HOBART AND THE MIDLANDS 37 



rivers, winding inland between low hills, have the 

 appearance of sunken valleys ; and there can be 

 small doubt that the configuration of the coast 

 is largely due to a gradual subsidence since the 

 strata of sandstone were deposited and the igneous 

 diabase thrust up beneath it. 



The consequence is that there are miles and 

 miles of protected water in the neighbourhood of 

 Hobart, where yachting can be carried on with 

 great convenience ; before issuing from ' the 

 Heads ' at the mouth of the Derwent, a narrow 

 opening leads south into the D'Entrecasteaux 

 Channel, which runs between the narrow moun- 

 tainous Bruny Island and the mainland, and 

 before reaching the southern end of this channel 

 we can enter the estuary of the Huon. Similarly 

 to the north a series of large protected bays opens 

 out from the Derwent estuary. 



Owing to the quantity of greenstone in its 

 composition, the soil round Hobart is stony and 

 poor, and agricultural operations are not extensive, 

 but the low hills support a certain amount of 

 stock, and the light soil is favourable to fruit- 

 growing. The latter industry has grown to great 

 proportions, the chief orchards and hop-gardens 

 in Tasmania being situated on the banks of the 

 Derwent for many miles inland, and latterly also 

 up the course of the Huon. The orchards, con- 

 sisting chiefly of apples and apricots, but also 

 containing all the European small fruits, which 

 thrive remarkably in this temperate climate, are 



