Foreign Notices : — Australia. 77 



forced to adopt. She is called upon to encourage her own internal trade, 

 to stimulate her native industry, to promote public improvements, to rear 

 up, under her patronage, an increasing community of enterprising manufac- 

 turers, and to bring into exercise and usefulness the unbounded natural 

 resources of this vast country; thus making herself in practice, as she is in 

 theory and politics, independent of the rest of the world. But I must 

 draw to a termination. ... I remain, Sir, yours, &c. — R. C. Taylor. 



New York, October 6. 1831. — Sir, I dare say the few Alleghany acorns 

 which I enclose are of very small value in your opinion ; yet as they grew 

 upon a little estate which I now call my own, perhaps you may not think 

 the worse of them, as coming from an absent friend. The small acorns 

 are those of the white oak ; the best of the tribe in the United States. 

 The largest are from the red oak ; not so good in the quality of its tim- 

 ber, and far less durable. There is also the black oak. With these are 

 some haws from our common whitethorns [these seem to be of Crataegus 

 coccinea L.] ; also some cones from the red or pitch pine [these are of the 

 Pinus pungens Lamb. ; specimens of the beautiful cones, and plants, of 

 this species are rare in England], and the white pine of the Alleghanies 

 [these are of Pinus iStrdbus]. I would have collected others more worthy 

 your acceptance, but my time was too short to enable me to search. I have, 

 with Mrs. Taylor, taken a journey altogether of 700 miles, at twenty-four 

 hours' notice. ... In haste. Yours, &c. — R. C. Taylor. 



We have received the packet of seeds safe, and have shared them as 

 follows : — In England, to Mr. Brooks of Flitwick and Mr. Donald of Wo- 

 king ; in Scotland, to the Rev. Mr. Carruthers of Dalbeattie, Sir William 

 Jardine of Jardine Hall, and Mr. Gorrie of Annat Gardens; in Wales, to 

 Cymro at Brecon; and, in Ireland, to Dr. Drummond of Belfast. — 

 Cond. 



AUSTRALIA. 



Van Diemen's Land. — We are indebted to some kind friend in Hobart 

 Town for the Hobart Town Courier, which has been regularly sent us for 

 some years. It is a newspaper which, for variety of subjects, orderly 

 arrangement, accurate (and, when required, even elegant or eloquent) 

 composition, printing, and paper, equals any, and surpasses most, of our 

 provincial journals. The editor is evidently a man of far more general 

 knowledge (particularly of natural history and of country matters) than is 

 usually found in the editors of provincial papers in England ; and he brings 

 that knowledge to bear in an earnest and effective manner on every subject 

 which comes before him. 



On looking over the last packet sent us, containing the news up to the 

 end of June last, the chief thing that strikes us is the increasing prosperity 

 of the country, which is readily judged of by the number and kind of adver- 

 tisements, the formation of roads, establishment of stage coaches, &c. As 

 the great majority of the settlers are Scotch, one of our countrymen going 

 there would find himself at home at once. A gardener, and also a clever 

 builder, who could act as architect and surveyor, we are sure would do 

 well. Designs for cottages and small villas, we are told, are much wanted ; 

 and we have seventy already engraved, and as many more drawn and in 

 progress, with a view chiefly to Australia and America. 



Respecting the products of the country, we find in a paper dated May 28., 

 that the gum kino, a hitherto neglected item, is now being gathered from 

 trees in abundance for the London market, as well as some other native 

 gums. It appears that Dr. Murdoch and the editor of the Hobart Town 

 Courier pointed out the value of these gums five years ago, and have since 

 been calling attention to them from time to time. It must be highly grati- 

 fying to these gentlemen to find that they have at last succeeded. 



The Gum Kino is an excellent tan, much superior to the best extract of 

 wattle or other bark, and might be very profitably used as such, independ- 



