THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. Ill 



small reefs of vitreous and opaque quartz. One reef in particular, 

 about 3 feet wide, outcrops near the source of Cherry-tree Creek. 

 It has a north-west strike, and consists of white, opaque, cellular, 

 and partly ferruginous quartz. Several pieces were cursorily 

 examined, but no gold found. Again, at Webb's Creek a large 

 lump of ferruginous and highly cavernous quartz was noticed, the 

 crystals in the cavities having a silicious coating. It was not at 

 all worn, and evidently came from some reef near. 



The origin of the gold is a question of great interest. Whether 

 it has been derived from the reefs running through the main rock 

 masses, from reefs associated with diorite dykes, or been trans- 

 ported from the higher lands at the heads of the main streams, 

 can only be settled by further extended and close observation. 

 Though the scaly character of the gold in Webb's Creek appears 

 to point towards a granitic matrix, still, as reefs of the nature of 

 those noticed have usually proved to be barren, it is not likely 

 that they are the matrices. The character and association of the 

 gold in the southern portion of Puzzle Gully favours the second 

 theory, since the material does not show indication of much 

 attrition. As regards the mass of quartz gravels on the northern 

 side of that gully and the presence of the more valuable gems in 

 Webb's and Middle Creek workings the weight of evidence seems 

 to point to a distant origin. As similar gem stones are found 

 in various parts of the colony and appear to be traceable to older 

 basaltic matrices as mentioned by Mr. (now Professor) Ulrich in 

 his " Contributions to the Mineralogy of Victoria," it is probable 

 that an outlier of this rock exists somewhere nearer the source of 

 the streams. 



RELIQUIAE MUELLERIAN^E : 



DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AUSTRALIAN PLANTS IN 



THE MELBOURNE HERBARIUM. 



By J. G. Luehmann, F.L.S., Acting Curator. 



(Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 16th Nov., 1896.) 



Owing principally to the indefatigable energy of the late lamented 

 Baron von Mueller, the flora of Australia in its main features has 

 become known even from the remotest parts. Only very rarely is 

 a new species now discovered among phanerogamous plants, 

 although a good deal remains to be done to elucidate the vari- 

 ability of species, to complete the description of imperfectly 

 understood plants and to further trace their geographic range. 

 The vast Melbourne herbarium that our late patron brought 

 together contains some still undetermined forms, which among 

 his multifarious duties he could not find time to work up, and I 

 propose to undertake their investigation, and publish the results 

 from time to time in the Victorian Naturalist. 



This evening I beg to submit a new species of Acacia from the 



