is the fellow who is the hero of most of our shark fatalities. He comes into the Bay chiefly in the summer time, and makes a record most seasons. He reaches to feet in length, and his mouth is edged with rows of long, sharp, awl-shaped teeth. He is a decidedly Australian shark. The Carpet and Angel sharks are ground sharks, and adapted to their station in life by their form and colouring. The Carpet Shark (Crossorhinus barbatus), or Wobbigong, is from 5 feet to 7 feet long, somewhat flattened, with the back brown, marbled with grey, so as to simulate the appearance of the sea bottom. Further, to imitate the tufts of weed, the head is ‘ bearded,” ze, furnished with a number of skinny appendages. It is probably tolerably abundant, but as it lies in deep water it is not very often seen, unless it has risen in the pursuit of its prey. The Angel-fish (Rhina squatina) lives upon the flat-fish, and is constructed to meet its requirements. The name was given to, it on account of its form. The pectoral fins are widely expanded in the plane of the depressed body, and these are the angel’s wings which have so impressed the fishermen of the old world. The head is flattened and broadened too, so that the fish has more or less of the shape of a fiddle. The Angel lies in wait in disguise, like a ray, until his keen but somewhat hidden eyes detect a flounder or plaice (himself disguised, but, alas! not sufficiently) swimming in wave-like motion close by. Then the Angel flops upon the prey, and by the motions of his great fins works it into his rather awkwardly situated mouth. These Angels are to be found where flat-fish, then, most do congregate. An Englishman coming to Victorian shores finds the Tope and Smooth-hound very much like those he is familiar with, but notices the absence of spotted dog-fish. These last are the commonest sharks in the English Channel, and do much mischief in and to the fishermen’s nets. There is only one Victorian species (Parascyllium nuchale) described by Prof. M‘Coy, and that is not often seen. It is recognizable by its shark form, and the large black blotches irregularly dispersed over its skin. ‘The Tope and Smooth-hound are our commonest sharks, found in great numbers all around the coasts. They are ground feeders, but are quick enough in their movements. Both have finely shagreened skins, grey-blue on the back and pale beneath. The Tope has sharp teeth for tearing flesh, &c., and the Smooth-hound rounded teeth for crushing shells and crustaceans. Both are slightly different from the European forms, and so systematic authorities make them distinct species. The separate names, Galews australis and Mustelus antarcticus, are useful, at all events, to call attention to local variations. Our Picked Dog-fish (Acanthias vulgaris), it seems, has found no champion to mention its distinctness from THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 179 European forms. It has a strong spine in front of each of the two dorsal fins. It is called picked because of these picks or spines. It is not at all rare here, but not so abundant as in the English Channel. Another Acanthias is found off Tasmania, but J am not aware of a Victorian record. I saw a letter once in the Melbourne Dazly Telegraph giving to the public the information that our saw-fish was the Pristzs antiquorum. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Our friend knew what a saw-fish was, and had seen the saw-fish described in popular works on natural history as Préstis anti guorum. The conclusion was easy. Any saw-fish is a Pristrs. But the shark with the snout flattened and long drawn out, furnished with a row of teeth on each side, which is not un- frequently found in Hobson’s Bay, is a much smaller fish than the monster /77stzs of tropical oceans. A Pvristis (P. zysron) is found in Moreton Bay, but the Port Phillip fish is a true shark, with the gill openings lateral and not ventral, the Pristiophorus nudipinnis of Gunther. The last of our sharks is the Pig-fish, Port Jackson or Bull- head Shark, Heterodontus (Cestracion) Phillipi. 1 believe this is the only one of our sharks, except probably Parascyllium nuchale and Acanthias vulgaris, which i is Oviparous. Everyone is familiar with the leathery eggs with spiral folds to be found entangled among the stones and weeds of the shallow water in summer time. The Bullhead has attracted much notice from its den- tition, which connects it closely with sharks long ago extinct which lived in European and other seas. It is the only shark with front cutting or tearing, and back crushing teeth. As will have been seen from the few remarks I have been able to make on the other species, this is the most peculiar and characteristic of our sharks. It is not found out of Australian waters. The number of known species of sharks is about 160. If we reckon our ro resident and 6 visiting members we make up about one-tenth of the total. Tasmania boasts 18 species; all Australia 39, as yet. As Tasmania records more forms than Victoria we shall probably have to increase our list. I shall be very glad, as Secretary to the Port Phillip Biological Committee of the Royal Society, to receive information or specimens. Notices of occasional visitors are, of course, interesting, but details of the habits and distribution of resident forms are of the ereater value. CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Sir,— Having seen in the October number of “Science Gossip” a most delightful account of the “Melbourne Field Naturalists’ Club” ve their expeditions to King Island, &c., I venture to ask 180 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. if any of the members would exchange specimens of seaweed zoophytes and polyzoa. I have a collection of some Australian species, and am most anxious to add to it. I have many duplicates of British, South African, and other algze and zoophytes. I prefer them unpressed, merely dried, as they come out so well In sea-water. A small box by ship would, perhaps, be the easiest way of transmission, and I should only be too glad to pay the freight.—Yours sincerely, (MISS) E. E. GORE. 26 Brunswick-square, Brighton, Sussex, England, 11th October, 1888. To the Editor of the Victorian Naturalist. Dear Sir,—I wish to bring under the notice of the members of the Field Naturalists’ Club the effect of methylated spirits of wine on “smooth” Carabs if they are left a long time in it. The result of a lengthened immersion in methylated spirits is to bring out rows of faint punctures on the elytra of at least some species of the group Cavenides, which are naturally quite smooth. I am now sending specimens of Luryscaphus arenarius, Carenum arenarium and Eutoma Loddonense (2?) which will illustrate this. The specimens marked “natural” show the beetles in their natural state, those marked “ spirits” show the same species after a four months’ immersion in methylated spirits. It will be seen that in these specimens of three genera of zaturally smooth Carenums four months in spirits has produced seven rows of faint punctures—quite conspicuous in Carenum arenarium—on each elytron. Such a difference as is here shown to be caused by the agency of spirits of wine in specimens of the same species has been considered by the systematists who have described the species of this group as sufficient to justify their being regarded as distinct species. I have observed the same effect in specimens of the genera Carenidium and Promecodorus among the Carabide. This remarkable result of leaving their specimens for a long time in spirits is not, as far as I am aware, known to coleopterists. 1 only found it out through accidentally mislaying a bottle contain- ing some Carenums last September. It contained specimens of the common forms here, and I was greatly surprised to find on pinning them about a week ago that the elytra of each specimen showed punctate strie, a eanire I had never seen in any of them before, though all were well known to me. I have not had time to investigate the matter thoroughly, but it seems a very important one to collectors, so I hope members will experiment with anzy smooth Carabs they may get, and let us know the result of their investigation. The cause would be worth finding out.—I am, yours, &c., THOMAS G. SLOANE. Mulwala, N.S.W., 4th February, 1880. ielid Daturalists Club of Gictorin. President: A. H. S. LUCAS, M.A., B.Sc, AA eee eee TxH1s Club was founded in 1880 for the purpose of affording observers and lovers of Natural History regular and frequent opportunities for discussing those special sub- jects in which they are mutually interested; for the Exhibition of Specimens ; and for promoting Observations in the Field by means of Excursions to various collecting grounds around the Metropolis. No Entrance Fee. Annual Subscription, including copy of proceedings, 15s., dating from Ist May. The Ordinary Meetings for the reading of papers, and exhibition of specimens, with a short conversazione, are held on the second Monday in each month at the Royal Society’s Hall, Victoria Street, Melbourne, at 8 p.m. The proceedings of the Club are recorded in its journal—the “ Victorian Naturalist.” Annual Subscription, 6s. 6d., post free. (To members free.) With the view of popularizing the study of the Natural History of the Colony, cor- respondence, notes, and queries relating to this subject are invited for insertion, and should be addressed to the Editor at the Wesley College, Prahran. Any of the numbers from the commencement, January, 1884, can be obtained from the Hon. Sec., Mr. F. G. A. Barnard, Kew, at sixpence each; or in sets. Vol. I. (1884-85), 16 numbers, 7s. 6d.; Vol. IT. (1885-86), 12 numbers, 6s.; Vol. III, (1886-87), 12 numbers. 6s.; Vol. IV. (1887-88), 12 numbers, 6s.; each set with title- page and index for binding. The numbers forwarded post free to any address on receipt of remittance (postal- notes preferred). Copies of the Annual Report and List of Members for 1886-87, with Rules, etc., can be obtained on application to the Hon. Sec. “ A. COLES, » Gaxioermisft and Surrier, 220 ELIZABETH ST., MELBOURNE. Birds, Animals, etc., Stuffed.and skilfully Mounted. 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