Jan.,! Hardy, The Mallee : Ottyen to Pinnaroo. 149 



Creek. Sometimes this creek is merely a broken chain of 

 water-holes ; at others the flow reaches as far as a few miles 

 north of Pine Plains homestead, where it spreads and 

 evaporates. The River Red Gum, Eiicalyptus rostrata, penetrates 

 the Mallee from the south by way of Outlet Creek. 



Botanical inquiry has shown that the several types of country 

 included in the Mallee bear respective flora, though the line 

 of division is only definitely seen with regard to a few — over- 

 laps occurring, and in places the apparent change is due to 

 vegetative rather than specific difference ; but in either case 

 thus giving variety to what otherwise would be a monotonous 

 and dreary expanse. At its best the greater part of the Mallee 

 is a wilderness, and much of it desert, with fertile areas in belts 

 and isolated patches which, when cleared of native vegetation, 

 are suitable for agriculture. The Victorian section occupies 

 about a fifth part of the State, and is gently undulating, with 

 innumerable low sand-hills, peculiarly orientated, the trend 

 being approximately east and west. A few sand-hills rise 

 to 200 feet in height — e.g., Mt. Gnarr and Mt. Jess. In 

 most parts it is well vegetated ; in some, densely so. In 

 some respects the desert flora bears affinity to that of the 

 Kimberley desert of North- West Australia. The term "desert" 

 is used in a popular sense, " Desert Sand-hills," &c., being widely 

 known ; but the plant formation is " semi-desert," suggested 

 for an intermediate between sparsely vegetated woodland and 

 desert. The ecological feature is edaphic rather than climatic. 

 Habitation and settlement advance in this district with the 

 progress of artesian and pumped water supply, which are 

 dependent on the vigorous efforts of the Departments of Water 

 Supply and Agriculture. The land is of too porous a nature to 

 allow of surface irrigation, but by boring for domestic supplies 

 the Departments are, if not reclaiming the desert, turning large 

 areas of wilderness into a land of activity and plenty. 



At mid-day and during the late forenoon and early afternoon, 

 in summer, when wild nature takes its siesta, the unfrequented 

 Mallee is an awful solitude that might well drive an anxious 

 man crazy long before he becomes physically prostrated by 

 hunger or thirst. But in the morning and evening, and even 

 through the middle hours in cooler weather, the lonehness is 

 less evident. Birds and beasts come forth in search of water 

 and food, almost immune from the dangers of an advancing 

 settlement. The rainfall average ranges from about 11 or 12 

 inches in the north to about 20 inches further south, and this 

 may be compared with the yearly average of 41 inches for 

 the heavily-timbered coast-land of the Cape Otway forest 

 region, where tall eucalypts, and an umbrophilous under- 

 growth along the streams and shady slopes, are the dominant 

 features. 



