76 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



By Mr. B. NichoUs, on behalf of Mr. Knight. — Four snakes, 

 including two White-lipped Snakes, Hoplocephalus coronoides, 

 Giinth., from Thornton, Vic. 



By Mr. F. M. Reader. — Dried specimens of Erysimum 

 repandum, naturalized and new for Victoria ; and a series of 

 dried mosses from Westland, New Zealand, from the herbarium 

 of and collected by Mr. T. W. Naylor Beckett. 



By Mr. A. 0. Thiele. — An Obsidian Bomb, from Balmoral, Vic. 



By Mr. H. B. Williamson. — Dried plants, Lepyrodia scariosa, 

 new for Victoria, from the Grampians, January, 1902; Gratlola 

 nana, from Hawkesdale, Vic, 1885, new for S.W. of Victoria; 

 and Rumex pulcher, Linn., introduced from Europe, naturalized 

 in Victoria, from Curdie's River, January, 1903. 



[Correction. — The plant exhibited as Xanthosia atkinsoniana 

 (misprinted atkinsonia) recorded in Vict. Nat., xix., p. 136, 

 proves to be a form of Xanthosia dissecta, J. Hooker. — H.B.W.] 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



ACROSS AUSTRALIA. 



By Professor Baldwin Spencer, M.A., F.R.S. 



(Delivered before Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 1th Sept., 1903.) 



[The following is an outline of Prof. Spencer's remarks, delivered vivd voce 

 in explanation of a large series of lantern slides. — Ed. Vict. Nat.\ 



To many present there will be little new in what I have to tell 

 you to-night, but as in many minds there is a vague uncertainty as 

 to what the centre of Australia is like, I propose, with the aid of 

 the lantern slides, to give you some idea of the appearance of the 

 country passed over by Mr. F. Gilleii and myself during our 

 journey from south to north, which occupied slightly more than 

 twelve months, in 1 901-2. 



After a three-days' train journey north from Adelaide the 

 traveller reaches Oodnadatta (688 miles), the present terminus of 

 the proposed transcontinental line. Further travel northwards 

 depends entirely upon the nature of the season. In the central 

 part of the continent you are very liable to meet with bad 

 seasons. In fact, it is sometimes quite impossible to travel with 

 horses, and camels must then be taken. 



On our expedition we were able to get right through with 

 horses, of which we had twenty with us — eight for use in the dray, 

 and the rest as riding and pack horses. We sent ahead sup- 

 plies of food, &c., to last a year, to certain depots, and picked 

 these up as we advanced, always carrying a working supply with 

 us in the dray, as well as various articles to barter with the natives. 

 The journey is very monotonous and uninteresting, from a scenic 

 point of view, but there is really no serious difficulty in crossing 

 the continent. 



