257 



valley of the Brisbane and the shores of Moreton Bay appear 

 to great advantage ; while to the east may be seen the valley 

 through which the first branch of the Logan passes, in the 

 direction of Mount Warninof. We found on this range of 

 hills a beautiful new species of Acacia, [A. podalyrii folia,) 

 with glabrous leaves, and Hovea acutifolia. 



July 28th. — Morning clear, and thermometer at 50o. At 

 eight o'clock, we began to descend this range, which was 

 named Birnam, and skirted its base through a tract of 

 very fine forest land, where the Iro7i Bark and Apple Trees 

 {Angophora lanceolata,) abound. Here the character of the 

 scenery changes, the hills and vallies assuming the richest 

 verdure upon a soil of dark brown loam. Still descending, 

 we traversed wide flats of prodigious fertility, which seem to 

 extend to the Logan, whose course is here in a southerly 

 direction. A magnificent valley now opens to the view, 

 stretching southward almost as far as the eye can reach, and 

 named the Vale of Aris, terminating by lofty peaked moun- 

 tains, supposed to be Mount Warning and the Lindsay 

 Range. From this point. Flinders' Peak bore west by north 

 half west, distant about fifteen miles, and the intervening 

 country appeared low, fertile, and of easy access. 



Descending into the valley, we crossed a lovely open plain 

 of the richest verdure : its length we estimated at about two 

 miles, and breadth one mile and a half. On the north and 

 east it is skirted by beautiful open forest hills ; on the west 

 by the river Logan ; and on the south by a considerable ex- 

 tent of low richly wooded ground, and is named Letitia Plain. 

 From this situation we had a grand view of Flinders' Peak. 

 A mile farther on we arrived at a beautiful lagoon, where we 

 found a new species of Villarsia, to which, on account of its 

 orbicular leaves, w^e gave the appellation of mjmphcBcefolia. 

 Here we took the latitude, 27 o 56" South. 



An eastward turn of the River Logan, at two and a half 

 miles distance from the lagoon, intercepted our progress. It 

 was joined by a creek, passing from Birnam Range, and the 

 banks are so thickly clothed with brushes of Araucaria, that 

 we found it quite impracticable to effect a passage for the 



