THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



myrsinoides in flower, and can only regret the loss of our 

 umbrella. 



At length, after a walk of about sixteen miles, we reach the 

 Cabbage Tree Creek, and, for the sake of fresh air, pitch our camp 

 on the top of a hill 500 feet high overlooking the creek (2). The 

 vegetation below is very thick indeed, and the evening is coming 

 on ; but we can just make out the tops of a group of palms down 

 in the valley beneath us. As we put the tents up amongst the 

 Banksias on the hill top it comes on to rain heavily, but fortunately 

 clears off later on, and allows us to get dry again, and we hope 

 for a fine day to spend amongst the palms. 



Thursday, 3RD January. — Leaving camp about 8 a.m., we 

 go down to the bank of the creek, the whole hillside being 

 covered with Goodia lotifolia in fruit. The stream is some twenty- 

 five feet wide, and flows through a dense mass of vegetation, 

 prominent among which are great Dicksonias and Todeas. We 

 cross by a mossy trunk, and, turning to the right in a fern gully, 

 see a solitary palm, with its head standing out high above the 

 other trees. Continuing along by the creek the vegetation grows 

 very thick, and Smilax and Clematis too frequent for walking to 

 be pleasant. The trees are principally white-gums of various 

 sizes, with Lilypillies, musk, Pittosportim bicolor, ElceocQ.rpjis, and 

 the cotton tree ; and amongst ferns we note the usual Dicksonias 

 and Alsophilas, with Hymenophylhun nitens and crispaium. Poly- 

 podium scandens^ Blechninn carttlagiiieum, Asplenium laxum, 

 Gleichenia circinata and /labellata, Lomaria patter soni^ discolor, 

 a.nd p'ocera, and Pteris timbrosa and incisa. Amongst the trees 

 are many young cabbage palms of various heights, varying from 

 one to fifty feet, and after some time we find a small clearing, at 

 one side of which is a group of five tall ones standing out 

 clearly (fig. 3). Their tall, thin, ringed trunks, running up to a height 

 of more than 100 feet, are each covered by a tuft of leaves, the long 

 finger-like processes of which hang down and give a very character- 

 istic appearance to the trees. Directly the heads of the palms grow 

 out into the open above the general vegetation of the valley, the 

 sun's heat seems to scorch the leaves up, and they have a brown, 

 withered appearance. The most beautiful are, certainly, the 

 young trees, from 30 to 60 feet in height (fig. 2), which are still 

 sheltered from the direct rays of the sun. Their leaves are both 

 larger in size than those of the older trees and of a beautiful 

 fresh green colour. As they die off they are replaced by a 

 constant growth of new ones, and, when withering, hang down 

 for some time by the side of the trunk, and finally fall off. 

 Beneath the trees we find plenty of seeds lying upon the ground. 



As soon as we left camp it had begun to rain, and ali day long 

 it goes on pouring in torrents, but we are determined to see as 

 much as we can, and also, if possible, to get a sketch or two 



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