One feature peculiar to that country appeared on these open downs:  it consisted of hollows which, being usually surrounded by a line of yarra gumtrees or whitebark eucalyptus, seemed at a distance to contain lakes, but instead of water I found only blocks of vesicular trap, consisting apparently of granular felspar, and hornblende rock also appeared in the banks enclosing them.  Some of these hollows were of a winding character, as if they were the remains of ancient watercourses; but if ever currents flowed there the surface must have undergone considerable alteration since, for the downs where these hollows appeared were elevated at least 900 feet above the sea and surrounded on all sides by lower ground.  There was an appearance of moisture among the rocks in some of these depressions; and whether by digging a few feet permanent wells might be made may be a question worth attention when colonisation extends to that country.  We found on other parts of this open ground large blocks composed of irregular concretions of ironstone, covered with a thin coating of compact brown haematite.  The purple-ringed Anguillaria dioica, first seen on Pyramid Hill, again appeared here; and in many places the ground was quite yellow with the flowers of the cichoraceous plant tao whose root, small as it is, constitutes the food of the native women and children.  The cattle are very fond of the leaves of this plant and seemed to thrive upon it.  We also found a new bulbine with a delicate yellow flower being perfectly distinct from both the species described by Brown.*

(Footnote.  This has been planted with the others in the Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick and was the first to flower there, a head having been sent to me on the 8th May last by Dr. Lindley who describes it thus:  Bulbine suavis; radice fasciculata, foliis longissimis attenuatis semiteretibus basi canaliculatis glaucis, racemo erecto multifloro, petalis oblongis subundulatis sepalis duplo latioribus, staminibus ascendentibus, filamentis apice stuposis petalinis patentibus sepalinis erectis apice incurvis brevioribus.)

SNAKES NUMEROUS.

The genial warmth of spring had begun to show its influence on these plants and also brought the snakes from their holes, for on this day in particular it was ascertained that twenty-two had been killed by the party.  These were all of that species not venomous I believe which the natives eat.  We encamped near a small clump of trees for the sake of firewood.

September 22.

This day’s journey lay chiefly across open downs with wooded hills occasionally to the left.  On the southward these downs extended to the horizon:  and several isolated hills at great distances, apparently of trap, presented an outline like the volcanic Mount Napier.  All the various small rivulets we traversed in our line of route seemed to flow in that direction.  Having crossed three of these we encamped on the right bank of the fourth.  The hills on our left were of granite and as different as possible in appearance from the mountains to the westward which were all of red sandstone.  In the afternoon there was a thunderstorm but the sky became again perfectly serene in the evening.