Vol. XXVII 



igio 



] Campbell, Rambles Round the Grampians i t^t, 



in Mebourne, as the produce goes almost entirely to European 

 markets. 



In its flora the Grampians can boast of many species which are 

 peculiar to its sandstone hills. Two of these, both myrtaceous 

 plants — Thryptomene Mitchelliana, F. v. M., and Calycothrix Sulli- 

 vani, F. v. M. — are specially worthy of mention, the former, as its 

 name indicates, being named after the first visitor to the 

 mountains, while the latter was named after the late Mr. D. 

 Sullivan, of Moyston ( Vict. Nat., xii., p. 36), who did much to 

 elucidate the botany, and published a census of the Grampian 

 plants in the " Proceedings of the Australasian Association 

 for the Advancement of Science," Melbourne meeting, 1890. 

 The native heath, Epacris impressa, is finer nowhere in the State, 

 while its flowering season, April to October, is a particularly long 

 one. A singular little plant is Candollea sobolifera, F. v. M., 

 which, though generally found on the mountain tops, also creeps 

 down the slopes to about 1,000 feet above sea-level. 



As might be expected, there are about the mountains multi- 

 tudinous sites each with its own peculiar quota of plant life, 

 giving expression to the surrounding conditions. Thus there is 

 the exposed northern aspect with the gums, Eucalyptus capitella, 

 Smith, " Peppermint Stringybark," and E. obliqua, L'H., " Mess- 

 mate," growing among the stones, with the Grass-tree, Xanthor- 

 rhoea australis, R. Br., and Brachyloma daphiioides, Benth., a 

 representative of the Epacridae. Then the sandy foot-slope, 

 sweeping towards the east, and favoured by the orchardists, was 

 naturally clothed with Eucalyptus stuartiana and a great variety 

 of small shrubs and undergrowth. There is the wet pocket, 

 where the King Fern, Osmu7ida harbara, Thunb., and the Black- 

 wood, Acacia melanoxylon, R. Br., hold sway, and there is the 

 occasional gully where fine specimens of the tree-ferns, Alsophila 

 ausiralis, R. Br., and Dicksonia billardiera, F. v. M., may be 

 seen. High up in the mountains the cliff faces are veritable 

 rock-gardens of Epacrids and Grevilleas, with the pine, Callitris 

 verrucosa, R. Br., adding variety to the scene. Higher still, 

 where the snow lies in winter, the Alpine Gun), Eucalyptus 

 alpina, Lindley, Banksia integrifolia, L., Melaleuca decussata, 

 R. Br., and Leptospermum lanigerum, Smith, var. grandiflorum, 

 hold sway. I have identified some 450 species of plants around 

 Pomonal. 



Bird life is, to some extent, disappointing. There are neither 

 the numbers nor the variety one would expect in an area so 

 remarkable in other respects. The Emu is found throughout, 

 but generally of a smaller and darker nature than the normal 

 bird. This season I discovered, for the first time, the Flame- 

 breasted Robin, Petroeca phcenicea, nesting in the mountains 

 above the 2,000 feet level. Perhaps the most noticeable bird is 

 the Black Magpie, Sirepera graculina, which comes down in the 



