94 
Lectures on the Geology, Botany, fyc., of the 
generally renders tropical countries so dangerous. After rain the 
air is fresh and pure, the ground dry, and a walk most agreeable. 
Those localities which are freely exposed to the sea-breeze, as, for 
instance, Crocker’s Island, are, according to Captain Macarthur, 
very healthy. 
If you ask me how far the country we have travelled over will 
be available for colonisation, I would reply that the greatest part 
is fit for pastoral purposes; and I except only the scrubs of the 
east coast of Australia, the mountain gorges of the Upper Lynd, 
and the tea-tree scrubs of the west coast of the Gulf of Carpen¬ 
taria. But even here broad belts of fine country extend along 
both sides of the larger rivers, and will very probably be found 
quite as good as the country of the Roper. Horses and cattle 
will do well over the whole extent, particularly at Expedition 
Range, along the Isaacks, the Burdekin, the east coast of the 
gulf, and on the plains at its head. The rapid increase of the 
buffaloes on the Coburg Peninsula, and the excellent condition of 
the herd of cattle which they keep at Port Essington, shows that 
the north-west coast of Australia is no less favourable for the 
development of animal life. 
The elevation of Peak Range, and of the Table Land of the 
Burdekin, leads me to believe that these regions are fit for sheep. 
I am not sufficiently acquainted with the cultivation of tropical 
plants to give a decided opinion ; but there is such a variety of 
soil, of aspect, and of elevation, that I feel convinced tropical 
plants will grow freely, where sufficient moisture exists. The 
cotton, the indigo, the cocoanut, the banana, the arrowroot, the 
sweet potatoe, the bread-fruit tree, the jackfruit, the sowersop, the 
pine-apple, the mango, and mangostine grow well in Port Essing¬ 
ton ; and Captain Macarthur assured me that, according to the 
statement of the Malays, who had examined the swamps west of 
the settlement, they would do excellently for growing rice. The 
large plains of the Alligator Rivers would suit equally well, and 
to an almost unlimited extent. 
If we draw a line from Halifax Bay to Port Essington, and 
divide it into three almost equal parts, the points of division would 
fall on Halifax Bay, on the Head of the Gulf, on Limnenbight, 
