MINGABLAH. 143 



the tree, it is of the consistence of very thick 

 syrup, and immediately after rain may be seen 

 flowing from an incision or cleft in the tree very 

 abundantly, being then of a very beautiful light- 

 red colour, becoming of a dark shining red, and 

 hardening, by exposure to the air. The Ango- 

 phora lanceolata, or apple-tree of the colonists, 

 (a genus allied to that of Eucalyptus,) also yields 

 a dark-red astringent gum from its trunk and 

 branches. 



After leaving Turril, turril, we proceeded 

 through a flat, swampy, and uninteresting coun- 

 try, rendered still more tiresome by the drizzling 

 rain. Having passed " Stony Creek," and de- 

 scended " Church Hill," we were glad to obtain 

 shelter at the farm of Mingahlah, the property of 

 Charles Cowper, Esq., after a journey of twenty- 

 eight miles. The soil about this part of the 

 country was of a fertile character, but stony ; 

 abounding in the whinstone. 



Much of the dull time during our confinement 

 to the house, from the heavy and continued rain, 

 was passed away by the amusing relations of the 

 overseer, who informed us he had, from a very 

 tender age, a " propensity" to keep living ani- 

 mals. Since his arrival in this country, he had 

 succeeded in domesticating a large number of 

 parrots, who went in and out of the house, without 



