164 AuDAS, A Botanist in the Portland District, [vd.'^xx^ii 



growing on the edge were line tall shrubs of Monotoca elliptica 

 and Leptospermuin lanigerum, while Veronica Derwentia, with 

 its dense spikes of white flowers, was just bursting into bloom. 

 Proceeding further, the Portland North State school comes into 

 view. Making a call on the head teacher, Mr. R. L. Miller, I 

 was agreeably surprised to find that the children attending 

 take a keen interest in wild-flowers, and several pupils have 

 made collections of pressed flowers. As showing what can be 

 done in beautiful furniture manufactured from our native 

 timbers, I was interested in a desk owned by Mr. Miller made 

 from the Blackwood, Acacia melanoxylon. The timber was 

 obtained from the Otway Forest, and worked up by a friend, 

 who evidently took much thoughtful interest in matching the 

 numerous panels and turning out a very beautiful and artistic 

 piece of furniture. The ornithological members of our Club 

 may be interested to hear the following relative to the tameness 

 of the Grey Shrike-Thrush, Colluricincla harmonica. Mr. 

 Miller informed me that two birds first came near the back 

 door, and on being given food returned daily for some time, 

 becoming almost tame. Later on the nest containing the 

 eggs was discovered, and the birds had become so accustomed 

 to him that food, in the form of insect larvae, &c., was readily 

 taken from his hand. After hatching, the young birds were 

 only fifteen days in tlie nest. Accompanied by Messrs. Miller 

 and Dillon, I spent an interesting afternoon botanizing in the 

 neighbourhood. The timber in the locality is chiefly the 

 Yellow Box, Eucalyptus mclliodora, and Narrow-leaved Pepper- 

 mint, E. aniygdalina, with an undergrowtli comjiosed i)rin- 

 cipally of Acacia stricta. Spyridium parvifolium, Daviesia 

 latifolia, and Indigofera australis — the latter with wliite 

 flowers as well as lilac colour. In the open grass-land were 

 thousands of the yellow flowers of Hypoxis glabella, the blue 

 of W ahlcnbergia gracilis, and the creamy-white of Stackhonsia 

 linearifolia, with its dense spikes of sweetly-perfumed flowers. 

 Of Orchidacea:^ the most al)undant were Diuris longifolia, D. 

 pedunculata. Microtis porrifolia, M. alrata, Thelymitra flexuosa, 

 T. longifolia, Prasophyllum datum, Glossodia major, and 

 Caladenia Pater soni. 



Further on is the Cashmere heath country. Here Epacris 

 impressa grows to perfection. It was in gorgeous bloom, and 

 well worth seeing, especially the red and pink varieties. There 

 are thousands of acres of this heath country available for 

 selection, and some is now under cultivation, giving excellent 

 results. At the recent Portland Show samples of the Peach 

 Blossom variety of potato, grown on this heath land, were 

 exhibited and awarded first prize. The Government has spent 

 a large sum of money in making this formeily desjused land 



