74 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



and as I had not seen this road before for. close upon thirty-five 

 years, it is to me, at least, a pleasant reminder of old times when 

 surveyors' pegs were few and the land-boomer was not. It was 

 near this place that we came across a swamp, in which was 

 erected a sign-post informing us that we were in " Seaview-street." 

 We climbed along the " street" on an old fence, and soon 

 got out of the water and on to higher ground. The pretty 

 orchid Lyperanthus nigricans grew here in thousands, and as 

 these were just showing for flower, a visit in about another 

 month's time would amply repay both time and trouble, the 

 plants of this orchid being spread over a space of about fifty 

 yards, the whole of the surface being covered like a carpet 

 with the leaves of this beautiful plant, and never before had 

 we seen them so plentiful. Cheltenham is now reached, and 

 after a refresher at the hotel (built early in 1855), we start 

 off towards the sea coast, passing on our way the former 

 buildings of many of the old identities of these parts, whose 

 worldly prospects have many of them been vastly improved 

 by the fabulous prices paid for the land by the land-boomers, 

 and these places are now "in rack and ruin," and will 

 probably remain so until the Government step in, and, in justice 

 to the orchardists, compel the owners to either clean or destroy 

 these neglected trees. On the hill sides, the lovely little 

 Euphrasia brownii, Hovea heterophylla, the trailing Kennedya, 

 with its bright red blooms, are in flower, but a long and patient 

 search failed to bring to light any specimens of that morpho- 

 logical curiosity, Phylloglossum drummondii, the month of August 

 being too early in the season for it, and the tiny species of 

 Stylidium and Polypompholyx. 



As we approach the coast, near the Great Southern Hotel, 

 which is situated just above the well-known "fossil beds," the 

 vegetation changes, large patches of Muehlenbeckia, beach 

 Ti-Tree ( Leptospermum laevigatum), some salt bushes, the 

 arborescent Styphelia Richei, and the well-known Coast 

 Honeysuckle (Banksia integrifolia ) are everywhere to be seen ; 

 and close alongside the very picturesque tram line which runs 

 between Cheltenham and Sandringham were found large 

 Myoporums, Alyxia, Lasiopetalum, Cornea, and other coast 

 plants, with Bryum and other mosses ; also, some lichens, fungi, 

 and Jungermannia3. Following along through the dense belts of 

 Ti-Tree a sharp look-out was kept for the nests of Honey-eaters 

 (Meliphagidffi), some kinds of which pretty birds are now laying • 

 but although we found many old nests, none of this season's 

 building were seen, leading us to suspect that we were too early 

 for them. Amongst the undergrowth quantities of the orchids 

 Plerostylis pedunculata, P. curia, P. nutans, and P. concinna were 

 seen, and nearer Sandringham a few early-flowering specimens of 



