. . The . . 



South Australian Naturalist. 



VOL. II. ADELAIDE, MAY, 1921. No.^ 



GENERAL NOTES. 



The Year's Work. — The full syllabus for the current year 

 has been published and is now in the hands of members. An 

 excellent series of lectures and excursions has been drawn up ; 

 the lecturers include many not previously heard by the Field 

 Naturalists, while in the excursions, visits are set down to 

 several beauty spots that have not been visited for some years. 



Tall Trees. — The eucalypts of Gippsland have the reputa- 

 tion of being among- the tallest trees in the Avorld, though the 

 report that in some cases it takes two people to see to the top 

 of a tree is not generally believed. Many of the early claims 

 made regarding the heights of individual trees appear to have 

 been based on guesswork, and are not reliable. For instance, 

 400 and 500 feet have been given as the heights reached in some 

 cases, and an early writer stated that he had seen eucalypts 

 that "would cast a shadow on the summit of the great pyra- 

 mid." In his lecture on the eucalypts, Mr. E. H. Ising gave 

 some definite examples of the big gums of Victoria, vouched 

 for in Maiden's "Forest Flora of New South Wales." Perhaps 

 the biggest tree there recorded was one in the Otway Ranges, 

 32 feet in girth, and measuring 290 feet in height, although a 

 considerable portion of the top had been broken off. Other 

 trees actually measured are: (a) 326 ft. high, 25 ft. 7 in. girth, 

 Neerim; (b) 307 ft. high, 22 ft. 8 in. girth, Mount Monda ; (c) 

 303i ft. high, 25 ft. 7 in. girth, Narbethong. 



Lecture, March 15, 1920. — During the latter part of last 

 year several Field Naturalists camped for a few weeks in the 

 Northern Flinders Ranges, at Moolooloo and elsewhere. On 

 Tuesday, March 15, Mr. H. M. Hale delivered an address dealing 

 Avith this trip. A series of fine slides, from negatives taken by 

 members of the party, showed the magnificent scenery which 

 occurs in this part of the highlands of South Australia. The 

 lecturer remarked that oAving to the splendid season the North 

 was visited under ideal conditions. When passing the Wil- 

 lochra Creek, near Quorn, it was mentioned that although the 

 water was then but an inch or two in depth, three weeks pre- 



