322 TKANSAGTIONS AND I'HOCKEDINfJS OF Til K [Bess. Lxvii. 



softness of which is hardly conceivable by those who have 

 not seen similar localities. The bright emerald tinted 

 carpeting of snowgrasses, the variegated colours of numerous 

 herbaceous plants, and dwarfed but diffuse shrubs, with 

 crystal streams (small source runnels) traversing the area, 

 make a most striking contrast to the brown and parched 

 appearance of the lower lands and valleys, literally languish- 

 ing in excessive dryness at this season of the year. The 

 grandeur and sublimity of the surrounding scenery, seas of 

 mountains rising wave-like on every side, presenting almost 

 infinite shades of blue and purple colouring, the extreme 

 rarity of the air and other conditions which lend an 

 additional charm to the landscape, leave an impression on 

 the mind of the beholder not easily effaced. Although 

 these highlands form excellent summer pasturages, upon 

 which stock fatten rapidly — so rich and nutritive is the 

 herbage, — yet, owing to the severe frosts, snow, and sudden 

 climatic changes, they are for many months of the year 

 perfectly inhospitable. Snow frequently falls to a depth of 

 twelve feet in these regions, and, where at all shaded from 

 the sun's direct rays, remains throughout the entire summer, 

 forming young glaciers, which, however, never mature, owing 

 to the variation in summer temperature, to which even 

 these regions are subject. 



Some of the evidences of this ancient highland are 

 found in the localities now occupied by coatings of basalt 

 overlying widespread river gravels and clay stones (which 

 contain the remains of Eocene flora) resting on silurian or 

 metamorphic rocks. Some of the present rivers, such as 

 the Mitchell, Dargo, and Mitta Mitta, have eroded their 

 courses along the margin of these lava flows to a depth 

 of 4000 feet, leaving the height of the underlying Eocene 

 strata and the depth of the basaltic coating plainly 

 discernible. 



The present elevated plateaux, as might be expected, 

 form the gathering grounds of most of the principal streams, 

 traversing deep valleys with extremely picturesque contours, 

 such as the Snowy Eiver, Mitchell, and Latrobe, flowing 

 south into the Southern Ocean and the Gippsland Lakes ; 

 and the Murray, Mitta Mitta, Ovens, King, and Goulburn 

 liivers flowing north and north-west. 



