^°'"^g^,^'"'] ■ ^ '^>'^P f^' "f'^ Omeo District. 175 



australis, known as Bayonet-grass or Grass-tree, but which is 

 not a true grass, as it belongs to the Lihaceae, was very abundant. 

 The base of the leaves of this plant are very succulent, and 

 formed the sole nourishment of a little girl who was recently 

 lost in the bush for several days. Of the Panax samhucifolius 

 there were many specimens, but they varied greatly in foliage, 

 although all belonged to the one species. Some were handsome 

 shrubs of fifteen feet in height, whose wood (called Mountain 

 Ash), is highly esteemed by bushmen, who use it for axe handles. 

 It is prettily marked, sound, and pliable. 



From Bruthen to Omeo is a distance of about 70 miles, and 

 we started for the first coach stage at Double Bridges at 

 4 a.m. There had been a heavy fall of rain overnight, which 

 made the generally bad road very much worse, so that the 

 four stalwart horses had all their work to do in pulling the 

 coach up the steep road, which for about 40 miles is hewn out 

 of the rocky cliffs rising sheer from the river, so that it appeared 

 like a narrow ribbon winding ever upwards on the hillsides, 

 with a sheer drop of many hundreds of feet into the river, whose 

 waters, swollen by the recent rains, raged their torrentous 

 course over large granite and limestone boulders below. 



The ordinary tourist is wont to gasp with horror on being 

 told that this is the road he must travel, but after a few miles 

 the terrifying thought wears off, and he can look downwards 

 without feeling dizzy. The first few miles were wooded by 

 Gum-topped Box, Eucalyptus heiniphloia, var. albens. 

 Red Ironbark, Eucalyptus sideroxylon. White Stringybark, 

 E. eugenioidcs, Yellow Box, E. melliodora, Mountain Gum, E. 

 goniocalyx. Red Box. E. polyanthemos, Peppermint, E. 

 amygdalina. Grey Box, E. elceophora, Mountain Ash, E. regnans, 

 Messmate, E. ohliqua, Stringybark, E. macrorrhyncha, which 

 latter species grew thickly and in an almost uniform circum- 

 ference of about five feet, shooting up their sheer perpendicular 

 trunks to a height of 50 feet before branching. 



A very gorgeous effect was produced by the scarlet flowers 

 of the Red Climber, Kennedya ruhicunda, clambering thickly 

 over all the vegetation, entwining the lower branches of 

 Eucalypt saplings and almost completely covering them with 

 racemes of bright red flowers. It was exceptionally prolific, and, 

 although keenly alert, I was not fortunate enough to find a 

 white -flowering specimen of this plant ; but I have been in- 

 formed that it is occasionally met with there, and is fairly 

 common around Dargo. Growing upon the sidings were many 

 shrubs of Doduncea viscosa, var. attenuala, which might be 

 mistaken for Acacia retinodes. to which it bears a striking 

 resemblance in bark and leaf ; but it can easilj^ be distinguished 



