COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
63 
it, that we did not anticipate any difficulty on 1 ^ 18 - 
that head, and the wood was both plentiful and March 27. 
convenient to the beach. 
It was now about the termination of the rainy 
season, and every thing bore the most luxuriant 
appearance ; the grass, whiclucovered the face of 
the island, was more than six feet high, and 
completely concealed us from each other as we 
walked to the summit of the hill, the sides of 
which were very thickly wooded. Upon the edge 
of the beach, the pandams, the hibiscus, and a 
variety of other tropical trees and shrubs were 
growing, and the sand was variegated with the 
long-stemmed convolvolus in full flower. 
The trees upon the hills were principally a 
small sized eucalyptus, which we cut for fire- 
wood, but the stem was generally found to be 
unsound, and totally useless for any purpose 
excepting for fuel. Among the flowers that were 
strewed about the island, was a superb shrubby 
grevillea, with scarlet flowers. The casuarina 
grew also near the sandy beach, but it seemed 
to prefer the exposed parts near the extremities 
of the sandy projections of the land where no 
other tree would grow. The wood of this tree 
appeared to be of a closer grain, and of a darker 
colour than the species that is usually found 
upon the north coast. 
