15i f'^""'^' 



kind hospitality of the Eev. E. H. Thompson, a keen entomologist. 

 The second excursion, of eight days' duration, was to Lauuceston, the 

 chief town in the northern part of the island. Here I had the plea- 

 sure of meeting Mr. Augustus Simson, one of the best known of 

 Tasmanian naturalists, to whom I am indebted for much valuable 

 information and assistance, especially as regards Coleoptera. 



The situation of Hobart, at the head of the fine estuary of the 

 river Derwent, is exceedingly picturesque, and the surrounding country 

 is beautifully varied with wooded hills and valleys, orchards, and cul- 

 tivated fields ; by far the most imposing feature in the scene is the 

 huge square-shouldered mass of Mount Wellington, w^hich rises 

 abruptly just behind the town to a height of 4166 feet. It is a w^ell 

 built and cheerful town, and boasts of some fine public buildings, in- 

 cluding an excellent little Museum, which contains a very complete 

 collection of the Tasmanian fauna, and a fine scientific library belonging 

 to the Eoyal Society of Tasmania. Just outside the town is a public 

 park of nearly 1000 acres in extent, known as the " Queen's Domain," 

 where a spare hour could always be pleasantly and profitably spent in 

 searching for Coleoptera under the loose gum-tree bark. Most of my 

 longer walks were taken in company with two residents of Hobart, 

 Messrs. Eodway and Penny, both first-rate " bushmen," and thoroughly 

 acquainted with the country and the Tasmanian flora ; and our weekly 

 tramp up the slopes of " the Mountain " will long live in my memory 

 as among the most pleasant of my collecting reminiscences. 



In the fields near the town it is astonishing to see how completely 

 the native herbaceous plants have been ousted by the common grasses, 

 cornfield-weeds, and " garden-escapes " of England, which thrive in 

 this genial climate wdth a vigour and luxuriance unknown in their 

 native country. Indeed, it is quite difficult to find, in some of the 

 pastures, an indigenous plant, except by a close search in some out- 

 of-the-way corner. The hawthorn, English gorse, broom, elder, and 

 bramble are the common hedgerow shrubs, and the hawthorn here 

 attains a height and thickness rarely seen at home in these days of 

 *^' high farming " and wire fences. A composite weed from the Cape 

 of Good Hope {Cryptostemma calendulaceum, Br.), is a great pest to 

 cultivation, and still worse is the so-called " California thistle," our 

 familiar Cnicus arvensis, Hoffm. Worst of all is the common sweet- 

 briar, Bosa ruhiginosa, Linn., which is certainly the best abused plant 

 in the island. This bush has taken entire possession of extensive 

 tracts of pasture land, it being disseminated chiefly by the cattle, 

 which are very fond of browsing on the sweet " hips " in the autumn, 



