738 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [May 1,1889. 
journey would have been made by coach to Illawara 
and Mossvale (the latter the country residence of 
the Governor,) but in order to catch the evening 
train to Newcastle it was necessary to return direct 
to Sydney. 
The overland jouney to Brisbane is a long one, 
723 miles, and in order to fully appreciate the 
scenery it is necessary to devote at least three or 
four days. The seven iron-girder bridge across the 
Hawkesbury river not being completed, we have 
to leave the train at Mullet Creek and take the 
stern-wheel ferryboat and as we have the Eng- 
lish mail the delay in transhipping is consider- 
able and allows time for a substantial meal, and 
one has to take advantage of such opportunities, 
as on these long main lines they are not too 
numerous. The great coaling seaport has been 
very appropriately named Newcastle, for the com- 
bined effects of a strong sea-breeze and plenty of 
spare coal dust gives the town a dirty appearance 
not usual in Australia, but the air is dry and the 
people seem full of energy and anxious to oblige and 
at the railway station there were several lads offering 
to carry your luggage, whereas in Sydney and still more 
in Melbourne one has to wait some time before 
the services of a porter can be obtained. The 
coal trade was very dull and work scarce on ac- 
count of the recent strike, and instead of the 
harbour being full of ships waiting their turn to 
come alongside the cranes, it was the other way 
about and the latter were waiting for ships. It 
is feared that it will be some time before New- 
castle recovers its former prosperity, as shippers 
will be very loath to send ships there as long as 
a strike may spring up at any time, and keep 
them waiting cargo for weeks. That the miners 
were badly off was forcibly shown the following 
day by the poor attendance at the race meeting, 
not^iths anding that the rain had made the course in 
excellent condition, and the temperature delightful 
for outdoor exercise. The horses with their long 
tails at first appear singular and different to what 
we should expect in a racehorse at home ; also 
the custom of removing all the shoes immediately 
before the race is quite new ; but one soon sees 
that plenty of speed is got out of them, and the 
public oli ck with its large face divided into 60 
spaces enables one to note the time, and also in- 
dicates the importance attached to the time occu- 
pied ; much more so than in England where the 
state of the weather varies and causes the ground to be 
light or heavy, so that the actual time occupied 
would not be of importance in forming an estimate 
of a horse's powers. 
Resuming my journey north on the following 
morning the line pastes through some fine agricul- 
tural land, about Hamilton, Lochinvar and Allan- 
dale. At Greta the coal measures crop up, and 
trucks of coal are added to our train, in fact the 
country n und is full of coal waiting development. 
About SmgieLon the country opens out into im- 
mense pJa;ns, capital grazing ground in good seasons, 
but ni;w luoking bare and dried up. Musclebrook, 
a nioe c ean town on rising ground with a large 
market .uelosure, seems an important centre, 
but apptu.ru to be suffering severely still from the 
drought the grass in the country round having 
been not on y paten down to the ground, but 
tiie roo'b pulled up out of the toil, to that it must 
be borne wje.ks b'-fore there can be any substantial 
feed for Ux-M. Here arid there one sees the bones 
of ashetp or ox, and other rimiins still more 
reOfnt « ere the flenh has not been roraov 'd by 
hii'UH an . dogs. At Abf-iMeen a largo advertisement 
intimntth thai Messrs. Mufflin & Co., Sydney, re- 
quire 1 ,000 dozen kangaroo skins per week, whioh, if 
complied with, must soon exterminate these curious 
animals, which, in many parts, are already getting 
scarce. 
As we leave the station a large dead snake thrown 
across the wire fencing warns us to be careful in 
our walks 5 and makes one regret that at present 
snakes' skins have no commercial value. 
Scone is a poor looking township and the cattle in 
the fields are awfully lean and miserable in appear- 
ance, though the land is good. The morning had 
been dull and gloomy, and at last we fairly steamed 
into heavy rain and running mountain streams, 
the temperature falling, so that a thick overcoat 
and rug were very acceptable. At Murrurandi we 
leave the valley and slowly ascend the range, the 
railway winding round the hillside and finally 
passing through a tunnel over the highest portion, 
the rocks having a distinctly volcanic appearance. 
The scenery is very grand, the rain having 
stopped, and the sun again shining, we are able to 
enjoy the view of the hills covered with trees as 
the evening closes in, and we find ourselves at 
Tamworth with its rich red soil and famous crops 
of maize. 
Here the night is spent and the temperature 
being quite cold the mosquitoes, usually suoh a 
nuisance, did not annoy one, and we slept in 
peace. Next morning the through mail train was 
taken, and after passing through the fertile and 
well watered New England districts we arrived at 
Wallangarra in the evening, and enter Queensland 
through a very wild bit of country where kangaroo 
are still to be seen from the train. The result of 
protection is felt in the extra charge for refreshment 
as soon as we cross the border, while the oscillation 
of the carriage at once tells the effect of the 
change of gauge from 4 feet 8^ inches New South 
Wales to the miserable 3 feet 8 ; } inches Queensland. 
With such a narrow gauge and gradients sometimes 
as great as 1 in 33 smaller wheels are necessary 
to get a bstter grip of the rails, and the speed is 
' consequently reduced, so that travelling in this 
young colony is much slower than in the older 
ones. Thus the 233 miles from Wallangarra to 
Brisbane took upwards of 12 hours, and it was 
6-15 a.m. before we reached our destination. Being 
night time there was no opportunity of seeing the 
famous Darling Downs which have suffered greatly 
from the drought, many of the farmers being 
utterly ruined in consequence of loss of stock and 
failure of corn crops. 
Brisbane with its 70,000 inhabitants is a busy 
dusty town on the banks of the river whence it takes 
its name, some 25 miles up from Moreton Bay. The 
houses are chiefly of mud, but there are several 
large banks built of stone, notably the Queens- 
land National Bank with its handsome Italian 
columns of solid stone brought from New Zealand, 
f ao ng the London Chartered Bank, both being in the 
same street (Queen). Indeed in all Australian towns 
the banks are among the best buildings, far sur- 
passing most of the Government offices. The 
Botanioal and Acclimatisation Society Gardens 
are interesting and well kept and members of 
the latter who pay an annual subscription of a 
guinea can obtain any reasonable number of plants 
of various kinds, as they may require them for their 
new gardens, which appears an excellent way of 
introducing new flowers and shrubs at a very 
moderate expense, as the intelligent Director has 
better opportunities of ascertaining whether a 
plant not indigenous, will or will not be induced 
to flourish in this climate. 
After a few days' stay, and having received 
many kind hospitalities from friend* and fellow- 
passengers the journey north was continued in 
one of the A U. S. steamers to Mackay, 
one of the great sugar districts of Queens- 
