934 I'.OTANY OF THE "'■ CLEAUS AND "BASALT MASSES, 



bv the produce i-aised from farms situated on, and close to them 

 being in excess of that of others situated farther from them. 



I make no pretensions as to the completeness of this list, but 

 I believe it to contain by far the greater number of species 

 jrrowins on the volcanic formations, the Natural Order Gramineaj 

 perhaps excepted. 



The geological formation of the ranges is Triassic or Hawkes- 

 bury Sandstone, with probably Pleisto<.'ene volcanic rocks, as I 

 am informed by Mr. J. E. Carne, F.G.S.; and the geological age 

 and origin of these " Clears " is, I understand, now being investi- 

 gated by that gentleman, the results to be published by him in 

 the Records of the Geological Survey, New South Wales; and 

 when this information is available, the subject of this paper will 

 be still more interesting, as the relationship, so to speak, that is 

 found to exist between the geology and flora of this part of the 

 county will be more apparent. 



One result of these botanical notes on the " Clears " is that it 

 shows how particular species have a penchant for special geolo- 

 gical formations, and that although there exists land-connection 

 between the several Clears, yet the respective species, although 

 common to both, are absent from the intervening ground. 



It is to the disintegration of the basalt from the volcanic 

 outcrops that the valleys owe what fertility they possess, and 

 those parts which lie closest to the Clears and Basalt Masses 

 possess greater fertility than those farther removed. 



I desire to tender my sincere thanks to Mr. R. T. Baker, 

 F.L.S., itc. Curator of the Technological Museum, Sydney, for 

 many kind hints and suggestions in identifying the species collected 

 by me, and for his kindness in many other ways; and to Mr. J. 

 E. Carne, F.G.S., Assist. Government Geologist, for information 

 as to the formation of the ranges in the county, and for his 

 kindness in lending me a map of the district. I must also thank 

 Messrs. A. E. Cobcroft and L. Barnes, local residents, for accom- 

 panying me in my botanical expeditions. 



I have followed Bentham's classification as nearly as I possibly 

 could. 



