VICTORIA. 261 



an English green lane in a clay soil district. In wet weather 

 deep ruts are cut in it ; then these are baked dry and hard, and 

 at the next shower form watercourses and get scooped out 

 deeper than ever. The road at last conies to consist of a 

 series of sharp ridges separated by intervening troughs, often 

 two feet deep. The consequence is that as the coach rattles and 

 leaps bumping over these, the suspended body of the coacli 

 heaves and sways, and this to such an extent that my companion 

 and a lady in the coach were sea-sick all the way. 



We travelled over some of the roughest of the road at night 

 which, of course, made matters worse, since the " driver " could 

 not see the pitfalls ; but, like a Californian " stage driver," he 

 well knew all the dangerous ones, even in the dark, and in one 

 or two places made detours through the bush for a little way. 



The ranges are covered with a dense forest of gum trees, in 

 many places of enormous height, standing with their smooth 

 trunks close together, and running up often for a height of 

 200 feet without giving off a branch. The light-coloured stems 

 are hung with ragged strips of separated bark. 



The great slenderness of the trunks of these giant gum-trees 

 in proportion to their height is striking, and in this respect they 

 contrast most favourably with the Californian " big trees," which, 

 in the shape of their trunks, remind one of a carrot upside down, 

 so disproportionately broad are they at their bases. The large 

 species of gum tree, the tallest tree in the world, is Eucalyptus 

 amygdalina. As Baron von Miiller says, " the largest specimens 

 might overshadow the pyramid of Cheops." 



Beneath, in the gullies, is a thick growth of tree-ferns and 

 underwood on the banks of a mountain stream. The under- 

 growth is the haunt of Bush Wallabies (Halmaturiis ualabatus). 

 I put one of them suddenly to flight as I was creeping through 

 the tangled, almost impenetrable, vegetation in the hopes of 

 getting a shot at the Lyre-birds, which were to be heard calling 

 in all directions. The animal gave a tremendous bound and 

 seemed more to fly than leap. 



Not far from Healesville is a Government reserve, where u 

 number of Aborigines are maintained at Government expense 

 under a missionary. The reserve is called Coranderrk. There 



