SEPTEMBER 17 



down on the sand the gold and rich brown flowers of the 

 bossiaea shone on their quaint, flat, leafless stems. Pale in 

 comparison to the gorgeous pea blossoms were the lemon- 

 yellow flower spikes of the lemon-scented phebalium, which 

 grew near the creek, and even the golden balls of the juniper- 

 leafed wattle paled before their brilliancy. But here was 

 another flower which vied with them in gorgeousness ; it was 

 the deep pink boronia, which spread like a flowing carpet on 

 every hand. A week ago it was at its height of glory; now, it 

 is just on its wane, though still full of beauty. But in a few 

 more weeks it will make way for its paler sister, the one which 

 is sold in the streets. Amongst the boronia, the lysinema lifted 

 tall, sweet, white spikes, and three other epacrids lent softness 

 to the colour scheme, while close by a regular mass of white- 

 beards in full bloom shed an intoxicating sweetness and fasci- 

 nated hundreds of bees to their midst. Another sweet-scented 

 flower I found was logania, a shrub with small creamy bell 

 flowers, growing near the creek. 



Then up on the heathlands I came across a host of 

 sprengelia, one of the epacris family, whose thick, pink heads 

 of star-blossoms stand straight up amongst the brown grass 

 or green bead fern. It is always found in the heath, especially 

 in the swampy parts, and is very plentiful near Long Bay and 

 Maroubra. Up on those same highlands last week I found the 

 first native rose (boronia serrulata), and also the first hibbertia 

 a golden blossom very like a small dog-rose. There, too, 



