THE CITY OF SYDNEY. 



161 



matta ; indeed, the line which follows the course taken by this arm of the Harbour 

 may almost be said to be the' line of orange culture, the lower land on the south 

 being more exposed to frosts and mists than the warm ridges on the northern side. 



Hunter's Hill occupies the peninsula between Lane Cove and the 1'arramatta River, 

 affording a large water-frontage to the water-side residences. The Hill is covered with 



ONE OF THE BIG GUNS AT MIDDLE HEAD. 



villas not less picturesque, though less imposing, than those found about the fore-shores 

 nearer the city. The soil here is loamy, and being set a little inland from the salt sea- 

 breezes, rich and delicate vegetation makes a more luxuriant display. The houses are 

 mostly built of the fine sandstone which lies a few feet beneath the surface, and gorgeous 

 and glorious creepers are trained wherever balcony or trellis-work affords an opportunity. 

 It is a richly floral district, and it is almost impossible to exaggerate the beauty and 

 splendour of the rich masses of Bougainvillea which cover a whole house-side in the 

 earliest days of spring, or of the climbing rose that makes a veritable " field of cloth of 

 gold " over a hundred square feet of trellis in every spring and autumn. Nowhere else 

 along the river or by the sea can be seen finer contrasts of colour and foliage bananas 

 and plantains by the water's edge, cedars drooping on the slopes, hibiscus and flame-trees 

 putting out their crimson and scarlet blooms, the tender green of the budding vine 

 prophetic of the purple show of autumn, and the dark glossy leaves of the orange trees 

 rich with their golden fruit. At Gladesville, a little higher up the river, is one of the 

 large asylums for the mentally diseased, where the thoughtful care of the superintendent 



