THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 149 



during a ride of about ten miles through h'ghtly-timbered 

 country I counted sixteen on the trees growing on the road. 

 They have more white on them than those of Victoria. A good 

 many Bustards and Southern Stone Plovers were seen. Whilst I 

 was here a heavy hail storm passed over the country, but was 

 fortunately confined to narrow Hmits. The hailstones, being like 

 small blocks of ice, killed numbers of poultry, perforated cor- 

 rugated iron roofs and glass windows, and completely destroyed 

 fields of maize, wheat, and other grain. In my rambles I 

 only came across one small Brown Snake, which, with a little 

 gentle persuasion, I got into my bag, and have brought back 

 alive. 



I left Toowoomba again for Brisbane after a delay of . three 

 days. The country for the first few miles is hilly, and the views 

 obtained are very fine ; there are numerous cuttings and short 

 tunnels as the line winds its way down to the lower country. 

 Brisbane was reached the same night. Next day, I went out 

 to a timbered reserve near the city and obtained a few beetles 

 and a large specimen of the Bearded Lizard ( GTammatophora 

 harhata). I saw several Lace Lizards (Eydrosaurus variusj, but 

 did not succeed in capturing any. Once I heard a frog croaking 

 close by me, and as everything was so dry I could not think 

 where the sound proceeded from, but after a time found it had 

 its home about four feet down a small hollow branch on an old 

 dead fallen tree, about six feet from the ground ; but being 

 without a tomahawk I had to leave it undisturbed. I hunted 

 about under logs and bark, but only found ants, which were very 

 numerous. The White Ants frequently make their nests in the 

 trees, generally about half-way up the trunk, and the nests are 

 generally the shape and size of a football, having a covered 

 track to them from the ground, on the under side of the tree, so 

 as not to be disturbed by opossums or other climbing animals. 

 In some parts of the country near this place Grass Trees are 

 very numerous ; their flower stalks, generally about ten feet long, 

 present a curious appearance when growing thickly together. 



The day following I left by train for Bundaberg, and passed 

 through some beautiful tropical scenery, although the journey 

 was, for the most part, very uninteresting. Several Ti-tree 

 swamps were seen, and also Banksia trees, which seem generally 

 to grow in damp country. The bulky nests of the Pomatorhinus 

 were frequently passed, generally fixed at the end of a thin 

 branch. The tropical scrub before referred to was very dense in 

 places, and numerous specimens of Cedar, Beech, Ash trees, 

 Sassafras (so called). Hoop. or Moreton Bay and Bunya pines, and 

 also the Giant Nettle, were to be seen, many of the trees being 

 very tall, with creepers entwining them, whilst orchids and ferns 

 of large size found a precarious foothold high up on the branches. 



