12 
home for a number of interesting dia¬ 
toms. 
If the seashore was relatively barren, 
the lagoon towards Hazard Bay was 
teeming with algal life. The beauti¬ 
ful bulbochnete, many forms of pleuro- 
cocoi, and myxophyceae were in abun¬ 
dance. In the gelatinous masses of 
this was entangled a copious flora of 
diatoms and desmids. Amongst the 
former were many species of tabellaria, 
eunotia, navicula. and nitscliia, whilst 
amongst the latter were cosinarium, 
staurastrum, xanthidium, euastrum, 
arid a host of others. Here is a rich 
field, waiting the leisured scientist, of 
hundreds of unrecorded species, only 
asking to be gathered. Fungi are poor, 
especially parasitic forms. 
Freycinet Peninsula would form an 
ideal national park, and some day it 
must be done: only more s the pity 
that the delay has been so long that the 
native fauna has been well nigli exter¬ 
minated. In making this u beauty 
spot and home for our marsupials and 
game birds, the far-seeing Government 
of the future should not overlook the 
condition of local tree growth. Our 
native trees in this locality, as already 
pointed out, are Few in number, and not 
of imposing stature. A very groat deal 
can he done by suitable planting to 
not only beautify the district, but make 
it a source of wealth. The flats from 
Cole’s to Sleepy Bays, and from Haz¬ 
ards to Wineglass should be nlanted 
with forests of suitable timber. This 
would be very inexpensive if properly 
carried out. and the beauty and pro¬ 
tection to game- would alone repay the 
cost. The hillsides, till they become 
too barren, would afford good situation 
for foresks of oak. beech, and pines. 
Fvery year we neglect this work is re¬ 
grettable. Doubtless we eon still live 
without exerting ourselves, hut we owe 
a duty to the future. Why should we 
be the only people to still slumber? 
NOTES OX THE BIRDS. 
(By Robert Hall.l 
Thouin, or Wineglass. Bay has an 
easterly outlook from a peninsula jut¬ 
ting into the sea. For that reason one 
must expect to see a few or many of 
the sea-birds closely attending an ocean 
beach. Studying the bird-fauna of the 
peninsula, one finds fresh water species 
upon the few lakes irregularly distri¬ 
buted. Apart from the fresh water and 
marine birds there are a number ot 
land forms. The total of the birds upon 
the bay, out at sea, and the land adja¬ 
cent, made thirty-three species, accord¬ 
ing to our observation from this camp. 
The country is very rough, almost 
altogether granitic,and devoid of a plen¬ 
tiful supply of bird food. The vegeta¬ 
tion lias very little variety; the climate 
is a dry one. We should hope that 
plants of greater and more economic 
variety will be introduced to serve as 
food for more animals. Perhaps our 
forest department will see its way to¬ 
wards planting a variety of rich flower¬ 
ing eucalypts for the birds of the fu¬ 
ture, and cow-clover in the low coun¬ 
try. We should bear in mind that this 
is to be our great national pork, and it 
will need some building up. At the 
present time it is bold as a game pre¬ 
serve, but no area of land with so little 
cost of upkeep is so advantageous as 
this peninsula to serve the people's in¬ 
terests as a notional park. Tt simply 
needs to lie vested In trustees for ail 
time to remain the assured natural 
haunt of the indigenous animals of Tas¬ 
mania when all other resorts have pass¬ 
ed away. The sister States are making 
their preparations for just one genera¬ 
tion ahead. What are we doing? 
The principal food supply for birds 
at the present moment on the penin¬ 
sula is to lie found in the honey-hearing 
banksia trees, therefore, the most num¬ 
erous family is the lmney-eating or 
melijshagidw. Our camping-ground be¬ 
ing placed in a grove of graceful bank- 
sins we woke in the early morning with 
the sweet voice of the spine-bill honey- 
eater (11. and the guttural notes of tlio 
brush wattle-bird (21. while just in the 
distance tile strangely hard notes of 
the wattle honey-enter (31 called clearly 
th rough the atmosphere, and every day 
their predominant notes became more 
familiar to us. The wattle lioney-eater 
is peculiar to Tasmania. Its nearest re¬ 
lative is upon the other side of Bass 
Strait. There the lobes attached to the 
side of the head are not nearly so con- 
siiicuous as with our bird. As a mat¬ 
ter of food supply they are just as 
eagerly hunted. The voices of the wat¬ 
tle and spine-billed honey-eaters are 
strongly contrasted, one being as rich¬ 
ly sweet as the other is unduly harsh. 
