PONDEBADGERY. 
35 
to the view, over which the casuarina bends with all the grace 
of the willow, or the birch, but with more sombre foliage. 
To the west, a high line of flooded- gum trees extending from 
the river to the base of the hills which form the west side of 
the valley before noticed, hides the near elevations, and thus 
shuts in the whole space. The soil of the plain is of the 
richest description, and the hills backing it, together with the 
valley, rae capable of depasturing the most extensive flocks. 
Such is the general landscape from the centre of Ponte- 
badgery Plain. Behind the line of gum-trees, the river sud- 
denly sweeps away to the south, and forms a deep bight of 
seven miles, when, bearing up again to the N. W. it meets 
some hills about 10 miles to the W.N. W. of the plain, thus 
encircling a still more extensive space, that for richness of 
soil, and for abundance of pasture, can no where be ex- 
celled ; such, though on a smaller scale, are all the flats 
that adorn the banks of the Morumbidgee, first on one side 
and then on the other, as the hills close in upon them, from 
Juggiong to Pondebadgery. 
It is deeply to be regretted that this noble river should 
exist at such a distance from the capital as to be unavail- 
able. During our stay on the Pondebadgery Plain, the 
men caught a number of codfish, as they are generally 
termed, but which are, in reality, a species of perch. The 
largest weighed 401b. but the majority of the others were 
small, not exceeding from six to eight. M'Leay and I 
walked to the N. W. extremity of the plain, in order to as- 
certain how we should debouche from it, and to get, if p OS - 
n 2 
