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NATURE 



[December 17, 1914 



with the formal programme of sectional meeting's 

 and addresses in the city, but during the week- 

 end various opportunities were made for exploring 

 the natural history of the neighbourhood. The 

 geologists were taken to Macedon to examine the 

 alkaline igneous rocks, and to Bacchus Marsh for 

 the Permo-Carboniferous glacial tills lying upon 

 striated surfaces of still older rocks. Other groups 

 of geologists were taken to Ballarat and to Ben- 

 digo. Parties of zoologists and botanists under 

 the guidance of Prof. Ewart and others, were 

 taken through fine scenery to various points of 

 interest, such as Marysville, Emerald, the 

 National Park at Wilson's Promontory, Warbur- 

 ton and Cement Creek, to see the celebrated big- 

 tree country and the tree-fern gullies. But here, 

 ag'ain, it must be remarked that a large number 

 of smaller trips were made by experts for special 

 purposes under private guidance, resulting in con- 

 sultations between the local scientific men and 

 their European guests. 



From Sydney there were excur- 

 sions of very general scientific in- 

 terest to the Blue Mountains, which 

 afforded the geologists the oppor- 

 tunity of studying the leading fea- 

 tures of the geological structure of 

 New South Wales and of the re- 

 markable elevation, which this, in 

 common with many other parts of 

 the continent, experienced in Ter- 

 tiary or Post-Tertiary times. These 

 excursions were also extended to the 

 Jenolan Caves, which are typical, 

 but very magnificent, examples of 

 stalactitic caves in limestone of 

 Silurian age. Amongst other in- 

 teresting features were seen the 

 remains of an aboriginal skeleton in 

 one cave and of a wallaby's bones in 

 another embedded in the stalagmitic 

 floor. Other geological excursions 

 to West Maitland and Newcastle 

 gave an opportunity of examining 

 the productive coal measures of the 

 colony. The Blue Mountains and 

 Jenolan expeditions were, however, of interest also 

 to zoologists and botanists, who were enabled to 

 study in their native haunts such rare and inter- 

 esting forms as Peripatus and land Planarians, 

 and to see many of the characteristic birds and 

 insects of the country. Other excursions from 

 Sydney were naturally rather of a marine biologi- 

 cal character. Prof. Haswell and Dr. S. J. John- 

 ston organised a collecting party, which visited 

 various parts of Port Jackson in a steam launch 

 in order to explore the wonderfully rich inverte- 

 brate fauna exposed at low tide. Another oppor- 

 tunity was given by Prof. Haswell to a small 

 party of zoologists to collect choice material from 

 one of the islands in the harbour. 



In connection with the marine fauna the ques- 

 tion of more fully exploring the Australian 

 fisheries was under consideration at several 

 centres, and it seems probable that a more 

 thorough investigation of the coastal waters and 



NO. 2355, VOL. 94] 



their contained plankton by modern oceano- 

 graphical methods will be undertaken at an early 

 date. Another outcome of informal conversations- 

 was the resolution, brought before the Committee 

 of Recommendations for adoption by the Council 

 of the Association, welcoming the project to con- 

 vert a portion of Kangaroo Island in Southern 

 Australia into a Government reserve for the pro- 

 tection of the fast-disappearing native land fauna. 



From Sydney a number of smaller informal ex- 

 cursions were arranged by Prof. Lawson for the 

 purpose of studying the botany of the Port Jack- 

 son neighbourhood, including the National Park. 

 Another important botanical excursion, under the 

 guidance of Mr. J. H. Maiden, visited the Bulli 

 Pass and the Burrinjuck Dam, passing through 

 interesting country and a rich fern vegetation. 



Queensland, like Western and South Aus- 

 tralia, was felt to be a centre for work in the 

 field rather than for sectional meetings and dis- 



FiG. 2. — British Association jarty on an expedition in southern Queensland. 



cussions. The expeditions from Brisbane included 

 the gold and copper mines of Mount Morgan and 

 the Gympie gold field, and, also for geologists,, 

 those to the Glass-house Mountains, a series of 

 Trachytic volcanic necks rising abruptly from the 

 plain (see Fig. 3), and to Ipswich to examine the 

 Trias-Jura coal measures and associated volcanic 

 rocks. Zoologists, along with botanists, were 

 given interesting opportunities of seeing and col- 

 lecting the characteristic plants and animals both 

 from cultivated and wild country on the expedi- 

 tions to Nambour, the Blackall Range and the 

 Maroochy River, Cleveland, Bribie Island in 

 Moreton Bay, and on the expedition to Dr. Jean. 

 White's Prickly Pear experimental station at 

 Dulacca. The field-work organised in connection, 

 with the section of Agriculture has already been 

 noticed, in Nature for November 19. 



A good deal of research, definitely planned in 

 relation to the Australian meeting, and resulting- 



