428 BOTANY OF 1{VLST0XE AND GOULBURN RIVER DISTRICTS, 



The main Dividing Range divides the district into the eastern 

 and western watersheds. 



The western slopes of the Range are much more fertile, and as 

 settlements are more frequently met with, it will be easily under- 

 stood that the indigenous vegetation has been considerabl}'- cleared. 



The geological formation of the Main Range is the Hawkesbury 

 sandstone (Triassic ), which extends in outcrops down to and over 

 the Goulburn River. Interspersed with the sandstone are basalt 

 and the Tomago Series, which extend inland to beyond Dubbo, 

 a fact that may account for the occurrence on the eastern water- 

 shed of several western species. 



The sandstone of the Range is succeeded on the western slopes 

 towards the Cudgegong River by the Newcastle Series, and next we 

 have the Upper Marine Series, followed by Silurian, with out- 

 crops of granite, quartz porphyries, felsites and limestones. 



I have not been able to obtain any authentic recoi'ds of any 

 trips made by previous botanical collectors, but judging by the 

 references to localities in the " Floi'a Australiensis," I am under 

 the impression that until visited by me this country was botani- 

 cally a terra incognita. A. Cunningham must have been on the 

 outskii'ts, for in the " Flora Australiensis " (Vol. i. p. 44.3) under 

 Crypfandra buxi/olia, Fenzl, the locality is given as " Rocky 

 Hills on the meridian of Bathurst, on the parallel of 30° 50'; Mount 

 Yongo, on the route to Hunter's River and Goulburn River, A. 

 Cunniyigham." This naturalist collected on the north-west 

 branches of the Hunter River; so that the Census now offered 

 fills the gap between his collectings and those of othei-s on the 

 Blue Mountains. 



Mr. A. G. Hamilton's Mudgee Census includes the flora of the 

 countr}^ to the east of the southern half of this district. 



My collections were made during the months of September^ 

 October, November and December, in the years 1895, 1893, 1892 

 and 1890 respectively, the actual collecting days being about 50. 



Summarising the results of my expeditions, I find over 350^ 

 Species were collected representing 56 Natural Orders. Of these 

 10 were new species, and 7 hixxe, already been described, ^•iz.: — 



