t^o Hardy, The Mallee : Ouyen to Pinnaroo. [vof'xxx. 



My notes are almost confined to the northern section, of 

 which the western boundary is only a political one, and even 

 then to that part of it which I traversed in company with Mr. 

 Kenyon. A self-imposed restriction will be seen in the omission 

 of reference to a great number of plants of lowly growth. My 

 observations were chiefly made during forced marches, and 

 mostly from buggy or saddle, so that, by stooping, specimens 

 could be obtained without the collector dismounting. The 

 occasion was a botanical tour on behalf of the Forests Depart- 

 ment, to whom I am indebted for permission to utihze 

 the notes then made. 



Ouyen is a township of growing importance and a railway 

 station on the line from Melbourne to Mildura, at 290 miles 

 from the metropolis and 63 from Mildura, on the Murray River. 

 Height above sea-level, about 165 feet. Pinnaroo is the north- 

 easterly terminus of a railway from Adelaide, and which, at 

 162 miles, stops just short of the Victorian border near the 

 141st meridian. The road which connects the two townships 

 is gently undulating and in parts level, and about 85 miles in 

 length westerly from Ouyen. The railway, since constructed, 

 through Tiega, Walpeup, Underbool, and Cow Plains to 

 Murrayville, leaves still 17 miles to be traversed by road. 



I will endeavour now, by means of lantern views from negatives 

 taken by Mr. Kenyon, Mr. Dave Crosbie, and myself, to take 

 you over the route of our travel. To reach Ouyen, one may 

 leave Melbourne by the 6.40 a.m. train, and, passing Castle- 

 maine, Maryborough, St. Arnaud, Donald, and Birchip, arrive 

 at his destination at 2.40 a.m. next day. This we did, and out 

 of the many notes made during the long train journey I am 

 offering five : — (i) Red ironbark. Eucalyptus sideroxylon, begins 

 to show up in quantity after passing Dunolly (the timber 

 hitherto being chiefly box-eucalypts) ; with it is associated E. 

 melliodora, E. hemiphlota, and E. leucoxylon. (2) At Suther- 

 land, beyond St. Arnaud, the bull-oak plains begin ; considerable 

 tracts of what looked like Casuarina suberosa (not the buloke, 

 C. Luehmanni), interspersed with box-eucalypts. E. sider- 

 oxylon not in evidence. (3) The most noticeable bird through- 

 out the train journey was the magpie, and it will be of interest 

 to ornithological members to state that the change from one 

 species to another appeared near Swanwater, in a belt of country 

 about 10 miles wide, in which White-backed and Black-backed 

 birds (respectively Gymnorhina leuconota and Gymnorhina 

 iihic^n) could both be seen, but few of either. To the south of 

 this belt all were of the former species, while to the north of 

 it I saw only the Black-backed birds. (4) The first 

 Callitris (pine) seen was between Swanwater and Donald, 

 (5) Mallee flora in quantity was first noticed a dozen miles or so 



