72 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



of a sheep, which had probably lain unobserved for some time, 

 upon dissection, afforded us some larvae of Onthophagus ketshawi, 

 a well-known beetle which burrows in the sandy ground around 

 Brighton, Oakleigh, and elsewhere. The larva of this curious 

 beetle is black, and not unlike a gigantic Woodlouse ; the perfume 

 emitted by the larvae of the former insect being the reverse of 

 invigorating. Some years ago, if my memory serves me rightly, 

 our worthy President read a paper entitled " Life on an Old Rail." 

 It is not my intention to write a chapter having for its title " Life 

 on (or in) a Sheep's Head;" but I may state that, before leaving the 

 head, we found specimens of nematode worms, crickets, also some 

 beetles belonging to the Necrophori, or carrion-eaters. Our old 

 friend, Staphylinus erythrocephalus (a beetle allied to the so-called 

 " Devil's Coach Horse" of England), some smaller Staphylinds, 

 ants, also many other minute insects, all of which were bottled up 

 for future reference. Near here were also found the handsome 

 caterpillars of the Banksia Moth {Danima banksice). 



Travelling along in the direction of Cheltenham, and 

 " dodging " market gardens as we went along (the days for 

 making " bee-lines " in these districts being passed), we came on a 

 damp flat in which grew great numbers of the Swamp Oak, 

 Viminaria denudata, Hakeas, Leptospermum, Maloleuea 

 squarrosa, and M. ericifoda, dwarf Banksias, and other shrubs. 

 It was here that we found plants (out of flower) of the curious 

 little orchid, Corysanthes unguiculata, which, when my companion 

 a few months since discovered it growing and in flower, was new 

 to Victoria, and even unknown to most botanists. The finding 

 of this orchid has afforded Baron von Mueller great pleasure, as 

 he is now able to supply museums with an orchid which very few 

 people had previously seen. This locality seems rich in plants ; 

 and, on the edge of the ditch, grew fine specimens (18 inches in 

 length) of Lycopodium laterale, a plant which I had thought 

 to be long extinct in this district. Schizcea fistulosa is also here, 

 Lindsaea, Ophioglossum, and the common Pteris aquilina (var. 

 esculenta), being about the only ferns to be found here, if we 

 except, perhaps, Gleichenia, which grows in many places on 

 damp, springy heath-soil. Since our last visit to this district, the 

 rain must have fallen heavily, many of the scrubby Melaleuca 

 flats being under water, which we paddle through, jumping from 

 tussock to tussock of Gahnia and other rush-looking plants. 

 Upon examining the pools of water we found many plants of 

 Myriophyllum, Mimulus, Ranunculus, with Tadpoles, Dytiscidas, 

 and other aquatic insects. Luzula and other small Cyperaceae 

 also grew near to the water's edge. In passing many abandoned 

 orchards (the result chiefly of the late land-boom), the trees 

 were found to be swarming with insects, scale, moth, as also 

 lichens, and the estimate which, at my request, has been 



