-72- The boys have a little sing-song in their bark hut every night. This evening it sounds especially carefree. Disturbance in the boys' quarters and a gun shot awoke me at midnight last night. A rare giant rat, Hyomys, shot by David. Thursday, June 4, 1953: Max. 22°, Min. 4.5° C. Clear A.M. Mist from ca. 12:30 to mid afternoon and some drizzle. After that high cloud drift from SW; in evening mist. Clear tonight. Spent day in camp working on collections and writing letters. Expected a mail runner before this. Rel. humidity 6:30 A.M. 93%, noon 66%. Friday, June 5, 1953: Max. 22°, Min. 5°C. The warmest morning for some time, followed by a clear day entirely without mist (the first we have had here, I think). Took lunch for a long day down in the beech forests and was only half a mile from camp when I met a Biniguni councillor and a carrier with a load of wheat meal, coming up the trail. They left Biniguni yesterday. Councillor opened a tobacco tin and presented me with a stiff note from Ken asking acknowledgement of stores which arrived two days ago. The bag of meal was not needed here. Took the opportunity to send down three bundles of dried herbarium specimens. Later in the beech forest zone at 2000 m. I collected my first Nothofagus for the trip. A magnificent straight thickboled tree which dominates the forest below about 2100 m. Phyllocladus grows to large size (about 4 ft. dia.) on ridge crests in this forest. The beech of the group with nuts solitary in the cupules, and almost certainly a new species. No previous record of the genus east of Kokoda Gap. Have recently seen a MS copy of Van Steenis' extensive treatment of the genus, in which 16 species are described for New Guinea, mostly from my earlier collections. I was the first to recognize Nothofagus in New Guinea back in 1933. A quarrel in the boys' camp last night. Subsided when I called a stop to it. Probably betel-nut had something to do with it. The first ruckus on the expedition. Saturday, June 6, 1953: Max. 21.5°, Min. 6.5°C. Rosy dawn over the eastern heights and a wild, cloudy sky. Strong wind from NE. Sun and cloud about 50/50 through day. Relative humidity 6:30 A.M., 94°; noon 67° (both clear sky); 5:30. Geoff and Van with 8 boys who had not previously been there, made the ascent of Maneau Peak. Left at 7:15 and returned 2:15 throughly sunburned. Poor visibility only Mts. Simpson, Suckling and Goropu could be seen from the summit. Their altitude for the top 2725 m. by aneroid. Van set 60 mouse traps in forested gullies within a few hundred feet of the summit. My day spent in camp working on yesterday's plants.