100 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXIV. 



Returning to the main passage we ascended a ladder, and so 

 reached the top of a snnall hump a few feet high ; this was very 

 narrow, and we descended to the floor on the other side of it, 

 which was about i8 or 20 feet lower, partly by a rope and partly 

 by means of the ladder. The floor of this ridge is apparently an 

 old stalagmital formation, and portion of it overhangs a few 

 inches. All this formation is very dark-coloured. 



The passage thus reached is, though lofty, very narrow, and iis 

 walls are covered with rough drapery, and, following along several 

 circuitous passages, we eventually reached a small chamber which 

 had been discovered by Mr. Ralston, and termed the " Surprise 

 Chamber"; this was the best chamber seen in the Spring Creek 

 Cave. All the formations in this cave are old, dry, and dead. 



Wilson's Cave. — This is situated on the Buchan River, about 

 two miles below the township. The entrance is by a well-defined 

 doorway in the hillside. The first chamber is a vestibule about 

 12 feet in height and 10 feet wide, and on the right hand we saw 

 an opening, partly blocked by the roof, which had fallen in. Here 

 was a luxuriant growth of ferns and other plants. The passage 

 here is a few feet wide, and following it we reached, in a few 

 yards, another chamber, the floor of which was very rough and 

 filled with coarse gravel. 



Then we entered the " Royal Chamber," the height of which we 

 estimated at about 60 feet ; the width is irregular, being perhaps 

 30 to 40 feet in the widest part. The chamber is roughly divided 

 into two unequal parts by a rocky mass covered with stalactites 

 and stalagmites, the central feature of which forms a rough fluted 

 column, the mass being pierced in places. The colour is dark 

 reddish brown, and at the base is a narrow passage, which we 

 called the " Fat Men's Misery." The face of this part is of a 

 dirty white colour, well fluted, and, to the best of my recollection, 

 is about 3 to 4 feet square. About the middle of the larger part 

 of the chamber is a recess about 20 feet above the floor, forming 

 a natural balcony with an opening to the large chamber. This 

 recess is easily reached by a small fissure, the grade being easy 

 and the passage clear. Hanging over this opening is a fairly 

 good mass of stalactital drapery. The formations in this cave are 

 mostly dark coloured, with cream coloured masses here and there, 

 and they are dry and dead as in the Spring Creek Cave. 



Dickson's Cave. — This is in a small range dividing the 

 Buchan and Murrindal Rivers, about 5 miles from Buchan. 

 There are two entrances, about 100 yards apart, and very rough, 

 and they are of considerable size. In one the floor of the vesti- 

 bule was a few feet below the doorway, and we noticed the 

 remains of two bullocks which had fallen down and perished. 

 In each of these caverns progress, up to a certain point, was easy. 

 The first we entered contained a large, irregular vestibule, and 



