607 



On new-year's day, 1835, many beautiful native shrubs were in 

 flower, including Lambertia formosa, Grevillea buxifolia and sericea, 

 Epacris grandiflora, &c.: these grow in heathy soil, on the bushy 

 ground covering the sandstone. 



January 15. — "We walked to Elizabeth Bay, and met the Colonial Secretary* at 

 his beautiful garden, which is formed on a rocky slope, on the margin of Port Jack- 

 son, of which it commands a fine view. Here are cultivated specimens of many of the 

 interesting trees and shrubs of this colony, along with others from various parts of the 

 world, intermixed with some growing in their native localities. Among the last, is a 

 fine old rusty-leaved fig-tree, Ficus ferruginea, which is an evergreen, and has laurel-like 

 leaves. A noble specimen of Acrostichum grande, a fern of very remarkable structure, 

 from Moreton Bay, is attached to a log of wood, and secured by a chain to a limb of this 

 fig-tree. The walks at this place are judiciously accommodated to the inequalities of 

 the sinuous bay, and are continued round a point covered with native bush. Peaches 

 are ripe in the open ground in abundance, and liberty to partake of them freely was kindly 

 given by the open-hearted proprietor. Dendrobium speciosum and linguiforme, re- 

 markable plants of the Orchis tribe, are wild here, upon the rocks ; and D. tetragonum 

 is naturalized on a branch of Avicenna tomentosa, covered with rock-oyster shells, and 

 suspended in a tree near the shore. A fine patch of the elks-horn fern, Acrostichum 

 alcicome, retains its native station on a rocky point in the garden." — p. 239. 



In a walk by the north shore on January 27, our traveller observed 

 an old bushy fig-tree overhanging the water, some of its limbs almost 

 covered with Acrostichum alcicorne and Dendrobium linguiforme; 

 but we pass on to a description of Botany Bay, the accoimt of which 

 is less inviting than its far-famed name would lead us to anticipate, 

 still not without instruction. 



" Botany Bay, with its gay shrubs, might wear an imposing aspect to the first na- 

 vigators of these seas, after a tedious voyage ; but its shores are shallow, and not con- 

 venient for landing, and most of the laud on the north side, is dreary sand and marsh, 

 of little real value. The pieces that are worth anything, are of very limited extent, 

 and are in few hands. One of the proprietors has established a woollen manufactory, 

 which, from the price of labour in this country, is not likely to pay. He told us that 

 the leaves of the wooden-pear, Xylomelum pyriforme, dye wool yellow, and that the 

 branches of Leptospennum scoparium, answer the purposes of fustic-wood, and dye 

 fawn-colour. A handsome species of grass-tree, Xanthorrhoea arborea, was in flower, 

 in some of the sandy grounds ; its root-stocks were surmounted by an elegant crest of 

 rush-like leaves; from the centre of which the flower-stem arose to ten feet in height; 

 somewhat less than the upper half of this, was densely covered with brown scales, giv- 

 ing it an appearance something like a bull-rush. From amongst these scales the 

 small, white, star-like flowers emerged, as in the other species of this genus. The 

 plants with large root-stocks had been destroyed, for fuel, for which purpose they are 

 much valued. In this neighbourhood, as well as at Port Jackson, the sweet tea, Smi- 



* Alexander MacLeay, Esq. 



