TasNat 1907 Vol1 No2 WholeIssue

7/30/2019 TasNat 1907 Vol1 No2 WholeIssue

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' \ ~ ~ " ' ~ t U A N N4tIJIl~ THEJ:: THE ~ ~ < r ;Tosmonlon Field Naturalists' (Iub.Vo!. I . SEPTEMBER, 1907. No. 2.

~ a m p "ut of t6e '3ield Naturalists' ~ l u b onfBruni Island, easter, 1967.By th e HON. SECRETARY.

I t was arrange;! 'to hold th e thirdKl,.;tf'l" camp-out of the cluo a t 'the southof Hruni 'Isla'nd, b"ndi,ngoll tile elm'nne,]sid .. at the he'ld of Great Taylor'., Bay,from ,vh,ere Clolldy Ba,v Lagoon is easilyreached am \ of tile locltlitv t l . l ~ r e ' l i J o l l l ,good re'ports Wl're heard_ ~ l ' h i s yenI' th eparty nllmben,,1 2,). Till'Y mBt ,I t thesteamer \V,tldelll:tr on Iblll'sday e\'ening,}Ial'ch 28, anll sLll'ted on the trip a t 7o'elock, exp,ding to land at til'e campinggratln,l some time hefore midnight. Agood trip down ti 1\ nnel was madB,though\I'hen the H lion Ri,'er ""IS reached i,:wa" seen t lu t th" ship dL! not heM\ forour uet;;tinatio:l, but was going straightIll' this rh'er. l;POll inlerl'iewing the captain i t w'as learnt t!Jat in his opinionth e \vind w a ~ too r-,i[l'ong to luuke a S f l j ' ~landing a t Tllylor',; Bay, and as argn'lllt'Ht" were in "'tin, \I'e had to suffer atrip up to Fmnklin, which was reachedabuut hali an hour pa"t midnight. :\number of the p.lrty mllde all unsuccessfu l attempt to obtain lodging in oneof th e hotels. Home went fo r walksin the moonlight, along th e roads,passing many fine apple orchards;these, of course, making the district a famous centre of apple-growing There was little sleep for most.A ."tart down stream was mad,e th e fol,lowing IIlOl'ning. ,1n:[ 111allY ca,5'es ofa pples were takpll 011 ':lOard ere the riverWHS left behilll\ and th e ship headed forBrllnL Dis,1.pp.oimt'llwut '\Va\5' again ourlot, for this time we were landed inDaniel's Bay whhh is one of th e chieffletth'.JllB'nlts ISo'ut;l, Brlln.i, wnd ,some"e"en miles from th,e loc1lity we desiredto rBach. The "teamer landed us at

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5 p.m., and '


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST.nects the lagoon witb the ocean, and by,setting nets aeros:'; this ma,ny,fish maybe caught, wherea,s in Daniel's Bay,where the ca,mp was, fish were veryfew. At th e lighthouse th e partywas hospitably received by Superin.tendent Hawkins, who is in chargethere, and who showed the members over the buildings, which werekept in praiseworthy condition. In convfrsation, Mr. Hawkins 'Stated that theweather would easily Lave allowed theboat to l'and our party in Great Taylor'sBay on 'the Thursday n j g ~ l t , when takendirect to Franklin. Other trips weremade to AdlV'e1uture (Bay, MOlllnt Bruni,and elsewhere, which were enjoyable, butthere W3!S little scope for natural historyresearch. Between Cloudy Bay and thelagoon a long arm stretches, having afine beach on the ocea,u side, wl.ere shellsare to be found af'ter a storm, but fewshells were seen during our visit. Manygulls, terns, and cormora,nts were flyingabout 'tbe lagoon, and as the water isvery shallow over most of it s area, itmust be an easy matter for themto catch the fish. Out in the middlewere some black swans, and ducksof different kinds were also observed. A large flock of white-frontedherons was there too ,and sooty andwhite-brewstpd oyster-catchers occasionally.flew in from the sea. On th'e hillsthe chief birds seen were blackcockatoos, green parrakeets, and wa'ttlebirds. Two summer birds and a few

swallows were seen, showing tbat tbeseh/ld :not then Left the IIliO'rth. 'N'ea.rDaniel's Bay the numbers of small birl1swere remarka'ble; three of th e rO'binsscarlet and fiame-brea'sted and dusky-were continually in sight. The spinebill, crescen't, New Holland, yellowtbroatd, and black-beaded honey-eaterswere common, and showed by their numbers tha t the pea rifle was practicallyunknown there. Quail and ground birds(Cinclosoma, punctatum) were also seen.'Whilst fishing in Little Taylor's Bay ourattention was at'tracted by the hawk-likecackling cries of a Caspian tern.which was trying to take a fisb from asmaller species, th e latter probably being the white-fronted tern. At differenttimes one or tw o s


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST,and bask in the sun; but a hawk, like abolt from tlbe blue, swoops down andpicks one up in his talons, then leism:elyflies to the rreare.st u'ee to enjoy his meal,Learning sense as the days go by, theyemea'ge from their cover only ea.rly ill,bhe morning 011' late at evening, thus'escaping the sharp-eyed birds of prey.A worse enemy, however, has heard thewhistle of th e cock bird as he caUs hischildren to their evening meal, and thearch-enemy of all feather game, th e domestic cat, sneaks along th e fence, andwith one swift spring nduces the bevyto seven. New l'oogings ar,'e sought with(lut delay, and th e young birds grow andwax fat. On thefi.rst of May there arrives on th e sce-ne one of the 101'ds ofcreation, at'tended by a faithful s e . r v a n ~in the shape of a keen-nosed pointer, whostands statu(>-like some twenty yardsfrom where our bevy is concealed. Theyhear the command, "Hi, boy! put themup!" The dog advances two yards, when"up they ri.se with whirling wings, and altesaluted with two snarp ('eports. A braceis stowed away in the spacious gamebag, and the res t are followed frompaddock to pa


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' THE PHEASAN'l' IN TASMANLA.- A BEAUTIFUl, l.l111D WH ICH WOULD'l 'HRIVf; LN TIlE STATE. Nest alld Eggs


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iTHE PHEASANT IN TASMA.NIA..-A BEAUrIFUL IHRD W HI CH wo u r,U THlUVE IN.THE STATE.l-Well.growlI ChlckeulI, three months old. 2-A. h.:althy young hrood.


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THE TASMANIAN NATURAlIST.The feeding oOf the c h i c k ~ Is the all-important item, and I ,shall at ali timesbe pleased to renc.2r any Ilsslst"nce and3!dvice to anyone desir1ng the same, feeling confident that the pleasure ho willderive from watching the h a n ' ~ S 0 m e s tand finest game bird the worid knowsgro\l' up Ull[12l" his hand will a lllpiy repayhim for the trouble he has taken to reoarthem. ::\lany of us hope to see thephensant amongst our game birds withinthe next few years. Another bird thatwarrants our 'attention is the Virginianquail, or Bob ~ W h i t e ; it is the game birdof America, and has been introduced intoJapan, Jamaica, Holland, Itnd New Zea-

bnd, in each of wbich places it has established itself. In New Zealand i t isdoing remarkably well. I t is la.rgerthan any of our native quail, a swifterflier, is more p r o l i f i , ~ , and pos,sesses one'splendid trait ensuring 'Its protection ifOI1)(;e esLlblishec', here-wuim disturbedfrom the stubbles whNe it feeds it seeksshelter in the nearest scrub, and onewho has hunted. our brown birds underthese 1C0nditions knows how i t is an almost imposs'lble task to find them again:in coyer of this descriptIon. A fewimmigrants of this class woulitl be welcomed to Tasmania by all sportsmen.

:Fl ~ a r a s i t e upon J!lies.By H. M. NICHOLL.s (Garden Island Creek).

T'his curious little creature first cameunder my notice wbile Iwa,s engaged inpreparing the proboscils of a March fiy(Tabanus sp.) ior mounting. Happening 'Lo look at it under a dissectingmicroscope, there seemed to be a llum'ber of little bhek sped:;s sticking to t:heps-eudo-h'acheal tu\}e,s-a very uniamiliara.ppe:amnee. In picking t,hem off withneedles, in nearly every case a portion0' the tube they were attached to cameaway wi'th them. This led me to examine t b : ~ 1 l l more carefully, when I foundthey were pnrasites of a very unusualnature. Later on, I found precisely the,same t ~ , i n g upon the probo,seis of 'tInecommon blow-fly, and more extended inv.es,tigations showed thwt It was hy nomeans uncommon upon both 'blow-fliesand ::\Iarcb-flie,s, in thi,s part of 'the country ut ' l e a ~ t . Upon showing spedmensto our abl" Go,Ycrnment Entomologist,Mr. M. Lea, I found that it wa,s un'known to bim, and no references toanytJhing like it were to be found in any'scien'ific work aV1ailable. This li'ttlecreature is very remarkable in manyways. I t is less than the 130th of aninch in length, hardly bigger than,some O'f the rotifers, but it possesses a

~ \ l r d flhitino'l1s exo-skeleton, ? ~ : J . d it.slabdominal 'portion is divided into ,segments, jus'L as that of a fie:J is. Thehead a'ppeflrs 'to be merged with t,he:thorax, ,a,s is the ease wHh spiderls, and;tbere are a pair of powerful1hooked mandibles, which the little crea,ture drives.througi, the pse.ud'0-tme;)eal t'Ulbes of its.boOst, and 'tlhus mmgs on. Thtere are novisible signs of any locomo.tiye organs,such as legs or wings, nor any antennae:to be ,seen. There is a very curiousbood"like arrangement situated upon the

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anterior end of the head, and just oyert,lle hooked jaws. Tb1s fits dO'Wll overthe pseudo-trachea of the host, when theparnsi'te is in posit,ion, and co;r21e,telycovers up the jaws and mou:bh part,s. Ins'ome specimens there can be seen wchatappear to be eyes, in the sh'1pe of unpigmented lenses, one on each side, justthe eyes of some fleas are situated. Justbelow the base of th e hooked jawsthere is a little tube-like arrangementwhich suggests :J:lucking appamtus. I t

a p p e a r ~ to be so sitlULted that when theparasite has fastened on to the proboscisof the /DS'L it would project into thepseuclo-traeheal tube through one of thehorseshoe-s,ha.ped openings In th e latter.The oppning of the little tu'i.le is divideda t the anterior end by a septum, whicl:.gives it something of 'the appearance O'fthe muzzle of "vlery minute doublebarrelled gun. Thjs would suggest thatthe parasHe only feed,s upon t;he foodmatte,r that the host has collected for it..,self as i't passes U ~ , r o u g h the pseudotrachea on it s way to the main tube,which carries it t,o the stoma(Jh. Th8"parasites are nemly always found uponthe 'p3eu{lo-t11l1c:h'eae, and .ne'\-er in anyca,se that I have seen are they very faraway from them; so it tbnefore appears'to be rather a partial parasite of an unusual nature than true parasite. Thehooked jaws seem simply to serve the

p u r p o ~ e oi holding un, While the l i t t l e ~sucking tube takes a share of the dinnerthat the blow or March fly ha,s procured,for i t s ~ e l f . Wlwn detached from thebos't these little creature,s have n slightpower of movement, bending their taiLsfeebly from side to side, as many


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TilE TASMANIAN NATURALIST.-----------------

FIG.3... ,500

FIG. ;:')( 1....8'0

Fig. 1. '.l'\\'O ))nnlsites at.tached to tip of t'lngllc.Fi.z. :2. \"i('w of p:na.sit e from above.Eig. 3. ~ i d e view of par(l.site.(.\,11 grcn.tly cnln rg(.oU.)

m i ( ' r o ~ e f ' I ) t ' . They tHe not fou ndIIpOI1 C\"\'t'y Ily, fll1(.I l ire commoner ul)OlIM a r ~ h - f l i l ' " tlLIIU blow-flies, but. a MarchlIy ha :; "dJOlll mort! i .lllllI tllI"CC or four on

p l ' o h o _ e i ~ , while 1l ulowfly may hM'C'ten or dOI.('I1. During the middle of"n!llIlI('I' nl',Il' ly cl-err . lal'ch.lly hllll onc01' 1l1Ot'c , ilD,1 they were CCOlll11l0n on

b l o w - i l i t ~ , but i ll )Iay, when my la,st" ' f K ' " C i l l H ' n WCl'(' taken, r ol1ly found oneL[ow-ll\' t1.;l.1. "1(1 t.hem OUt of about. 50l ('X:II1;i IWd. It. h(1(\ (Ioleven. 'rho micro..,


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST.

:Jlpril :M.eeting.An enjoyable meeting was held in the

Masonic Hall on the 25th April. In spiteof wet weather, there wa s a fair attendance. Mr. L. Rodway occupied th e chair.Election of Members.-Messrs. R. Stops,G. Richardson, D. Burn, and C. T. Hope,of Hobart, and Mr. E. P. Harrison, ofBellerive, were unanimously electedmembers of the club.Exhibition of Specimens.-Mr. E. S,Anthony exhibited a representative collection of ethnological implements. Theseincluded some stone axe-heads andchisels, a few of which were placed inelk-horn handles; also horn knives andchisels from Switzerland and Belgium;chipped and well-worked arrow-headsand knives from North America; andknives, axe-heads, and spear heads fromiAus'tJrama,. '!Wr. tA. :M. ILea ""bOWled a lowseof beetles of Scarabaeidae, from Australia and Tasmania, containing in theirnumber some of the most beautiful, aswell as th e bulkiest, of insects. Mr. H.Pottenger showed the nest and eggs ofthe olive thickhead (Pachycephala Oliva-

cea). 'l'here were also on view a numberof excellent photos taken during theclub's camp-out by Messrs. A. Propstingand R. U. Harvey.The secretary (Mr. E. A. Elliott) readan account of th e J.!.aster camp-out,which was held on South Bruni Island,and which is published on page).Mr. H. M. Nicholls exhibited under themicroscope a parasite on the tongue ofa blow-fly, and which is described in aspecial article in this issue.

Mr. L. Rodway, Government Botanist,exhibited specimens of the coniferae 01',t,asmania. He state", that there wereeleven species in the island, nine of whichwere confined to Tasmania. He saidtnere were no native pine trees here, andthose so-called really belonged to othertribes. The Huon pine and celery-toppine were yews; the Oyster Bay and itsrelatives were cypresses. ::1-11'. Rodwayalso dealt with the economic aspect ofthese trees.After the usual convcrsazione, themeeting terminated.

:M.ay :M.eeting.The monthly meeting for M ay was heldon Tuesday, the 28th, in the Town Hallcommittee-room. Ml'. S. Clemes pre

sided, and there wa s a good attendanceof lady and gentlemen members.The Late Mr. Alexander Morton.-Thechairman said that, before they proceededwith the business of the evening, he wassure they all desired to express theirueep sorrow at th e death of Ylr. Alexander l\Iorton, which was a sad blow tothe cause of science in Tasmania, andsympathy with his bereaved family. Theywould all greatly miss Mr. Morton; infact, the whole community would. Asto sympathy with the immediate family,it came close home to the hearts of everyone of them. He moved, "That a suitable letter of condolence be forwardedto Mrs. )forton." The secretary hadbeen thoughtful enough to provide a.wreath, which he was sure the clubwould approve.Ml'. L. Rodway seconded the motion,remarking that he had been associatedwith Mr. Morton fo r many years, andappreciated the splendid work he haddone for the institution he represented,and fo r Hobart outside of that instiwtion. _ I

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Mr. Arthur Butler, in supporting themotion, mentioned how ready Ml'. )lorton wa s at all times to assist youngpeople and students generally in thestud V of different branches of science.An ~ x c e e d i n g l y useful man had been lostto th e community, and one who couldil l be spared.The motion was then formally passed.A letter was received from Ml'. J . E.t-\mith, tendering his resignation as vicechairman of the club, on account ofleaving to reside in Adelaide. The dubhad hiH sincere good ~ v i s h e s . The resignation was accepted, with thanks forp,v,t services.Mr. P. Astrella, Smith-street, waselected a member.There were tabled copies of the firstissue of th e club's journal, the "Tasmanian Katuralist," with illustrations,and (by Mr. Rodway) a copy of "Australian Bird Life," by R. S. Hall, illustrated.

JUl'. A. E. Brent sent for exhibitionsplendid specimens of the kestrel (Cerchneis Cenchroides) and sparrow-hawk(Accipiter Cirrhocephalis), which he hadcaptured and stuffed. Mr. A. R. Reidshowed a case of Australian snipe, whichhe had shot, stuffed, and mounted. Mr.


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THE TASMANIANH. L. Pottenger exhibited eggs from NewSouth Wales of the \Vhite Corcorax, the-qualin or magpie lark, and the greyjumper.

Mr. Clive Lord read a paper on BirdPhotography, showing how to go aboutit. He advised commencing by photo.graphing the nests the first season, a tthe same time observing the habits ofthe birds, and learning how best to procure pictures of them. He mentionedsome devices which have been used bynaturalists fo r approaching nests, butimpressed the need of untiring patience.Details of the camera he would recom,mend were also touched upon.

NATURALIST.,}Ir. Art'hur


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THE TASMAN rAN N ATURALIST.

:Rn entomologist' s ~ y e l i n g t9rip to ~ l o n e u r r y -(Queensland).

By HENRY HACKER.- - - - - - - - - ~

Business lllat Ve,rs requil'ing my presenceUloncul'l'Y, 1 dedded toO 'tuke boat fromBrbb:1ne to Tu,\\'nsviUe, and cycle frUlllthcr'e onwards, annexing such ins'eets asIwere cUllIe a,cru,ss un ,tILe journey. Timedid not allow ut allY regula.!' eolle0ting,:l>ut a lew small bottles ,01 formaJin weretaken to preserve the insects in . WhenTo"vnsviUe was l'81adl'ed, tu save tilllieand incident-a,lIy 'tu escape the riguurs,0 cycling u\'e1' the Haughtun Range, the,train wa,s taken ,toO Chartel;s Tuwers, thequeen city of North Queensland, now

' S 0 l l 1 ~ \ Y I : H t uf a fallen queen. However,a start frum that t,own was made on 'themorning of Februa,ry 7; a t th e end ufthe da y Pentland, a distance of 76 milesfrom tlle Towers, was reached; ,tolle coun'try \mt w'e,en proOved to be ridgy andI:mshy. During the heat of the day a spellfur an huur 0'1' so was taken at a shadycreek. Here a very beautiful Symphyleteswas taken un a tea-tree overhanging the'water; a yellow Spanish fly, ZUIlQtis, wasCOllllllon un HI'i' coarse grass; a prettylitHe Laius (bellultls) was firs't t,aken:he1',e, and proved to be plentiful throOugh. Jut tile trip, aHbough nut previously reeOl'l\ell from Que,ensland; uther ,capturesa t this plnee were twO' species uf Crypt.uCphalus (one IJruba;bly new to science,HIe ()It'ler heing the handsume gracilior),'Ela:phodes larinus (hItherto known only,frolll Xorth- \Vestern Australia and plentiful un gum ,sapling,s), t wo kinds ufR.ropsis, two of Rhyparida, and anOxyops, all un young gum tree,s, whilst1he beautiful littJ.e Tachys bipustulatuswas plentiful on mud a't the water'sedge. The next day's juurney was a hardune. The ruad pruved tu be sO' ruugh thatI had tu leave i t and ride on the fuutpathalongside the railway line. I t was nut"n enviable journey, fur I had tu jumpoff every few yards ,to dudge culverts"nd luose stonc:s on 'tihe line, and constant irritation WIo,S caused by gm,ss

~ e d s . I was not so-rry ,toO reach TorrensCTeek-th'e North Que,ens'land meatI\vorks-\vbere a night wa,s put in . During the day i ln widely-drstri,buted tigerluee't1e, Cicindela semicincta, was plentifu l in muddy phwes, whilsot anoOther andapparently a new species like Hacker!was rtmning a,bout on sandy ruads. Theuther insects taken were HathUudesquadrilineatus, comun on reeds, five kindslof Mylloccrus, a Steno,()orynus, very

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p:entiful on bushes and abundant al lover Nurth Queensland; .Bhilonthus, subcinguhtu8, pJ.entiful in d,eooying vegeta'tion; a beJ,lltifully s.p0ckled Belus; a tortoise bee,tle, Coptucycla; a small Calumelit,


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THE TASMANIANsuch a pe-st that at night-'time mO's,t business places were cO'mpelled to' close up.TO' stop the nui"ance Dne ingeniDus businei ,S man pr0cul'ed twO' pD,werful acetylene gas huups and put them Dn th e iDDt-path outside hi, ~ l l O ' P , w{,ile turning thecinside ligijes low. He thus managed tokeep nlllst Df t , ~ t e inseds outside. At'present RichmDnel is the terminus DfQUe'en,oland',s nDrthern railway, nltllOug(1the line to' Cl"ncurry is unerer CDnstrueti011; so ,3{tcr leaving th e former plaecthe l'C'ad began ' ( 0 assnme quite a busylappearance, from ti"c number Df tellttllsters anel camel caravan" carrying sup'pli,es to the CIDncurry copper-fields, wberBltllere j u : ~ t now con ,lider,tble nliningactivity. joUl'llE'y sWI lay over tlJeil1:0nDtDnous downs ,country, th e mDstplentiful ul"p'de here being the beautiful,an'd very variable IDngicorll, ZygrHa diva;CenognlHs rotundicDliis, a 'peculiarly IDottied CryptocelJulus, and th,e remarkdlble'\licrotragu,,, pictu,; were found crawling,on th e g1'Ound all O\'er the down,;. Herea very pretty little La,ius was taken ona weed, and seen nowher,e else. F,ourdClyS from Richmond Lillyvale Qut-s'Dationwas r8ached. Up' to b1ere the weath,erhad been dry and exceed.mgly hot,but here the real troubles commenced. The rain fell in torrents, andall the watercourses were flooded. I twas impossibIe to ride or even to PU,,(lmy bicycle through th.e wet black soil.

' ~ , o I shouldered it a't sunrisle and start 'edto walk ,to t ~ l e next stopping-plaee,F ~ ~ h e r ' ~ Creek, a distance ,of forty mile,s.\Vilt:! t,he help of a little riding in the'harder parts of th e country, my haltingplace \ \ ' I l ! ~ .rea0hp'd ait uuitllnight, wft.er haying to ],eavc th e bICycle on the road. Onarrival the hotel wa,s closed, and I was

~ o m p e l l e d to s],ecp in wet clotl,:es on thefODtpath, ~ e x t day I walked b3ck tothe bicycle, picking up on th'e roadPhortocosomus gmndis, a beautiful gr'een>Chlaenioidius, Gna'thaphanus pulctJer, and'the granel tiger bee tie, :Me,gace'phala,cylindrica, which t,he wet lnd eVidentlydriven DUt Df tb1eir ho]'es. Here it maybe mentiont'd that , although the'y werelooked fDr, no specie.s of Carenum ,orAmycterida,e were seen thl'Oughout 'thejourney, probllbly owing to' the l a ' b e n e s ~of t ie ,season. Fisher's Cre,ek, which isabout 18 miles from Cloncurry, marksthe westerly bound,ary of the North'\Vestern DDwns. After leaving tlere th ecountry assumes the desert sandstone!formation, with light forest, which isch.aracteristic of th e Cloncurry belt. I ttWas quite a plc3sant eohange after sevendays toiling through those awfulblack-soil downs, to encounter goodhard roads for the last fe w milesof my journey. Cloncurry was r e a c h ~

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NATURALIST.ed about midday on February 2 ( ) ~after having ridden over five hundredmile5. The chief lueetles captured inth e CloncHlTY di"trict were tw o speciesof Symphylet'8,s, 01118 of which was tllepretty species before mentiDned, Zygl'ita(liV'I, YIicrotr,'gus pictuB, one dead sp,crimen of a S'dgmDdera washed up by t I : , ~Cloncurry River, one specimen each of,two brilliant species of ChalcortlOrai a i r n l l ~ l i r e i la'Hd SaundeTsi), "\vhich weretaken on the wing, a small Storeus C0111mon under ba,'k, an Oxyo'ps much likethe South AustralL1n Bilun,uis, Bryadms.squamicollis, abundunt everywhere on

' ~ ' l p l i n g s ; an appar'ently new Lepto'ps,,with small prothDrax and very largeelytra; anob'. '"1' species somElwhat like:Vlu&icuon, and a Polyphrades, crawlingalong tbe gJ'OluIlJel. A blue and yellow_luhw,l,pb1ora, th,e male O'f which has veryremarka,blE' ant,enna,e w,a,s found on avine locally called "Chinese cucumber.",1\ small s,pottcd H'hyparida under bark,tl ];al'g" Ela,paod,es, and three species DfDitropidus, one being very large andresembling ant,ennal'ius, and anothel 'having an oenormoushead; with powerful

j ~ ' w - . s , all ,taken on foliage, 'wb2Te also H,yello,w Calomela with black knees wascommDn; a Gestrinu.s was taken underlogs, as \Y,as also a Ci&telid close to',Homotrysis, but ha,ving most remarkableHulp'tul"e; ,two spe,cies oi click beetleswere taken h'ere, both of the genus ~ I D n o -cre'pidius, an l one of wl1'ich was fiyinga t dm k in great numbers; two specie-s ofOnthophagns (Consentaneus and Cornperei) were capturNl in rduS'e, and

~ \ h e n i u s semiraecus round lights, and i tyery CuriDU.5 and probably nE"W Rupiliaon watermelon vine's. elDncurrv isnaturally a. rath2r rough though iivelylittle 'town, o'II'ing no dDubt to t i J ~ presentboDlll in the copper m a r ~ . ; : e t . ,Moneyis v{,f'Y plentiful UloeI1e. On my arrivallomines,s matters engro'ss,ed all my attenticm, so not much collecting wa,s done,,the above repre"enting pr;lct,ically all 'theinsec'ts ca pt ur'ed.

NOTE BY ARTHUR Yr. LEA.::Hr. Hacker has sent me for examlnaj;ion all tb'e species mentiDned above,.and many ,othe1'3 taken during ,his t r ~ p ,

altDgeth,er 128 spe'Cies. The colLectiDncontains some very be,autiful inse>C'ts,pl'o])ably morle than half of them IbeingP,foW to -scienee. In addition ,t,o tbo,se'mentioned, he took the v,ery pe


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST.

exeursion to :J3otanie gardens.On Saturday, 11th lhay, members paid. a visit to the Botanic Gardens, to gaininformation as to the many useful andornamental trees from foreign partswhich are growing there.They were lllet at the gates by :!\Ir.'Yardman, and as it was late in the seaHon fo r deciduous trees, attention wasdirected chiefly to the coniferae. Theparty went along the top path above thepond, where there are well-grown specimens of trees on either side. In thispart also were the cedars an d c y p r e s s e ~ ,. and as the party proceeded, several

species of evergreen oaks from ~ orth.c>.merica, and also the clOrk oak, wereseen.Owing to the interest now being takenin flOrestry, interesting discussions were!leld as to the best trees flOr this purpose,and as Ylr. 'Yardman is well up in thissubject, he gave much information, illustrating his remarks from the trees arollndhim.Seeds of manv kinds :were taken bvseveral members of the party to experiment with.

exeursion to Souto ff3ridgewater.On Saturday, 18th May, Dr. Noetlingled an excursion to examine the limestQne quarries at SQuth Bridgewater. Thequarries are aDout lOne mile from therailway statiQn, and in excavating limestQne fQr burning in the kiln the rocknas been cut away to a depth Qf ab Out

30ft., and a fine bed Qf fQssils eXPQsed.'lne fQrmatiQn is Qf slightly inclinedalternating beds Qf limestone and shale,in which there are many fossils, includingSpkifer, IProdu{lt'ils, 'a,u,d ,P,ect


15/20

Rl:J..lCS OF AN EXTINCT RACE. N A ' l ' l V ~ QUARRY ON COAl. HILT. NEAR MET.TON MOWBRAY,SOUTEIERN TASMANiA. P l : o l by Or .N octling. I - Coal Hill, where an AboriKinll1 Q U ( l . r r y i i t u a U d .2- Vie w of the Nati\'o Qllllrry.


16/20

REL ICS Ufo' AN i:XTTNC'C RACE. NATIVE QUARRY ON COAT, lllT,r" NEAR Ml:LTON llWWBRAY,SOU'I'HERN TASMANIA. Photo8 by i)r. Noetling. l-}'ragOleut "howing lark or pcrClluion. Rej ectedby tJI' l Aboriginu . 2- Wel1-ftnished HaudCl,opper. S -Angular Fragment yhowing trn(lOB of n ~ e . 4--AnUnfinished Specimen, ahowing a considero.ble amount or work on each 'lid.e .


17/20

.RELICS OF AN EXTINc'r RACE. NA.TIVE QUARRY ON COAL HILL, NEAR MELTON MO W BRAY.SOUTHEl!N TASMANIA. Photoa by Dr . NoetiiD&,. land 2-WeU-finished Hand-ChopJM,lrs. 3. ' . 5-Knife,8ilowing l'''>llicnl au d inrlical face null side view.


18/20

THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST.,betwen Glenleith and Charlie Hope's estates, near the River Plenty; and agrapMc description of this lQcality WIll!be f,ound in Ling Rotl.'s bOQk Qn thea:boorigines of T a ~ m a n i a (page 149-151).AnQther quarry was diwovered in 1890,i f I am right, by Mr. Harol() Bisdee,{)Tl Coal Hill, near Melton Mowbray, andI subsequently foune) a tMrd one onShene, near PQntville stati,on. 1 haveno. tiJUbt that many mQre natiye quarrieswill be discQvered if a prQper searchis made, but fQr the present very littlein known about their features. The mQstimportant part connected with them hasalready been pointec' Qut by our ve'terangeQIQgist, R. M. J Qhnston. N a t ~ v e quarries are invariab],y situated Qn soon[Milce where the pal!aeozQic mudstQne Qrsandstone has been altered by eruptive(lialbas or basalt. I t is certainly a factthat all quarries hithert{) knQwn aresituated Qn such p l a ~ e s , but it dQes notnl(lessarily follQW that there muSlt also.he a qua,r'ry wherm',e,r such a IQcality is!fQund. On the wlhole, it ii! a gQod!plan when searching fQ'r n a : t ~ v e qUQ,rrie.s,to kep to the cQntad line, between th eeruptive rocks and th e palaeQzQic strain.() m\ it is pretty certain to assume t.ha taft.er a shQrt l ime success will be th ereward. I t is obviQUS that palaeQzQicstrata Qf different nature were ditIelentlyaltered (metamorph1oseiJ) by Jne and tilesame eruptiQn of vQlcanic matter. 'l'hesandstones were turned into a mQre Qrless cQarsely-grained PQrcellanite, whilethe mudstQnes were a,ltered into. the variQus kinds Qf 'S1plintery, silicious chert,cQmmQnly, thQj}gh errQneQusly, calledflint. In a future article I shall havean opPQrtunity to. dwell mQre especiallyQH the petrQgraphi'cal features of th e'l'asmanian amorphlOlithes, as I .have already ascertained SQme very peculiarfacts. AccQroing to. the nature Q,f thealtered rQck we can naturally d1stinguish two. grQUPS Qf quarries, thQsenQm which the altered mudstQnewas obtained, ancl those where the PQr,ctllla'nite wnl3 qUlarried. 'l1he quarry n,earthe River Plenty and that on Ooal Hillare instamces .of the first type, whilethat Qf Shene seems to. be, as far as 1knQw, the Qnly instance Qf the selCQndtype. I t seems that th e qualTY QnCoal Hill is the most important, asfar as extensFon and intensiv,e wQrkg,oes; and a detailed descriptiQn. tQ-gether with that Qf some Qf th e implen;ents fQum], is therefQre of particularinterest. As already stateli, the quarrywas cvlscovered by Mr. Harold Bisdee,ancl subsequently visited by Messrs.John&toon, Morton, and "'0Iker, but, 'except a mote in Walker's paper Qn theTasmanian abQrigines, I Qnly knQw that

( 18 )

a shQrt account, accQmpanied by a plwtQ-graph, was published in a sQuther\}!weekly journal. I t appellrs that the actual situatiQn Qf tM s quarry was .only'kuown to. th e few persQns mentiQned.and even the weal peQple hardly knewQf its existence when I visiteli MeltQn,MQwbray fQr the first time in 1906. Ltried in vain to. discQver the quarry byfQllQwing the cQntact Qf diabas and mudstQne, but I SQQn fQund Qut tha t i t WQuld,take me many days Qf diligent research to find it . HQwever, Qn enquiry, Mr. Bisclee, on whose prQperty CQal Hill is situ-,ated, kindly supp:1ed the necessary in-,f.ormation, and, guided by this, Mr. NichQls, {)f MeltQn MQwbray, who. knQwsthe country well, c:mld shQW me the'exact IOl!ality. Anybody interested inthis subject caul" CIa no. better than to.cQmmunica te w1th Mr. NichQls, i f he'wishes toO, visit the quarry. CQal Hillis a lQw, fairly thickly wQQded hill, abQut a,mile and a half nQrth Qf the hQtel a t MeltQn MQwbray (see Fig 1 } . A shallQw gullydivides it in a western ana eastern spur,.Qn the crest Qf which the quarry is .situated. I t is a remarkable bit {)ts'cenery, this old quarry. R1ght Qn the'top Qf th e flat hill, in fairly Qpen country, the grQund is cQvered with tl>ousands and thQusan&s Qf angular fragments Qf a blue, hard, and spHnte'rychert. I t almost lQoks as i f the whQlegrQuncl had! lately been cQvered with.freEil rQad metal (see F'lg. 2). This p'c-.tUre sh.ows a view of the native quarryQn CQal Hill. On clQse examinatiQn,sh.allQw holes of about five to. six feet.hi cliiameter will be Qbserveii, having B-low wall Qf debrls heaped al"lound them.I t is evident that these hQles were pro.duced by excavating th e rock. Thethickness OIf the debris streV\\n a,bQut,may be aoout Hft. to 2ft., and its areaaboout 200 to. 300 feet squore. .Ml the,fragments are Qf a ver,y even size -abQut fiv,e inches in l e n g t h ~ t l J , o u g h Qfcourse there are numerQUS smaller fragments, but there are hardly any largerthan six inches. Every specimen wetQQk up shQwed sharp edges, andmQst Qf them shQwed more Qr lessextensive traces of use. The mQst in'teresting feature' Qf th;!e frllg1ments ill.certainly the fad that every one Qfthem, Qf all the thQusands we saw seatterea., hacJ once gQne thrQ'lgh the hands,of a human being. We may also. takei t as certain that al l the specimens wenQW see in th'e picture are either refuseQr specimens that 'brQke while beingshnpecli, 0.1' un!finished implements. Well

f i n ~ g . h e d specimens are very rare, and it .:appears that the abQrigines Clhiefly ex"cavated the raw maiA>rial, and, h'wing } i:wht''''; in l.:ngth.

~ ' i g " . 3, 4, ii, p. 1, \knifp ill,;)w-lllg pollical and indical t . 1 < : ~ all,l;,iue view) - This knife shows by thebr,oken edges that it 1,as been verystrongly used. The pollical face is ver,yeven and :smo'Oth; the inrliCl:;1 hce ebborately chipped>. All t:lese speci:nensprove that an enormous illllount of workhas ae2n 'pent in shaping them, "nd Ifwe ,consider that al l those we n,ow findare rrefnls.e or I'e1jelct,s we, ean only wou'


20/20

THE TASMANIANtany," S. Clemes; "Aviculture," A. L.Butler; "Islands of the Pacific," A. Morton; "Bird Life of Beaumaris," Mrs. H.L. Roberts; "Geology of South Bridgewater," Dr. F. Noetling; "Coniferae of'l'asmania," L. Rodway; "Game Propagation," A. R. Reid; and "Marine Life," A.M. Lea. Others matters of interest thathave been dealt with are-"Insect Anatom.,"," Dr. Gerard i"lmith; "Easter Campout," E. A. Elliott; "Parasite of Blowfly," H. M. NichOllS; "Bird Photography," Clive Lord.Botany, geology, and ornithology haveheen the branches of stuy followed upa t th e excursions held under leaders,besides which seventl general excursionshave been held. Dr. Noetling, Messrs.L. Rodway, A. E. Brent, A. M. Lea, and,1. vVardman have been the chief leaders.An excellent publication has been issued on the trees and shrubs of ourforpsts belonging to the order ~ I y r t a c e a e .I t is by L. Rodway, Government Botanist,has 22 full page illustrations, and' willlw of grpat valu'. A copy is given freeto ",wh memoer.Onr most important stpp has b('('n the

NATURALIST.uringing out of a journal entitlpd the"Tasmanian Naturalist," vo!. 1, No. 1 ofwhieh appeared in AprIl; th e second is.published with 'this report, and No. 3will b(' printed a t we en d of the y e a r ~After then, we hope it will be issued atregular intervals of not more than threemonths. ' lhe publicauon of a journalHas hrought our club into proper recognition as a scientific body. On the mainland, the Yictorian, Geelong, and Newi:ionth 'Vales Naturausts ' Clubs issuejournals, which are received in e x c h a n g e ~\Ye tender our full appreciation of thegenprous help given by the Press- the"Mercury" for publishing reports ofmeptings and excursions, and the "'VeeklyUourier" for assistance with tne j o u r n a l ~The balance-sheet shows that we havepassed the third session satisfactorily. The item "printing" does notcover the cost of the book on "Myrta.eeae," and onq the first number of thejOlll'nal, and though this item will be solargpl., increased during the approachingsPHsion, your committee feels assuredti\at g e n ~ r o u s response will be made ino1'(\pr to furthf'r tht' progress of the club.

Statement of fReeeipts and rexpenditurefor 'Year ending /jot6 September, 1907.

Receipts. s. d.balance from 11l05-G "0 o. 0 11 1

~ a l t ' of Tickets A.O.U. Lecture. 0 15 0l\'Intor Launch Trips ...... .... 2 7 0Hub.;criptions , .............. Hi 7 6Don,ltiollS Printing Fund 1 10 0::Surplus Easter Camp-out '" o. 0 2 7

20 13 2Audited and found correct,

Expenditure. s. d.Adn-rtisements ............... 2 10 0J:iellt of Hall ................. 3 12 3Charter Motor Launch .0 0 2 17 0Lartage, etc. . . . . . . 0. 0 8 0Printing 0 '" 7 9 0l'urrilasp Camp Utensils eo.o' 0 7 6.t->ostage ...................... 2 6 3::stationery ................... 0 9 61: llOtoS. of Camp-out . . . . . o. 0 7 0Halallce in hand .0 0 . . . . . . . . 0 6 8

20 13 2(iiligned) ARTHUR M. LEA.R. A. BLACK.

TasNat 1907 Vol1 No2 WholeIssue

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