170 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. i Vol. XXIV. 



place of fern trees, while two species of grass-trees, together with 

 the hillocks made by the White Ants — the latter one of the 

 scourges of the country — form quite a feature in the general land- 

 scape, many of the habitations of these termites being up to lo 

 feet in height. We saw these parts of North Queensland at their 

 worst, for when the tropical deluges arrive in January and 

 February the face of the whole country is at once changed into a 

 vast greenery. (Over 60 inches of rain has since fallen.) At 

 Mareeba we left the Government line and continued on the 

 Chillagoe company's line for some distance, then at a place 

 called Lappa Junction changed trains for Mount Garnet, about 

 170 miles inland from Cairns, and situated in the watershed of 

 the Herbert River. A ten-mile buggy drive from there brought 

 us to the famed Inot Springs, at which place there is 

 excellent accommodation for persons who, like myself, suffer from 

 rheumatic troubles. 



The country traversed between Mount Garnet and the 

 Springs was, at the time of my visit, dry and most uninteresting. 

 At the former place I found a naturalist schoolmaster, who has a 

 very interesting collection of minerals, &c. 



Mention must be made of a poisonous weed which grows plenti- 

 fully between Mount Garnet and the Springs, and is very fatal to 

 cattle and horses, but goats, I am informed, are little affected by 

 it. In consequence of the prevalence of this weed, together with 

 the cattle tick, large flocks of goats are kept by the residents. As 

 the plant was not in flower at the time of my visit, I arranged 

 with a friend to send suitable specimens both in flower and fruit 

 later on. These I have submitted to the Government Botanist of 

 Victoria, Professor Ewart, who has identified the plant as Gastro- 

 lohium grandiflorum. 



The Angora breed of goats thrives splendidly here, as do 

 crosses between tlie Angora and commoner breeds. 



The mail coaches to and from Herberton (30 miles) and Mt. 

 Garnet call at the Springs to take up and deliver mails, always 

 an important event in these quiet parts. 



Dingoes and ticks are very numerous in these parts, and are a 

 great source of trouble to the people of the district, which latter 

 is largely peopled by "tin scratchers " — i.e., persons who mostly 

 fossick in the creeks, and many of whom earn a good living, the 

 tin being sent to Irvinebank on pack-horses. 



Having tried the baths, I left again for Cairns, where the best 

 part of two days was spent among the banana and pineapple 

 plantations, some 10 miles distant from the town. These, being 

 situated in flat country skirting the mountains, are fairly well 

 sheltered, and extend over some hundreds of acres. The land is 

 good, having been formerly occupied by tropical scrub. The 

 banana cultivation is solely in the hands of the Chinese, who 



