10 
All the country to the north and west of Melbourne 
has been explored ; it is easy to reach any part by coach j 
or rail; and from the official records in the offices of the 
Public Departments one can readily gather information 
relative to the rocks, soils, and mineral resources ; hut 
Gippsland has been cut off from communication with the 
seat of government, and comparatively little has been, 
published respecting its pastures, its mines, or its forests. 
Mr. Alfred Ilowitt, in 1859-60, when he was the leader 
of a prospecting party in search of new goldfields, com¬ 
municated, in exhaustive reports, very many interesting* I 
facts respecting the physical geography and geology of 
the midland parts of Gippsland ; but his labors were con¬ 
fined to an examination of the auriferous tracts in the 
basins of the Mitchell and the Dargo. Very little has 
been published descriptive of those large areas where it 
is probable settlers will select land ; and the facts we have 
collected will be interesting to many who are desirous 
of finding homes in a part of the colony where the 
heats of summer are tempered by the cold air of the 
mountains. 
It is much to be regretted that so little is known of the 
meteorology of Gippsland. A few observations have been 
made at one or more of the points on the coast, but no 
information is obtainable respecting the climate of that 
part of Gippsland bordering on the Great Dividing Range. 
In that area there are rich soils, much of the land is well 
grassed, and the enclosures which we saw under culti¬ 
vation presented the most favorable aspects ; and it is 
not creditable to the colony that vague and probably 
incorrect statements respecting the fall of rain, the tem¬ 
perature, and the occurrence of snow storms, cannot be 
met by an appeal to accurate records of the weather. 
