Oct. i, 1885.] The Australasian Scientific Magazine. 119 
The Blue Mountain Range, in New South Wales, is much frequented by 
fern-hunters, especially in the vicinity of Mount Wilson, where the summit 
of the ridge is largely covered with a dense growth of eucalypti, the mere 
trunks of which almost obscure the horizon, and in the undergrowth it is 
no exaggeration to say that thousands of tree ferns, ranging up to thirty 
feet in height, are visible in every direction. It is on the southern slopes 
that the sassafras jungle is found, in which mosses and orchids luxuriate, 
and festoons of lianes hang from the topmost branches. There are two 
peculiarities in this vegetation which are worthy of notice ; first, that the 
tree ferns (Alsophila australis) frequently bifurcate at a short distance from 
the ground, and in many cases divide into three or four, and sometimes 
into five and six stems, from one root ; second, that tree ferns (which must 
be of very ancient date) are frequently almost entirely absorbed by the 
growth of forest trees ( Quintinia sieberii) which, germinating in the axels 
of their fronds, send down suckers to the ground, and enclose within their 
solid timber the fern-stems from which they derived their first support. In 
some cases are seen ferns which, having attained a growth of twenty feet in 
height, have been laid low by the wind, and where some portions of their 
heads have touched the ground a second growth of equal altitude has suc- 
ceeded, which, in its turn, has been subsequently enclosed by a quintinia of 
large diameter, while the roots of the original tree fern still retain their vitality. 
Natural History Sketches among the Carnivora. — By Arthur 
Nicols, F.G.S., F.R.G.S. (L. Upcott Gill, 170 Strand, London). — The 
publication of this little book, by the author of “Zoological Notes,” at the 
present time is very opportune, as the public mind has of late been so much 
exercised by the wonderful instinct of our friend the dog. It is a very 
clever and interesting book, and it is difficult to believe that its author was 
at one time a shepherd “ passing rich on earning ^(40 a year ” in the 
Australian bush. The first chapter treats of wild animals, lions, tigers, 
leopards, and jaguars, the latter the most ferocious of the great cat tribe. 
The next chapter treats of the domestic cat, and a well-deserved charge is 
made of specific cruelty inflicted by so many thoughtless jreople on poor 
puss by those who, on leaving home, so often leave her to take care of her- 
self. The anecdotes of cats are very interesting, and go far to prove that 
with all its domestication and all its advantages it still remains, in most of 
its characteristics, an unreclaimed savage. Although we cannot endorse 
all that is said about the homing instincts of our domestic animals, some 
inferences are drawn which are worthy of attentive consideration. The 
author seems to have possessed an excellent breed of retrievers, and tells 
stories of dogs enough to prove, as we have long believed, that they are 
guided by something more than instinct, and that they really reason and 
reflect. We agree with him in his remarks about people knowing nothing 
about dogs who only keep them for show, and that a dog is much more 
than “ a collection of points,” which certainly can be easily transferred 
from one person to another, but it is not so easy to transfer the best 
working qualities of a really good animal to a man who does not under- 
stand him, for these qualities in the highest development depend on the 
interest the dog takes in sport in association with the man who teaches him 
to employ his faculties in a pursuit which affords mutual pleasure. The 
author believes that there is a moral sense in dogs, but not in cats; his 
evidence and his anecdotes go far to support the theory. We heartily 
commend a perusal of this book, which is illustrated by Mr. J. T, Nettle- 
ship, Mr. G. E. Brittain, and Mr. T. IV. Wood. 
