April, 1909.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 197 



occur in non-corresponding months of different years. Even 

 where a perennial plant has been collected, how often may the 

 same extensive area be traversed without the species being seen 

 again ? Such as Pultenea JVeindorJeri, Maiden, near Gembrook, 

 Styphelia slrigosa, Sm., in the Asylum reserve at Kew, may be 

 quoted at random as examples ; while Grevillea repe7is, F. v. M., 

 in the Healesville district, just mentioned in Mr. Kelly's report of 

 the Club excursion last week, serves as a further illustration. 



In future, of course, members of our Club may reasonably be 

 expected to supply the National Herbarium with as many 

 specimens for identification as may be conveniently gathered and 

 transferred from the field, but the reports of trusted collectors 

 will not, I hope, lose value in the eyes of the Field Naturalists' 

 Club if specimens of the commonest plants are not produced as 

 evidence of their having been seen, especially when, in remote 

 and difficult regions, the packing of a load on either man or beast 

 becomes a serious matter. Economy of space is then one of the 

 chief desiderata, and in packing for safe carriage over mountain 

 or through jungle or morass " every pound tells." 



In such circumstances there should be a generous acceptance 

 of records of all well-known plants, and the doubt, if doubt there 

 be, left to those which might easily, in field examination, be 

 confused with others of close kinship. There have been times 

 when the transport of specim.ens such as Eucalyptus globiUus (the 

 common Blue Gum), Ranunculus lappaceus (the common Butter- 

 cup), species of Banksia or " Honeysuckles," Leptospermuni 

 loivigatuni (the common coastal " Tea-tree "), Casuarina quadri- 

 valvis (the drooping " Sheoak "), and a host of others, was 

 unnecessary and impracticable, and such occasions may arise in 

 future. Again, supposing that, in order to comply with the 

 Herbarium rule, all plant collectors throughout Victoria 

 forwarded to the State authority a specimen of every plant seen, 

 would the Herbarium staff be able to cope with the deluge ? 

 The identification and recording of plants being only one of a 

 multitude of works in progress in the Government Botanist's 

 branch, one can readily imagine the submerged Curator of the 

 Herbarium crying — " Hold ! enough ! " 



Mr. F. G. A. Barnard has reminded me of an excursion made 

 during the Christmas season of 1885 by Mr. J. B. Gregory, LL. M., 

 and Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, M.A."^ This early excursion, vid 

 Yanakie, seems to have been overlooked by most of us, but Dr. 

 Hall, in his interesting history of the Promontory as a National 

 Parkjt briefly referred to it. Some of the plants collected by Mr. 

 Lucas were identified by Baron F. von Mueller. Apart from the 

 general interest which they contain, and m the absence of 



* Via. Nat., vol. ii., 1885-6, p. 150. t Vict. Nat., vol. xxi., p. 128. 



