Central Parts of Victoria. 5E- 
-II. The Geology, Mineralogy, Paleontology and Y of those 
IIL. Zoology districts. 
IV. The Aborigines; their manners, habits, and customs. . 
I. The general character of the country in the neighbour- 
hood. of Melbourne, and between that city and Mount Mace- 
don, is flat and open, comprising a series of extensive plains. 
They are intersected in every direction by the Yarra and 
Saltwater rivers, Jackson’s and the Deep Creeks, whose beds, 
running through in steep gullies, are remarkable for their great 
depth, averaging about 150 feet. The banks of these streamsare 
adorned more or less by avenues of thick she-oak ( Casuarina 
quadravalvis) and he-oak (C. leptoclada). A belt of clay 
slate, commencing about half way between Melbourne and 
the Mount, forms a semicircle around the latter on the south : 
and eastern sides. The soil of those districts which are 
comprised in that cireuit is much inferior to that of localities 
favoured by the more fruitful basalt formation, which is 
very extensively developed around Mount Macedon, its rich 
agricultural qualities rendering that district particularly» 
encouraging to the farmer. The only circumstance at all 
detrimental, is the great elevation of the land above the sea 
level, which exposes it to the influence of the cold; ice some- 
times forming, of the thickness of half an inch. 
The ranges known as Mount Macedon itself, are covered 
with an exceedingly rich soil, except perhaps one portion. 
which makes a semicircular sweep towards Alexander’s Head, 
consisting for the most part of quartzy slate, and enclosing the 
granite of the south and eastern portions of the chain. Mount 
Macedon is a lofty and picturesque peak, its sides clothed 
with forests of gigantic eucalypti; the gullies and ravines 
which everywhere intersect it, being alike overrun with 
immense fern trees (Dicksonia antarctice), so dense as to pre- 
sent an almost impassable barrier to the progress of animals. 
About two miles from the mount, at the head of Five Mile 
Creek, is a remarkable hill called Diogenes’ Mount, commonly 
known to the colonists as “ Dryden’s Monument,” a name singu- 
larly inappropriate, being the cognomen of a settler in the 
neighbouring district. For a description of this highly interest- 
ing mount, I refer to a subsequent page, where full details con- 
cerning it will be found. 
_ The dividing ranges between the Deep Creek and the 
Campaspe River consist of granite, covered with a sandy and 
unproductive soil. They rise to a considerable elevation, and. 
