90 Hart, Eucalyp>is. about Creswick avd Chines, [yj'^xx 



Nat. 



xxiv. 



running water removes it or the ground is too steep for its 

 retention. On these slopes the water ciuickly runs off, being 

 delayed more or less according to circumstances by the forest 

 litter and smaller vegetation. A slope with a south aspect, 

 being more shaded, does not allow so rapid drying or so ra])id 

 decay of plant waste as the sunnier slopes ; hence the con- 

 ditions found low on the hills rise higher on these shady slopes, 

 the more abundant vegetation further lessening the rate of 

 run -off of rain and the washing down of soil and light debris 

 to the lower levels. On the gentler bedrock hills the run -off 

 is slower, and light material is not so readily moved, so that 

 more uniform conditions will result on the lower and upper 

 parts of the hillside, a point which is illustrated in the way 

 E. riihida keeps mostly to the lower slopes in the steeper 

 ranges, but sometimes extends right over a low, gentle hill. 

 The associated alluvial deposits may be taken ^vitll the bedrock. 

 No different species of trees have been noticed on them, and 

 often their boundaries are ill defined. The present alluvials 

 in the valleys give the e.xtreme of wet situations in the bed- 

 rock country. 



To the south and east of Creswick the forest is mainly formed 

 of E. ohliqiia, Messmate or Messmate-Stringybark. /:. Stuartiana, 

 Apple Box, /:. dives. Broad-leaved Peppermint, and /:. 

 amygdalina. Common Peppermint, the relative prominence of 

 the species varying in different localities. There are also, 

 mostly in the vallej^s, E. riihida, Candlebark. E. ovata (paliidosa). 

 Swamp Gum, and E. riminalis, ^lanna Gum. In addition, E. 

 macrorrhyncha. Red Stringybark, occurs in two places, the 

 chief locality being south-west of the railway station, at the 

 west end of certain suburban blocks known as Hyde Park, and 

 the other a short distance outside the north-east corner of the 

 Plantation E. melliodora. Yellow Box, also occurs close to 

 and in the township. It is abundant near the raihvay at 

 Cobbler's Gully, between Bald Hills and Creswick, and from 

 there northerly. It is also found on the flanks of the hills and 

 in the valleys on the east of the township, and as it is seen on 

 this side on first reaching the timber it might seem to be 

 commoner than it really is. It does not seem to penetrate far 

 into the forest except up Cobbler's Gully and its branches, 

 nor does it seem to reach above 1,500 feet elevation. 



To the north-west of Creswick the bedrock country is lower, 

 and often with gentle slopes. With deeper soil it is not 

 always easy to say whether a particular soil is derived from 

 the underlying rock onl5\ or from a thin cover of alluvial 

 material. The same species occur, with the exception probably 

 of Common Peppermint, but the proportions and local dis- 

 tribution differ from those observed in the steeper ranges. The 



