54 AuDAS, An Eastertide in the Victorian Pyrenees. [ voi'.'^'xxi': 



XXIX. 



Victorian ranges, and were composed of the Large-leaved 

 Bush-Pea, Pultencea daphnoidcs. Heathy Parrot-Pea, Dillwynia 

 ericifolia. Myrtle-leaved Acacia, Acacia myrtifolia. Juniper Acacia, 

 A juniperina. Prickly Moses, .4. vcrticillata. Drooping Acacia, 

 A. retinodes. Austral Indigo, Indigo f era australis, Gorse Bitter-Pea, 

 Daviesia idicina, Manuka, Lcptospermitm scoparium, and Sweet- 

 Bursaria, Bursaria spinosa. This latter shrvib bears a strong re- 

 semblance to the Privet, Ligustrum vnlgare. Its growth varies 

 from a small bushy shrub to a small tree, sometimes twenty-five 

 feet in height. Its foliage must be very palatable, as cattle 

 eat it readily, while, when in seed, the rich brown of its seed- 

 pods forms a beautiful contrast to the bright green of its foliage. 

 It is a plant of particularly hardy growth, flourishing in prac- 

 tically every part of the eastern States, and, withstanding as 

 it does severe drought, should prove a valuable stand-by for 

 fodder in pastoral areas. The large variety has smooth foliage, 

 while the smaller varieties are frequently spinous, an attribute 

 which probably prevents it being eaten out entirely on shee}) 

 runs. A few of the smaller plants noted were Leucopogon 

 virgatus, Hovea heterophylla, Amperea spartioides, Daviesia 

 corymbosa, Xanthorrhcea minor, Casuarina distyla, Platylobium 

 obtusangulum, Xerotes longifolia, X. Thunbergi, Monotoca 

 scoparia, Acroiriche serrtdata, Astroloma humifusinn, Tetratheca 

 ciliata, and Correa speciosa. With reference to the latter 

 shrub, which is one well known for variety in form and habit, 

 the specimens seen here were small plants of the red variety, 

 varying from one to two feet in height, whereas, when collecting 

 in the National Park, Wilson's, Promontory, in Noveml)er, 

 1908, in company with Mr. St. John, we came upon specimens 

 fully fifteen feet in height {Victorian Naiiiralisl, vol. xxv.. 

 No. g, 1909). Although the different varieties have all been 

 classed ii< Correa speciosa, there should, in my opinion, be some 

 attemi)t at differentiating them, as, in spite of re])eated ex- 

 periments in cultivation by seed, they show no tendency to 

 run into each other. For purposes of propagation it has been 

 found more advisal)le to strike cuttings, as the seed varies 

 greatly in its germinating period, taking from two to e\'en 

 twelve months. Such an ornamental i^lant has not failed to 

 receive notice, and two varieties— the green and the red — 

 can be seen in bloom at present in the Melbourne Botanic 

 (iardens. In England many beautiful varieties have been 

 raised by hybridizing. 



Familiar climbers and twiners greeted my view on all sides — 

 Clematis aristata, Hardcnbcrgia {Kenncdya) monophylla (just 

 bursting into bloom), Glycine clandestina, Comespcrma voliibile, 

 M arianthits bignoniaceus, Thysanoius Patcrsoni, and lastly, the 

 parasitical climber Cassyiha melanllm, whose cord-like growths 



