THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 11 



land. On going up the Bloomfield River I saw a White-breasted 

 Sea Eagle, Haliastur leiccosternus, plunge into the water, and, 

 catching a fish in its talons, fly off" with it ; these birds are fairly 

 numerous about here. On landing at the jetty I walked five 

 miles along a very dusty road to my destination, " Wyalla." The 

 house was pleasantly situated on rising ground, facing towards 

 the sea, about five miles distant, with low-lying open forest land in- 

 tervening. At the back and on one side were high mountain ranges 

 covered with dense scrub which in some places came to within a 

 few hundred yards of the homestead, and it was on the higher 

 points of these ranges that the Turrabina, or Tree-climbing 

 Kangaroo, lived. The scrub was very dry, and the ground 

 covered with dead leaves, which made it difficult to walk without 

 making a noise and so disturbing the animal and bird life near. 

 As no rain worth speaking of had fallen for some months previous 

 to my visit, the various watercourses on the flat land were for the 

 most part dry, but on following them up the mountain for a short 

 distance into the scrub running water was generally met with. A 

 good breeze used to blow during the day, but the nights and early 

 mornings were, as a rule, very calm, and consequently most of my 

 photographs were taken shortly after sunrise, before the breeze 

 sprang up. The varieties of timber found in the scrub are con- 

 siderable, including the fine Cedar Tree, Cedrela, and many other 

 kinds grow to a large size, notably the Bean Tree. Some are hard 

 wood and others soft ; several kinds exude a milk-white sap on 

 having their bark cut into, especially one tree with very soft wood, 

 locally known as the Flycatcher Tree, from the fact of its bearing 

 seeds covered with a sticky substance, which are often thickly 

 strewn on the ground under the tree, and any insects that come 

 in contact with them are generally held. Many of the trees are 

 valuable for their timber besides the Cedar, and a sawmill is 

 worked at Bloomfield, the timber being either drawn in by 

 bullock teams or floated down the Bloomfield River. The 

 Stinging Nettle Tree, Laportea moroides, flourishes, especially 

 near the edges of scrub that has been partly killed by fire 

 or cleared, and grows to a height of about 15 feet, though 

 generally much shorter, with a large, broad leaf. The stem 

 is just as bad as the leaves for stinging. If one got stung 

 on the hand or arm, the pain soon ascended to the armpit 

 and caused a painful swelling, which often lasted for some 

 days, and if the hands were bathed in cold water the pain became 

 much more acute; in the same way, if the feet were stung the pain 

 ascended. The effects of being badly stung often lasts for months ; 

 horses suffer severely when stung, but not cattle, showing how 

 powerful the irritant poison must be. I incautiously came in con- 

 tact with the plant on several occasions, but the painful experience 

 soon made me more careful. 



