96 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



not to be forgotten. It being a beautiful moonlight night, as we 

 passed by the Salt Lakes they presented a beautiful sight, being 

 one mass of white. I am informed by Mr. Morton that the salt 

 from these lakes is the cause of this singular feature. The salt, 

 Mr. Morton says, is mostly sold to butchers and hide merchants, 

 for salting hides ; large quantities are also sent up to the Albury 

 district, and given to sheep. Some is also sold for manure. It 

 is worth ^1 per ton at the lakes, and is sold from ;£^ to £^ in 

 towns, according to the freight. 



Next morning Mr. Morton and I went to have a look round, 

 and a good deal of the pretty blue Mimiilus gracilis was collected. 

 After breakfast I went with Mr. Morton to his Benjeroop East 

 school, situate about three miles from his house. We drove past 

 polygonum scrub — called " lignum " by other residents — and 

 many small birds were to be seen flying from it, such as Red- 

 capped Robin, White-winged Superb Warbler, Chestnut-eared 

 Finch, &c. Reached school, and Mr. Morton advised me where 

 to spend the day, he being teaching in the school. I searched 

 several small creeks for Wood Ducks' nests, but was unable to 

 find any, although there were plenty of the birds in the creeks. 

 The pretty yellow, fringy flower, Limnaiithemum creiiatiini, was 

 abundant in the waterholes ; and it seems a very good place here 

 for birds, as many were noticed, such as Spoonbills, Cranes, and 

 also several species of Hawks, Parrots, &c. Having collected a 

 good many rare specimens, I returned to the school, and drove 

 back with Mr. Morton to his house, which is situated on the 

 banks of the river Murray. 



Next morning I went with Mr. Morton to his Benjeroop school, 

 distant about six miles, and close to the Salt Lakes. On the way 

 many birds were noticed, such as Robins, Acanthizas, Honey- 

 eaters, Fairy Martins, Wood Swallows, Hawks, Australian Cranes. 

 Many nests of the Fairy Martins were noticed under the bridges. 

 I collected all day close to the school, and many nice specimens 

 of plants were obtained, such as Eremophila lo?igifolia — with its 

 pretty red flowers — which grows very plentifully. A fine orna- 

 mental grass, Stipa elegantissima, grows amongst the clumps of 

 Xanthor?hoea. This grass, I think, would be splendid for 

 bouquets. The following plants were collected near Salt Lake : — 

 Ptilotus spathulahis, F. exaltatus, Eremophila divaricata, Kochia 

 ciliata, Brachycome melanocarpa, Dodoncea viscosa, Heliptenmi 

 lucidum, Swainsonia p/iacoides, S. procumbens, Calotus hispidulus, 

 Myoporum platycarpum, Aristida behriana, Cassia artemisoides, 

 Mentha australis, Eucalyptus largifloi-ens, Hakea leucoptera. 



On the eucalyptus trees many crows' nests were noticed, and 

 underneath one of the crows' nests was fastened the nest of the 

 White-faced Xerophila. This seems remarkable — that a bird 

 should actually build right under a crow's nest, as the crows are 



