but with long narrow leaves.  I also found a magnificent species of Grevillea, with fine pinnatifid silvery leaves, and beautiful racemes of orange-coloured flowers; also another tree belonging to the same natural order, rivalling the Grevillea in the beauty of its flowers, producing an abundance of cream-coloured blossoms, on compound, terminal racemes.  In the scrub by the side of the creek, I found a most beautiful Scitamineos plant, the foliage, root, and habit of which resembled Hedychium.  The beauty of the plant consisted in its large, stiff, shining bracteae, which continue to grow after the small pink blossoms have fallen.  The bracteae are about half an inch broad at the base, slightly curved inwards, and tapering to a point.  The heads of the flowers, resembling a pineapple in shape and size, and of a beautiful crimson colour, are produced on the top of a strong flower-stem, 18 inches high, and they will retain their shape and colour a month after being cut.  This plant appears to be very local in its habits, as I only caught sight of it by the side of three creeks, and always in moist, shady places.  I obtained seeds, and also packed some of its fleshy, tuberous roots in a tin case.

We saw but few wallabies; and not one kangaroo or emu had as yet been seen by any of the party.  The country was not open enough for them to inhabit.

July 7.

We started at daylight, proceeding over open forest ground covered with long grass, very thick and luxuriant.  Travelling was rendered still more difficult by the large logs of dead wood which strewed the ground in every direction, and which much impeded the progress of the carts.  We camped by the side of a creek, with a narrow belt of scrub on the south-east side, but apparently a wide extent of it on the other.  This creek had a large sandy bed; with large Castanospermums, Tristanias, and Sarcocephali growing on its banks, which were rather steep.  It had a very tortuous course, coming from south-west and turning east a little below our camp, which was in a bend of the creek.

July 8.

We were employed nearly all this day in cutting through very thick scrub on the other side of the creek.  Whilst doing so we had to cross several other smaller ones, all turning east, and in the evening we camped on a small patch of open forest land, covered with long coarse grass, and large blocks of coarse granite rock jutting out here and there.

July 9.

This being Sunday we halted for the day, and prayers were read at eleven o’clock.

July 10 and 11.

We continued throughout these days cutting through belts of scrub and crossing small creeks, running from the west and north-west, and turning east.  During the latter day we were visited by a small tribe of natives, who appeared very friendly and did not stop long.  I found a large quantity of Castanospermum seeds in one of the creeks, apparently put there to steep by the natives, who use them for food.  They informed me that they steep them in water for five days, and then cut them into thin slices and dry them in the sun; they are then pounded between two large stones, and the meal being moistened with water is baked on a flat stone, raised from the ground a few inches, with a small fire burning beneath.  I afterwards saw some of the meal baked, but it was not very palatable.