PROFUSION OF ROSES. 209 



front of the dwelling-house bloomed with a pro- 

 fusion of roses ; and at this season of the year so 

 abundant is this elegant and fragrant flower in 

 the colony, that we may term it a " Land of 

 Roses," as well as a " land of promise;'"' pinks, 

 stocks, and other European flowers, gave an ad- 

 ditional beauty to the scene. 



Some portions of land were laid out as vine- 

 yards ; much attention being now paid to the 

 cultivation of the vine in the colony. In the 

 garden a number of gooseberry bushes had been 

 planted, which were in flourishing condition, 

 and loaded with fruit : it was considered rare to 

 see them so productive near Sydney, although 

 they thrive and bear abundance of fruit in the 

 Argyle and Bathurst districts ; but here it was 

 only one part of the garden that was favourable 

 to their growth, being that where the influence 

 of the sun was not too powerful during the hot 

 summers : care has also been taken to shelter 

 the bushes, by small sheets of bark placed upon 

 sticks at some elevation over them, giving a pro- 

 tection above, but at the same time not covering 

 them so much as to cause any deprivation of 

 the vivifying influence of light or moderate solar 

 heat. 



Mr. Harper has been trying a great variety of 

 foreign grain on different colonial soils ; among 



VOL. I. p 



