118 A NATURALIST IN TASMANIA ch. 



the Myrtles, unlike the smooth stems of the 

 Gums, are covered with lichens and mosses and 

 fungi, and this combined with the brighter green 

 of the prevailing foliage, makes an entire contrast 

 to the usual Australian scenery. 



I stayed for some days at the Magnet Silver- 

 Lead mine in the neighbourhood of Waratah, 

 which is surrounded by dense forests on all sides,, 

 and here I made the acquaintance of Mr. Adams, 

 a keen bush naturalist, who showed me many 

 points of interest during our walk through the 

 bush. As he pointed out to me the life, and 

 especially the bird-life, of the myrtle forests is 

 not nearly so rich as in the gum forests, largely 

 due no doubt to the absence of the gum-flowers 

 which attract so many insects and insectivorous 

 birds. The native ' Robins ' of various species 

 are very abundant, and I saw here several Pink- 

 breasted Robins, the male of which has the 

 breast of a beautiful claret colour. Marsupials 

 are not very abundant, but I was interested 

 to hear that the Ring-tailed Opossum, which 

 usually nests in a Peppermint Gum, frequents 

 here the Sassafras and Myrtles, while the little 

 Opossum Mice of the genus Dromicia are often 

 found nesting in holes in the Myrtles. These^ 

 with the Kangaroo Rat and the Tiger Cat, make 

 up nearly the sum total of the Marsupial fauna, 

 which is characterized by the absence of the 

 Thylacine and Devil, the Kangaroo and Wallaby^ 

 and the scarcity of the Bush Opossums. 



