THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 167 



The surface features favour an origin to the north, where several 

 vents occur. 



Nowhere along these sections does the underlying granite 

 appear in situ. It comes to the surface to the north in many 

 hills, and is indicated by blocks ejected from other points 

 of eruption. To the south it again rises as a prominent hill 

 through the plains at Mt. Emu, near Skipton. It may be noticed 

 that many granite areas represented to the south on Mr. Selwyn's 

 map of 1863 are omitted on the map at present in use. The 

 Mt. Bolton Range to the north comes within the area of the 

 Learmonth sheet mapped by Mr. Norman Taylor, and here 

 porphyritic and other granites are noted. 



The great variety of granite would naturally be much more 

 noticeable in the tuffs, where there is an absence of any selection. 

 On the granite hills the weathering caused more resistant ones to 

 stand out, by the decomposition of the others. Easily decom- 

 posed varieties will therefore not appear in their true proportions 

 on a weathered range. 



For the photographs exhibited to-night I have to thank Mr. 

 O. E. Jager, a student of the Ballarat School of Mines, who took 

 some of them at a geological class excursion ; and Mr. A. E. 

 Campbell, Lecturer in Photography, and his assistant, Mr. Verey, 

 for others which were kindly taken by the latter under my direction 

 for the purpose of illustrating this paper. 



NOTES ON THE PLAIN WANDERER. 



Bv G. A. Keartland. 



(Read before the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 19th Nov., 1900.) 



The Collared Plain Wanderer, Pedionomus torquatus, Gould, 

 occupies a rather unique position in the avifauna of the colony. 

 Although classed with the Quails, their anatomy is that of the 

 Bustard, and their flesh is dark coloured. An adult female 

 weighs about 33^ ozs., whilst the male seldom exceeds 2^ oz. 

 Unlike most birds the female is not only considerably larger 

 than her mate, but is more handsome in plumage, being orna- 

 mented with a broad black and white collar and a bright 

 chestnut patch on her chest, whilst her diminutive consort is 

 destitute of both, and is frequently mistaken for a young bird. 

 The name is derived from the fact that the Wanderers invariably 

 resort to lightly-grassed, open, plain land, such as we find at 

 Essendon, Werribee, Bulla, and Melton, at all of which places 

 my brother-in-law (Mr. W. P. Henderson) has either shot or 

 caught them. 



Furnished with a pair of rather long legs, bare for some 



