April, 1910.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 189 



Macedon and Baw Baw, about a hundred miles apart, bounded 

 our view to the west and east. To the north the sharp cone of 

 Mt. St. Leonard was just visible through the trees. We looked 

 over " Nyora," and Malleson's Look-out to Healesville, but the 

 most delightful view was down into the Yarra valley, nearly three 

 thousand feet below us, where the three townships of West War- 

 burton, Millgrove, and Warburton were prominent features. An 

 apparently level ridge led round eastwards to Donna-Buang, 

 while southwards range and valley succeeded one another as far 

 as the eye could reach. The position of Gilderoy, where we had 

 intended to explore, could just be made out among the ranges 

 about ten miles to the south-east. We returned by a more 

 direct route, and from the Dee valley brought away several 

 species of ferns and seedling plants, including an Eriostemon, 

 probably E. squamens, some of which are destined to find their 

 way into public gardens after a period of pot-life. 



On the Monday we turned south-easterly and crossed the 

 intervening Silurian country on our way to that portion of the 

 State Forest between Warburton and the Britannia Creek. This 

 formation carries vegetation somewhat resembling that about 

 Ringwood, and appears at its best early in October, when a 

 great variety of wild flowers may be obtained in bloom. The 

 area has given many fine blooms to the Club's wild flower exhibi- 

 tions. When examining a Hakea rostrata we were informed by 

 Mr. Dowie, Forest Officer (whose duties for the day happily 

 coincided with our intentions), that the Black Cockatoo is fond of 

 the seeds of this shrub. The hard, woody pericarp splits 

 open easily when ripe, and the birds choose the ripening 

 season for the attack, leaving the forest shelter for the purpose. 

 On leaving the Silurian, and mounting the granite slopes 

 by the road leading up Yankee Jim's Creek to Old Warburton, 

 we were enabled to examine the gum-tree known locally 

 as " Silver-top" and " White Ironbark," and found it to be 

 Eucalyptus seiheriana, characterized by the somewhat spiral 

 fissures and ridges of the hard, dark bark and the silvery white 

 upper branches. We had seen nothing of this tree on the dacite 

 formation north of the Yarra. This gum, with E. aniygdalina, 

 Mountain Ash, and E. obliqua, Messmate, are the three principal 

 forest trees of this part. On burnt-out areas fine young gums 

 were growing. These, now a few feet high, will, if saved 

 from fire, reach their commercial zenith at about the time when 

 junior members of the F.N.C. have passed their prime. In the 

 work of planting forests the pleasure is an unselfish one. It is in 

 order that others may reap what is sown to-day — a quarter of a 

 century later. By the roadside grew the only orchid seen, and this 

 was a well-grown specimen of Dipodiuni punctatum, sometimes 

 called " Native Hyacinth." The beautiful King Parrot, Apros- 

 tnictus cyanojyygius, is reputed to be fond of the tubers, and 



