Mav 1, 1 886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURlS't*» 



7S7 



modified by a more extended experience as far as 

 possible ; however the motto " brevity and tacks " 

 shall be adhered to. 



My first impressions of Hobart were anything 

 but disappointing : its spacious streets, handsome 

 freestone buildings, beautiful vegetation and delight- 

 ful temperature more than fulfilled anticipations. 



To find temporary shelter for my family was 

 my first duty. This I had not very much difficulty 

 in arranging in a good hotel at two guineas per 

 head per week for board and lodging. This accom- 

 plished, I walked out to the Botanical Ciardens 

 to sec what this celebrated climate and soil can 

 produce — a charming spot on the banks of the 

 Derivcnt — and for a few hours I simply revelled 

 amongst the numerous old European friends which 

 here seem to have found so congenial a home. 

 Giant geraniums, brilliant verbenas and a perfect 

 jungle of Heli'trope, greet me as I enter the gate. 

 The gardeners though civil are not very communic- 

 ative but when I enquired if such plants as I have 

 named reijuire any protection in winter, the answer 

 was a very emphatic: " Oh. no." This, to my mind 

 sufficiently settled the ijuestion of temperature 

 though people do persist in saying "the winters are very 

 cold here." I cannot here enumerate all the familiar 

 trees, shrubs and flowers which re-awakened memories 

 of bygone days. From the noble Scotch l''ir 

 down to the Bourtrie bush and bonnie yellow 

 broom, all seem to rejoice in the change of climate, 

 while not a few of my tropical acquaintances, 

 notably the Lantana, the trumpet-llower (Datura), 

 Balsams, Vinoas, Veronicas, Yuccas and sundry 

 palms, tind a home sufficiently congenial. Many 

 of the shrubh so common at home here grow 

 almost beyond our ken. The Bay and Portugal 

 laurel, so like a coffee bush in England, 

 here more resembles a sturdy oak laden 

 with a mar\-ellous profusion of bright berries. The 

 holly, too, becomes a large tree with such lusters 

 of berries as it never bears in its native clime; indeed, 

 I have seen no country for a moment to be com- 

 pared with Tasmania for fruit and seed. Ceylon 

 may have a monopoly of tender green leaves, and 

 England for green fields, but for profusion of fruit 

 you must see Tasmania. The "hawthorn-glade" 

 can never under any conceivable circumstances in 

 England look so resplendent wiih fruit as it does 

 here; while the aucet-hriar we must never mention it 

 here — what the Ageratum and Lantana are to the 

 planter in Ceylon, Couch grass to the English farmer, 

 sweet-briar is to the Tasmanian husbandman. 



I could willingly spend days in these lovely gardens; 

 but I am reminded that a more pressing if less 

 agreeable duty awaits me, viz.. houne-hinuiiiy which 

 here as at home I find to be the most worrying, 

 ■wearying work I ever engaged in. My reijuirements 

 were simple and definite enough : " To rent with 

 option of purchase, a good house with orchard or 

 small farm, river frontage, Ac." "Xo need to 

 advertise," said agents in London, " you '11 find at 

 once abundance of what you want." In vain 

 however I scanned the papers on arrival and those 

 terrible impostors the house agents by their mout ex- 

 aggerated descriptions gave me many a vain jour- 

 ney. At length something like the thing wanted made 

 its appearance in the morning paper, an advertise- 

 ment in more than ordinarly intelligible English. 

 "Highly desirable investment, 10 acres of the richest 

 land in the valley of (ilenorchy with river front- 

 age and good stone building thereon " Ac, &c. 

 "Here now is a nucleus to work from," I said; 

 and off I went by the first coach to the fifth mile- 

 post from Uobart. My chiigrin may be imagined 

 on finding the "rich land" to be an exhausted 

 and abandoned field by the side of a lagoon, with- 

 out the ghost of a tree or shrub : here a tbistk 



and there a sweet-briar tried to find their way through 

 the hiilied clay, but both seemed inclined to give 

 up the struggle in despair. The stone edifice con- 

 sisted of the remains of four walls about I.tx 12 

 feet. Years ago there evidently had been a i-oof of 

 some sort, but this portion had entirely disappeared. 

 I strongly expressed my disappointment to the first 

 man I met. " Ah," said he, " 1 know of the very 

 thing to suit ;/oh, about two miles from here. Beauti- 

 ful little estate on the bank of the Dcrwent, though 

 now much out of order, the proprietor having lived, 

 for the last few years \n Victoria ; splendid garden 

 and 100 acres of riverside land capable of growing 

 anything ; e.KCellent family house." " That 's the 

 thing!" I exclaimed, " and I '11 go and see it. Did 

 you say there was good |fishing ? " "I don't know 

 what you call good fishing," said my new friend, 

 " but I caught 87 dozen mullet and salmon* last 

 night in that ere water.'' I do not know where all 

 these wonderful fishermen expect to go, but I sus- 

 pect there are others besides Mr. Fawcelt's friend 

 up the water who can tell a good big thumper. 

 However if the description be only half true the 

 place will suit me, and off I struck through the 

 fields — demolishing as I went the top of many a 

 stalwan Scotch thistle. The sun was now high in 

 the heavens, and the day altogether jiroved one of the 

 hottest of the season, the thermometer recording 

 100-'2 in the shade. Yet to an old Ceylon man this 

 did not seem very opi^ressive. What disturbs me 

 more is that as 100 is to KO so is (iO to .51. I 

 was glad, however, when I got into the shade of 

 some trees which half hid a bungalow similar in 

 many respects to Fairyland, and as I wiped the 

 perspiration from my brow with one hand I 

 instinctively picked a twig from the branch above 

 with the other. Interested I was to find an old 

 favourite Aloynia Ciliioiloru the scented verbena, 

 with stems like my thigh and growing to the 

 mature height of '20 feet. The flower garden was 

 certainly wild enough but the geraniums held 

 their own against all comers, proudly raising their 

 brilliant scarlet trusses above the heads of the 

 tallest thistles. The house was deserted but in 

 fair order and offered ample accommodation. 

 The orchard of about 'i acres was fully stocked 

 with apples, apricots, plums and peaches, and, 

 though quite abandoned, bearing really astonishing 

 crops. The gooseberries had dried on the bushes 

 and the luscious greengages were likely to soon 

 do the same, save on the lower branches which 

 some stray pigs seemed to reach. I followed their 

 example and proved the plums which so pleased the 

 pigs to be of excellent quality. I now sauntered 

 on the lawn gently undulating towards the Derwent. 

 "This," thought I "is exactly what I dreamed 

 of and the sooner I secure it the better. With 

 what pleasure I shall mow down these weeds I 

 renovate the flower-garden and see the orchard put 

 in order ! and then should some old Ceylon friend 

 come and see mc (shades of R. B. T.) only think 

 of the fishing I " 



With these pleasant thoughts I hurried back to 

 Hobart in oixler to find out the agent of this desir- 

 able property, with as little delay as possible. This 

 I had little diificully in doing, but, a'as ! only to 



be again disappoinled. The owner of is a 



very wealthy man and does not care to let 

 or sell. Though living in Victoria he is oub 

 of the largest proprietors of Tasmania owning 



•Native " salmon " »ud a very inferior fish to our 

 Scotch snimo, to naturaliz^j which £10,000 ha.s been spent 

 and it is doubtful if ever a single fish hns been c.iugbt 

 by rod or net. "Inevcrsce'd o,:e," said the r.isdon 

 ferryman to mc the other daj, " a:id I have bceu here 

 for 30 years. There,'' he said, pointing to a shoal of 

 porin'isex, "ttiore is where your aalmon fry go," 



