6 
flood it has again and again sought its old, direct, and 
natural course to the sea ; but, during the prevalence of 
south-westerly weather, there are heaped up sand and 
weed against the natural mouth, and finally it disem¬ 
bogues some seven miles from its proper outlet. It too, 
has a bar of sand at its mouth. The prevailing winds 
have a tendency to shift the mouths of all the streams 
towards the east. 
The great height above the sea of a considerable por¬ 
tion of Gippsland, the relatively large proportion of water 
to land-surface, the form and direction of the great valleys, 
and the dense foliage that clothes the upland slopes, 
temper the heats of summer, and indirectly by their 
agency confer fertility on soils that in other parts of Vic¬ 
toria would be regarded as scarcely suitable for cultivation. 
The great ranges on the north-west are not the only 
barriers which separate Gippsland from the remainder of 
the colony. The way by sea is uncertain, and in bad 
weather insecure, because of the difficulty of effecting an 
entrance into the lakes ; and the track from Melbourne 
towards Sale is almost impracticable in winter. Where 
the track crosses a patch of older volcanic rock a little 
to the east of the Buneep the soils are deep, and in wet 
weather almost prevent the passage of wheeled vehicles. 
The spot is well known as the “ Glue-pot.” 
And on entering Gippsland, if the traveller should seek 
to explore the carbonaceous tract extending towards 
Corner Inlet, or the summits of the ranges bordering the 
principal rivers, he would find his course stopped by 
scrubs and thickets so dense that only a well-equipped 
party would be able to advance a mile or two in the day. 
Gippsland, indeed, since the foundation of the colony, 
though in area nearly one-ninth of Victoria, has been 
