142 KING GEORGE'S SOUND 



The scenery about King George's Sound is not in any 

 way so striking as that of most parts of Victoria and 

 South Australia ; yet there is far more vegetation on the 

 land than on some spots further north and west that we 

 shall have to glance at presently. There are hills also 

 about the shores of the Sound, and some forty miles 

 inland can be discerned the Stirling range, the most 

 imposing rocks in this part of the country. The natural 

 features of the land have undergone great changes owing 

 to the works of man, and the improvements of tillage and 

 cultivation, and it is not until the naturalist has penetrated 

 well into the interior that he is in a position to appreciate 

 fully what a decided change there is in the fauna and 

 flora of the country when compared with the eastern side 

 of the continent. Precisely where the change begins I 

 cannot say, since I was unable to penetrate the country 

 from the head of the Great Bight. I believe the line is, 

 with regard to many species at least, very sharply drawn ; 

 which is the more remarkable, as no great barriers exist 

 which would be likely to interrupt the spread of species. 

 The Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the Alps of 

 Victoria, etc., confine a few species to the eastern coasts ; 

 but there is absolutely nothing to prevent the spread of 

 animal forms from the westward of the ranges mentioned 

 above to the coasts of the opposite side of the country. 

 Some species are so spread — are universally distributed 

 over the continent ; but they are few in number, and 

 mostly of the larger forms of birds. The great grey 

 kangaroo is not found on any of the great grassy plains 

 of the west, although the country seems admirably suited 

 for its subsistence ; and most of the small birds are of 

 quite different species on the two sides of the continent, 

 though on both sides those of the north, where, on account 

 of difference of climate, one might expect to find a 

 difference, do not vary so markedly from those of the 

 south. 



That the vegetation should differ is not so remarkable. 

 That is probably due in great measure to the aridity of the 

 soil on the desert portions of the continent. This is a 



