84 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



It took me some time to reach Mount Hotham, as I was kept 

 busy filling my portfolio with specimens. I had to stop at so 

 many places that a traveller, who was walking in the same 

 direction, and who kept me company for some time, became dis- 

 gusted and asked what was the good of picking these things — if 

 any money could be made out of it ? gave me up, and went on. 

 When approaching Mount Hotham (6, loo feet elevation) the last 

 of the stunted trees, two species of eucalyptus, E. gunnii and 

 E. pauciflora, ceased altogether, and nothing but a grassy slope to 

 the summit ; I was above the " tree line." Here on flat or sloping 

 rocks are large patches, all over the mount, of the Victorian 

 Edelweiss, Leontopodium catipes, with silvery-grey leaves, and very 

 much smaller white flowers than its congener of the Alps in Switzer- 

 land, but far more easily gathered, while in the Swiss Alps lives 

 have been sacrificed in climbing after their much-coveted 

 Edelweiss. On the same rocks, along with our Leontopodium, 

 occur also two other plants of a moss-like appearance — >cle7-- 

 anthus bijiorus and Stackhousia j)ulvinaris; but more conspicuous 

 on the mount are the rare Umbellifera Aciphylla glacialis, and 

 the Compositse, principally Aster exul. Aster celmisia, Helichrysum 

 lucidum, and H. rosmarinifolium, Helijoteriivi anthemoides, and 

 H. incanum, the latter in three varieties, white, pink, and yellow 

 (var. auriceps) ; also Kutizea muelleri as a low creeping shrub. 

 After resting for a while near the cairn on the summit, and after 

 placing the specimens between drying paper in my portfolio, I 

 started to return. I may here mention that close to Mount 

 Hotham, near the Diamantina Springs, accommodation and 

 refreshments can be obtained at Mrs. Johnston's ; this place had 

 been erected since my previous visit. On my way I examined 

 various Grevillea victorice bushes, but only could obtain a few 

 seed specimens ; on the roadsides were a good many shrubs of 

 Westringia senifolia, Prostanthera cuneata, and Boronico algida. 



The following day, Tuesday, I went to the Twins Mountains, 

 only two miles away from the hospice, by a plain track, which 

 leads to the top, though the final part is very steep ; the 

 principal peak of this double mount is also destitute of trees, 

 like most of the other peaks. I walked across this mountain 

 down to the other side, where I came to the track from Wood's 

 Point, which goes round the side of it. In the afternoon I visited 

 Mount Smythe, a bold rocky peak near the hospice, and followed 

 the source of the Dargo downwards, returning by the Grant or 

 Crooked River road. 



There are many other places of note from St. Bernard for 

 excursionists. For instance, a good bridle track leads to Mount 

 Feathertop (6,300 feet), a distance of fourteen miles ; Mount 

 Freezeout (5,500 feet), three miles away, and several others ; but 

 as I intended on my return to proceed to the Buffalo Mountains 



