62 AuDAS, Through the Miirra Mitrra Country, [vok'xx'x'vii. 



the main road which runs from Horsham througli tlie mountains 

 to Dunk(4d, and here we foimd ourselves in a dilemma, for 

 neither of us was sure which direction led to the forest lodge, 

 where the forest ranger resides, and where we had been kindly 

 advised by Mr. Mackay, the Conservator of Forests, we could 

 secure shelter for ourselves and our horses for the night. After 

 some dehberation, lured by a telephone wire, wc decided to go 

 south, and, following the road for some miles, came to the home 

 of a beekeeper, wliere we learned that we had chosen exactly 

 the wrong direction. As the black darkness of the forest had 

 now set in, he kindly offered us shelter for the night, which 

 we gladly accepted. Botli ourselves and our horses were tired 

 from the long journey, having covered over twenty-five miles 

 of difficult mountain country in the day. After enjoying a 

 hearty meal with our host, we sat on a big gum log smoking 

 and yarning till the hght of the moon stole softly out, turning 

 the leaves of the forest into millions of shining silver shilhngs, 

 and shy little opossums could be seen moving from bougli to 

 bough, and the quick draught of squirrels gambolling overliead 

 could be felt. Native bears or koalas were abroad, and the 

 sad, plaintive note of the Curlew sounded in the distance. 

 These and a hundred other sounds in the stUl hush of the 

 forest night were as an open book to our host, who read to us 

 therefrom many tales of bush life, and wc spent an enjoyable 

 time listening to his reminiscences. 



In the morning we were up at daylight, and after a liunicd 

 breakfast bade farewell to our host and started oft througli the 

 red gum forest in tlie direction of Victoria Range, wliicli we 

 reached about noon. Hero we had our mid-day meal on the 

 banks of the Glcnelg River. Part of tlie afternoon was given up 

 to examining the flora of the range, l)ut '1 j^roved ratlier dis- 

 appointing, as flowers did not appear to l)c nearly so numerous 

 as on the eastern side of the valley — viz., the Serra and Mount 

 Difficult Ranges. The only plants worthy of note not pre- 

 viously collected by us were : — Eucalyptus dives, Hihbcrtia 

 hiimifusa, Sphcerolobium duvicsioidcs, Phyllota plcurandroidcs, 

 Tcmplctonia Mucllcri, Cryptandru amara, C. tomcntosa, Chorctrnm 

 glomendum, Plcurandropis p/whulioides, Goinpholohium minus, 

 Lagcnophora cmphysopus, per cul aria scobrida, Klynanthus 

 capillaris, Lcpidobolus drapelocoleus, Brachycome gnnioearpa, 

 Selaginclla Preissiana, Carcx brcviculmis, and Polyi^oimm 

 lapathifolium. We therefore decided to follow the valley in 

 a soutlierly direction, and rode for twelve miles through one 

 continuous stretch of fnic red ginn forest, Eucalyptus roslrala, 

 which is being most carefully conserved by the State I-'orests 

 Department, portion being fenced and protected ixom rabbits, 

 f(jr these mischievous little animals, in spite of the destrurtion 



