428 The Australian Bush, 



Mr. Gould, the ornithology of Australia is now pretty well known. 

 I believe in 1848 he had figured and described above six hundred 

 species as indigenous to the land, and doubtless, since then he has 

 added many more to the list. 



As a guide to a party of three men about to spend a year in the 

 bush, I will just give an idea of what rations they will require. I 

 will suppose they buy them in Melbourne to take up, and then the 

 expense of carriage up will be probably less than the profits the 

 country-storekeeper will demand. However, stores, as I have said, 

 are to be obtained in most places within the settled districts, either 

 on stations or of the country storekeepers — of course, at bush prices. 



The monthly allowance for every man — and it will be easy to 

 calculate the price and weight for a year's rations in the bush — of 

 real necessaries, will be about 4olb. of flour (more than sufiScient), 

 81b. sugar (brown), salt and pepper ad libitum, ilb.tea, lib. tobacco. 

 As the party will live on the game they shoot, I allow no meat 3 a 

 side or two of American bacon will be very useful for frying the 

 dry kangaroo venison in. A few pounds of stearine candles (a 

 photogen lamp is better) and matches must not be forgotten 3 and 

 a tinder-box should always be kept in the tent. 



Galton's "Art of Travel" will be the most useful book that a 

 man can study who is going into the bush. A man who works hard 

 will not have much time for reading, but it is wonderful what a 

 treat a few books of light reading will be found for a rainy day or 

 a leisure hour. 



Of course the tent must be taken up. Let it be a good one, and 

 not a round one, and it will probably stand about two years. An 

 extra sheet of canvas or fly, to cover the whole top, placed at a 

 distance of six inches above it, will render it perfectly water- 

 tight. 



The less stores that are laid in at one time the better, always pro- 

 viding the party is camped where tea, sugar, flour, and tobacco are 

 to be bought. As we rarely see a petticoat in a bush-tent, thrift is 

 not the order of the day. The bushman is generally an extravagant 



