i68 AuDAS, Wandering's in East Gippsland. [ 



Vict. Nat. 

 Ian. 



bark, which were being carried away by every passing breeze, 

 leaving the trees at last quite wliite and smooth. 



After covering four more miles without meeting with any 

 plants of special interest, I was delightfully surprised by coming 

 suddenly upon large quantities of Prostanthera hirtula, and w^as 

 fortunate in obtaining specimens in three shades- of colour — 

 mauve, pink, and purple. At this stage I was overtaken by 

 the coach, and thence to Cani I noted only Casuarina distyla 

 (Stunted Sheoak), Hakea nodosa, and H. acicularis (Needle 

 l3ush), which were in flower. All along the flats of Cani Creek 

 the Red Bottle-brush, Callistemon lanceolatus, predominated, 

 and here the bird-life became more interesting. The Bell-birds' 

 musical note could be heard from the bottle-brushes. Blue Wrens 

 flitted here and there, while Choughs and Grey Magpies were 

 abundant among the taller trees. On rounding a sharp curve, 

 the coach nearly ran over a Bronze-wing Pigeon, which seemed 

 too tame to hurry out of the way. Here and theje were seen 

 Persoonia linearis, Narrow-leaved Geebung, and, although not 

 in flower, they were still very ornamental. This is a tall shrub, 

 attaining a height of about 15 feet, and belongs to the Proteaceae, 

 but it resembles many of our acacias. 



Stretching for a considerable distance beyond Cani, the 

 eucalypt E. pulverulenta was the prinicpal forest tree. Its 

 timber, bark, and inflorescence greatly resembles that of E. 

 Stiiartiana (Ai)ple Gum), but the foliage is more glaucous or mealy- 

 white, and has the api:)earance of having been covered with 

 powder, and is, therefore, often known vernacularly as 

 "powdered gum." The Red Bean-climber, Kennedy a nihi- 

 cunda, showed up conspicuously, climbing amongst a clump of 

 dead wattles. Growing in close proximit}^ were two species of 

 acacia, .4 . diffusa and .4 . discolor — the former was in full bloom, 

 while the latter, one of the earliest bloomers, was in fruit. 



We then entered a very dreary stretch of country, the \'ege- 

 tation of which consisted almost entirely of ])oor quality 

 messmate, Eucalyptus obliqua, the ground being absolutely bare 

 beneath them, not a blade of grass being visible, the only green 

 to relieve the eye being an occasional Native Cherry, Exocarpus 

 stricta. Just here, for the flrst time on the journey, I heard the 

 hoarse cry of the Gang Gang Cockatoo. As we suddenly emerged 

 from the thick timber, the verdant hills of Buchan were spread 

 out before us, with the townshi}:) nestling in a hollow, and the 

 winding river in the centre. At a homestead by the roadside 

 I ol)served a beautiful grove of olives, Olea curopcea. which were 

 exceedingly llourisliing, and ladiMi witli fruit. 41ust> trees, 

 l)csides iHMUg ])rolitable, afford excellent shelter, and 1 have 

 noticed in other i)arts that they are being extensively })lanted. 

 Descending a remarkably steep grade, we entered the town, 



