AMONG THE PALMS 195 



flies dallied with flowers, or rested on the sun-warmed 

 earth. In one corner of the island, Paper-bark Tea 

 Tree [Melaleuca] formed dense thickets, and huge 

 logs cumbered the marshy ground. The logs appeared 

 to be sound, but crumbled beneath our feet. 



Roaming through this tropical forest, now in 

 shadow and then in shine, one realised that it was 

 at once a nursery, a battlefield, and a cemetery. Here 

 the struggle for existence was being carried on with 

 wild energy. Every species was fighting without 

 allies, striving for roothold and a place in the sun. 

 Of a thousand seeds, one-tenth may germinate, and 

 of the seedlings only the fittest can survive. 



Stott's Island was again visited by several members 

 of our party, who had a minor adventure. A Carpet- 

 Snake [Python variegatus], which measured over 

 eleven feet in length, was surprised in a marshy spot. 

 It was coiled beside a log, beneath which it en- 

 deavoured to glide when a naturalist grasped it by 

 the tail. But two other pairs of hands gripped the 

 reptile's body, and a tug-of-war soon ended in favour 

 of the naturalists. Enclosed in a strong wooden box, 

 the snake was despatched to Melbourne, where it was 

 welcomed by a nature lover who delights in strange 

 pets. After my return to Victoria, I handled the 

 snake, and allowed it to coil around my waist. For 

 a few minutes it remained quiet, then the coils began 

 to tighten, and the snake's jaws closed on portion of 

 my coat. I was glad to accept assistance in freeing 

 myself from the reptile's embrace. Carpet snakes, of 

 course, are non-venomous, and nobody who has lived 

 in Python country for any length of time has the 

 slightest fear of them. 



Occasionally, in the Tweed River scrubs, tree snakes 

 (non-venomous) were seen gliding among the 

 branches, like undulating tubes of delicately-tinted 

 glass. The Common Green Tree Snake [Dendrophus 

 punctulatus] olive-green on the upper surface and 



