110 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



snow on their feathery leaves had slowly but surely bent them 

 right over, their heads lying on the ground and their trunks 

 forming a bow. The snow then gradually covered them right 

 over, and each tree was represented by a soft white mound. Of 

 course, if not kept too long in that position, many will resume 

 their uprightness, but some will never recover. At the time of 

 our visit the thaw had set in, and we had to steer clear of the 

 trees, as masses of snow and branches were continually falling. 



All along the top of the range the snow was about lo feet in 

 depth, and, as the top was not frozen, it was very difficult to 

 scramble along. One of us had a pair of top boots on, and as 

 their owner drew his foot out of the soft snow he filled the upper 

 portion of his boot at the same time ; consequently we had to 

 stop every ten minutes or so while the aforesaid boots were taken 

 off and emptied. 



The tracks of various animals, such as Dingoes, Foxes, 

 Wallabies, and Wombats, were plainly seen in many places. The 

 tracks of the Wombat were deep and broad, as, being a heavy 

 animal with short feet, it had to beat its way through and con- 

 solidate the snow to enable it to get a foothold — a very laborious 

 proceeding, consequently these animals did not stray far from 

 their burrows. But the Wallabies find the greatest difficulty in 

 travelling, as they sink so deep in the snow, and thus have great 

 difificully in jumping ; when they have taken a hop, they stop and 

 look round for a time, apparently to try and find a firmer foot- 

 hold. Many of our smaller marsupials, such as the Dromicia 

 (Flying Mouse), lie dormant during the winter, as well as snakes 

 and other reptiles. 



When the spring sets in, and the snow melts, there will 

 probably be a considerable rise in the Murray River, which will 

 mean that the various swamps along its banks will be filled, and 

 consequently the various waterfowl will be enabled to breed again 

 this season, as they did last. It is not often that there is 

 enough water in the swamps to enable the birds to nest for two 

 years in succession, for without plenty of water there is lack of 

 food, both for parents and young. 



[The paper was illustrated by a series of lantern views. — Ed. 

 Vict. NatA 



BOOK NOTICE. 

 A Monograph of the Erysiphace/I-:. By Ernest S. Salmon, 



F.LS. Memoirs of the Torrey (New York) Botanical Club, 



vol. ix., 1900. 

 This is a work of 292 pages, illustrated by 175 figures, and deals 

 with a very important group of fungi, usually spoken of as 

 " Mildews," which are parasitic in habit, and many of thtni of 

 great economic importance. In a very lucid introduction the 



