Central Parts of Victoria. 



51 



II. The Geology, Mineralogy^ Paleontology and") of those 



III. Zoology J districts. 



IV. The Aborigines ; their manners, habits, and cnstoms. 



L 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 loO feet. The banks of these streams are 

 adorned more or less by avenues of thick she-oak ( Casiiarina 

 qnadravalms) 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 circuit 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 covei^ed 

 with an exceedingly rich soil, except perhaps one portion 

 Avhich 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 {Dickmnia antarcticm)^ 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 "Dry den'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 



