lOO 



HARDWI CKE ' S S CIENCE- G O SSI P. 



as I stood for a few moments in this swampy glade, 

 surrounded by strange reeds, rank grasses and un- 

 familiar vegetation, shut out from the busy world 

 it would hardly have surprised me if some monster 

 saurian had snapped his jaws above the murky waters. 

 As a man, I felt it geologically wrong to be there at 

 all ; the genus homo did not exist in the epoch here 

 indicated. This glade is a typical feature in the 

 Gardens. 



a constant supply of water trickles over the ferns and 

 plants. The interesting epiphytical stag's-hom and 

 elk-horn ferns flourish on many of the trees, occasion- 

 ally attaining to the weights of several cwt.* 



The lake is eight acres in extent. I was struck 

 with the graceful Egyptian papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) ^ 

 with waving, feathery heads, growing side by side 

 with the English water-lily, and a near Australian 

 relative with blue flowers (iV. gigantea). The flocks. 



Fig. 7S.— Plan of Melbourne Botanic Gardens. 



Another pleasant spot is in the miniature tree-fern 

 gully, where the gigantic fronds meet overhead, and 

 a very labyrinth of paths twist and turn in all direc- 

 tions. With the thermometer standing at 82° Fah. in 

 the shade, this forms an agreeable resort and shelter 

 from the sun's rays. The peat soil has been carefully 

 made, and here the Dicksonia, Alsophila, etc., can 

 be seen in full vigour, brought probably from the 

 Dandenong gullies. By ingenious and hidden devices, 



of teal previously mentioned migrate annually to and 

 from the Gippsland lakes. 



The method of grouping certain of the natural 

 orders in separate beds on the different lawns is so 

 attractive that I venture to give a rough plan of the 

 western lawn from the authorised catalogue of the 

 Gardens. The singular elasticity of the turf beneath 



* Those of great size are in the Sydney Gardens. 



