Vol. XXI. 

 1922 



] WHTTLOCK, Notes from NuUarhor Plain. Ill 



difference occurred, however. At Zanthus the Tree-creeper was 

 the Rufous (Cliniactcris riifa), and at Boorara the White-browed 

 {C. supcrciliosa). 



At Boorara I cannot recall seeinjj: or hearinjj^ the ^'ellow- 

 fronted Honey-Eater (Mclipliaga pluimila), and the two liut- 

 cher-Birds, the White-winged {Cracticus leucopteriis), and the 

 Black-throated {C. )ii(/ro(/iilaris), were far less common than at 

 Zanthus. 



On 1st August I met Air. H. L. White, who was travelling to 

 Perth. On talking things over with him, it was decided that I 

 should at once move on to Naretha, a locality where I was in- 

 formed the forest country merged into the great Nullarbor 

 Plain. There was a special reason for this move, as will be re- 

 lated further on. I left Zanthus a few days later, travelling by 

 the supply train, in order to have a look at the country passed 

 through. About 35 miles east of Zanthus, the eucalypts cut out 

 somewhat abruptly, probably due to a change from the granite 

 and ironstone formations to the limestone of the i)lain. With 

 the disappearance of the eucalypts, the country became more 

 open, and si)inifex (Triodia) gave way to saltbush. The most 

 abundant trees were Casuarinas, Mulgas and other Acacias, with 

 a variety of smaller tree-like bushes; many of them flowering 

 species. 



Naretha lies 205 miles to the east of Kalgoorlie, and after the 

 arboreal profusion of Zanthus presents a desolate appearance. 

 This is much aggravated by the numbers of dead and bleached 

 bushes and trees. Not infrequently I came across areas of from 

 20 to 30 acres, which hardly contained a living specimen. I 

 believe the destruction is due to a wood-boring beetle. Great 

 numbers of these dead bushes were lying prone, having been up- 

 rooted by the aboriginals in search of "bardies" amongst the 

 roots. 



I remained at Naretha till 30th September, when I moved to 

 Haig, 280 miles east of Kalgoorlie, and a long way into the open 

 plain. 



If Naretha looked desolate, Haig, had it not been for the 

 abundance of waving grasses and myriads of everlastings in this 

 fine season, would have appeared a desert. Hardly a bush or 

 tree is to be found in the immediate vicinity, the nearest belts 

 of stunted timber being five miles to the east, and a smaller belt 

 some four miles to the west ; the saltbush and bluebush having 

 the most miserable and stunted appearance. In describing the 

 plain, however, mention must be made of the "Dongas." These 

 appeared to me to have at one time been fissures in the limestone 

 floor, subsequently becoming choked up with dead vegetation 

 and alluvial soil washed into them from the surrounding plain 

 during heavy storms. These dongas vary much in extent, but 

 the}' are always narrow, and may run in any direction. Vege- 

 tation in many of them is very profuse. Bushes growing on the 

 edges are generally of large size and prolific of leaf, whilst 



