180 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



from extinction by the establishment of the great Yellowstone 

 Park in the United States. He hoped that under certain re- 

 strictions it might even become a tourist resort, for many of our 

 own people had never seen a kangaroo or an emu outside the 

 limits of a zoological garden. 



Mr. T. S. Hall first of all traced the path of the excursion 

 party on a map displayed on the screen (see Victorian Naturalist, 

 vol. xxii., p. 44), and then described the views, which had been 

 selected from a large series taken by members of the party. 

 These numbered about 120, and well illustrated the varied 

 characteristics of the Promontory, such as the sand dunes of the 

 northern portion, the tea-tree flats along the Derby River, the 

 bold granite masses of Mounts Oberon, Norgate, &c., the sandy 

 beaches of Oberon Bay, hemmed in with rugged cliffs on 

 either side, and the grassy table-land lying between it and 

 Waterloo Bay on the east coast. This portion he considered the 

 only fair land on the Promontory, but of too small an extent to 

 be worth while throwing open for settlement, and even then 

 would always be inaccessible for wheeled vehicles. On the whole 

 the country was eminently suited for the purposes desired by the 

 Club, and in course of time, under proper control, could be made 

 a most valuable asylum for examples of our rapidly diminishing 

 indigenous animals. Owing to want of time, the party could 

 not visit the most southern portion of the Promontory, but, 

 through the kindness of Dr. Fred. Bird, a number of views of 

 Roaring Meg Creek, not far from the lighthouse, were shown, 

 which indicated a wealth of vegetation along the stream resembling 

 that of our finest fern-gullies. Sealers' Cove and the coast-line 

 further north was also unvisited, and, as this district is known to 

 contain the best timbered portions, no doubt many more 

 picturesque scenes could haye been obtained had time allowed. 

 The beauty of many of the pictures appealed to the tastes of the 

 audience, and the lecturer was frequently interrupted by ex- 

 pressions of approval. 



A vote of thanks to the lecturer concluded the proceedings. 



A BOTANICAL COLLECTOR IN THE MALLEE. 

 By C. S. Sutton, M.B. 

 {Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 15th Jan., 1906.) 

 Before dealing with the flora of north-west Victoria in general, 

 and with that of the district lying to the south and east of Lake 

 Hindmarsh in particular, it is perhaps advisable to briefly 

 enumerate, for the benefit of those who have had no actual 

 experience of the Mallee, some of its leading features. 



The north-west region is described in the " Key to the 

 System of Victorian Plants " as extending from the sources of 

 the watercourses in the north-west to the Murray River. This 



