^"^•'"j AuDAS, Characteristic Vegetation about Yarram-. 63 



Commencing the tour on the 20th October last, and leaving 

 the city by the early train on a typical spring morning, the 

 view presented was both gratifying and restful. Along the 

 route the bounteous season with which the State had been 

 favoured was manifest — wherever the eye ranged there was a 

 growth of vivid emerald. Nothing of material interest was noted 

 until Lang Lang was reached, where a heathy stretch of about 

 seven miles was passed through. Here some colour was given 

 to the scene by the wealth of the pale yellow and glorious 

 golden-brown shades of Dillwynia floribunda, the pretty blue 

 of Danipiera strida, the fine, large, peach-like blooms of 

 Leptospermum myrsinoides, and the pure white Jasmine-like 

 flowers of Ricinocarpus pinifolius — the latter a neat shrub 

 two to four feet in height, with linear leaves and a profusion of 

 fragrant blooms. 



On leaving Nyora the nature of the country changes from 

 plain to undulating and hilly. En route a stretch of gaunt and 

 dry Eucalyptus regnans — the so-called Blackbutt or Mountain 

 Ash — was to be seen. This eucalypt attains the great height 

 of 300 feet — or even more in sheltered forest glens — and is 

 one of the loftiest trees known. Its circumference at six feet 

 from the ground has been known to be sixty feet and upwards. 

 The wood is fissile, well adapted for the manufacture of railway 

 carriages, and second, if not equal, to Blackwood, Acacia 

 melanoxylon, for the purpose named. Of late it has been 

 greatly used for the making of household furniture, and is useful 

 also for shingles, fruit cases, staves, inner building material, 

 and other purposes. As the foliage contains much oil, it has 

 to be specially guarded against bush fires, from the effects of 

 which it seldom recovers. 



When passing over the Hoddle Range, near Fish Creek, the 

 leguminous shrub, Gompholohium latifolium, with its handsome, 

 large pale yellow flowers, was observed in mature bloom. It 

 is a slender shrub of three to four feet in height, and well 

 worthy of cultivation. The red variety of Correa speciosa was 

 also in gorgeous bloom, and presented bright red patches to 

 the tops of the hills. From here a grand panoramic view of 

 a portion of Wilson's Promontory is obtained, and some of the 

 intricate and densely-wooded mountains are plainly visible, 

 also a fine view of Corner Inlet, while the picturesque Mount 

 Singapore appears close at hand, though really it is several 

 miles distant. 



From Foster onward the country passed through was chiefly 

 covered with grass-trees interspersed plentifully with the 

 widely- diffused Long Purple Flag, Patersonia longiscapa, and 

 the " Butterfly Iris," Diplarrhena Morcsa, also such ubiquitous 

 plants as Bulbine bulbosa, W ahlenbergia gracilis, Dillwynia 



