108 
Account of 
sionally fresh pork, and sometimes a few sheep from 
Hobart Town, managed with the assistance of their 
poultry-yard, to keep free from the painful complaint. 
The weather during the months of January, February, 
March, and April, is the most pleasant, but even during 
these months the north-west gales are sometimes severely 
felt: in the spring and fall these winds are still more pre¬ 
valent. The most disagreeable feature in the weather is 
rain, which will continue night and day without ceasing 
for weeks at a time. The cold is not so severe as in Eng¬ 
land ; snow is often seen during the winter to lie on the 
surrounding mountains, but seldom on the Settlement. 
A slight frost is sometimes perceptible in the morning, 
but it disappears soon after sun-rise. The heat in sum¬ 
mer is not greater than in other parts of the Colony. I 
do not recollect the thermometer higher than 100° in the 
.shade,—this was in January, 1830: in December, 1828, it 
was 92°. 
It is to be regretted that the meteorological journals 
which were kept for several years at Macquarie Harbour 
by the Commandant’s clerk, J. Douglas, a very intel¬ 
ligent man, who took much pleasure in such pursuits, 
should have unfortunately, either through his removal, 
the changes and breaking up of the Settlement, or some 
other cause, been lost, as they would have afforded much 
useful information. 
The natural soil of the Settlement is very poor, and 
consists principally of gravel composed of fragments of 
quartz and other siliceous matter, and a very small pro¬ 
portion of clay. It is true that there was not a spot 
unoccupied by buildings or roads which was uncultivated, 
part being laid out in vegetable gardens, and the re¬ 
mainder in grasses; but this had been accomplished by 
the greatest exertions and attention. 
Most of the top soil was brought from the main land, 
