336 THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



It was from Dampier that Banks learnt of the strange 

 and beautiful bush-flowers that he sought at Botany Bay. 

 To the geographer he explained precisely that which was 

 known, and that which remained unknown, and he pointed 

 to the paths of practicable exploration. To the merchants 

 he suggested that voyages of curiosity might lead to 

 voyages of profit, that enormous possibilities of lucrative 

 trade awaited them in Southern and in Eastern seas. 

 With both hands Dampier had poured forth such wealth 

 of fascinating information, that for the first time English- 

 men felt at home in the South Sea, able to find their way 

 about, and beginning to think that it might be worth 

 while to contend with the Dutch for trade settlement 

 therein. 



