THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 25 



The land is poor, with small stringybarks. The lesser grass-tree is 

 present ; and, for the first time, we come across a patch of bottle- 

 brush trees ( Calistetnon) ; they have, however, done flowering, 

 and are in fruit. We have come again into the region of 

 Comesperma ericimwi and Goodia lotifolia which abound every- 

 where. Lomatia fraseri is in flower, with the blue Lobelia and 

 Wahlenbergia ; but, except these and an occasional Dipodium, 

 there is very little to give colour to the scrub. We soon pass off" the 

 granite on to silurian slates, and climb a steep, recently fired ridge 

 where the soil is very thin and walking most uncomfortable. On 

 the top we pause for a little while, as fortunately the trees are thin, 

 to gain some idea, if possible, of the best way to attempt Mount 

 EUery, which we can see lying almost due east of us, and having 

 settled which ridge to ascend, and stopped to bag a copperhead 

 snake, go down the steep hillside to the B. A. Creek, where, in the 

 shade of the ferns and Pittosporums we halt for lunch. Crossing 

 the creek, we begin to mount the spur, which leads at first slightly 

 to the south of east. The scrub of young gums, Acacias, 

 Pultenseas, and Goodias is annoying, and walking becomes more 

 tiring as we get higher up, and the ground is thickly covered with 

 ferns and rotten logs and withered vegetation. The trees are 

 stringy and iron barks, and the messmate, and down in the 

 gullies we can see the white-gum. Progress is so difficult that it 

 is six o'clock before we have done more than five miles along 

 the ridge, and we are obliged to camp, where evidently from the 

 marks on the trees the blacks have done before us (12), Previous 

 to lighting a fire, some of us have to clear a space of dead ferns 

 and branches which lie thick upon the ground, whilst others go 

 in search of water ; the latter is some distance away, and the 

 getting it occupies nearly two hours, owing to the thickness of 

 the scrub and the abundance of Smilax and Clematis. A dearth 

 of water after such a fatiguing day, and in such hot weather, is 

 somewhat depressing, and hence this spot received the name of 

 Starvation Camp. 



Tuesday, 15TH January. — The horses could go no further, so, 

 leaving them, we start for the mountain, still keeping to the 

 summit of the ridge on which we had been travelling yesterday ; 

 the undergrowth of ferns is very thick, and the fallen logs very 

 numerous, so that our progress is again slow. After rather more 

 than two miles we make a slight descent, where the ridge joins 

 the main peak, and then commence the ascent of the latter. 

 The scrub grows thicker, and Smilax and supple-jack, sword and 

 climbing grass hinder us everywhere. The vegetation is richer 

 than on the ridge : Elaeocarpus, Pittosporiun bicolor^ waratahs, musk 

 and Cottonwood trees, and small blackwoods are plentiful ; and 

 there are acres of Lomaria procera, Blechnum, Pteris, and 

 Gleichenia. Now and then we get a little respite when we come 



