54 Excursion to Sydenham , Bulla, and Diggets Rest. P'^^juiv^'' 



chlorine vapours had been acting- on the granite. This matter, 

 of course, requires working out carefully before a definite cause 

 for the kaolinization can be assigned. From Bulla we walked 

 almost west for about four miles to the graptolite beds on a 

 natural section formed by a river-cliff on the Saltwater River, 

 about a mile and three-quarters north of Diggers Rest. Here 

 we were successful in procuring great numbers of easily- 

 identifiable graptolites, which showed the rocks to be Upper 

 Ordovician in age. Amongst others, good specimens of the 

 following were obtained : — Dicranograptns ramosus, Dicello- 

 grapius elegans, Nemagraptiis gracilis, Diplograpiiis, sp., 

 Climacograptits bicornis, Lasiograptus, sp., Cryptograptiis, sp., 

 and Glossograpius, sp. The beds in which these were obtained 

 consist of dark blue slates striking a little E. of N. and dipping 

 westerly at high angles, varying from 65° to 80°. After 

 spending about an hour at these fossil beds we arrived at the 

 Diggers Rest station in ample time to return in the train that 

 left at 6.37 p.m. for town. 



Dr. C. S. Sutton has kindly handed me the following notes 

 on the botany of the outing : — " The members more j)articularly 

 interested in plant life had good reason to be pleased with their 

 botanical findings during the excursion. The late season had 

 been so favourable that, out of over 100 s])ecies noted, quite 

 40 (most of which, in other years, would not have been so con- 

 spicuous) were now in flower : and although by one of us 

 with an experience of 20 years in the locality nothing new was 

 discovered, the occurrrence of some species was a pleasant 

 surprise to the others. The plants met with roughly fell into 

 two categories — those on the exposed basalt plains and those 

 in the river gorges. On the basalt the vegetation, which it is 

 safe to say has presented much the same appearance ever since 

 its first establishment, is a grass formation containing also a 

 fair variety of other plants not exceeding it in height, and with 

 a marked absence of tree growth. Similar vegetation, with little 

 variation, also covers the greater part of the other basalt 

 plains extending nearly to the western border of the State. 

 The principal grasses were the ' Wallaby Grass,' Danthonia 

 penicillata, and the ' Kangaroo Grass.' Anthistiria ciliata, with 

 sparsely-scattered saltbushes, such as the ' Hairy Blue-bush,' 

 Kochia villosa, the * Berry Saltbush.' A triplex semibaccala, 

 the ' Barrier Saltbush,' Enchylcvna tomentosa, and the 

 ' Nodding Saltbush,' Rhagodia nutans. Of the other small 

 plants, the ' Yellow Wood-Sorrel,' Oxalis corniculata, whose 

 capsules were continuously in evidence, the ' Maiden's 

 Blush,' Convolvulus eriihescens, the ' Common Rib-weed,' 

 Plantago varia, the ' Common Woodruff,' Asperula oligantha ; 

 and, among a goodly number of Composites, ]'ittadinia australis 



