128 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXlV. 



THE PLENTY RANGES IN EARLY SPRING. 

 By a. D. Hardy, F.L.S. 

 {Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 9th Sept., 1907.) 

 The excursions of the Field Naturalists' Club are usually arranged 

 for seasons in which the forms of life to be examined are most 

 active and abundant. Botanical excursions, therefore, begin in 

 August with short day or afternoon trips to the localities where 

 lowland flowers make an early appearance. Thence forward till 

 nearly midsummer the field for study of flowers, insects, and 

 birds steadily widens. The highland — not necessarily alpine — 

 flora receives more attention in late spring and summer, the 

 plants of localities which have higher altitudes flowering, as a 

 rule, much later than their lowland relatives. 



An inquiry respecting the algge of the Yan Yean Reservoir 

 necessita-ted my visiting the northern sources of our metropolitan 

 water supply on 24th, 25th June last, my companion being Mr. 

 John Wilson, the Resident Inspector, who drove, and whose 

 courtesy and patience seemed not in the least strained by the 

 frequent halts called to enable one to dismount and identify or 

 examine some wayside plants. Mr. Wilson's zealous care, for the 

 Metropolitan Board of Works, of the flora of the watersheds is 

 known to and gratefully acknowledged by all who have visited 

 and become acquainted with the localities. 



On two occasions excursions have been made to the Plenty 

 Ranges by our Club — the first in December, 1892 {Vict. Nat., 

 ix., p. 145), and the second, extending over three days, in 

 January, 1900 (Fici. Nat., xvi., p. 163), when the late Mr. H. 

 T. Tisdall, F.L.S., and Mr. Barnard collected during the outing 

 the flowers of about 40 species. In addition to these reports, 

 we have had exhibits of flowers from the country near the 

 Cascades more than once at our wild flower exhibitions. 



To the botanist the most interesting feature on the journey to 

 Whittlesea, which is virtually the starting point for the Plenty 

 Ranges, is the park-like appearance of the country around South 

 Morang, where may be seen many fine examples of the Red Gum, 

 Eucalyptus rostrata. 



From Whittlesea onwards interest in the journey increases. 

 Keeping northerly we reached an undulating tract, which intro- 

 duced us to the steeper hills beyond. Settlement has spread 

 over the southern portion of this intermediate area, and the 

 transition from almost bare paddocks to evergreen sylvan 

 country is rather abrupt. Indeed, it is a reminder of appeals 

 made separately by this Club, the Surveyor-General (Mr. J. M. 

 Reed, I.S.O.), and Professor A. J. Ewart, Government Botanist, 

 for cessation of complete timber denudation and for the planting 

 of trees. On one side we saw almost shadeless paddocks, in 

 which some of the last vestiges of useful trees were indicated by 



