440 R. H. CAMBAGE. 



country consists of level to undulating plains, sparsely 

 timbered, but after Barcaldine is passed the conditions 

 change, and fairly well-timbered forest land may be seen on 

 both sides of the railway line, practically all the way to 

 Rockhampton. On a sandy area extending from near Geera 

 to about Pine Hill there is a most interesting and varied 

 flora, and owing to its sandy nature a considerable portion 

 of this area is known as The Desert. The annual rainfall 

 over a great portion of this tract of country, from Barcaldine 

 to the Dawson River, ranges from about twenty to thirty 

 inches, increasing to the eastward, and with less than 

 twenty inches at Longreach. The Main Divide is crossed 

 on a sandy plateau near Jericho at an altitude of scarcely 

 1,200 feet above sea level, and about fifty miles to the 

 eastward, the Drummond Range near Pine Hill reaches an 

 elevation of about 1,500 feet. This comparatively low gap 

 in the Main Divide allows the drier western conditions to 

 come on to the eastern watershed, with the result that 

 many of the interior plants have invaded the coastal area, 

 and some occur as far east at Rockhampton. On the other 

 hand, the presence of this drier western climate prevents 

 the growth of such large areas of brush or jungle, as may 

 be seen in other places on the eastern slope, where the 

 divide is higher and the moisture greater. The first sign 

 of a little brush is seen from the train between the forty- 

 ninth and fiftieth mile-posts from Rockhampton, but at no 

 point near the line does the Malayan element in the flora 

 predominate as on many other portions of the east coast. 1 



Practically the only collecting done on this route was at 

 Bogantungan, two hundred miles east of Longreach, and 

 some specimens were sent from Geera by Mr. H. O. Oullen, 

 so that considering the distance travelled, the appended 



1 For a general description of the vegetation over the eastern portion 

 of this area, see a paper by P. A. O'Shanesy, f.l.s., " Contributions to the 

 Flora of Queensland," (1880). 



