4 6



Mr. D. Skth-Smith,



the back garden was used as a run for Emus. I am glad to hear

that Mr. Wallace had good luck in bringing this interesting

collection home.


.The following day Mr. E. A. Le Souef and I started for the

forest country of the Margaret River district, celebrated for its

wonderful limestone caves, where we expected to be rewarded

by the sight of many interesting birds.


We left Perth early in the morning and travelled due south

to Busselton, a small seaside town, about one hundred and fifty

miles from our starting point, the journey occupying the greater

part of the day. I was ever on the look out for birds as we

journeyed along. We passed through many miles of country

where every tree in sight was leafless and dead, a truly dreary

sight, but one dear to the eyes of the settlers, for it means that

the forest trees have all been ring-barked and thus killed for the

purpose of converting the forest into rich pasture land.


A small party of seven or eight Budgerigars (Melopsittacus

undulatus ) flew along parallel with the train for a short distance,

giving me the only view I ever had of this familiar little Parrakeet

in an absolutely wild state. As we approached the end of our

train journey, many birds were seen from the carriage windows.

Bee-eaters (Merops ornatus) were sitting on the telegraph wires

and hawking for insects, the railway embankments being favourite

nesting sites of theirs. Honey-eaters, Friar-birds, Wood-Swallows

and “ Magpies ” were seen, the latter being quite numerous.


We reached Busselton about six o’clock in the evening,

but still had a drive of some thirty-five miles before us. We

decided that it would be best to get this over the same evening

as the time at our disposal was limited. My companion had

given instructions for a telegram to be sent ordering a carriage

to be ready for our drive, but this had either been forgotten or

had miscarried, and we had considerable difficulty in finding a

conveyance of any kind. However, the local chemist had a

buggy and two good horses, but these had already had one long

journey that day and were not fresh enough for another run of

thirty-five miles, but we were told that by going a longer way

round we could change horses at Yallingap, where one of the

caves is situated, and there is a Government accommodation house.



