Nov., 1907.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 113 



bloom, the valley gradually became narrower, and presently we 

 came to a fern gully on a somewhat small scale, with Musk trees, 

 Aster argophyllus, Hazel, Pomaderris apetala, Chrismas-tree, 

 Frostanthera lasiantha, and other typical vegetation, while larger 

 gums, &c., grew on the steep slopes, allowing little or no northern 

 or western sun to enter its sacred precincts. Here grew a few 

 Dicksonias, many having probably been removed in the course of 

 years ; the Cat-head Fern, Aspidium aculeatum, Polypodiu7n 

 decompositum, Lomaria capeiise, var. procera, and, strange to say, 

 the one fern for which I had been looking for more than twenty 

 years, during which time I had traversed many a more pretentious 

 fern gully. Now, I trust you all, as lovers of Nature, not to give 

 away the precise locality of this fern, for, as it is almost the only 

 one of our indigenous ferns which has a monetary value among 

 the nurserymen, I should not like to be the means of exterm- 

 inating it from the district. The fern I refer to is the bipinnate 

 form of Loviaria discolor. Perhaps fortunately, most of the 

 specimens I saw were of too robust a type to stand removal, and 

 as it is in such an out of the way place, I hope it may long 

 remain there as one of the botanical features of the district. 

 Portion of a frond exhibited will give you an idea of the character 

 of the specimens. As it was getting late when we reached this 

 spot, we did not quite complete the exploration of the gully, 

 which could not extend for many hundred yards further, as we 

 were now nearly up to the top of the Divide again. We therefore 

 struck across to the road, and found ourselves about a mile from 

 the school. Just opposite the school I went up on to a cleared 

 hill, " The Bald Hill " of the Geological Survey map, which 

 is a small area of Volcanic, in the midst of the granite, and 

 probably the site of a small vent in earlier times. 



On my return to Lancefield I was surprised to learn that, 

 nearly 47 years before, the ill-starred Burke and Wills expedition 

 had probably crossed the Dividing Range at the same spot as 

 I had done that day. This seems to be a fact not generally 

 known, and I have endeavoured, without success, by searching at 

 the Public Library, to ascertain the reason for the expedition 

 taking the road through Lancefield in preference to the Ml. 

 Alexander road, through the Black Forest, the use of which 

 route I had never questioned. My only conjecture is that 

 Burke, having camels, adopted this route because it was less 

 frequented, and offered better opportunities for camping. They 

 certainly camped on the Deep Creek, about a mile north of the 

 present township. 



One of my principal reasons for accepting the invitation to 

 visit Lancefield was the hope that an opportunity might occur to 

 visit the well-known aboriginal stone quarries at Mt. William, and 

 when my host offered to drive me out there the next day you 

 may be sure I accepted his offer with pleasure. 



