127 



Para were the Speargrass, Kangaroo grass, and a few others 

 now long since extinct. As cultivation progressed, the first to 

 invade these native forms were the Canarygrass and "Wild 

 Oat ; afterwards the Barleygrass, and lastly the Silvergrass 

 and Cape- weed. 



Native Plax, in the early days, was a common plant through- 

 out the lower tracts, and the common Grass- tree also found a 

 favourite station on some of the soils derived from the waste 

 of the quartzite bands. 



In the arboreous class much greater diversification pre- 

 vailed. The characteristic trees inhabiting the quartzite soils 

 were the Sheaoak, Poison-berry tree, an occasional Native 

 Cherry-tree, "Wattle (Acacia pycnantha,) , and Peppermint. As 

 the situation approached the higher altitudes and partially 

 occupied by the Upland Miocene, the latter give place to 

 varieties of the Blue Gum and "White Gum. The alluvial flats 

 of Gould's, Little Garden, and Tenafeat Creeks and their 

 tributaries, and the sources of Smith's Creek, were the favourite 

 stations of the Eed Gum, in some cases sustaining those trees 

 to wonderful sizes. 



Soils derived from and immediately overlying the clay-slate 

 and marbles, for the greater part produce Wattles, chiefly the 

 black variety, which are indigenous to the soils of the Drift 

 also. 



The arboreous plants originally inhabiting the lower tracts 

 (Peachy Belt) were large Peppermint, Mallee, Pine, Native 

 Peach, and a vast variety of shrubs, which have all, or nearly 

 all, become extinct since the advent of modern husbandry, 



Conclusion. — If these lines — -I don't flatter myself they are 

 faultless — tend to create a greater interest in the minds of our 

 inhabitants towards the development of South Australian 

 geology, I have attained the chief object that prompted me to 

 devote many a spare hour in collecting the ground-work upon 

 which the remarks are based, fully intending to extend the 

 sectional line across the Schist formations of the Barossa 

 Eanges to the newer Miocene beds of the Murray Plateau. 



Having so far completed— though I am afraid imperfectly — a 

 self-imposed task, it now devolves upon me to acknowledge my 

 indebtedness to those I have found ready to assist in my 

 labours in the field, especially to Mr. John Alexander, Mr. 

 Alexander Adams, Mr. Robert Paterson, and pre-eminently to 

 Professor Tate, of the Adelaide University. To the last named 

 gentleman I am not only indebted in an especial manner for 

 his labours and valuable practical suggestions in the field, but 

 also for arranging the subject matter of the foregoing lines 

 into greater conformity with scientific requirements. 



