tasnat 1925 vol1 no4 wholeissue

7/28/2019 TasNat 1925 Vol1 No4 WholeIssue

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~ b t t E a ~ m a n i a n j l } a t u r a l i ~ tTHE JOURNAL OF THE

Tasmanian Field Naturalists' ClubNew Series-Vo!. 1. DECEMBER, 1925. No. IV.

Nomadic Migration 0/ Birds.Just as the, nomad savage wanders toand fro about his wilderness. pitchinJ[ his

tent here one day, miles away the next,acoording to his ever-fluCltunting supply ofthe bare necessaries of 1ife. so do certainbirds pass the! greater part of their exist~ n c e moving round. Few birds are reallystationary throughout the year; in fact,i t jR rather the exception fo r a speeicRto be absolutely sedentary, Many, if notall. young birds are great wandercl'Is, being(lriYcn from their birthplace their Prt-'f!nts. or deserting i t voluntarily as soonas parental care becomes unnecessary.while seY-era.1 nelCtar-feeding species ar1('onstant1y on the m()ve. At one time wemay no-tice a flock of a certa.in variety in aparticu1ar district. and at another timenot a bird is there. the food supply ofthe area pnrhaps having failed, as it oftendoes. or the e x i s t i n ~ climatic conditionsbeing f.ound unsllitwbIe. The bird:s. there_fore. have found it necessary to move toothf'r diRtrictR where thn t h i n ~ R they re,...,.;re fire obtainable' but. so soon as t b e ~fail. or ('bange. they are on tbp. movf'[lOlrrin. aTmeal'ti."fJ' hPTP one wepk flnel ~ O n t P . where else th .. next. ann on. Thislocal movement of hirdR 1


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'l'HE TASMANIAN NATURALISTof other birds, are purely in se!arch offood, and as this in the case of lorikeets,found in the flowers of the eucalypts,we find the birds following up the irregular flowering periods of the tre":s_ T ~ e yperiodically sweep over Hobart wIth nmAYcry! hunting out every" garden, park and

r ~ e r v e where the flowering treels are tobe found, and after exhausting the supplyof nectar for the time are off to the couutry to seek for more. They may ~ e described as birds at the mercy of CIrcumstance-here one day, gone the next, asit were. During t11e 1(',Qurse of the yearthey move. round the country very extensively, each district being visited inturn and they seem to breed in any suitable 'place when s'pring comes upon them.The rasella and other kinds of parrots arcbirds that 3100 roam. though not to thesame extent as those species, which arealmost entire1y dependent upon a supplyof nectar for their food. When thel natural food supply of the parrots becomesRenrC'''' n ,diet of frnit is often n ~ s u r t e d to.the birds making raids on orchards or gardens for the T'lllrnnse. and i t is because orthi::; thnt they :U'p bnk('fl npon with ;:TIneh

d i s f a , ~ o r by some frllitgrowers.Other Nomads_

Birds of the j'Jigeon tri:be are notoric,us wanderers as is ins,tanced by theeasp of two or three mainland varietiesnf'rur!"tng m Tasmania. from time totime. So are martins. and to someextent. swallows, though these speciess u b j ~ c t to seasonal mlgra,uon aswell. and cannot. clorrectly speaking. heclasserl as nomadic migrants. But.strangely enough the swift, whichvisits us from Japan. combines in avery marked manner examples of bothregu1ar and nomadic forms of migration. Its lengthy journeys from landswell above the {'quator h, the extremesouth of Tasmania and back againthe f('l1owing season. which compel ustn admire thiR wonderful flyer. is oneof the best and most advanced examplesof, regular migration; its cc.nstant w'an'":."erintre on the wing in search of foodduring the time it is with us in the

Bummer also render i t an outstandingspe-cics of t.he nomadic class of feR thered migrants.Other nomads of tbe avian world arethe little white-eyes. gronnd 1ark. cbats.n&tive hens and slome varieties of thehoney'nters. Swans and ducks are veryirrelimlar in theIr habits, for they winbe found in thousands on a swamp oneyear; and then for no apparent reason(2)

they will desert it. During the periodof a drought in one par,t of the countrythere is an extensive IDlovem.ent in progress to o t h e r s ~ and at such times weSE'e birds in our districts that perhapshave never come before. When thereis a dry spell in Victoria or New Sc.uthWales, for e:x;ample, as there is from timeto tim, many kinds of water blrd8,ducks e ~ p e c i a l l y , migrate southward. toTasmania and flock to the marshes andlaglool1s there where they feed, A t thattime nomadic migration is a t its height.and mnny interesting things can blP. observed by the outdoor ornithologist.Such birds as the black magpie, eagleand jay, seem to be fairly stationaryin the hills, h o w e v e t ~ cold i.t is, far theirforJd supply is not affected by the wint { ' l ' to the same extent as that of insectivorous or granivorous birde; but attimes, even these are compelled to moveas the food may fluctuate. and comedown to the lowlands close to bumanhahitation during spells of unusuallyinclement weather, hastening bark again,however, as Soon as easier climatic conditions reCur. This also applies towhi.te and black cockatoos ,which arf>usually only to be seen away fromtheir wlldnesses when severe weathp.l'drives them to the open country.

Movements of RobIn .Were it not for the fact that we arein possession of a certain amount ofevidence lof their regular movements,I might refer to the robins as otherblrd!1l with nomadic tendencies. But. a ~

,It gf'llf'ral rule, the robillB move from thehIghlands to the lowlauQs, and vice versa,fit r e g l l l a l ~ periods of the year. [ , t hasheen observed that at the approach ofwinter the birds leave their haunts inthe mountains, which they have inhabitf!d an the summer, and make 'dc.wn the'tul1lcs to the warmer regionb on the( ~ a ~ t E ' r n coalSt. where they stay for twoor thrE'e months of the year. Then,


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTwe have evidence of a distinct infiuxof ,the birds in eastern. coastal district.

What we Learn.fhe study of the nomadic movementsuf birds is to the naturalist highly a t 1 active, as i t is from such migratioJlI.hat the wonderful flight.. of the swift.t.he curlew, the turnstone, and goldenplover, which literally travel from polet(.o pole have originated. Ordinary seaMonal migration has sprung from it aswell. Furthennore, i t goes to prover.hat the great initiating cause CIf allmigratioH was food. That, of course, iaHtill the underlying motive of today,ror hirds, in order to secure a proper

diet, not merely for themselves, but fOl"their yc..ung, travel the wide world tortnd H. Tha t is why so many millionsHock to the tundras of Siberia and)oJ"orth America every year to nest. Theylilld there -absolutely countless hordell ofmosqUitoes and insects ou the edge of the.

~ I 1 u " ' , as well as berries and other fruits,

and have only ,to open their beaks to"et a meal. ThSe nomadic migrationsr e J . l r e s c n ~ iIlCipient migratU,on in the pastwhicl:: never developed in these speciesor their ancestors to any greater extentthan what we now witness. But, inthe great majority of birds throughc..utthe world, the practice of migrationgradually became a function fraught withgreat importance -to avian life, and necessary eVen for the preSrvation of th,eraces. For it s origin We must 10vkback to a very remote past, when theglobe was subject to mighty climatic(:hanges and physical disturbances, withvast -alterations in the rela,tive level ofland and sea, and remarkable volcanicactivity; and such glimpses into theages are dear to the heaxt of everyscientist. At whatever period of theworld's histury the migration of birdscommenced there cannot, however, beany other conclusion but that the under_lying cause of the movement was the failure of food supply. M. S. R Sharland.

Outlines 0/ Tasmanian GeologySECTION 17EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPESThere are t.hree types or landscapes.

' ~ ( ) m m o n in certain localities, but by nomeans usual when the whole s11rface of theglobe is c


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THE TASMANIAN' NATURALISTtions of rain bringing winds have littleeffect.

However they are caused deserts allpresent a peculair type of erosion. ~ h . eeff.ects of water are reduced to a mID i -mum and the effects of wind are increased and allowed full play. The actIve agents in wind erosion are the particles of sand blown against the rocks.In dry regio.n.s the rocks are worn awayby this rubbing. In time the softerportions stand out. Much of the northof South Australia consists of strata ofquartzite with some layers much harderthan the rest. These beds are tiltedat an angle of about 45 degrees, and thehard layers recur every five miles orso; also. they run parallel to the l i n ~ ofthe prevailing' wind. The soft portionshnve been worn ont by the wind carriedsand and these hard layers now standout as walls 20 to 100 feet high, andrunning for miles across country. Thisis Quite a common feature o.f desert topography.

As the wind has more cutting powerjust above the ground level, where .itssand content is highest, isolated hIllstend to become cut away at the baBe,and thiR very sharp featured, or evenRomE'what m.Hthrc.om shaped. F o ~ m sare given which water could nevet' glve.These precipitolls s i d ~ s and. shape facesare always on the slde facmg the prevailing wind, the leeward being uneroded and gently sloping. A landscapedotted with hills all shaped in this way,and with the gently sloping sides all poil.'.ting in the same direction, is a certaill mdication of past desert erosiM. Notani\' do the 80lid rocks become worn bythe" sand. bllt also loose boulders andpebbles are a!feeted. They become f a c e ~ed into irregular faces and polished, moreso on one side than another. These peculiar features of the desert are termed"Gibbers" in Australia from the nativename for a stone, and are very typical.Great accumulationR of wind blown rockfragments, termed "laess." ire another mdieation or dry localities.

Lakes and Marshes_A lake indicates an "a.ccidAnt" in thedevelopment of the la.ndscape. A mooment's reflection will satisfy anyone thatwatAr erosion, working as it does gradu.ally back from the river's mouth coul,lnever hollow out a lake basin. To do

JlO would require the river at some stageto run uphill. Further, lake. indicatethat the accident to the orderly cour8eof erosion has occurred in t.he not fardistant past. The exilltence of lakes is

ephemt'ral. Rivers may soon either cutaway the dam empouudm.ll the lake orfill jt with silt.'fhe c o m m o n e ~ t cause of tht: formatI.onof lake basins is ice action. A glae.lerscoops hollowB in t ~ c r o c ~ s o ~ E : ' t ' \ ~ . h 1 C hit passes in a way I m p o S S l h ~ e for \ ~ a t ~ : .Also a glacier drops all Its mm ~ l I a lload, where i t melts. This very o ~ t c nforms a dam of rocks and c.lay rIghtacross its valley. When the Ice m e l t ~water accumulates in the hol1ws, t h n ~formed as lakes, Most of the I m I ? o r t a l ~ tlakes in the world \vere formed In t l l 1 ~way. All in Tasmania, with the exception of Lake Tibel'ias, Lake Dulverton,Gl'imes's Lagoon. and perhu-ps L J ~ ( 'Crescent and Lake Sorell are due to I C l ~action so are the great lakes of North .ern America, Russia and Siheria. ~ h enext important method of lake formatlO'nis by a relatively rapid a l t e r ~ t i o n of leveldue to earth movements. EIther a H o ~ kof land sinks into what is called a nftvalley, and as a result portion is left" basin with no outlet. The salt andmud plains marked on the maps of f'us-tralia is Lake Torrens, Eyre, Gardmer,and others in South Australia; a l ~ o thegreat lakes ()f Central Afriea. and theBlack and Caspian Seas, are so formedOr portion of the l a n d s c ~ p e m,ay be ':IP-lifted, and at the same tIme shghtly tlltpd. this again interfering with drainalle,Lake Tiberlas and Lake Dulverton. andthe swalnpe at Mona Vale and Cress:\'are due to this cause,I,akes may also be formed by ' otheraccidents such as the blocking of a valley by lava flow, and small ones evenby a landslip. Again, a river may buildi t . bed up so high that tributaries calloot reach it as is done in N.W. Victoriaand along the Darling, or the sea windsmay block a river's mouth with sanddumes, as at the mouth of the Murrny, and many river mouths in Tasmama.although strictly Rpeaking there are morearms of the sea than lakes.Mnrshes are merely regions formed ina similar way to Jakes, but either not soperfectly formed or nearly obliterated byriver erosion or derosition of sediments.One common illusion must be dispelledhere. I t is often said that vegetationmay fill in lakes, and Lake Tiherias, withits weed-covered surface is instanced asnu example. This is a fallacy. Vegetation cannot grow in water over about6 feet deep, with the exception of smallaquatic plants which would not help materially to fill a lake basin. Plants donot cover a lake's surface until the water


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTlevel has been reduced by other c i r ' c u m ~stances almost to vanishing point. Lake'l'iberias is a reed-covered marsh and nota lake. Marshes, butter-grass plains, peatbog's, etc., are typical of glaciated COUI1-try. and owe their origin to similarcauses in glacial lakes.

'rhi. brings to a close our all readyuver-Iong chapter In. The maiu agencies at work developing our landscape havebeen pointed out. All possible sxamplescannot be given, but every. form exceptperhaps the desert, can be observed I I ITasmania. I t is only necessary to lookabout you during any bush walk to ' seepumbers of the phenomena describedabove. The student should, after mastering the principles 0. landscape development, pau&e during his walk and sayto himself, t.o what agencies were theselcatufes 1 see before me due? This study01 physiography IS the basis of praclI'cal geology, and the most important partor uur subject. The student should ma.ster it before proceeding further.

The writer would have pl'eferred to placeexamples of the above described featuresill the text and in a hopedfor re-issueof these articles this will be done, but atthe present tiJne has i l0t allowed thecollection of aH the available examplesand a r-ea1SOuable choice cannot be made.Also these examples arc so numerousthat without a judicious selection theywould over.load and confuse the text.There is the additional reason that atpresent there is a contl'O"ersy as to whether our landscape is due to differentialtiiaL'J.se intrusion followed by erosion ofthe softer l'ocks, 01' wh,ether, as the writer thinks, it is due to subsequent blockfaulting. Until this point is definitelyagreed upon many examples will be COIltl"Over::!ial. All that can be done here isto give a few examples of the features de!o:Icribed above in illustration. No attempt is made to give a full list.The effed of l'ise and :all of the land01 ' the level of the sea may be observedalong all the lower levels of our l'iverl:i.Our harbol's are mostly drowned valleysworn out by water and then flooded bythe sea. The flooding has caused the deposition of sediments high up in the estuaries wher- the current IS now checked.The Den\oent. Huon, Tamar, and Jler'l5cyare fine examples of drowned valleys.\Vhell the sea WaB much lower during ther,ecellt lee age the l ' i v e l ' ~ cut these valley-t!. :N{)W they l'annut carry th-eil'I:ledimellts beyond Bridgc-water, Frallklin,

Launceston, and Latrob2, ':""'hel'e extensivemud flats and flood plains are now beingsuperimpoesd on the old valley floor.In many places a subsequent partial re juvenation may be seen to be commencingand these and most other rivers can be8eell cutting through their flood plainsof river gravels. This is especially noLceable on the Derwent between .Macquarie Plains and New N orfo]k, where oldtiood plains consisting of the typical riverconglomerates are standing many feetabove the high

c ~ ) U r s e of erosion above it , and given POl' tlons of the valley appearances of maturity. \Vhen the river has cut throughthem it has cut through the Hood plain.sdeposited higher up, 'Vhen the SouthEsk cuts through the hard diabase ba,'at the Cataract Gorge it will deepen it supper reaches very quickly in the Bofterrock further south.. The bulk of 'Va.smania's drainage isI I I the youthful stage. In fact, Tasmaniapos-sesses an area of juvenile drainage inexc-ess of tha t found in mOBt parts of theworld. With the e x ~ e p t i f ) n of the largestI'Ivers, the drainage is in tha earlieststages. This points to the conclusiontha.t. water has not long been at workerodmg our present lands-cape. :Most ofonr creeks are mere mountain torrents,and largely depend on :lCtual ra.infall fo rtheIr continllanc>e. Waterfalls and lakesare very common, and the exist-ence ofmany inJand cliffs, apart from water

c O ~ l r s e s a n ~ glaciated CCllutY'y supportstIllS cOnCh1.Slon. A Boft rock-like sandstone WOUld. not stand 33 a cliff duringmany geologICal ageoS, and these cliffs ilrecommon aB over the country, Good examples eXIst behind Lindi.:sfarne and Hisdon, on Mt. Faulkener. and south ofNew N(}rfolk.The rivers such as the Derwent HuonGordon, King, Pieman, Al'thul' n{wkg]!s, BIyth, Forth, ~ f e r s e y . Sout'h Esk,' andRmgaroocn.a have reached a somewhatwore mature stage. But even these aremere]y a series of deep reaches separatedbJ; rapids. None Rife strictly navigable.Rlve-r,s with as much water as these inEngland, France or Germany would beg ~ e a t internal trade routes. But still theserIvers are in a more advanced stage thanmere youth. The writer suspects thatriver erosion has not been entirely responsible for the development of thetopography of these valleys. They are proba,bly due to large block fault., and vhet ' h ~ e r s have found courses in them s o m e ~


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'tHE TAsMANIAN NATURAi.1S1'what ready made at a fairly m.ture stage.The streams have been at work for a considera:ble time, and have further mouldedthe contours. Thus these wide valleyshave the characteristics of landscapes a-pproaching maturity. but as SOon as youmove ou.t of them the drainage is in thefirst stages of youth. This gives us adouble set of l


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'.tBE TASMANIAN NATURALISTwe must find out what kinds of rocksoccur, and - how they differ from eacho.ther. We must then discover why theyoccur and account for these differences.This is the intensive part of our subject.\Ve turn from the broad form of theJandscape to the minute structure of eachportion of it , from, as it were, the telel:ieope to the microscope, but always rememberillg that as geologists we are ll?tiutcl'ested ill structure of rocks for Itt:!eIf hut as an assistance to, as a proofof ~ u r theories of the origin of ourlandscape.

Differences in Rocks.III cxuuunmg two lneces or rock they.. JI i \'ery I.Hteu be lOUllU to oe dlttel 'ent.LI:'IUdU): tl1J8 will be suthelently marked(.u ue UH::iLenllble by the eye a t onee..llll.'t:!e Ulnerences are ultfCl'enCes ofc;elleJ.'dl ul>pt:!aI'UIlCC--su'ucture, haruu,e::l.s,LOiUJ.', leel tu the touch or lUestl'e. l ' 1 H ~

U t l l l S ~ ut (iIllCl'Cllce.s may be due to dulCl'eut,;C.s H l compml1tioll 01 ' in Illode o.ilUrUHlLlOll . having determined thel;


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'tHE TASMANIAN NATURAL1STwhich have been altered from those theyolllce possessed. The original rock mayhave been igneous or sedimentary, andthe change may vary 11'0111 a tllight h a l ' d e n ~lUg to a complete cJlange of chenucal compooition, and structure to a ll extent whichobliterates all idea of the original type."Metamorphic" indicates heat as the chiefagent of this change. The term "schistase" is unsuitable as many metam-orphi.trocks do not _possess this characteristic.But a's has peen said, rocks are termedeither igneouB, sedimentary, or metaplOrphic, according to certain' defined r u l e ~and quite independently from the meaning of the words which are now technicalterms. Mineralogy.

Before we can proceed to cla..saify r..>cktypes we must study their characteristicsminutely. The portion of our sciencewhich do.. . this is called mineralogy, I tclassifies the minerals which tO$ethermake. up the rock. Mineralogy has developed into a science of its own, andrequires mUlch equipment, such as micro

s ~ o p e s , and ordinary laboratory service:;.I t is quite beyond the scope of the!olcarticle6 to delve into thi..s wide and fascinating study. All that can be atte:npted here is to give a classification of themore important rock-forming minerals.This must be done as much of our laterclassification of rock types depends .:mthe presence or abseThl'e of certain common minerals. \-Ve must eaU on the specialised knowledge of the mineralogist togi\'e us what assistance he ean to determine the origin of our rockt-!, informatiollgained by the intensive study of the chat"actel'istics of the vnrioUls component partsof our rock.

SECTION 19MINERALOGY

Rocks are made IIp of collectlolH!I ufmineral particles in all indefinite mixt Ul'eof crystals or grains varying greatly i llSize, shape, and chemical compmdtion.Some few rocks are made up of grainsall of the same mineral, a greater numbel' consist of grains of twn distinctmineral species, but the majority of l'OCkHure a mixture of three or more minerals. The rocktype depends OI l tht'type of these constituting minerals, andthe mineral type gives an indication a t ;to the conditions under ,vhich the rockwas formed.HA mineral is a body produced by theprOCE'sse! of inorganic nature, having a

u e f i n i t ~ chemical composition., and If1Ol'med under iavoraole conditions, acer'LillIl ehara


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THE: TASMANIAN NATtJRAUS1'Therefore a crystal is not somethingrare and striking, but the normal condi-tion of inorganic matter which has scliditied from a gat> or liquid, and all r o c k ~so formed are an interlocking network of

crystals, and each crystal is a definitemineral. Other rocks consist of mineralsbroken from their parent formation, and1 e-cemented together later. Again, othercrystals of the same or different m i . n ~ r a lmay be insinuated amongst the ongmalcrystals subsequent to their formation.

Formation .. Crystals.All liquids in nature consist of a mix'ture of m()re than one element (mercury.a very rare element in nature. being

an exception). Certain elements haveaffinities for others with which theycombine in accordance with definitechemical lawe and form chemical com-pounds, which on crystallisation. gi\eus mineral species. Differen t nuneralsmelt a.t dlfferent ternperatt.res (c.f., ice,lead iron, and asbestos), and i t ff that solid will be deposited.An alteration in the composition of theliquid, or iiB temperature, wHl alter thesaturation point (some things can bedissolved by hot water tha t cold waterwili not atl'ect).Now imagine a liquid made up ofmelted rock in which are certain elp-rnents which commonly compound intothe minerals. A, B, and C, and whichmixture is gradually cooling. As thetemperature ckops Cl point will be reached at which either one of the mineralsfreezes or the liquid becomes satt:..ratedwith one of them and deposits particlesof it. Probably both processes will beproceeding as to different minerals atthe' same time. In both cases small ~ m 1 i dp:trticles of this mineral win be formedin the mixture. I f it remairu; liquidlong enough these particles wili growit"! more of the minocal .substance is

; ~ d ( k d by the effect of the cooling, andwill form crystals. The withdrawal ofthl'.se substances will alter the composition of the liquid. This may caUiSe the]IH'l'i111tation or crystallation of anothermilleral who:;,e crystals will grow alongside the t ir8t. T1' the mass remainsiiquirl long enot,/:.;h every particle will( t ' y s t a l l j ~ e ollt 11I:n proper miJwrllJ,and the whole will be an illter:lo('kcdmass of C'l":t-Itals of (lifferent minerals. I tfollows that the {'ompound,s predomInating in the liquid :lDd those whieh

solidify at the highest temperatures willcrystallise out first and the other min-erals will grow round the first fOll:nedcrystals and in the interstices betweenthem. also the lower levels will be rich('st in the mineral that first ('rystalli8eJ:!owing to the sinking of the crystals .and to precipitation of the minet::u.1. If themixture is 80 compounded that in spiteof different times of commencement each'mineral fimshes crystallising at the sametime, which must be at the same in-stant as the disappearance of the lastdrop of liquid, the' minerals are


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTawl give a great variety of figures. Forthe shapes of these figures the readermust consult a text book of mineralogy,as a discussion of them "is impossibleexcept at great length and. with thea.id of a multitude of figures and dia?;rams. The determination of a mineraluy its cl'Ydtallogl'uphic: forlll is often (hf- ..tlcult and very rarely t.:sed in practice,the forrm having been worked out fo rall known minerals, and is more easilyascertained by reference to a text book

than by actually working it out frOInthe princ:iples of cl'ystallography.Beside3 these possible forIns, othersarc introduced by the habit pos:-ressedby crystals of certain minerals of twinning, t Int is , of growip.g together illpair;:; 01 ' more numl::!1'OUS aggregates.Many minet:dlli adopt very characteristict\o,.'in fOl'llls by whieh they can be distinguished. A. N. Lewis

Life of the SwallowOf all the slimmer migrants who regulal'1y visit our shores, p e r h a l J ~ nOlle afford th e lover of bird life 60 muchpleasure as the swallow.The arrival of the first swallow stirsthe pulse vf every lover of ~ a t u r e , recalling as i t does, perhaps, certain pleas_ant memories, and impresses llPOll us thefact that summer-or a t any l 'ate tnemontht3 termed by courtesy summer-ISalmost upon us, while the departure of

the beautiful bird warns us of the depressing fact that another winter ifldrawing on. It is , of course, generallyknown that some individuals allow theirmigratory impulses to lapse and re,mainwith us right through the year, as de..some of the cuckoos and other birds affect.ed uy migration; but the great bulkof the swaUows go away, usually to NewSouth ""ales and Queensland. at the approach of winter.It is not the beauty of the swallow

ulone that attracts our attention, but! ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ! s ' ~ i ~ d ~ : ~ i t ~ e n e t n ~ ! : r b t t ~ a d : ~ ~ ~ ~for he often shares wi th us the housewe liVe in, and claims the Drivilegesof a welcome guest during his too shortI-ltay; and he is well entitled to ourlove and protection, for, being a purelyiut':lf'ct feeder, the amount of e;oCJcl hedoes is incalculable.

Designed for Flight.None of our bird v i ~ i t o r ' S are moreadmirably and beautifully designed for

~ o : ~ ~ ~ d t ~ ~ n ~ ~ ~ f l ~ ~ l \ ~ ~ ~ e t ; h ~ ~ e t l ~ x : e ~of wing go's to show what an impCJrtant lJart this member plays in the lifeof the bird. On the other hand, theircomparatively small legs go to provewhat a t;maIl proportion of work theyare t:aIled upon to perform. For pra


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALisTness of swallows has been recordedfrom Ceylon. In this CRse the birdsbuilt over a lamp in the dining-room.","hat made their choice of site more re.markable was the fact tluit the lampeonld be raised vI' lowered by counter

w ~ i g h t s and the connecting chuinlS actu-ally passed through the mud walls ofth e nest.The determina.tion with which thep:.wallow returns to it s old nesting placea.stonlshina;. An instance came under the writer's notice in which a pairof these birds hatched out a broodof Y O U ~ ones three years in succession;each year the nestlings were killed bya cat, yet the forth yeaI' the old onesreturned to nest in the same place.Similarly. if a householdel" should destroy the nest of a pair that may have.:elpcted an inconvenient place to b u i l d ~ 'the birds, with astonishing tenacity, willtry oVet:' and over a,ga.in to rebuild it .

M gration of Swallows.The swallow is for most Deople a provecbial migrant, and scientifically itserves as a useful type. Ib: almostcomplete absence in winter makes thefact of its migration obvious to all, andalthough much is known of the . bird'l!!movement!:i. it rE!mains true that the ordinary observer can seldom note moret.han its annual appearance and dis'appearance One day in early spring oue

01.' two are noticed flying about, then !l Omore will be 6een for some days. Againa few appear. and the numbers gradually increase till the locality has it s

full complement for the summer. Inthe busy months that follow, two 01 'occasionally even three broods are rear_p.d, and then the time of departure isat h,and. This is heralded by muchactiVity and excitement, and the birds( ~ o n g r e g a t e sometimes in immenseflocks, and, together with their young,leave for the warmer northern lands.At other times they travel northward:;:in small bands, and as they move during the daytime as well as at night,migration may often be seen in pro_gress. In the midlands the wrIter hasoccasionally observed l,arge num uerRpat3li1ing in a n o r t h ~ l y dIrection, in mostcases all being bunched, and in others.,strung out in a long line perhaps several mile's in length. The swallow u ,,-uaIly arrives in Southern Tasmalliaabout July to September, and depart,again somewhere about April. On theEast Coast, a.s well as round Hobart.odd pairs m'aY be seen all the yearround.

According to Scandinavian traditwll,the Mwallow ,hovered over the Cross,crying HSvala! Svala!" (Console! Consol-e!) whence it derives its name "swallow" (the bird of consolation). Ourown name for the bird is derived fromthe AngloSaxon word swa.Iewe. l'raclition still clings to the swallow, happily. It is c o n ~ i d e r e d lucky to have aswaUow build about the house and unIUt'ky to kHI the bird-the personifi~ a t i o n of avi:an beauty.M. S. R. Sharland.

A Cave 0/ the AboriginesP,trt way dOWll l l } l - ~ steellly slopingsides of Sisters Hills is situated a fairlylal'ge ca ye whieh is of grea t interest !Olits plain, yet unwritten history te11s thuobsel'ver that i t was once the strongho)dof some tribe of OUl' abol'igines. I t musihave made a splendid winter refuge forthem, where, \,,'arm and dry, they ( ~ o l l h ldefy the fiercet!t of the winter's e a s t e l ' l i ~which swept along the N Ql'th'Vest Coust. The cave is situated l'OUg]lly aobut 200 feet above "the 8ea, to \\'hicha. precipitous path leads, ending ill a narrow fringe of l'o(;k amI pebble-.;;tr(>wllbeach. The WCll'd beHl'h is almost a l l l i6-Homer to the tillY ~ t r i ] > of l e \ ' ( ~ l . d l O r ~ ~ .Here the l'ucks J'Ull Ollt under the sea, awlbetween mallY of thet5c (lallgerous l'f:'ei'sthe sea. Hool' ~ a l j ( l y _ Frolll i I 8twly of the

c o a ~ t l j n c allci an illtlpediull of the ill-(11)

llumerable small midden heaps Oll theHat to the Tear of Sisters Beach, one ( 'OD-dudes that the summer days were spell ti l l the open and that when the cold wea,'ther prevailed a resort was made to thf'cave.The po,sition of this cave is so secludedlhat it is almost unnoticeahle except forsmall opening showing as a dark linebreaking the face of the cleft between thetwo spurs of the hill. Facing the. eastit received the early sun, whilst the t w ~ npeaks of Sisters Hills, 900 feet high, formed a protecting wa.ll from the cold southand also westerly winds. I t ~ ! r n o 6 t$eemcd as if Nature with protective carehad formed this natural retreat for herlllliutol'cd children.The opening of the ,cave l'esembles amouth with the lips pUl'seu to one side.


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'tHE TASMANIAN NATURALIsTSome of the edges of the rooks are worninto the profile of a blackfellow'. fae. -the symbol of the cave's utilitarian hig.tory.Above its brows} the windbeaten GiantBanks-ia clings-storm-twisted into grobasque shapes-appearing in age the equa.of the hms. U llder the banksias is nowgrowing a tangle of heath, creek wattle.Bwordgraesea, h a k e a ~ with an occasionalplant of the graceful-leafed wild parsley.November is the month to see the cavein a beautiful St!ttillg, when the scarletbeIls of the Blandfordia add . . brillianttouch of oo1ar to the many irey roen efthe hillside.

The entran.ce is under the shelvingbrows} barely three [eet high, and COlltinues downwards in a. .slanting directionfor a few feet when it opel16 into So largevault-like room. As soon aB the eyes b ~come focussed to the faint daylight thearched r o o f ~ l'unning up to 20. ft . in heightcan be made out. This is of ea.rth, andin many places clumps of green mOBS adda tone of the outside world to the smokedarkened walls. A shallow, perennialstream of clear, icy water issues from ahole in the ial' end, and running over apebbly bed for abou t 14 feet, disappearsflowing underground until far below. a1I l lOst at beach level, i t emerges into daylight.Inside the ca vc a large mound of softeal'th slopes UP\Vtll'lU3 from the c r e t : ' k ' ~edge, making u fitting resting place furweary limbs of llUutet'8 or shell-fish cotlettors. So sheltet.ed from th e weather it!this cave that pOl:!sibly it ill ;l.lmostthe same cOlltlition when the lust.aborigine trod its floor.

At the far en


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST

A Bush RambleI went a very interesting walk on a

recent Saturday up Lenah Valley, andturned up a new road that has beenmade towards Glenorchy. I went forabout a mile and a h a l f ~ and found onthe wav the following plants of interest.Ii"iretly' there was the beaut.iful silverwattle (Acacia dealhater) in great profusion the bloomS! were at their best. Iti , the bestknown of all tI,e wattles. Theprickly wattle (Acacia verticillata)just coming out, and win soon be Howeriug weiI. The black wattle I only 8.1.Wone tree of, and, of course. it is not flowNing. but i t will be a picture, all b e i n ~we11, in December. The myrtle-leavedwattle was also flowering well, also theplough-shaped leaved wattle (Acacia\'omeriformis) was growing well an d flowering nice1y. I t only grows about onefoot high. and it iB very pretty with the.halls of flowers here and there along thestem. Acacia diffusll was also making a\'el'y fine show of flowers, al l of thesehaving been written about in a previousissue.

The wild cherry. or nath'e cherry (ExocarlJllR c n p r e s ~ i f o r m i s ) is \-ery plentiful inthat part. I t has a yery smaII flower .) f:t cream color, which later on developBinto the well-known fruit of a 10ngish

s h a p e ~ with the seed at the far end, andon the outside of the fruit. This is~ o o d to eat, and when I was mueh younger I was able to pick enough of thisfruit to make into jam. The ja,m thusmade was very nice, though i t would havebeen hetter if as much water as fruithad been used. as i t was very stiff andcandy-like. This kind of tree does notgrow easily in the open or i f transplanted, though one will often be seen in theopen, through being left when clea!'ingthe land. The foliage is something likea cypress, and in color i t is of a gol1:.molive green. Another interesting plantis the Pultenaea daphnoides, with itsleaves something like a shield, with thebig end furthest away from the s t ' l ~ i ~ ,and in the centre of the large end is asharp point. I t will be flowering witha br.ight yellow pea-shaped flower aboutthe end of October. I t grow. up to Wfeet or more under good conditions. Theflowers are mostly in a dense terminalheMl. This plant is to be found invery many places in Tasmania. The ~ r u i tis a pod, and therefore it belongs to th.?family Leguminosae, as do aU the Aa-sias. Another of the same family is

(13)

the Hovea heterophylla. I t has a \ ' e r ~ 'pretty blue pea-shoped flower, and onlygrows a few inches high, the leaves be lUg up to neady an inch long. I t isflowering now, and wilI he found indry, poor 1and. Another of the s a ~ ejfti\mBy in flower at the present time IHthe Daviesia alicina. or . as i t is sometimes called, nath-e gorse. "\vhich iF; ratheta good name, as i t is coyered with yeryfharp prickles of various lengths, an dwould be \'en harder to get throl1gh thaJlthe imported variety of gorse. Thetio\.vers are very many. smaH, pea-shaped . and a bright yellow. Thif.: plalltgrows up to three or four feet in height.There was also the black cutting graSFi(Gahma radu]a) in small lots. This cutting graf3S is only a small variety. Theleaves are long and the edges are like asaw. The teeth along the edges of theJeu 1S are \ ~ e r y s h a r p ~ and would cutdeeply int-O the hand if drlt'wn carelesslyalong them. Another plan-t, or tree, isthe banksia. I t grows into a fair-sizedtree, and has pretty sweet-scented yellow flowers, shaped like a bottle brush.I t belongs to the family Proteaceae, whenlarge enough in the tree the timber fromit is very finely figured, although piecesdf timber from i t are never very large.The bracken fern is also growing weB,though the land is poor. Bracken fern(Pteris aquiHna) grows from a root

s t o c k ~ whieh has a trailing habit underthe ground, and sends up fronds everyhere and t"here. In good, rich groundthis fern grows up to nine and ten feethigh. In poor ground it is stunted itswings are spread like an eagle, w h e n ~ e itgets its descriptive name.Of the eucalyptus family, the Eucalyptus obliqUd, or "stringy bark," knownwhen cut into timber and seasoned asTasmanian oak, was only growing insmall trees in this district. There werealBo small glue gum. (Eucalyptus globulas), which is BO wen-known everywhere;also Eucalyptus viminoliis, the white

~ u ~ . This particular variety'"s infant, orj l lUlOf leaves, especially after a tree ha,sbeen cut, are. of a wedge shape, and set~ x a . c t 1 y OPPOSIte on the stems; their color18 a green tinged with red. These treeswhen grown show very pretty markingsand colorings in bark; a.Jso the

E l ; l C a ~ y p t u s Amydabna, or peppermint, isgrOWIng well. Among the orchids wefou.ud. Diuris sUlphurea, or dragon's head.Thl8 18 a vet'y fine and beautiful orchid


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTof a bright yellow calor and brown spots.I t has several flowers on a stem, and is

s o m ~ t ' h i n g like a monkey-face, or something like a skull. Another was aPterostylis, one of the green helmet Of-chids without horns. Both of these werefairly plentiful. Goodenia Qvata, sometimes called parrots' food, is to be foundthere also, but it is not yet in flower.I t has a flower something like a pansy.and bright yellow in color, and this variety will grow up to a'bout fifteen feethigh. DogwoodI'! were also growing atthe beginning of the walk; Pomaderriselliptiea, also Pomaderris apeta,Jo. Thesf"dogwoods will grow (when in good soil

and dense forest, such as at NationalPark) very tall and straight, and some'times called in various places n a t h ~ e pear.This walk will be found very interesting to anyone who is at all a lover ofNature, and as the spring advances to-wards summer, the Eucalyptus trees, withthe- young leaves on them, which are ofa red and. yellow col or, are a magnificentsight. One can imagine all the eolol'sof the rainbow when looking up at theside of one of the hill. which are coveredwith them. The whole distance was notmore than two miles from thfl E'ud of theLeuah YaIlej' tram line. J, C, Breaden.

Milligania Lindoniana.Long years ago in the history of thisState, Whf'll the outskirts of civilisationwere mainly populated by men who hadleft theil' c:ountry for their country's

~ o o d , the authorities of the day thoughtI t would be an excellent measure to forma natural detention area for really badcharacters by locating them in apparentlyinaccessible centres in the wild WestCoast. l\laequarie Ha.rhor was chosen forreasons which do not concern us at present. There were many good and ablemen associated with this undertaking;perhaps none more so than Dr. Milligan.This worthy doctor did much to storeup knowledge of many SOl'UJ in the inter-es t of those who should come after him.One of the excellent things which hedId was to make a collection of thestrange plants he came across in hisrambles. He submitted his collectionto experts, among whom was Sir J.~ o o k e r . The collection contained. be

~ I d e s . I.nany o.thers, Borne very interest-IIlg lilies. whICh differed from any otherm e m . h ~ r s of this family. Hooker. in recogmbon of the work done for science bvMilligan, did him the posthumous hono'rof naming the group Milligania.The Milligani'as have a wide distribution from Cradle :Mountain, Lake St.

(14)

CI'air, and. Hartz Mouutains on the eastright to the coast on the 'vest. A fewyears ago .Mrs. Lindon, whom it wouldbe diffi,cult to surpass as a chrewd collector, gathered on the high slopes ofCradle and Burn Bluti' ranges a Milliganin Lindoniana. new to botanists audwhieh shou1d receive the specific Bumeaccordingly. The distincti:on of thisfrom the) c'Ommoner form is 5Ilight,but fra,irly eonsistent; it is smal1er.the indllmentum on the unuersurface of the leaf more closely oppressed, the pe-rianth lobes are narrowerand more aente. and the pistil is triquet-rous instead of being almost Bpherical. I tis always 'U matter of opinion what 8hon1.1be the amount of distinction to warranta form being considered a speeies. Asthis is largely arbitrary and more a mat-ter of convenience than a scientific fact.botanists of tell disagree on this point.The pla.nt we are considering -is vel'\'little removed from )I.i11igania d e n s i f l . o r ; ~ .but in the field it s appearanl'e ir; d . i ~ -tinct. 130 it convenient that it .,hnuldhun> a namp.

L, Rodway,


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THE TASMANIAN NATURALIST

Robert BrownThere iB no greater name aHsociated\vith early scientific i n v e s t i g a t i ~ n s in

Australia than Robert Browll. . Tne re_sults of his labors' were ISO Importantthat since his day few have equalled,and none surpassed them. During thefew years he was in Australia and Tasmania he laid the f o u n d f 1 t l O n ~ fo:, the,tudy o.f botany in these counrte.: Thel'est of his long life was SPi!ut. m Eng-land, and during that pel'io4 !le madethose discoveries through which he be-came to be recognised as ane of the firstmen of science this day.Robert Brown was born ,I t .Montrose,Scotland, in December, 1773. At a .veryearly age he demonstrated an aptitudefor the observation ;.) naturalphenomena. Before he, ~ a s t w e n t ~ y e ~ r sof age he made an ~ r l g m a l contnbutI?Dto the proceedings of the Natural HIS-tory Society af Edinburgh. After twoyears at l\larshischal College, Aherdeen,he went to Edinburgh to study rI l edicine.Whilst pursuing his mediGa1 studies,Brown managed to find time tr) ma.kE: ex-

tensive botaincal excursions ;nto theHighlands. I t was at this period of hislife that he trained himself iu makingthese extremely accurate observations, 80distinctive of his researches in later life.After leaving Edinburgh in 1795, join-ed a regiment in the capacit.y or assist-ant surgeon, and saw service in North[reland. A little later Brown's re-searches became known to that greatpatron of botany, Sir J o s ~ p h Banks.In ISOl M.thew Flinders was fitting

out the Investigator for a prolonged voy-age of discovery and marine ~ U l ' y e y inthe little-known Australian w ~ t e r 8 .Banks had by this time fouud that hisyoung p.rotege was a botanist '1 outstanding ability. He therefore tle{!UreU Hrownthe position of naturalist. His dutieswere f lat confined to an : n v e s t i ~ a t i o n ofthe flora, but "for the purpose (If ex-ploring the natural histo:y {amongstother things)." Ferdinand Bnuel', anAustrian, was appointed ,botanicaldraughtsman, and Peter Good, a galdener , was attached to the expedition as thekeeper of plants and seeds which Brownc o l ~ e c t e d . BaneI' was a :.nan posRl'8singemment talents and great induati'Y. Hisdrawings are marked for their graCE' andaccuracy, and he did invaluable serviceto Brown.

The expedition sailed from England in(15)

IJt:Ine, lS01, and reached Australian watersearly in December of the same year, ar-riving at Sydney o.n May 9, 1802, At\"al'ious places along the southern coastof Australia Brown had the opportunityof landing and making collections ande.bservations. After a voyage l ;P the

( ~ u e e n s l a n d coast, Brown left the com-pany of Flinders, who proceeded on thedisastrous voyage in the Porpoise. Brownthen took the opportunity of YlsitingTasmania. Through a curL..,us train ofcircumstances Brown witnessed thefoundation of Flobart, $lS he


16/16

THE TASMANIAN NATURALISTmountains and the rivers which descended from them. Table MountaIn (x)(the plateau of the French charts) whichin appearance and height gt'eatly resembles the tableland of the Cape ofGood Hope, I ascended ten times, andfound it uncommonly productive, lllCl8t ofthe new species of plants acqull'ed inVan Diemen's Land belonging to i t.

(x) Mount 'Vellington.Van Diemen's -Land is by no means eOrich in plants, and I expected to havefound It. Mt. Welling'ton. my tlorala. exclusive of cryptogramic plants, not CIQn-taining more than 540 speciel, of whichlittle more than 100 are nondescript. andof these I can hardly suppose that aJitreat pr&porUon have escaped theIc"rench in their repeated visits to t b i ~Quarter."I t is apparent that Brown was fa rfrom satisfied with the results of bis so_journ in Tasmania. This is not difficultto understand in view of limitationswhich were imposed upon ,him. Neverthp!ess we cannot but admire n man whomade ten trips on to the Mount WellingtCln plateau in the daYB when the slopes

were covered with dense scrub. and notrack eased the ('limb over the plou&'h.'rl field . " I t is probable that he l I" tQbserveu the red wara tah (Telopea truncata) on Olle of these expeditions. Thelist of plant forms which he was thefirst to describe is verY lengthy. butamong the welLknown Clues are blarkwood (Acacia rnelanoxylon), monntaingrasg trf>e (Richea dracophyUa), wax-berry (Gaulthera hi!pida), turquoiseberry (Rrymophile cyanocarha), nativegorse (Daviesia ulicina), native potato(Castrodia sasamoides), duck orchid

( ~ r y p t o s t y l l < o longlplia) and cranbury(Astoloma humifn08). In his position a ~naturaliRt. Brown had to extend his net i i t i e ~ to embrace iteology and zodlogy.the writer has so far been unable tc. flndany record of his C l b s e r v R . t 1 o n ~ on, or(';ollections of . rocks and mtnerals l l fthiR island. However_ 'le tells CulonelPaterson (Lieut.-Governor of the settlement at Port D a l r Y m D l , ~ ) in a letter that,"Of the SUDDoscd beasts l ' f orey uf theFrench I have DPither seen or heard anything." It is unfortunate that Bauer,the artist. did not visit Tasmania.

Brown returned to England in 1805 andat oUCe set' himself to compile his memora hIe work on the results of his inveitigations. His boc"k, a ~ was often

the custom, was written in Latin, andbears the imposing title. ProdomousFlorae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae VmlDlemen. This work laid '80 foundationfor a,n futUre investigations into Aus_traHan and Tasmanian plant life. Thewriter also general1y made a valuablecvntribution to botanioal science byadopting a system of classification ad

v a n ~ e d by A. L. de Jussieu.The rest of Brown's life was spent inactive research in the various departments of botany. From 1810 tlll 1820he was Hbrariall to Sir Joseph Banks.On the death of Banks he became keeperof the Banksian coUecUon. These wereremoved to the British Museum f&C,ID9

years later.In 1827 Brown made a very importantcontribution to p h Y B i c a ~ and chemicalscience. He found that by suspending'the spores of a club moss in water. andthen making a microscopic examina_tion. the small pa,rticles appear to b ~incessantly vibrating with a slow tremb_ling motiCln. This phenomena, which isknown as the Bruwnian IQovementhas since been observed in inorganicworld. Brown received recognitionworthy of his services. President ofthe Li.nnean Soeiety. 1849-53, D.e.I..,Oxon., 1832, Knight of the Prussian order. "Pour la merite," were among theorders bestowed upon him. No ~ k e t c hof his life or work would be cOlllpletf'without some description of his inspiring personality. A person who wasintimately acquainted with him says : -

"Those whu knew him as a man willhear unanimous te6timony to the unvary.~ n g simplicity, truthfulness, and bellevolence of his character. With an appearance of shyness and reserve- in thepresence of strangers. he combined anopen-heartedness in relation to his fa.miliar friends, and a fund of agreeablehumor, .never bitter or caustic, but always appropriate to the uccasion, thoutpourings of w-hich it was delightfUlto witness.

"But what distinguished above all othertraits was the singular uprightness ofhis judgment, whiCh rendered him on al ldifficult occasions an invaluable coun'sellor to those whv had the p.rivileg0of seeking his advice."

In an exalted position amongst thescieutists of his country, and with aninternational reputation, Robert Browndied in June, 1858.

tasnat 1925 vol1 no4 wholeissue

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