THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 59 



Flinders Island. Two varieties of wallaby, Waterfowl, and game 

 of various kinds appear to be plentiful, and the nature of the 

 country seems favourable for the pursuit of different branches of 

 Natural History. The probable cost to each member taking part 

 in the expedition will be under ^5. Members desirous of joining 

 must hand in their names on or before 30th August, stating which 

 party they wish to join. The arrangements regarding tents, com- 

 missariat, Ike, will be published when the list is complete. 



D. LESOUEF. 



NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY OF MOONEE PONDS 

 DISTRICT. 



By T. S. Hall, M.A. 



(Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, nt/i August, 



1890.) 



The lower portion of the Moonee Ponds valley presents many 

 features of interest to the wandering geologist, and its ease of 

 access from the city should make it an excellent ground for those 

 who wish to see, in the field, illustrations of the statements of 

 their text books. 



How far to the northward the valley begins we need not inquire, 

 but we find it at Ascot Vale already deep and wide. Flowing 

 down through the valley is the tiny stream that has done the 

 work of carving out the surface into its present form. Near the 

 Moonee Ponds racecourse we find the bed of the stream occupied 

 by sandstones full of glittering flakes of mica. The rocks are 

 tilted up on edge, and are cut by joints which are plainly visible 

 wherever a little cliff is seen. Close to the stone bridge over the 

 creek we find a cliff about 50 feet high, in which the beds are 

 not steeply inclined but gently undulate. Sandstones and soft 

 shales alternate, and in one place is seen a slab, close to the water's 

 edge, on which are still preserved the ripple-marks of the shallow 

 waters of an ancient sea. This bod can be traced for some 

 distance up the cliff as it rises with the dip. Afew yards lower 

 down the stream, and almost on a level with it, is a platform of 

 dark soft micaceous shale full of fossils. An examination of these 

 fossils caused Professor M'Coy to identify the deposit as the 

 equivalent of the English May Hill sandstone, which forms the 

 base of the upper silurian. The greater number of fossils are 

 Brachiopods, and figures of several will be found in M'Coy's 

 '* Palaeontology of Victoria." Besides these forms, the broken 

 stems of Encrinites are common, and a few Star-fish and Trilobites 

 have been found, together with specimens of Orthoceras. A few 

 yards further down the stream we find a large igneous dyke 

 cutting through the strata of the cliff. The shales on each side 



