MEMOIR OF THE LATE JOHN GOULD. 111 
dead level, and is about twenty miles in width and a hundred in 
length. It is composed of a close mass of brush-like trees, 
amongst which dwarf Hucalypti and Pittosporums are abundant. 
In this vast plain, which Captain Sturt, in his overland journey 
from Sydney to Adelaide, had previously traversed, and where 
he was struck with the novelties around him, Mr. Gould 
remained between two and three months, and was well rewarded 
for his toil by the riches of the country, to him not desert, but 
tenanted by beings of the highest interest—birds and mammals 
new to science, and of varied forms and habits. 
From this wilderness, which the foot of white man had 
seldom trod, and which no zoologist had ever explored, he 
descended to the coast, and crossed to Kangaroo Island. In this 
spot, covered with a dense forest of Eucalypti, but which holds 
out no inducements to the settler (for forests do not here, as in 
America, indicate the value of the soil to the colonist), Honey- 
eaters were hovering about the flowers, and glancing in the sun; 
and the rugged coast was tenanted with Hawks and Eagles, 
which there find a secure abode. The Wallaby Kangaroo was 
seen in herds, and other mammalia were also plentiful. 
Desirous of being in New South Wales at the breeding season 
of the birds, Mr. Gould now left the southern coast, and arrived 
at that place in August. Here he received from the Governor-in- 
chief, Sir G. Gipps, the most important assistance, given in the 
most kindly spirit. Two or three trusty convict servants were 
assigned to him, and he was further supplied from the government 
with tents, and the necessary utensils and materials for leading 
the life of a bushman. His attention was first directed to the 
thick tracts of brush and the small islets at the mouth of the 
River Hunter. These islets consist of a deep alluvial soil, and 
are covered with the most luxuriant vegetation, the densest 
foliage. From the midst of a thick underwood rise numerous 
palms and huge fig-trees, entwined by creepers of the most 
graceful and fantastic forms. Birds of the richest hues, Honey- 
eaters on restless wings, Regent-birds, Satin-birds, and beautiful 
Wood Pigeons (Vinago) enlivened by their presence these 
umbrageous wilds, and added charms to the scenery. It was 
here that Mr. Gould met with that extraordinary bird, the 
wattled Talegalla, or Brush Turkey of the colonists, of which so 
little was previously known that naturalists were divided as to 
whether it belonged to the vultures or the gallinaceous birds. 
