BOTANY OF KING GEORGE's SOUND, 181 



descriptions of my " Vanvoorstia?' and the new " Claudea"* and I 

 hope you duly received the letter; it was sent by the Governor's 

 despatch-bag through the Colonial OiRce. I left Ceylon on the 13th 

 December, and arrived here on the 7th of the present month. We 

 touched for a few hours only at Penang and Sincapore. At the latter 

 place I drove out to Dr. Oxley's country-house, very prettily situated a 

 mile or two from the town ; but unfortunately the Doctor was not at 

 home, and though I followed him to an institution where he was said to 

 be engaged, I missed him there by half an hour, and was then obliged 

 to go on board the steamer ; I left your letter for him, however. He 

 has a very pretty garden round his house, and several choice plants 

 therein ; and under a tree near the house were placed a considerable 

 number of Epiphytes, among which the PJtalccnopsis and some Mrides 

 were in blossom. Sincapore is beautifully situated ; and its many bays, 

 harbours, and small islands ought to afford good Alga ground, had ray 

 arrangements allowed my stopping. But I was anxious to be out of 

 the tropics, and to arrive in Australia before the summer was quite 

 past, and also to proceed by the steamer "Madras"— she being the 

 best on the line, and the one following being a small boat, crank, and 

 likely to be overcrowded. So I left Sincapore, and we steered for 

 Batavia. Here we anchored six miles from shore, and were prohibited 

 landing, as we only stopped to drop the mads, and were told we should 

 sail again in four hours. It so happened that we were detained eight 

 or nine hours by the slowness of the Dutchmen, but it was then too 

 late to land. It was Christmas day. Several native boats came round 

 us with fruits, etc., and I had thus the opportunity of eating Mango- 

 steens and testing their quality : after the very high praise I had lieard 

 of them, I was rather disappointed, but probably when eaten fresh from 

 the tree they may be better. It is a very delicate fruit, and notwith- 

 standing its thick rind, does not keep long without deteriorating. By 

 the way, I prefer a good English peach or a Jersey pear to aU the fine 

 fruits I have yet tasted in the tropics ; but I was not in the Mamjo sea- 

 son, and I am disposed to think favourably of the best varieties of that 

 fruit, from the raemoiy of having tasted one in 1839 at St. Helena. 

 The whole of the way from Sincapore to King George's Sound we had 

 contrary winds, and, though with engines of 270-horse power, had to 

 deviate'considerably to the westward of our proper course. The only 



■r.: 1 _..! .1 :k„j In thn nrpscnt volume of our Journal.— Ed. 



