now employed oih a Voyage of Discovery. 36i 



orangerie will suit them best during our winter in France, 

 which is much more severe, and cannot be compared with 

 that which we have experienced. Here the orange- and 

 lemon-trees stand in the open aix. They have thriven ex- 

 ceedingly well, and produce as fine fruit as in Portugal. 



The seeds which I send you .were in part given to me by 

 tlie natives of the country; others I collected myself in the 

 interior parts. I have proceeded beyond the most distant 

 parts known to the English ; but an almost impenetrable 

 chain of mountains of the first order, known under the 

 name of the Blue Mountains, the direction of which, in- 

 clining southward, seems to extend as far as Cape Wilson, 

 and which, towards the north, terminates at Port Stephens, 

 did not allow me to go further than 7^ or 80 miles, reckon-, 

 ing from Port Jackson. If credit can be given to what is 

 stated by the natives and some English adventurers, a large 

 river of brackish water traverses these mountains, at the 

 extremity of which there is a settlement of white men. 

 (This is the name given by the natives to tiie Europeans.) 

 Since my return 1 have often conversed on this subject with 

 governor King, whose conduct I cannot sufficientlv praise ; 

 but he declared to me that he placed no belief in "these re- 

 ports, which were invented by some deserters, who would 

 never have returned had they met with a settlcnient of Eu- 

 ropeans beyond these mountains. 



On leaving Port Jackson, I intend to proceed through 

 Basse's Straits in order to explore an island of considerable 

 extent lately discovered by some English fishermen, and 

 which has been called King's Island. When I have termi- 

 nated the geographical part of my labour, I shall proceed 

 to Kangawo Island, on the south-west coast of New 

 Holland, the southern part of which neither I nor captain 

 Flinders was able to examine. I shall then direct my 

 course to the islands of St. Peter and St. Francis, to exa- 

 mine them again, and to ascertain the direction of the con- 

 tinent in that part with which I am unacquainted. Pro- 

 ceeding then from the point where general d'Entrecastcaux 

 stopped, and which we have alreadv seen, I shall proceed 

 directly to Leu in's Land, to finish the sur\^ey of the large 

 hay distinguished by the name of the Geographe. As it 

 appeared to me of importance to determine the position of 

 iiosemary Isles discovered by Dampier, and which I have 

 already, sought for .in vain by the longitude and latitude as- 

 {.igned to them in our charts, I shall make a new attempt 

 to discover them, that I may then proceed to De Witt's 

 Land, the chart of which is not sufjiciently correct to cn- 

 . . mic 



