182 BOTANY OF KING GEORGE's SOUND, 



land we saw between Java and Australia, was Christmas Island, which 

 we passed on . St. John's day. It is covered with small trees and 

 shrubs, but that is all I can tell you of its Flora. On the 6th January 

 we came in sight of Australia, close to Cape Entrecasteaux, about 100 

 miles to the west of King George's Sound ; and we came from thence at 

 about an average distance of five or six miles from the coast the whole 

 way to Bald Head. It was poor-looking enough ]— granite headlands, 

 often quite nalced ; when not so, covered with low brown-looking scrub, 

 interchanging with patches of white sand. The distant hills appeared 

 wooded ; smoke was rising here and there, and when night fell we saw 

 bush-fires blazing in many directions, and some of them of miles in ex- 

 tent. This was my first personal acquaintance with the bush-fire ; but 

 since I have been here, we have had them all round the town, and 

 Mount Clarence (which overlooks us), which was covered with flower- 

 ing shrubs when I landed, is now clothed in black sticks and ashes. 



Before I had been an hour on shore, I had (of course) picked up 

 Cep/mlotus, which is abundant in all the boggy ground I have yet 

 visited, and just now in flower. As the town is built partly on bog 

 and partly on sand-hills, I had not far to go for a specimen; MarcJimitia 

 polymorpJia was growing with it. On the sJiore, my first '' find"— also 

 immediately on landing—was the famous Fucus peniculns^ of R. Brown. 

 It is of all sea-plants the very commonest here, occurring all round the 

 shore at a depth of two or three feet, and being washed in abundantly 

 whenever it blows (as it does generally ten hours per day). The 

 plant grows always (so far as I know) on dead shells,— generally 

 single valves of Venus, or mussel and oyster shells. Now, is this be- 

 cause it wants lime, to manufacture its lime-coated stem ? and is it a 

 proof that seaweeds do imbibe nourishment from the rocks they grow 

 on ? There is no limestone at this side of the Bay. I have made a 

 sketch from a living specimen for future i 



omits many important characters. I have also found its sjfores, which 

 are remarkably large, and with very hard and tough coats. At first, 

 every little bag is filled with green matter, like that of Codium or 

 Bryoj)sis; afterwards this matter is wholly converted into spores, 

 which are discharged on the bursting of the membranous bag. As a 



* Oil the very day on which I received this letter, I had the opportiinitv of spcak- 



ing of it to Mr. Brown. His first remark was, " No douht he fouud Fucus peni- 

 culus, — Ed. -^ 



Sfunn 



