36 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXV. 



blocks, the vi^aterfalls, fissuring, degrading and denuding in- 

 fluences, metamorphism, and dykes. The dimensions of some of 

 the more prominent rocks may be quoted as examples — thus 

 "The Grandfather" is no feet long, 40 feet high, and 20 feet 

 thick ; " Og, Gog, and Magog," three immense tors, the largest 

 100 feet high, 104 feet long, and 43 feet wide; "The Pebble," 

 54 feet long, 40 feet high, and 42 feet broad ; " The Leviathan," 

 108 feet long, 70 feet broad, 40 feet high, standing on a base 

 21 feet by 12 feet; "Mahomet's Coffin" is suspended at each 

 end, and is 30 feet long ; the " Riven Rock " stands 80 feet 

 high, the " Sentinel " 60 feet. One of the first objects seen 

 by a visitor to the plateau is " The Monolith," a huge block, 

 30 feet high, 22 feet long, and 14 feet broad, perched on 

 the edge of another block, apparently wanting only a slight 

 shake to send it over ; and the existence of these perched 

 blocks proves that no serious earth tremor has taken place 

 in these regions for many — perhaps thousands of years. In 

 speaking of the magnificent forms and sizes of these rocks 

 Mr. Dunn says : — " These rocks are not only grand, wonderful, 

 and beautiful, but they inspire a feeling of awe when it is realized 

 vv'hat gigantic forces have been employed in fashioning them and 

 how cycle has followed cycle while their evolution was in progress. 

 That these marvellous rocks have been formed by hewing away all 

 the surrounding and overlying mass of granite seems almost 

 incredible, but that is what has really happened. It is as though 

 a sculptor quarried away a whole mountain of granite to create 

 one solitary statue. . . . Long before the Egyptian monarchs 

 hewed granite monoliths the natural ones on the Buffalo Moun- 

 tains stood like sentinels on their lofty pinnacles, and had already 

 had their angles rounded by exposure to thousands of winters 

 and summers." Beyond mentioning the existence of the Snow 

 Gums, Eucalyptus coriacea, and their influence on the disintegra- 

 tion of the granite, the report does not touch on the botany of 

 the region, which in itself, at certain seasons of the year, is worth 

 seeing. For that, until a thorough " Guide " to the mountains is 

 written, and which will be a necessity if the proposed Government 

 tourist chdlet is carried out, visitors will have to depend upon the 

 descriptive articles which appeared in these pages a few years ago 

 (Vict Nat, xvi., p. 81 ; xx., p. 4; and xx., p. 144). We trust 

 that in opening up tracks for tourists the Government will not 

 lose sight of the fact that the whole plateau should be treated as 

 a sanctuary for all indigenous animal and plant life, for which, 

 from its position and isolation, it is admirably adapted, and before 

 any extensive works such as making lakes for skating surfaces in 

 winter are entered upon, a thorough examination of the area from 

 a biological point of view should be undertaken. Unless this is 

 done at once many of the rarer plants will disappear, and thus the 

 mountains, which should be the show-place of our highland flora, 

 will lose much of their charm for the nature student. — F. G. A. B. 



