178 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXIII. 



delirious clothes props, and at last, passing through a rough fence 

 • on the other side of the belt, descended into the saddle below the 

 summit. Riding over the springy turf large areas of Goodenia 

 hederacp.a were seen, not in flower, but presendy, in full bloom, 

 clumps of Ranunculus gunnianus were met with and collected — 

 perhaps, indeed, from the self-same place whence Baron von 

 Mueller gathered it more than half a century ago, for only the 

 other day, looking through an old collection of plants at the 

 Burnley School of Horticulture, I noticed a specimen labelled — 

 " From the saddle below the summit of Mount Buller (March, 



Passing along, the foliage of Aster celmisia, Aciphylla glacialis, 

 and Brachycome nivalis was recognized. The last part of the 

 ascent being steep and rocky, we left our horses to feed near the 

 springs, where Nageia alpina, Helichrysum haccharoides, Richea 

 gunnii, and Eriostemon fihylicifolius were thickly growing, but 

 only the last showing any sign of flower, and made for the cairn, 

 going out of our way to trudge through the snowdrifts we had 

 seen. From the summit, which is 5,911 feet above sea level — 

 Buller being sixth on the list of our mountains — the outlook was 

 magnificent, and the day being bright and clear, there was 

 nothing to mar the prospect, and for the moment plants were 

 quite forgotten in its enjoyment. Only the faintest breeze was 

 blowing, and, except for a ring of small cumulus clouds 

 sleeping near the horizon, the sky was quite clear. The hawk 

 was poised in mid-air, a solitary lizard basked among the warm 

 stones, and numbers of White Capper butterflies fluttered on all 

 sides. 



As we munched our sandwiches we first scrutinised the way we 

 had come. Looking past Timbertop or Warrambat, which is the 

 end of the spur running from Mt. Howitt, and of which Buller is 

 the highest point, we recognized the Delatite station, and clearly 

 saw the houses in Mansfield, and the Melbourne road as it ran at 

 the foot of The Paps on the way to Maindample. 



To the north, beyond the well grassed range, covered with dead 

 timber, that we had had on our left ascending the spur, was seen 

 the Cobbler, with a broken, abrupt face to the west and sloping 

 away to the east. Beyond was the Buffalo, showing a series of 

 peaks, and further away to the right, carrying large patches of 

 snow, were probably Bogong and the heights beyond Harrietville. 

 Quite close on the east was the round-topped Mount Stirling, a 

 serrated ridge seeming to join it to Mount Howitt ; to the souih 

 of this and across the valley of the Howqua Mount Magdala and 

 some bold bluff's, and further round to south-west Mounts Matlock 

 and Torbreck. 



After feasting on this glorious view for quite an hour, attention 

 was again directed to the flora of the Mount. Eriostemon alpinus, 

 just commencing to open its flowers, disputed possession with 



