134 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



mountain side. At last we reached a large tree which bore the 

 somewhat superfluous legend "To Mt. Juliet;" had it directed us 

 to the spring which is said to exist somewhere thereabouts we 

 should have been better pleased. The mount was now steeper 

 than ever, so we decided to leave coats and baggage behind, so as 

 to lighten our work for the last 1,000 feet. Near here we found 

 Veronica notabilis and several composites. 



Shortly after leaving our halting place the track which zig- 

 zagged up the mountain face became almost obliterated by fallen 

 timber or the washing away of the soil, and there was also a thick 

 growth of heavy grass, which made walking very slippery, and as 

 the surface was now very rocky, progress was slow. At last we 

 got among the dead trees which form conspicuous objects from 

 the Fernshaw road, and were able to get glimpses of Healesville 

 far below us. The vegetation became scarcer as we ascended 

 until at length we got up to the lower edge of the topmost plateau, 

 when walking became eaiser. Now we began to realize that 

 our efforts were not to be unrewarded. At last Mt. Monda was 

 below us, also Mt. Riddell, the sugarloaf peak which rises at the 

 back of Gracedale House. With a final effort we made for the 

 trigonometrical survey cairn, now visible on the summit, passing 

 on the way some fine specimens of the Silver Wattle, Acacia 

 dealbata, which were still bearing a wealth of yellow bloom, 

 though just past its prime ; while flying about them and some 

 Blackwoods, Acacia melanoxylo n, were the butterflies Pyrameis 

 itea, Papilio macleayanus, and Epinephile abeona. 



Arrived at the cairn, 3,650 feet above the sea, a magnificent 

 panorama was spread out before us, with little to interrupt the 

 view, as all the large trees had been felled years before, at the 

 time of the survey, and we were able to overlook those growing 

 lower down. Far below us could be seen the former site of 

 Fernshaw ; here and there portions of the road over the Black 

 Spur could be made out, and traced across the Dividing Range 

 to Marysville, which was just visible. Stretching away due north 

 was the valley of the Acheron, with the Cathedral Peak near Tag- 

 gerty standing prominently up; round by the east, range after 

 range extended to the horizon. To the south our view was 

 somewhat cut off by a high range towards Warburton, but away 

 to the south-west, over Mt. Riddell, the Dandenongs looked liked a 

 small hill, with Lilydale at the foot. Unfortunately the western 

 horizon was obscured by haze, so that none of the conspicuous 

 landmarks of Melbourne could be made out, though one of the 

 party had burdened himself with a heavy field glass. The 

 locality of our last extended excursion, Plenty Ranges and 

 Wallaby Creek, was clearly visible, while* nearer at hand were 

 Mt. St. Leonard (3,300 feet) and Mt. Monda (2,974 feet), the latter 

 about nine miles away as the crow flies. 



