34 The South Australian Naturalist. 



the sand along the beach is coarser than that at Brighton, and 

 the Brighton sand is coarser than that at Glenelg, and so on 

 along the coast to 8t. Kilda, where the mud flats consist of very 

 fine material. The theory is held that as the rock is worn 

 down at Marino the finer sand grains are carried further than 

 the larger, which are found nearer to the point of disintegra- 

 tion. The sands along the coast vary in the size of the grains, 

 and the shapes and colours also are different at various places. 

 The coast from Marion to Dry Creek is about 12 feet higher 

 than it used to be. The old coast line, consisting of red sand 

 dunes, can easily be traced along the back of Brighton to 

 Fulliam and to Dry Creek. The present sand dunes along our 

 littoral are of pure white sand. The rocks at Seacliff are cut off 

 vertically by the sea action, leaving a shelving floor at sea-level 

 at this place. These rocks are gradually broken up as deep 

 v/ater is reached, where the sea-floor is of a sandy nature. The 

 vegetation of the area was dealt w^ith by Mr. E. H. Ising. 

 The valuable native sand-binder (Spinifex hirsutus), with its 

 long, creeping underground stems, w^as pointed out. Two 

 species of Myoporum were met with ; one known as Boobialla 

 (M. insulare), a shrub of 6 feet, and the other one (M. humile) 

 is the dwarf member of the family, being a low-spreading shrub 

 of less than a foot high. The plants near the top of the cliff 

 were of stunted form ; the higher shrubs were wind blown, w^ith 

 the trunks bent over by the strength of the prevailing winds. 

 Not many plants were in flower, but all seen during the ramble 

 were of interest. 



Excursion, May 10. — The members of tlie Section on the 

 accession holiday went to Basket Range, via Norton's Summit. 

 The party much enjoyed the beautiful scenery, enhanced just 

 now by the wealth of autumn tints, of which the most noticeable 

 were the rich red leaves of the cherry trees. A convenient 

 shelter was found at the Basket Range school-house. A ramble 

 on I'oad and hillside followed. Not many wild flowers Avere in 

 evidence, but the native heath (Epacris impressa, Labill), in 

 red, pink and white varieties, was flowering. One orchid in 

 flower is not frequently met with, that is Eriochilus autumnalis, 

 R.Br., which only blooms at this time of the year. Mr. W. H. 

 Selway, the leader for the day, gave an address on autumn 

 botany, native and introduced. He explained the causes of the 

 autumn coloration and gave a short outline of the life history 

 of a leaf. 



Exhibits. — The following exhibits were shown by Mr. E. 

 H. Ising on April 20: — (1) TJie castor-oil plant (Ricinis com- 

 munis), flowers and fruit; from Islington. (2) Native thyme 



