Geographical Collections. 451} 
party met with were not disposed to behave ill; on the contrary, they seemed 
much alarmed at first, but soon gained confidence. Black swans were given to 
them, and eagerly accepted. They had no means of navigation, and rather 
showed a horror of the water. The language spoken by the ditlcrent tribes of 
Australians differs in each, but there seems to be no other variations amongst 
them. The arms of the natives of the Swan River were the same as those of 
the natives of New South Wales, and their clothing and appearance are equally 
loathsome. 
Agriculture and Commercial Advantages.—In an agricultural point of view, 
the new establishment at Swan River presents four difierent positions. 1. The 
limestone ridge bounding the east; 2. The flats and swamps between that and 
the range of hills; 3. The high lands and forests at the sources of the rivers Swan 
and Canning, with the bases and part of the acclivity of the hills constituting 
Darling Range; and 4. The pasture lands to the east of this range. The lime- 
stone tract will probably in future times be one of the most marked and fruitful 
tracts at Swan River; the climate and the land is at the present moment ready 
for the cultivation of the vine. The orange-tree, the olive, the fig, and the pome- 
granate, with numerous other plants, would thrive on the light sandy soil which 
covers this ridge. We cannot, on this occasion, enter upon an enumeration of 
what edible plants and fruits would probably succeed on the four different posi- 
tions alluded to; but we must mention that it is not either the ordinary agricul. 
turist, or the mere English botanist, that is fitted, on visiting the shores of the 
Swan River, to judge of their capabilities. He must be well acquainted with 
the productions of similar climates and soils in the whole range of isothermal 
lines in Europe, in Asia, and in America, who could give the subject its full 
scope. We can only premise that the headlands and Isle Buache have been 
thought favourable for the growth of bananas, and most of our culinary vegetables. 
The soil of 1sle Buache appeared capable of producing any description of light 
~ garden crops. The extensive salt-marshes, Mr. F. states, are admirably adapted 
to the growth of cotton, probably also of rice. The seeds of British Gramine 
should be sown on the fresh water marshes; the maize and forest timber should 
be grown at the base and on the acclivities of the hills, where the arts of agricule 
ture should be put in force to further the growth of the Eucalyptus, and timber 
trees of the country. The trees of our orchards ought not to be neglected. 
The commercial advantages of this settlement are very great. ‘The navigation 
of the river appears to present many difiiculties to ships of any burthen, but it 
would not to craft bearing down the produce of the country. The general ad 
vantayes which this country holds out to settlers above those of New South Wales, 
as stated by Mr. Frazer, a person well qualified to make such a comparison, have 
been given in our first number. And after considering the agricultural prospects 
and extent of pasture-land, we have only to mention, that for exportation and 
exchange of produce, they have the vicinity of India, China, the Spice Islands, 
Java, the Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope, and that Swan River may 
become the centre of the eastern trade, forming a suitable depot for vessels navi- 
gating those seas, and may serve as a place of call for East India and China ships. 
Plan of Colonization.—On Nov. 4. 1828, Thomas Peel, Esq. Sir Francis Vin- 
cent, and others, addressed a memorial to Government for the colonization of 
Swan River, lately visited by Captain Stirling in his majesty’s ship Rainbow. 
These gentlemen proposed to provide shipping for the purpose of taking out 
10,000 of his Majesty’s subjects, and to bring to the settlement 1000 head of 
bulls, cows, bullocks, and calves, and have three small vessels running from Syd. 
ney to the settlement. His Majesty’s Government, desirous that the experiment 
should not be made, in the first instance, upon a very large scale, on account of 
the extensive distress which would be occasioned by a failure in any of the ob- 
jects expected from the undertaking, limited the grant to a maximum of one mil- 
lion of acres, half a million to be allotted after the arrival of the first vessel con- 
taining not less than 400 persons of both sexes, and if this grant was covered by 
