10 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



germination of certain seeds, if by any means they pass out of 

 the body again ; as, for example, when birds disgorge their food 

 after retaining it in the body for a considerable length of time. 

 In the case of the palm trees, it is possible that the seeds were 

 carried to the spot where now the trees flourish by water or birds, 

 or perhaps partly by both agencies, and that, falling on the 

 ground, two or three seeds perhaps germinated and gave rise to 

 the present small colony of palms.* It is more easy to under- 

 stand why they are so extremely limited in distribution in Vic- 

 toria on the theory that the seeds have been at some time brought 

 to the Cabbage Tree Creek, rather than on the theory that these 

 palms are the relics of a once widely distributed group, and that 

 the conditions remained favourable for their permanence only 

 along the banks of this creek. Probably there are many places 

 in Victoria in which the seeds, if sown, would germinate; but 

 the chances against their reaching such spots by natural means, 

 and in fit condition for germination, are enormous, and the two 

 conditions, we may suppose, have only been fulfilled in this 

 instance. We spend the day searching about the banks of the 

 creek, and return to our camp as evening comes on, satisfied 

 with what we have seen, and, after having been soaked through 

 since the early morning, are grateful for a fine night and a large 

 camp fire, and, not least, for a little of the medical comforts 

 prescribed by our most experienced member. 



Friday, 4TH January. — The horses have wandered some few 

 miles away, which gives us a further opportunity of looking 

 around. 'I'he white goshawk is flying about, but out of range; 

 so is the common sulphur-crested cockatoo, and down in the gullies 

 we can hear the lyre-bird. As we retrace our steps to Bruce's 

 track we follow as nearly as possible the path by which we came 

 and once more get thoroughly wet as we push our way through 

 the dripping scrub. In the thick grass we find a large land shell, 

 a species of Bulimus, which is not uncommon in the district. 

 The principal birds which we see, both in the scrub here and 

 elsewhere, are the scrub and yellow-breasted robins, the blue and 

 long-tailed wrens, the little brown Acanthiza, the Australian pipit, 

 the New Holland and wattled honey-eaters, the grey-backed 

 sosterops and brown tree-creeper, the frontal shrike-tit and fan- 

 tailed cuckoo (at Crawford's Creek), the white-shafted and rufus- 

 fronted fantail, the white-fronted Sericornis, the black-faced 

 Grauculus, and the forty-spotted pardalote. Everywhere in the 

 woods we see and hear the pied and white-backed crow-shrikes 

 and the piping magpie, the coach-whip bird, the lyre-bird, the 



* A member of the club suggested, during a discussion on this point, that 

 the seeds might possibly have been carried to this point in the " dilly " bags 

 which the blacks were accustomed to carry with them on their marches. 



