Vol. XIII. 

 191 



J White, Field Ornilhology in South Australia. 21 



many inlets and baj^s, and line bold and lofty hills jut out into 

 the lake, appearing at a distance like islands. Working the 

 country well, we rounded the south end of the lake and turned up 

 the east side, and after a few days made Wattaker station. We 

 camped in a thick mulga scrub for a while, where bird-life was 

 more plentiful than usual, but the wind blew with great violence, 

 and hampered our work very much. Several fresh plants came 

 under notice, such as Gnaphaliiim luteo-albitm and the pretty little 

 Athrixia tenella, Goodenia pinnatifida, &c. From here we 

 travelled in easy stages along the track, working the country on 

 either side. At Myall Creek we found the Thick-billed Grass- 

 Wren {Amytornis modesiits) amongst the high salt-bush. 



Our last night's camp was formed on the side of a table-topped 

 mount, fairly high up on the lee side, hoping to get some shelter 

 fiom the wind. All through our trip the wind had been very 

 high, and gave us much trouble ; but this night it blew with 

 hurricane force, making it almost impossible to stand up against 

 it. Towards morning the wind dropped, and a good fall of rain 

 followed. Before dark, on this our last night, we clambered 

 amongst the large boulders on the hill-side as well as we could 

 against the wind, and, although we saw few birds {Ariamus 

 melanops, Glyciphila albifrons), some plants were noticed. One 

 of them, a bright scarlet and pink flowering shrub, Frankenia 

 pauciHova, was perhaps one of the prettiest in the north. Another 

 bright-flowering species growing on the sheltered sides of large 

 boulders was Isotoma petrcea. Many acacias abound in this 

 northern country. Most of them are of a prickly nature, but the 

 one known as the ' ' dead finish ' ' excels all others in its fierce 

 nature. Many birds build their nests in this shrub {Acacia 

 tetragonophylla), knowing that by so doing their homes are well 

 protected. 



In concluding my remaiks on the plant life, I must say that 

 the most beautiful flowering tree of the Gawler Ranges is a hakea 

 (H. miiUilineata). We met with some of these trees, covered with 

 scarlet blossoms, growing on a sandy ridge to the west of the 

 ranges. Making an early start on the last morning, we camped 

 at Lake Dempsey for mid-day meal, and did some work amongst 

 the Calamanthus around the lake, reaching Port Augusta West 

 in the late afternoon. A gale of wind was blowing, driving 

 sand before it in clouds, which the horses did not like facing. On 

 reaching the pant the men refused to face such a wind and running 

 sea, so my wife and I, after some inducement, got the ferryman 

 to pull us over, leaving the team to come over at such time as 

 the wind and sea moderated. Thus ended a trip of nearly 700 

 miles. Mrs. White's heavy boots had been torn to pieces by the 

 rough, stony country invaded, and the last day or two she had 

 to keep in camp for want of footwear, while our driver's feet 

 were protected only by pieces of leather bound up by^ wire ; his 

 clothes were in tatters. My second pair of boots was almost 

 done, and the knees were out of my breeches, &c., &c., while our 



