86 THE VICTORIAJT NATURALIST. 



Spiders were, so far as I could see, not so plentiful, several 

 which I noticed being of the commoner kinds found also near 

 Melbourne ; still I think other rare, and possibly new, species 

 are to be found if properly looked for. 



In and around the station, and on the borders of Lake 

 Albacutya, were several small species of lepidoptera, amongst 

 which I noticed several' old acquaintances as being found in 

 the Dandenong and other districts. I have no doubt, however, 

 that later in the season many good finds would reward the diligent 

 searcher. This would seem to be a poor place for the larger 

 diurnal lepidoptera, but the large trees showed traces of being 

 bored by the larvae of some of our larger moths, and Mr. 

 Kershaw has shown me some very fine specimens of various 

 timber-feeding hepialidae, etc., which he found in the more 

 western parts of the Wimmera, although some of them probably 

 occur here also. 



The common crow (Cofvus Australis ?) was very plentiful all 

 the way up from Dimboola. I have always disliked these birds, 

 and, although they have many friends, I cannot forgive their 

 "eye-picking-out" and "young-duck-stealing" propensities. 

 Mr. Scott, the day before I left, shot one which had just killed 

 a young duck ; and again, was it not a crow who stole our soap 

 whilst we were camped at Chinaman's Flat ? 



Snakes, so far as I could learn, are almost unknown in these 

 parts, although, as Mr. Le Souef has told us, specimens of the 

 deaf-adder were " turned up " out of the ground in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Tullyvea ; but, although I travelled a good deal 

 over this district on foot, I did not see any traces of them, 

 although they have been seen occasionally by others ; and on 

 rare occasions the non-venomous carpet snake ( Morelia 

 variegaia) has been seen in the back country towards the Murray 

 River. 



This news is very gratifying to those good people who are 

 afraid of snakes, also to such as have been accustomed to travel 

 in " snaky" parts of the colony, as the Moe, Upper Murray, and 

 other districts. 



The black-faced kangaroo, which our Mr. Le Souef was 

 so anxious to obtain, were scarce, being probably in fear 

 of any of Mr. Le SouePs Field Naturalist Club confederates, 

 or (which is more likely) does not, so I was informed, come 

 from the back country until later on in the season. 



In driving along the sandy roads we saw, although so early in 

 the season, many specimens of the so-called " wallops," a lazy, 

 sleepy-looking lizard, who, when he looks up, almost seems 

 to implore you to drive over him. We saw many of a smaller 

 kind, also one not unlike our common Cyclodus, or blue-tongued 

 lizard, but a somewhat stouter animal. 



Hymenoptera and diptera seemed scarce. I noticed very 



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