94 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



are quartz-mica-diorite to within about two miles of the ford, where 

 the slates (of Ordovician (?) age) commence. The slates are con- 

 siderably altered along the contact by this intrusive mass. 



Through the quartz- mica-diorite several dykes from 3 to 25 

 feet wide can be seen.* 



The locality about the ford (3,300 feet) is an ideal one for a 

 camp, being well grassed, sheltered and sunny, with plenty of 

 firewood and water and pretty views. The ridge across the 

 Leatherjacket is much higher than that on the west, and the track 

 winds laboriously up for some 700 feet before getting an easy 

 grade at about 4,000 feet. Here the scrub was exceedingly 

 dense. The orange racemes of the Native Hop, the purple 

 panicles of the Indigo, Indigofera anstralis, blending with the 

 delicate green leaves and white fruit of the graceful Native Elder- 

 berry, SambucKS gaudichaudiana, the pretty red and green Native 

 Currants, and the blue and yellow flowers and purple berries of 

 the Native Flax Lily, Dianella revoluta, scattered among the greens 

 of the Dogwood, 6'assi?i;'a aculeata, Hazel, Wattle, and ever-present 

 Wire-grass, made lovely pictures. Grand old Manna Gums reared 

 their tall white trunks high overhead, and sprinkled the vegetation 

 below with snow-wliite manna, while all around the scattered 

 humus attested the energy of Lyre-birds. So deep was the humus 

 that only an occasional fragment of slate was found until, 2 or 3 

 miles on, the slates gave place to gneissic granite and the vegeta- 

 tion became less luxuriant. With increased altitude also the 

 timber showed signs of dwarfing ; moss-covered wattles began to 

 appear, and, bursting through the scrub, we came on to a small 

 open saddle in a belt of Snow Gums, Evcalyptus coriaceaf?), 

 where we pitched camp. The weather since starting the trip had 

 been beautiful, but now the wind was strong, and caused us 

 serious misgivings as we went to rest. 



3rd April. — The morning broke fine, but a gale was blowing, 

 and the aneroid showed signs of an approaching change. We 

 struck camp and pushed on in haste up an increasing slope. 

 The trees grew shorter and shorter, the Snow Bush appeared, 

 while white and yellow Everlastings (Helichrysum)and purple Flax 

 Lilies flecked the little open patches. Several Gang Gang Cocka- 

 toos, Gallocephalon galeatum, flew from tree to tree along the 

 track, watching us curiously and making their mournful grating 

 cry. The track climbed steadily, while the thick Snow Scrub gave 

 place to detached Snow Gums. We were soon among the great 

 blocks and bosses of granite and coarse mountain grass. High 



* For further remarks on the geology of the country passed over on this trip 

 see the following papers : — Kitson, A. E., " Geological Notes on the Gehi 

 and Indi Rivers and Manaro Gap, Mount Kosciusko, N.S.W. ," Proc. Roy. 

 Soc. Vict., vol. ix. (N.S.), 1896; Kitson, A. E., and Thorn, W., "Contri- 

 butions to the Geology of Mount Kosciusko and the Indi-Manaro Track, 

 N.S.W., Aust. Ass. Adv. Science, Sydney, 1898; Hovvitt, A. W., "Notes 

 on Samples of Rocks Collected by A. E. Kitson and W. Thorn," ibid. 



