THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 27 



slow as up hill. We take a somewhat different course going back, 

 and are fortunate enough to strike a creek at about a height of 

 3,000 ft. ; along the creek the sassafras is growing. We have 

 got below the mists again, and strike our old track close by 

 where, though now overgrown with scrub and ferns, are evident 

 relics of the camp made by the surveyors when first the mountain 

 was climbed. We have only walked ten miles, but evening comes 

 on as we reach our camp, with clothes considerably less entire 

 than when we started. 



Wednesday, i6th January. — We leave Starvation Camp with 

 little regret, and take the top of the ridge by which we had 

 ascended, for some distance, then, turning more to the south-east, 

 branch off from our first track and descend by a spur more to the 

 west. This leads down to a small creek running up to Mount 

 EUery ; in fact, it was the head of this creek which we struck in our 

 descent yesterday. Crossing the creek we traverse two ridges, 

 and then descend into the valley of the St. Patrick River. A 

 hurricane has evidently very recently swept up the valley, and the 

 track is covered with fallen timber, principally of white-gum, one 

 large tree of which lies across our path, its leaves still green and 

 fresh. As we pass along a branch falls, just grazing the saddle 

 of one of our pack-horses. We camp by the side of the stream, 

 climbing over the trunk of a large Tristania laiirina, which 

 overhangs the water. The creek is shut in by a dense growth of 

 Lilypilli, Elseocarpus, musk, hazel, and tree ferns; and we see again 

 the sassafras, which is not often met with in the district. Ferns 

 are abundant, and amongst these we notice Trichomanes pyxi- 

 diferu7n, and, for the first time, Aspidium decompositum. On the 

 branches of the Tristania by the stream grows the rare, black, 

 horsehair-like fungus, Marasmius equicrinis, only once before 

 recorded from Victoria. After searching down by the creek 

 we start up the hill on the opposite side. The scrub is 

 largely made up, as usual, of Acacia discolor and linearis, Goodia 

 lotifolia (the pods of which are popping all around), Biirsaria 

 spinosa, Pultencea, and Cotnesperma ericiniim, with star and coral 

 ferns and the common bracken. On the top we come into a 

 dense wood of young gum saplings — stringy bark. Here, again, 

 the hurricane seems to have swept through in a narrow path, and 

 the track, which is not much to boast of at the best, is much 

 impeded with fallen timber. The difficulty is, that the trees are 

 so close together that there is scarcely room for the pack-horses 

 to get between them when they have to go into the scrub to get 

 round the uprooted trees. The ridge leads south to the range, 

 which runs westward across the country from the M'Culloch hills, 

 and after some few miles we join the mining track, and turn east 

 to the St. Patrick River. We are walking along the northern 

 side of the ridge, close to the crest, and have a fine view of the 



