15 
leaves are broader and more robust, and 
tbe Honors, though very similar, are less 
plentiful along the stems. Climbing 
heath with its beautiful pendent, crim¬ 
son flowers, was in quantity wherever 
the wood was dense and damp. Two 
shrubs bearing beautiful puce berries 
were plentiful. Near the caves they 
were exceptionally fine. The commoner 
one is the jt'oss-lenved puce-berry. The 
other, which was more plentiful a little 
way up the Catamaran', is Chinn's puce- 
berrv. On the coast many of the party 
gathered fine specimens of the maroon 
fruitld Billardiera. This form is almost 
confined to the immediate vicinity of tlie 
sea, but not absolutely so, rarely it has 
been sound inland. If the seed of this lm.s 
its coat lightly filed and then soaked in hot 
water for some hours it: will germinate 
almost at once. There is one unfortunate 
feature about it, namely, it does not al¬ 
ways come true to colour. The seedlings 
often produce berries of a dirty purple 
tint. Near the sea. in the vicinity of 
tlm lagoon, was found the coastal scented 
bush. There are many forms of this, 
and it is yet n matter of individual opin¬ 
ion where specific separation should come 
in. 
The track from the Luue to the caves 
passes along a swampy button-grass 
plain, and here was found extensively 
tbe beautiful little butterfly plant. The 
flowers-, as usual, were usually two. pur¬ 
ple. on top of a slender stem a few 
inches nigh. Occasionally specimens with 
white flowers were seen. The plant, when 
growing iu mud, develops few ur no green 
leaves, tor the plant is carnivorous, and 
the Jeaies ore specially adapted to sup¬ 
ply it with animal food. The leaves, 
especially in water, are threadlike, and 
very divided; they have the appearance 
of lateral shoots, but. arc true leaves. 
V-poii branches of these leaves are de¬ 
veloped peculiar little traps, specially 
suited ti catch small animals; they are 
roundish, about the size of a medium- 
sized shot, and have a wonderful little 
trap-door, allowing an animal to enter, 
but preventing its exit. Tile inside of 
the chamber has on its surface two kinds 
of processes. One kind, which are many 
and minute, look like miniature racks; 
the other are small papillae. The rack¬ 
like objects appear to be special sense- 
organs for telling the plant when there 
is a digestible beast in its pouch; the 
papilla* then secrete an enzyme that con¬ 
verts protrid into a soluble condition. 
The proteinaceous parts of tlie animal are 
accordingly dissolved and absorbed,Jo the 
benefit of the host, only the cliitinous 
portions of the prey being left in the 
sack to tell the tale. 
In the heathy country air nt Southport 
the curious Campynema is common. It 
is an erect little licit), a few inches high, 
with one or few erect green flowers; there 
is one strap-like leaf arising from the 
base of the stem. No one would be 
taken by its beauty, but a botanist should 
rave over it, for it seems so isolated. It 
is only lotind in Tasmania, and nothing 
like it occurs anywhere else. It seems 
to be distantly related to tile iris fam¬ 
ily, and no farther from the amaryllids; 
if seems too much to make a family sim¬ 
ply for its reception, so it finds any 
place where temporary convenience sug¬ 
gests. Tasmania is exceptionally rich 
in endemic plants, and many romantic 
theories may be erected on tin's fact, at 
least on * of which will probably be true. 
One little fern was met with that drew 
forth the admiration of all taking an 
interest in plants; it was Hymenophyl- 
lnm marginatum. The leaf is quite 
simple, about half an inch high, with a 
well-developed rib, and a thickened mar¬ 
gin. It looks for all the world like one 
of the ligulate liverworts, and no doubt 
is often overlooked on this account. 
Hithej-to it. lias only been recorded from 
few places^ and now ‘‘near Ida Bay 
Caves” must be added to them. Mosses 
and liverworts, fungi, and lichens abound 
in tiie dense forest, but there is no room 
for llieni here. 
Southport and the neighbouring coast 
has been a favourite collecting ground for 
seaweeds. .Many interesting forms have 
been gathered here in days gone by , prin¬ 
cipally by C. Stuart, and they were pub- 
lislv-d by VV. B. Harvey in bis splendid 
work on Australian Alga*. Unfortunate¬ 
ly. pressure of time prevented us from 
devoting much time to dredging, yet we 
gathered some good plants, chiefly be¬ 
tween the Aetean Island and George III. 
lieef, in twenty fathoms of water, The 
best were Hupiilota jeannerettii (Harv.), 
Schmitz, Polysiphonin liystrh (llarv.), 
Thanmorlonium claviferum •). Ag., Am- 
phiora charoides Lamouv, Bellotui erio- 
phoruni (Harv.i, and Caulerpa cactoides, 
li. Hi The 'ast was the must interest¬ 
ing take, as it had not previously been 
recorded from Tasmania. 
GEOLOGICAL NOTES ON THE 
S<>UTHPORT DISTRICT. 
(By A. IJ. Mackay, B.Sc.i 
At the camp, geological exploration was 
carried on under u disadvantage. This 
class of work requires more time than 
could be given, and, moreover, the wood¬ 
ed nature of the country so prevented ob¬ 
servation of tile underlying rocks that 
these notes must necessarily lie imper¬ 
fect. 
