J 18 Mr Kin^s Observations on the Climate 



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Sea-sickness, and the unaccommodating temper of the skip- 

 per, prevented me from keeping a regular meteorological jour- 

 nal by way of amusement, having instruments with me for the 

 purpose. In fact, these ignorant and intolerant shipmasters are 

 always displeased at any person, except themselves, making ob- 

 servations at sea; yet although it be the veriest drudgery in 

 science the keeping of such journals, I was nevertheless disap- 

 pointed by not being able to do so. 



I have had yet no opportunity of knowing from my own ob- 

 servation any thing of the geological structure of any part of 

 New South Wales. Around Sydney, however, and for sixty 

 miles at least on each side of it along the sea coast, appears to 

 be of the coal formation. The rocks, which rise in many places 

 to lofty precipices, are stratified saccharoidal sandstone, * and 

 some other of the accompanying minerals peculiar to that for- 

 mation. Mr Fraser, our indefatigable colonial botanist, has 

 just returned from a voyage of observation on the west coast 

 of New Holland, and he has brought here geological specimens 

 from about Swan River, sufficient to exhibit the structure of 

 that part of the country. They consist principally of granite, 

 felspar, quartz, hornblende rock, primitive limestone, &c, with 

 some stalactites and stalagmite, also a specimen of light spongy 

 sandstone, apparently of very recent formation, resulting no 

 doubt from water holding carbonate of lime in solution, having 

 filtered through the loose siliceous bed on the sea-shore. Mr 

 Fraser says, that most of the specimens were taken from rocks 

 almost as low as the level of the sea, none of which contain any 

 metallic ore so far as I can judge. Generally speaking, the mi- 

 neralogy of this interesting portion of the earth's surface is ut- 

 terly unknown. The temper of a mineralogist's hammer has ne- 



* Within a mile of Sydney, and round Botany Bay, there are immense 

 alluvial accumulations of this mineral in the disintegrated state of sand, 

 eminently calculated to enter into the composition of the finest flint and 

 plate glass, being pure silica, and superior to that procured at Lynn, which 

 is commonly used by the best manufacturers in Britain. It may be valu- 

 able in course of years ; — I will, therefore, send you a specimen of it, also a 

 quantity to my friends Messrs Bailey and Company, who will give it a fair 

 trial. The result they will communicate to you, which may be implicitly re- 

 lied on, from their respectability and experience in making the best flint 

 glass, at their works in the Canongate, Edinburgh. 



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