134 
Excursion to the 
that at one time we thought of abandoning our knapsacks 
and guns. 
On the third day we extricated ourselves from the gully, 
and, after walking about eight miles through a forest of 
Eucalypti , came to a sawyer’s hut, where we rejoiced over 
a hearty breakfast; for “ Nature abhors a vacuum.” 
Eight miles farther, constantly through the same kind of 
forest, brought us to the house of Mr. William Field, 
from whom we met with a most hospitable reception. 
Our dogs had by this time become completely exhausted; 
and these animals commonly become so sooner than their 
masters. 
The Liffy, in summer, is a mere rivulet, which flows 
from beneath an accumulation of debris near the pre¬ 
cipitous side of the range where we descended, and 
continues its course, augmented by other small streams, 
for more than 30 miles through one of the deepest gullies 
I have seen in the Colony; and with a vegetation of the 
most luxuriant description. The Stringy Bark (Eucalyp¬ 
tus sp.) was of immense height, and several exceeded 14 
feet in diameter, or 42 feet in girth. Some of the 
Sassafras trees (Anther osperma moschata) were of great 
size, and many of the Acacias must have been 90 or 100 
feet high to the branches. That floral ornament the 
Warratah (Telopea truncata) grows on the summit of the 
range (near the brow), and for miles down the Liffy; 
and the Tree-fern was very abundant. This elegant plant is 
invariably found in moist situations, and chiefly in the 
deepest ravines, or most secluded glens, where there is 
much decayed vegetable matter ; often rising from the 
prostrate stem of a dead tree, and attaining the height of 
14 or 16 feet. Ihe fronds sometimes measure 20 feet, 
though I should say about 12 feet is more the usual 
average. I transplanted several, but they always became 
sickly, appearing to dislike strong light, and exposure to 
