Dec, 1909.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 101 



EXCURSION TO GRAHAIM FALLS, BELGRAVE. 

 This excursion was fixed for Cup Day (Tuesday, 2nd November), 

 and, after having scanned the holiday crowd at Princes' Bridge 

 railway station between 8.30 and 8.52 a.m. for additional 

 naturalists, a party of Club members and their friends, numbering 

 eight, left by the train at the later time for the first Club excursion 

 to Graham Falls. These falls are situated in the Dandenong 

 Ranges, and are approached from the Belgrave station, on the 

 Gembrook line. JEn route another member was picked up at 

 Canterbury. Between Box Hill and Belgrave some of our native 

 plants growing adjacent to the railway line rendered themselves 

 very noticeable by their profusion and beauty of bloom, the more 

 prominent of them being Leptospermum scojMrium, Daviesia 

 latijolia and D. cor/jmbosa, Stylidium graminifolium, Dillwynia 

 cinerascens Q-ud D.JiorihunJa, JJittriis pedunculcda, Coniespernntm 

 ericinum, Hibhertia stricta, Helichrxjsum scorpioides, and Mela- 

 leuca squarrosa. At Ferntree Gully station, where we were delayed 

 on the Gembrook train waiting for more passengers by later 

 special trains from Melbourne, another member joined our party, 

 and, on arrival at Belgrave at about 1 1.30 a.m., we found the total 

 number of our company to be fourteen, which included the veteran 

 excursionists, Messrs. Best, Frost, and Searle. Our course lay 

 along the Monbulk road for a distance of about half a mile. 

 Various buildings in process of erection indicated the growing 

 popularity of this part of the narrow-gauge Gembrook line. As 

 we proceeded attention was drawn to the distinctive mountain 

 growth and beauty of many European trees growing in " Glen 

 Harrow," the valuable property on the right-hand side of the road 

 formerly held by Mr. Cole, a well-known nurseryman. The 

 colour of the pink-flowering variety of Cratcegus oxijacantha was 

 observed to be much more brilliant than in plants growing around 

 Melbourne. Some fine specimen trees of the Blackwood, Acacia 

 melanoxylon, among the various eucalypts, and some tall examples 

 of Alsophila australis, the Hill Tree-fern, were to be seen close to 

 the roadside prior to reaching the Monbulk Creek, which crosses 

 the road at a little distance from where we turned off into the track 

 which was to lead us to the Falls. Near the creek crossing the 

 first prominent objects of interest were the two Olearias, 

 0. argophylla, the Native Musk tree, and 0. steUulata, which were 

 covered with masses of their beautiful white blooms. Diverging 

 from the road to the track on the left, we started along the latter, 

 which was specially opened up at the beginning of last year to 

 afford easy access for tourists and visitors to the Falls. After a 

 very agreeable journey along this easily-graded, ascending path, 

 on either side of which were the usual forest trees, shrubs, and 

 ferns to be found on the slopes of most of the gullies in the Dande- 

 nong Ranges, we arrived at the camping grounds at the head of 



