Vol. XXVIII. 



IQII 



] Excursion io Muiit Albert and Balwyn. 29 



another section at right angles shows the sharply-bent, 

 V-shaped structure in the rock. Passing into White Horse-road 

 towards Balwyn, a road-cutting showed, in a remarkably clear 

 manner, the numerous cross-jointings of the bed-rock, which 

 has been seamed with thin limonite veins, the veins themselves 

 often projecting from the softer bed-rock, which has been 

 readily worn away. It was here pointed out, as the party 

 crossed the Templestowe anticlinal axis, lately described by 

 Mr. Jutson, that this area can be traced by a line of " red gum- 

 tree land " as far as the west of Doncaster. One of our 

 members, Mr. A. O. Thiele, directed the leader's attention to 

 this fact with regard to Templestowe, and the latter has been 

 able to continue it southwai-ds towards Mont Albert. The 

 reason for this preference of the particular species of gum-tree, 

 Eucalyptus rostrata, for this land is evidently afforded in its 

 being a fracture zone seamed with quartz, giving the subsoil 

 a rubbly texture, and thus suited for deep rooting. Sur- 

 mounting the hill beyond Mont Albert, and turning to the 

 north along the Union-road, a fine view of the Koonung Koonung 

 Creek basin was seen and admired — one of the most striking 

 areas in the landscapes around Melbourne. From this com- 

 paratively small basin-shaped hollow, somewhere about a 

 million cubic yards of solid rock material must have been re- 

 moved by this creek, which, by the way, flows into the Yarra 

 at Bulleen, between Kew and Heidelberg. The junction of the 

 bed-rock and Tertiary sand was here noted on the Union-road, 

 by the moisture on the footpath, and the quartz reefs cutting 

 through the latter showed up distinctly against the brightly- 

 coloured ochreous and pink mudstone. The hill here close at 

 hand is 380 feet, and, like its opposite point, th«^ Reservoir Hill, 

 is capped with Tertiary sand, although this fact is not noted 

 on the old quarter-sheet geological map. This hill has no dis- 

 tinctive name, and it is here suggested that it should be called 

 the " Balwyn Hill." The leader then took the party into his 

 garden, where the junction of the Tertiary sand and the clay 

 bed-rock is marked by a small spring, which runs after heavy 

 showers. The excursion terminated by a walk to the top of 

 Balwyn Hill, where, by aid of the increased refraction due 

 to the setting sun and moistened atmosphere, the Divide stood 

 out very sharp and clear, and even the chief volcanic points 

 of eruption in the middle distance in the neighbourhood of 

 Beveridge and Sunbury were plainly visible. — F. Ch.\pm.\n. 



In accordance with the regulations, Mr. C. French, F.E.S., 

 Government Entomologist, will be retired on 30th June next. 

 This is greatly to be regretted, as Mr. French is mentally as well 

 fitted as ever to continue his important duties. 



