I50 NiCHOLLS, A Trip io the Bass Valley. [^'^De^'^''^'' 



tram track runs to a timber-cutters' camp, three-quarters of 

 a mile distant. Here a belt of original scrub looked a promising 

 hunting-ground, but a close search revealed nothing of interest 

 ornithologically. The ground was swampy, with isolated patches 

 of dry land, and the moister parts were riddled with the tussock- 

 hidden tunnels of land-crabs and the large earthworms. At 

 every footstep weird subterranean gurglings attracted attention, 

 and it was some time before we found out that the swishing, 

 sucking noises were due to the sudden retreat of the gigantic 

 earthworms into their burrows. On the drier parts one of the 

 so-called native hops, Goodenia ovata, with a few late blooms, 

 was growing to a height of five to six feet. 



The shrubs emitted a most fragrant perfume as we pushed 

 through them. We were much disappointed in the character 

 of the country. For years past the timber has been cut out 

 for the mines at Korumburra, and latterly for those of the 

 Powlett. Bush-fires have also devastated a great part of the 

 Bass Valley, and we were informed that, after the great fire 

 of i8g8, the bodies of dozens of Lyre-birds were found along 

 the banks of the river. No doubt the destruction of marsupial 

 life was equally severe. 



In the undergrowth we had disturbed one wallaby for the 

 day. A small orchid and a few plants were collected, and have 

 been identified by Mr. C. French, jun. Only twenty-one species 

 of birds were seen, the most uncommon being the Gang-Gang 

 Cockatoo. Earlier in the day we had come across the wood- 

 cutters' camp. All around lay the fallen timber. A few in- 

 quiries called forth the remark that many Flying Phalangers 

 were destroyed during the progress of the work, and the presence 

 of the dead animals lying round the camp bore out the state- 

 ment. On several occasions phalangers, probably specimens of 

 Petauriis australis, had been captured and set free again by the 

 timber-cutters. The description of one of their captures, a 

 small animal no larger than a rat, convinced me that it was 

 a specimen of that rare mammal, Leadbeater's Opossum, 

 Gymnobelideiis leadheaieri, M'Coy, figured in the " Prodromus 

 of Zoology of Victoria," decade x., pi. 91. The remaining clumps 

 of timber in this valley are the last of the sanctuaries of this 

 exceedingly rare little creature. A description, accompanied 

 by a drawing of the animal, if forwarded through the proper 

 channels to the contractors working in this valley, might result 

 in the securing of specimens either for the Museum or the 

 National Park. 



On Sunday morning we left our residence, the Grand Central 

 Coffee Palace — Nyora consists of two stores, one hotel, and 

 several houses — and. taking a local track, strolled a mile or 



