232 NATUEAL HISTOEY SKETCHES. 



and there are plenty of these all over the bush ; for 

 wherever the white man camps, he is sure to leave behind 

 him an empty bottle or sardine case. The shooter should 

 be very careful about his wadding in the dry summer- 

 season. The law is stringent with regard to camp-fires 

 in the bush during the summer. In pitching a tent in 

 the forest, it is best to pick an open place in the timber, 

 burn away the long grass all round, and clear up the dry 

 logs. "We were once burnt out, " lock, stock, and barrel," 

 and lost all our little property. 



Nothing can exceed the pure salubrity of the climate 

 here in the spring and autumn, and there is a freshness 

 in the early summer morning's breeze, laden with the 

 perfume of the gum, lightwood, and other blossoms, 

 which I never felt elsewhere. The nights are coldish 

 throughout the year, and a heavy dew often falls in the 

 end of summer. I never saw snow in Victoria, although 

 I believe the snowy ranges and Australian alps are often 

 covered. I only once saw ice about the thickness of a 

 sixpence. Hailstorms are prevalent in the summer, often 

 accompanied with thunder, and the hail-stones are about 

 the size of marbles. The rainy season is very irregular. 

 In some years the swamps and water-holes are well filled 

 by July ; in others the heavy rains do not fall until the 

 end of winter. May, June, July, and August, are generally 

 the rainy months. The drought is most felt in January 

 and February. In most of the other months we have 

 occasionally a rainy night or two. The principal weight 

 of rain falls at night ; and when it does rain, it comes 



