June,! l\.B\RT-L.\^\^, Zoology of Great Desert, N.W. Aust. 41 



retraced our track about 10 miles further back to await the 

 return of the advance party, and in order that thirteen invaUd 

 camels might be on some good feed and water whilst they 

 were being treated for various ailments. Another reason for 

 retracing our steps was to avoid the poisonous plants, such as 

 Gastrolobium and Euphorbia Drummondi, which were so 

 prevalent between Lake Way and Lake Augusta. 



Staying on Brookman Creek from loth August till 14th 

 September, Mr. C. F. Wells and I divided our time between 

 natural history collecting and veterinary operations on the 

 camels. Wide flats extended on both sides of the creek for 

 several miles from the site of our camp. That this neigh- 

 bourhood had recently suffered from a plague of rats was 

 evident from the fact that every step taken by man or camel 

 sank for about two inches into the surface crust of the ground, 

 which had all been undermined by the rats. I found several 

 places where a few of the rodents remained, and captured a 

 number. They were rather smaller than those found in 

 Melbourne, had larger ears and longer and softer fur. It was 

 fortunate for us that the main body had migrated elsewhere 

 before our arrival Whilst at this camp I made a fine collection 

 of plants, insects, animals, bird-skins, and eggs, which were, 

 unfortunately, abandoned in the desert later on, when we had 

 to fly for our lives owing to lack of water. Probably the most 

 interesting bird shot here was a Bronzewing Pigeon, in shape 

 and markings exactly like Phaps chalcoptera, but less than half 

 the size of that bird. I am certain it was a new species, and 

 trust that the next person to find one may be more fortunate 

 than I was. 



On 14th September we resumed our journey, and soon 

 entered the desert proper ; and the notes on the zoology of 

 the desert refer to the animals and birds found between this 

 date and the 6th November, when we reached the Fitzroy 

 River. In speaking of North- Western Austraha I am alluding 

 to that immense tract of country extending from lat. 27° to 

 19° and long. 118° to 125°. Nearly the whole of this country 

 is composed of red sand, which, I beUeve, is formed by the 

 erosion of the ferruginous sandstone hills and table-lands. A 

 few miles north of lat. 26° the country is crossed by innumerable 

 sand-hills invariably running W.N.W. and E.S.E. Sometimes 

 half a mile of flat divides these sand-ridges, but occasionally 

 they were so close together that the leading camels in the 

 caravan were ascending another before the last of the team had 

 descended the previous one. In the valleys between these 

 hills many varieties of Acacia, Grevillea, and tea-tree were seen. 



One tree, which we called " native poplar," owing to its fohage 

 resembling that of the well-known European tree, bore an 



