d I endeavoured to
ascertain whether the cod-perch (Gristes peelii) inhabited these waters.
Neither this fine fish nor either of the two others found in the streams
flowing towards the interior from the eastern coast range have ever been
seen in the rivers which reach the eastern shores; and I had now
ascertained that all the waters in which we had procured the fish in
question belonged to the extensive basin of the Murray. We were at length
on channels evidently distinct, both from those leading to the eastern
coast and those belonging to the basin of the Murray. The beds of the
rivers flowing to the east coast are chiefly rocky, containing much sand
but very little mud, consequently no reeds grow on their banks, nor is
the freshwater mussel found in them, as in rivers on the interior side,
which in general flow over a muddy bed and are not unfrequently
distinguished by reedy banks. Judging therefore from the nature of the
soil of this southern region, the fishes peculiar to the Murray might be
looked for in the rivers of the south, rather than those fishes known in
the rivers falling eastward. It was important to ascertain at least what
point of the coast separated the rivers containing different kinds of
fish. In these ponds we caught only some very small fry, and the question
could not be satisfactorily determined, although the natives declared
that none of them were the spawn of cod-perch.

It was no easy matter now to ascertain in what direction the waters of
the valley ran, but by the tendency of the hollows on each side they
appeared to decline in general to the left or northward. In proceeding on
our route, the heads of other similar ravines rendered our course very
intricate: to have been shut in between any such ravine and the river
must have been rather embarrassing, and seemed then almost inevitable. We
had the good fortune however to avoid this; and at length, keeping along
dry ground, a beautiful scene appeared on the left in an open valley
about two miles in width where the hills sloped gradually to the
confluence of two streams, brimful of water, which shone through some
highly ornamental wood. Both streams came from valleys of a similar
character; and beyond them I saw hills of the finest forms, all clothed
with grass to their summits and many entirely clear of timber.

PIGEON PONDS.

A bronze-winged pigeon flew up just as I discovered the stream and, as
this bird had not been before seen by us on th