THE VfCTORIAK NATURALIST. 41 



occurring in the mountains. It is accompanied by E. stuartiana, 

 of great size, and E. melliodora. In the hills are, as usual in this 

 valley, E. macrorhyncha and E. polyanthema. 



These eucalypts, together with E. melliodora and E. stuartiana, 

 form the forests on the Wellington River. It is instructive to 

 observe there a struggle for supremacy between them. In places 

 there are a few scattered large old trees representing the former 

 condition of the forest when the country was first stocked. In 

 such places there are no generations of trees after them until a very 

 numerous growth of young eucalypts not exceeding, say, twenty 

 years. It was observed that in some places the Stringybark 

 (E. macrorhyncha) was much more numerous in these young 

 forests than either E. melliodora or E. stuartiana, although, for 

 instance, the very old trees may be all of the former species. 

 This would indicate that the Stringybark is prevailing. 



After ascending the Gap to the country of the Upper Wellington 

 some change was observed in the eucalypts. The common 

 Peppermint Gum became prevalent in places, especially in 

 river flats. The Mountain White Gum appeared for the first 

 time. This is a manna-producing gum, with the general habit, the 

 flowers and fruit of the White Gum {E. viminalis), but with 

 seedlings and young saplings more approaching those of E. 

 stuartiana. 



Still other changes in the forests were observed in ascending 

 the mountains over which it was necessary to pass to proceed to 

 the lake. The lower ridges are clothed with E. macrorhyncha, 

 E. stuartiana, E. viminalis, and E. vielliodora, but in a some- 

 what stunted form. E. amygdalina, which prevails in the river 

 flats, ascends the gullies and shady side of the ridges. At 

 approximately 700 feet above the river a change is to be noted in the 

 appearance of E. sieberiana (the so-called Mountain Ash, or Gum- 

 top), which thence is in places the only or almost the only eucalypt 

 on the ridge and the sunny side of the range, or together with E. 

 macrorhyncha, while on the shady side and in the gullies are 

 E. amygdalina, E. viminatis, and, finally, E. piperita. This latter 

 Stringybark reappears here at the sources of the streams, as it does 

 elsewhere in the Gippsland mountains, not crossing to the northern 

 slopes, unless under very exceptional circumstances, into the 

 sources of the streams. E. melliodora appears to cease about the 

 altitude at which E. sieberiana commences to grow. On the sum- 

 mit of the range above Lake Nigothoruk we observed E. viminalis 

 (a mountain form), E. amygdalina, and E. piperita, all being of 

 large size. E. obliqua, the Messmate of Gippsland, was also 

 observed here for the first time during the trip. At the lake and 

 in the valley leading down from it the eucalypts observed were 

 E, sieberiana, on the sunny flanks of Mt. Wellington, with E. 

 macrorhynclia, E. viminalis (of large size), E. amygdalina, E. 



