THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 67 



During my visit to King's Island on the Club excursion in 

 November, 1887, I saw a species of Swainsonia, *S'. lesstrtifolia^ 

 growing in great profusion, and was informed by the local settlers 

 that at the time its seeds were hardening it was very injurious to 

 cattle, sheep, and goats, but that horses suffered no ill effects from 

 eating it. The horned cattle affected appeared to be suffering 

 from some cerebral disorder, and were unable to put their heads 

 to the ground to feed, but walked about with their noses elevated 

 above the level of their bodies. If left to themselves they soon 

 died, but if kept in an enclosure and supplied with food placed 

 in a rack on a level with their heads, they were easily fattened 

 and then killed and eaten. It is, perhaps, worthy of note here 

 that on King's Island seed-eating birds, such as pigeons and 

 parrots, are very scarce. At the same time, I believe there are 

 places on this continent where dogs have been poisoned through 

 eating pigeons whose crops were full of Gastrolobium seeds, but 

 that men suffered no inconvenience from eating the birds when 

 cleaned and cooked. 



On the return journey of the Horn scientific expedition from 

 the West MacDonnell Ranges, Central Australia, in July, 1894, 

 our party had camped for the night but a short time when 

 Professor Ralph Tate found another species of Swainsonia (S. 

 canescens) growing rather too plentifully close to where the 

 camels were feeding. Mr. Winnecke, our leader, at once ordered 

 all the animals to be brought in and tied up. Soon afterwards 

 the drivers discovered three camels to be suffering from the 

 effects of eating this weed. Two of them were only slightly 

 affected, but the third was so bad that for about two hours fatal 

 consequences were feared. The poor brute's body was greatly 

 distended, and it breathed with difficulty. Just as it was deter- 

 mined to try a rather drastic remedy, the animal showed signs 

 of improvement, and on the following morning was able to carry 

 a light load. Next day it was apparently in its usual health. 



When the Calvert exploring expedition were approaching Lake 

 Augusta, West Australia, in July, 1896, we camped on some 

 stony ground and turned the camels out to feed. On prei^aring 

 to start next morning, one of the pack camels was unable to rise 

 with its load, which had to be taken off. The animal then 

 showed signs of weakness in its hind quarters and trembled 

 violently. After struggling for about a mile it fell, and could not 

 rise. A few minutes later another staggered and fell. As Mr. 

 Wells concluded that they were suffering from poison, the rest 

 of the team were taken some miles away, whilst I remained with 

 one of the Afghans to do the best I could for the sick camels. 

 They both appeared to be in great pain, and frequently rolled 

 from side to side. In this case the bodies were only slightly 

 swollen. A reference to Mr. Ernest Giles's work, " Australia 



