July, 1909.] THE VICTOKIAN NATURALIST. 33 



By Miss J. W. Raflf, B.Sc. — Portion of Sheoak, Casuarina 

 distyla, from near Blowhole, Tasmania. Having grown on the 

 sea coast, salt has apparently been absorbed, and made the bark 

 thicker and more fleshy, hence tending to crack when old and dry. 



After the usual conversazione the meeting terminated. 



VISIT TO THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



About twenty members took part in the visit to the National 

 Herbarium on Saturday afternoon, 12th June. Owing to the 

 unavoidable absence of Professor Ewart, it devolved upon me to 

 act as leader, and with the help of my fellow-assistant, Mr. J. W. 

 Audas, I endeavoured to make the visit an instructive and enjoy- 

 able one. The members were shown a number of specimens new 

 to science which have recently been named and described. 

 Amongst these was a new genus and species, Bellida graminea, 

 A. J. Ewart, which is very remarkable on account of its coloured 

 pappus and curious achenes. About 20 plants new to science 

 have been described and published during the past year, 

 principally from Western Australia, including a new genus and 

 species of Compositje, Gilruthia Oshornii, Ewart and White. 

 Two new species of Victorian plants — Olearia (Aster) Toppii, 

 Ewart and White, from the North-West, collected by F. M. 

 Reader, 1892 and 1904 ; also Gnephosis Baraccliiana, Ewart 

 and White, near Dimboola, St. Eloy Dalton — have also been 

 named and described. The latter plant has an external 

 resemblance to Gnephosis skirrophora, and from superficial 

 examination might easily be confused with it, but is readily 

 distinguished by the leaf-like bracts surrounding the main heads, 

 by the pappus, and by the mucilaginous layer on the achene. 

 Several new varieties have also been recorded and described. 

 The Reader and Walter herbariums have now been incorporated 

 with the main collections, and have made a fine addition to the 

 Herbarium ; thus all the new species described by Mr. Reader are 

 now in the National Herbarium. The late Dr. Hewitt's 

 collection of eucalypts has also been added to the Herbarium. 

 In addition over 4,000 sheets of herbarium specimens have been 

 added to the main collections. Included in these are many of 

 the plants recently described by Mr. J. H. Maiden, Government 

 Botanist of New South Wales ; also many rare plants from 

 Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, while three hundred speci- 

 mens of New Zealand plants have been added to that collection. 

 Among other interesting items shown was a collection of pre- 

 Linnean plants from Herb. Fettiver, collected over 200 years ago, 

 which are still in good state of preservation. Also a collection of 

 plants collected in Australia during the years 1802 to 1805 by 

 Robt. Brown. It may be of interest to the members to know that 



