February, 1937 The Queensland Naturalist 
29 
planted an orchard of various fruits — oranges, mangoes, 
pineapples, etc. — which thrived remarkably well, and 
proved a source of income to the owner, who spent the 
rest of his life, some fifty odd years, on the home carved 
out of the jungle. 
For the first three miles, the road runs alongside the 
railway line, and a few features of interest on this sec- 
tion may be recorded, for great alterations have taken 
place since closer settlement of this area followed on the 
completion of the railway to Rosedale some forty-three 
years ago. When I first rode along this road some forty 
years ago, I was impressed with the appearance of the 
narrow-leaf ironbark ( Eucalyptus crebra ) forest, con- 
taining many large and in some cases 100 feet high trees 
in spite of the fact that many had been utilised in build- 
ing the railway. Beneath these, waving fields of luxuriant 
Kangaroo Grass ( Themeda oustralas ), among which were 
to be found numerous herbaceous legumes of several 
species, clothed hill and dale. A few of the ironbarks 
yet remain, the best specimens being seen on the road, yet 
these are not to be compared with those now gone for 
ever; their reduced numbers have enabled other Euca- 
Ivpts to become dominant. In one instance the clearing 
of the ironbark forest favoured a succession of Gum top 
box (Eucalyptu shemiphloia) . Generally, however, the 
second growth forest is Yellow Messmate (Eucalyptus 
exserta) or Scented Gum (Eucalyptus citriodora). None 
of these, however, favours the growth of grass and other 
ground species like the ironbark. The timber-getters and 
now the cattlemen, have in the past, and at the present 
time, have done and are doing much towards exterminat- 
ing Eucalyptus crebra , partly because it is one of the best 
hardwoods, and partly because it grows on a better class 
of country than the other species of Eucalypts. 
The smaller trees and shrubs which are associated 
with the ironbarks are as yet in evidence. Mimosa Wattle 
(Acacia Bidunllii) and White Hickory Wattle (Acacia 
Cunninghamii) being the most common. Although the 
Bat’s Wing Coral Tree ( Erythrina vespertilio) was plen- 
tiful, yet, on one or two limited areas it was at one time 
becoming rare owing to its being utilised for brakes for 
timber waggons until replaced by grass trees. The waving 
fields of Kangaroo Grass ( Themeda australis) have com- 
pletely disappeared— it is hard to find a healthy tuft of 
this valuable grass in any of the numerous paddocks ad 
joining the railway line. Some distance back in the 
rough hilly country and on the mountain it is yet com- 
mon, a glaucous form being found on the higher parts, 
in the vicinity of 1,000 feet or more above sea level. On 
