94 Excursion to Cheltenham. [voV 



XXXIII. 



EXCURSION TO CHELTENHAM. 

 Favoured by a fine afternoon, about forty members and 

 friends took part in the excursion to Cheltenham on Saturday, 

 7th October. The route followed was through the Cheltenham 

 Park, thence to the heathy ground beyond. Over fifty species 

 of shrubs and plants were noted in flower or fruit, of which the 

 following are worthy of mention: — The Myrrh Tea-tree, 

 Leptospermum myrsinoides, and the Coast Tea-tree, L. 

 IcBvigatum, were flowering in great profusion, as was also the 

 Wedding Bush, Rici)iocarpus pinifoUus. The Blue Squill, 

 Chamcescilla corymhosa, looked charming amongst the grass 

 and undergrowth. Of the LeguminoScC, which is well repre- 

 sented in the district, the Hairy Aotus, Aotiis villosa, Gorse 

 Bitter Pea, Daviesia ulicina, Grey Parrot Pea, Dillwynia 

 cinerascens, and Late Black Wattle, Acacia mollissima, were seen 

 at their best. Three members of the Pimelea family were noted 

 — viz.. Dwarf Rice-flower, Pimelea humilis, Hairy Rice-flower, 

 P. phyllicoides. Downy Rice-flower, Pimelea octophylla. Two 

 fine specimens of the Kangaroo Apple, Solanum aviculare, 

 proved of great interest to the party. A few patches of the 

 Wild Parsnip, Didiscus pilosus, were also observed. This plant 

 has been credited with poisonous properties, but recent in- 

 vestigations have disproved this opinion. Amongst the 

 Composita;, the Curling Everlasting, Helichrysuin scorpioidcs, 

 the Big Billy Buttons, Craspedia Richca, and the Large Podo- 

 lepis, Podolepis acuminata, were fairly plentiful. Four members 

 of the OrchidaceiE were collected — viz., the Larger Glossodia, 

 Glossodia major, the Spider Orchid, Caladenia Patersoni, the 

 Yellow Hood Orchid, Thelymitra antennifera, and Tall Diuris, 

 Diuris longifolia. The Milkmaids, Burchardia umbellata, and 

 the Early Nancy, Anguillaria {W iirmbea) dioica, were met with 

 everywhere. Some of the party devoted their attention to 

 pond-life, and Mr. J. Searle has kindly given me the following 

 notes on their captvn'es. He says : — " Although the winter 

 and early si)ring had been remarkably rainless, and only two 

 weeks had elapsed since practically the first rain fell on the 

 sandy soil of Cheltenham, the shallow dei)ressions were found 

 to he teeming with aquatic life, the beautiful phyllopod, 

 Enlininadia dahli, being the most common and already measuring 

 five-sixteenths of an inch in length. When it is remembered 

 that most of the pools around Cheltenham had been dry for 

 two years or more, the number of specimens taken was most 

 remarkable. The list includes Enlimnadia dahli, Lynecus 

 macleayana, Simoccphalus gibbosus, Ccriodapiinia rotunda, 

 Camptocercus, sp., Boeckella oblonga, Bntnclla aiistralis, Cyclops 

 albicans, Cypris Icana, and Cypridopsis mimia. The larvae of 

 Tanypus and (^hyrononus were very abundant, while frog- 



