THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



what a vast quantity of sand must be brought down during the 

 course often of a very few days and how thick the water must 

 become with fine particles. On the other hand, during the hot 

 season there suddenly grow with enormous rapidity great 

 quantities of water weeds. The river is then at its lowest and 

 the decaying vegetable matter will often render the water foul. 

 Under either of these conditions you can see that the possession 

 of an organ enabling the animal to remain in its natural element 

 and yet breathe air directly will be of great advantage to it. 

 It is the shallower pools especially which become choked with 

 weeds, and since normally the Ceratodus lives in the deeper pools, 

 in which is the purer water, it is, I think, very probable that the 

 flood season, when the water is disagreeably full of sand and mud, 

 is the time when the lung is of greatest service. 



In Gayndah I learned that Dr. Siemen was camped out some 

 forty miles up country, where the Auburn and Bowen Rivers join 

 the Burnett, close to one another. Accordingly I made up my 

 mind to go up the river, both to see him and to search for weed. 

 The difficulty was how to get there. However, I met with a 

 friend in the person of Mr. Bailey, proprietor of the Queensland 

 Hotel, who, at considerable inconvenience to himself, promised 

 to see me through the difficulty ; and, taking one of my boys with 

 me, we left Gayndah early one morning, before 4 a.m. 



The country was extremely dry and sandy, with poor gum 

 trees and every now and then a patch of Brigalow. By 10.30 

 we reached a wayside accommodation house, and then in the 

 heat of the day we started off along a most miserable track 

 across country as utterly uninteresting and monotonous as can well 

 be imagined. We had two good dogs with us, and the only break 

 in the monotony was when they put up a big " iguana." Most 

 were much too quick for them, but one they got hold of, and it 

 was wonderful to see how they stuck to him without getting 

 within reach of his mouth. When all was over I slung him over a 

 dead trunk, to get his head on the way back. However, when we 

 came back he was not perfectly fresh and was left behind. By 

 four o'clock we had crossed the Bowen River and pitched our 

 camp about a mile beyond. Then I walked on to Dr. Siemen's 

 camp. My advent was announced by the yelping of sundry 

 mongrels, the property of a small camp of blacks. On these 

 animals I kept a sharp look-out. Dr. Siemen I found living 

 in comparative luxury and from him I received a most cordial 

 welcome. We spent the evening most pleasantly talking over 

 matters of common scientific interest. Three of his blacks came 

 in with a few Echidnas. I learnt from him that he had been no 

 more successful than myself in procuring Ceradotus eggs — that, in 

 fact, they had not begun to spawn yet. Unlike myself, however, 

 he was able to stay there until they did spawn, and most 



