218 [September, 



in the more open ground are the usual Eucalypti or "gum trees," 

 which often attain to magnificent dimeiisious ; but in the numerous 

 gullies running up ijito the range, especially at Lilyvale and Otford, 

 some thirty miles from Sydney, the forest growth is much more varied, 

 and of perfectly tropical luxuriance Gigantic fig trees rivalling those 

 of the New Hebrides in dimensions, and often loaded with huge 

 masses of the ''stag-horn " fern, Platycerium alcicorne, are here mixed 

 with other fine broad-leaved trees, in which the beautiful and fragrant 

 " Sassafras," Afherosperma moschatum^ holds a conspicuous place ; tree 

 ferns of large size are abundant, as well as two exceedingly fine and 

 handsome species of palms These are the so-called "cabbage palm." 

 Livistona australis, which here forms groves of several acres in extent, 

 and was formerly common about Sydney, though very few remain 

 there now ; and the still finer and more elegant " Bangalow " (Archon- 

 toplioenix cunninf/hami, perhaps better known by its older and more 

 easily pronounced name of Senforthia eler/ans), which attains a height 

 of 7*' or 80 feet. These [)a]ms add greatly to the tropical appearance 

 of the forest, which is so matted together with a profusion of tangled 

 vines and creepers reaching to the tops of the tallest trees, as well as 

 with our common bramble in great abundance, as to be almost im- 

 penetrable. Access to the gullies is only to be obtained by the narrow 

 and often exceedingly muddy paths made by the timber-getters, along 

 which teams of bullocks haul huge trunks of trees to the saw-mills, 

 amid a great deal of highly ]ncturesque language from their drivers. 

 The operations of the timber-getters, as well as those of coal mining 

 and dairy farming, have greatly marred the appearance of this beautiful 

 district, but it stiil remains the most interesting and productive col- 

 lecting ground within easy reach of Sydney, and a long day may be 

 spent there with pleasure and profit at au}^ time of the year. The 

 chief drawback is the presence of land-leeches, larger than those 

 encountered by me in Tasmania, which abound in the damp gullies, 

 and are of the most bloodthirsty disposition. 



A short distance to the north of Sydney, on the railway to New- 

 castle, is another extensive reserve of somewhat similar character to 

 the National Park, called " Kurringai Chase ;" and beyond the Hawkes- 

 bury River, renowned for the beauty of its scenery, is a large extent 

 of splendidly timbered country, in which, at Gosford and Ourimbah 

 especially, I have met with great success in collecting. To the west- 

 ward the Blue Mountains are within little more than forty miles 

 distance in a straight line, but these can hardly be accounted part of 

 the Sydney district, and my visits to them may deserve a separate 

 notice. 



