Piunde-Aunde and extends several hundred feet still further up the slopes. Many of the Olearias have been dead for some years and all that remains of them are the white-bleached main stems and branches. The mornings are almost hopeless for photography. Have been able to make pictures of very few of the principal plants. John, from route notes and fresh collections of yesterday's climb, is putting together an account of his visit to the summit. Thursday, June 18. Max. 13, min. 3.5 C. A light frost followed by an absolutely cloudless day; gusty breeze down valley from before dawn to about dark. No clouds to indicate wind direction away from the mountain, except the rather general filling of the Ramu Valley after about midday. Van and John, with three Chimbu guides, went to the top of Mt. Wilhelm. They could not have had a better day had they waited a year. Van left camp at 7:15, John about 1/2 hour later; the summit of the main peak was reached at 12:10. They got back to camp at 5:50 pm. A long day, and both had had about enough. The aneroid read 12,050 ft. when John left camp; top of the main peak was 14,950 ft. John also climbed the #2 peak (in 10 minutes from the main peak) and made it 14,900 ft. Van has copious notes on the climb, and a record of papers left in containers of various kinds by previous climbers of the main peak; John has a record of papers found on the 2nd peak. One of the guides fished out a sheaf of papers from some second hiding place on the main peak, and, unfortunately, these were brought back to camp by Van (for what it is worth, the finder of the papers, Petrus, promises to return them on his next trip up the mountain). A number of color photos made by Van (stereo camera) and John (with my Contax). Spent the morning working on collections on hand. Collected near camp in the afternoon, the bag including a Myrtus? plentiful as a tree in the forests hereabouts, a fifth species of Olearia, and a small-tree Sericolea which occurs only occasionally in the forests. Among 5 specimens of rats I bought from the natives was a somewhat molelike small dary mousey-grey thing which Van thinks is either Microhydromys or Para-hydromys. Paid the boy 2/- for it and asked for more. Friday, June 19. The day began as yesterday. But the breeze soon changed to up valley and heavy mist clouds lay on the upper part of the mountain most of the afternoon. At 5:45 pm. the mountain is hidden, our valley is mainly filled, and the Chimbu Valley and mountain to the east are misted in. The coldest morning we have had here (Max. 15, min. 3 C.) and a heavy frost on the grass. As I stood in the rays of the rising sun, I watched an elderly Chimbu emerge from the visitor's grass hut, clad only in his sporran of netted string hanging down the front. Picking his way gingerly over the frosty grass, he snapped a twig from a Styphelia bush, stuck it in the back of his belt, and was dressed for the day. Spent all morning preparing 28 numbers of plants brought from 14,700 ft. on the mountain yesterday. Mostly dwarf herbs of mat and cushion habit which took a lot of tedious picking apart. Collected near camp in the afternoon and in 1 1/2 hours got 13 numbers new to the collection. Included were the grassland 74