1 84 Excursion to Kew. [^"^Feif ^'' 



same amount of water frontage in proportion to area. Thus, 

 the 200 acres of park land here is skirted by about four miles 

 of deep river. The area is separated by roads into three 

 portions. The southern portion, between Walmer-street and 

 Studley Park-road, contains the recently formed trout 

 hatcheries ; the central area, in the angle formed by Johnston- 

 street Bridge-road and Studley Park-road, contains the 

 Dight's Falls pumping station reservoir ; while the largest, 

 northern part lies between the last-named road and the river, 

 opposite the Yarra Bend Asylum, and has at its western ex- 

 tremity the Dight's Falls pumping station, while an old 

 aboriginals' look-out and camp, where still '' skinning flakes " 

 of quartzite and flint may be picked up as the bluff weathers, 

 is situated not far from the Falls. Excepting one short line, 

 the most eastern boundary of the northern area, the park is 

 enclosed by road and river. 



The northern area offers the best field to the nature student, 



and to this we gave attention. The greater part is well wooded 



with several species of Eucalyptus, none very tall ; but there 



are also groves of Acacia pycnantha, a less quantity of Acacia 



deciirrens, var. mollis, and fine specimens of the " Prickly Box," 



Bursaria spinosa, which, in flowering season, is a good " coflecting- 



ground " for the entomologist. A few trees of the " Lightwood," 



Acacia implexa, were noted, as well as small specimens of the 



l^lackwood, A. melanoxylon, two species which are often confused. 



The eucalypts are approximately distributed in zones, as 



follows : — The Red Gums, E. rostrata, as naturally would be 



expected, are found on the river banks and flats or gentle slopes 



near the river. Some of those which once grew at the water's 



edge had their roots drowned, owing to the bases of their stems 



being submerged by a permanent rise of water when the height 



of the Dight's Falls weir was increased some years ago, and 



the dead trees are now whitened skeletons, not without value 



in the picturesqueness of the neighbourhood. Some of the Red 



Gums have boles so smooth and white that many frequenters 



of the river call them White Gums. The next species of 



moisture-loving character is the Manna Gum, E. viininalis, in 



some parts called White Gum and " Ribbon Gum." This species 



grows well near the waterside, but ascends the small valleys 



to near the crest of the ridges, meeting on the way the Yellow 



Box, E. melliodora, and the rosette-umbelled variety {acervula) 



of the Swamp Gum, E. gtinnii ; while in more exposed places, 



and occupying more particularly the open, hungry-looking 



spur-tops, is the " Smooth Ironbark," E. Icucoxylou, in large 



patches. Others are less frequent, and near the roadside, in 



a fenced-off plantation, three introduced species may be seen — 



viz., E. boiryoidcs, E. globulus, and E. corynocalyx. Of these. 



