1 88 O'DoNOGHUE AND St. John, Along the Lerderderg. [^"^f 



Vict. Nat. 



:b. 



A SHORT RAMBLE ALONG THE LERDERDERG. 

 By J. G. O'DoxoGHUE and P. R. H. St. John. 



{Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, nth Dec, 1910.) 



A GLANCE at a map of the county of Bourke will show that 

 the Lerderderg rises in the ranges to the north-west of Mount 

 Blackwood, and flows in a more or less south-easterly direc- 

 tion to mingle its waters with those of the Werribee a short 

 distance below the township of Bacchus Marsh. 



Traversing as it does a large area of Palaeozoic country, it 

 invariably presents a turbid appearance, and this turbidity is 

 even more accentuated when the stream is viewed from one of 

 the many precipitous and timbered ranges by which its course, 

 for the greater part, is margined. 



Though not possessed of such striking and picturesque 

 features as are to be seen along the Werribee in the neighbour- 

 hood of the well-known Gorge, the Lerderderg is not altogether 

 destitute of that scenic beauty which appeals to the average 

 sight -seer, and, at that point where it issues from the hills, 

 presents many pleasing views capable of leaving more than a 

 lingering impression on the mind. Many natural features 

 interesting to the geologist abound, and many kinds of vegeta- 

 tion exist which prove as engaging to the botanist as the 

 birds that frequent the coverts along the stream are to the 

 ornithologist. 



Though both of us had visited the locality before, the 

 recollection of the pleasure then derived induced a further 

 visit to somewhat familiar scenes — this time in company. 



A narration of the trip, though it was of necessity a brief 

 one, barely extending over eight hours, may prove of interest 

 to those who, though they may be familiar with the Werribee 

 Gorge and its environs, have yet to make the acquaintance of 

 the Lerderderg and its encompassing hills. 



Leaving Spencer-street at 8.20 a.m. on Saturday, ist October, 

 behind a " double-header," we were soon out on the plains, 

 where repeated instances of the spread of introduced weeds 

 were brought to our view in quick succession. 



At the Kororoit Creek the common Artichoke {Cynaria cardun- 

 CTtlns) is rapidly extending its domain on either bank in what 

 one would assume to be uncongenial surroundings. In the culti- 

 vated and fallowed areas beside the railway line near Rockbank, 

 Erechtites quadridentata and the agriculturist are at variance. 

 The weed would appear to be irrepressible, for many acres of 

 arable land may now be discerned where Hodge has retired 

 from the contest defeated. A species of charlock, possibly 

 Brassica sinapistrum, is also much in evidence among the crops, 

 and bids fair to become as great a pest as the composite 



