172 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



It resembles a piece of a common green glass bottle crystallised, 

 or the green copperas of commerce ; but, unfortunately, like 

 some other combinations of iron, it turns rusty on exposure to 

 the air. There may also be obtained here pieces of partly 

 petrified and partly carbonised wood, remains of trees destroyed 

 by the fall of red-hot ashes from some volcano ages ago. Very 

 little water makes its way through the rocks, and, though the 

 wind drove the spray on to us, owing to the rain it was quite as 

 dry under the falls as outside. Few plants were found under 

 the fall. The ferns Woodwardm caudaia and Asplenhim flahelli- 

 folium were rather plentiful, also several mosses and lichens. 

 After watching the falling waters for some time, we returned ; 

 two of us by the way we had come, the other by the opposite 

 bank of the river, crossing the Wannon by the bridge near the 

 inn. Like most Australian falls, this should be visited during 

 the wet season, but even as we saw it, with the river divided into 

 three streams, it is well worth the journey from Melbourne, and 

 may fairly be reckoned among the sights of Victoria. Had the 

 weather been finer we could easily have spent some hours in 

 exploring the picturesque gorge below the falls, which, doubt- 

 less, contains some interesting botanical specimens, but, under 

 the circumstances, had to beat a hasty retreat to the hotel, and 

 dry ourselves before we could start for Hamilton. Our drive 

 back was not very cheerful, as steady rain was falling all the 

 way. However, on reaching our hotel a change of boots and 

 clothing soon made us comfortable again. 



At the hotel our curiosity was excited by the news that a 

 gentleman had just arrived who intended visiting the well- 

 known fossil beds at Muddy Creek the next day. As we had 

 partly planned the same trip for the morrow, this was an agree- 

 able surprise, and was all the more satisfactory when we found 

 our new visitor was such a well-known naturalist as Mr. J. 

 Bracebridge Wilson, M.A., head master of the Geelong 

 Grammar School, also a member of our club. 



(To be concluded.) 



Green Hydra. — Mr. W. Ball obtained specimens of a green 

 hydra, at Mansfield, in February. The hydras previously 

 observed in Australia would seem to have been typical speci- 

 mens of H./usca. 



Two hen swallows were recently taken from their broods 

 at Pavia, Italy, and released in Milan. It took them just 

 thirteen minutes to get back to their nests again, so that their 

 average rate of flight must have been eighty-seven and a half 

 miles an hour. 



