14 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Its general outline appears to rise only slightly above the range 

 on which it stands. This great ridge obscured our view to the 

 north and north-east, the direction in which we desired to travel 

 later. 



To the south-west Mt. Useful is clearly visible, and in a more 

 westerly direction the basalt-capped outlines of FuUarton, Spring 

 Hill, and Connor's Plain rise up in steep slopes from the valley of 

 the Barkly to a height very slightly above the general line of the 

 Main Divide on which they stand. 



Most prominent on the western sky-line, though most distant, 

 is Mt. Skene, whose steep northern or southern shoulders support 

 a massive mountain overlooking the upper waters of the Barkly. 

 A natural contour map is spread out in high relief around this 

 exalted outlook, but the rapidly descending mists soon made it 

 necessary to finish observations and prepare for the return. 



To follow a main spur up does not require much care, but to 

 retrace one's steps down the same ridge necessitates watchfulness, 

 and this we found to our cost on the descent. The spur was 

 followed correctly for about half-way down, but soon alter it was 

 noted that the upward route had been departed from. It was 

 not possible to miss the river valley below, so the descent was 

 continued, but the rest of the travelling to the river was rough 

 and tiring. The mist had now obscured the familiar land-marks 

 on the ranges, and we failed to recognize the position of the 

 saddle by which we had crossed from Glencairn. After travelling 

 in the wrong direction up the river for some distance, it was 

 decided that, rather than retrace our steps, we would climb the 

 scarp on the opposite side of the river to reach the Glencairn 

 valley. This proved no easy task, and a climb of 600 feet of hand 

 and leg work was not a welcome wind-up to a heavy day's 

 climbing. Once this height was scaled, however, the travelling 

 down the Glencairn valley was easy walking. 



We were Mr. Sweetapple's guests that night, and next morning 

 that gentleman showed us a number of the rock specimens which 

 he had collected in the ranges, for he takes a keen interest in 

 geology. One specimen in particular attracted our attention, for 

 it was a piece of sandstone which showed the diamond-shaped 

 markings of the impression of a lepidodendron stem. Mr. 

 Sweetapple generously offered us the specimen, which we 

 accepted, and decided to search diligently for further fossils. 

 This particular specimen was picked up as a loose rock in the 

 Glencairn valley, several miles to the north of the house. 

 Though we spent a whole day searching the rock exposures of 

 the vicinity, we were unsuccessful in finding any fossils. 

 However, close to our camp near the Barkly, as indicated on the 

 sketch map, we were more fortunate, and here we secured a 

 number of specimens of Lepidodendron australis, M'Coy, pre- 



