172 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



I arrived at Albacuyta Station late on Saturday night, and, 

 after having refreshed the " inner man," Mr. Scott was good 

 enough to suggest a plan by which I was enabled to enter upon 

 my work without loss of time; and as the dray was going out 

 to a camp situated about eleven miles north-west of the station, 

 I gladly accepted the proposal to go with it, and thus my first 

 real collecting work was about to be commenced. 



We left the station shortly after noon on Sunday, and reached 

 Paul's Camp — which is pitched in a very romantic spot, as the 

 very truthful sketch (kindly made for me by Miss Mabel Scott) 

 will show — at about sunset ; and whilst the men were rigging 

 up my little tent, and preparing supper, I took a stroll to see 

 what the district produced in the way of plants. 



I have said that the country was quite new to me, and the 

 desire to explore a huge sand-hill, about 300 feet high, was more 

 than I could resist, so I determined, although nearly dark, to 

 go to the top, if possible, that night. I reached the summit 

 after a pretty hard climb, the sand being loose and as white as 

 the beach at St. Kilda. 



After fossicking about for a few minutes I saw, under a 

 solitary Murray pine, a most curious-looking object, which com- 

 pletely puzzled me, but on closer inspection I found it to be a 

 most remarkable fungus, belonging (the Baron informs me) to 

 the genus Battarea, and approaching B. phalhides, a single 

 specimen of which has recently been found at the Murchison 

 River, Western Australia, and is now in the Botanical Museum 

 collections. 



It was by this time dark, so I had to beat a hasty retreat 

 towards the camp, which, owing partly to the large and cheerful 

 fire burning, I had no difficulty in finding, leaving the prospect- 

 ing of these singular-looking sand-hills until morning. 



Lake Albacutya is now quite dry, and is covered over with a 

 very dense growth of herbage. Many valuable fodder-plants are 

 here on the lake, which is a most valuable adjunct to this large 

 sheep-run, comprising, as it does, about 600 square miles of 

 country. The lake forms a most conspicuous object, and 

 affords an excellent land-mark for travellers. 



I saw no tracks of wild cattle, it being too early in the season 

 for them. I felt quite contented at their absence, and agree 

 with Mr. Le Souef when he says that the sport of hunting them 

 is more dangerous than pleasant. INIr. P. Scott, however, holds 

 a different opinion. 



It was now " supper" time, so, having partaken of an excel- 

 lent meal, served up on the family (tin) plates, we sat around 

 the fire and chatted until bedtime, I anxiously looking forward 

 to the morning, when I hoped to be early amongst the sand 

 hills. 



I 



