6 Excursion to Coode Island. [voi'.'^'kxfx. 



notes on the foreign rocks, brought as ballast, noticed during 

 the afternoon : — " For young students of geology who read 

 about and study rocks, some of which are not to be procured in 

 situ anywhere in the neighbourhood of Melbo'urne, Coode Island 

 forms a splendid collecting ground. Many kinds of meta- 

 morphic rocks, including various beautiful gneisses, of which 

 some bear bands of perfectly crystallized red garnets, granite 

 porphyries, granites of various textures, schists, limestones 

 crowded with fossils, varied sandstones and quartzites, are 

 among the specimens to be found in abundance on the south- 

 east portion of the island. These would constitute handsome 

 educational cabinet specimens of types of rocks difficult to 

 procure otherwise except at some expense, but it must be borne 

 in mind that under the circumstances of their occurrence their 

 place of origin cannot be recorded with any degree of certainty." 

 All the members of the party were well satisfied with their 

 outing, and expressed a wish to again have an opportunity of 

 visiting the island. We would therefore suggest that the 

 committee, when drawing up next year's excursion list, should 

 include a trip to Coode Island, say, at the end of October or 

 early in November. A comparison could then be made by 

 members between autumn and spring conditions. — C. French, 

 jUN., and J. R. Tovey. 



Some Australian Books Worth Reading. — " For variety 

 of trees one has to get out to the desert country, where flourish 

 the ' kurrajungs '—too well known to need description — and 

 silky oaks. Nothing could be more exquisite to look upon than 

 a forest of these trees, which grow very closely together, and 

 whose stems are seldom moie than eight inches in diameter. 

 As a breeze sweeps over their gleaming foliage, a sea of billowing 

 silver, darkening and glistening as the sunlight plays upon the 

 leaves, appears before the delighted traveller." — From " Collar 

 and Cuffs," by St. C. Grondona, a description of station 

 life in Central Queensland. " It was joyous to see how 

 the Australian bush, the bush of the West, came up out of 

 slumber. Flocks of cockatoos and pink galahs — Hying together, 

 making a delightful colour scheme of pink and grey and white 

 and saffron — screamed across the timber, or circled cautiously 

 down to the river to drink. Sometimes a little mob of Black 

 Duck went whizzing up-stream, or a brace of mottled Wood- 

 Duck passed by carefully out of gunshot. Rhipi, the wagtail, 

 and his feathered brother the Peewit, sought the early insect 

 with interchange of civilities, (jay j)arrots streaked across 

 stream, flashing coloured images in unruffled water. All the 

 bush world became awake, alert, industrious — full of quest and 

 call." — From "River Rovers." by \l. [. Brady, an interesting 

 account oi a voyage down the Munay l)y motor boat. 



