The Nights Of The 21st, 22nd, And 23rd Were Bright
And Cold, With Heavy Dew.
On the morning of the 23rd we had misty, loose,
confluent clouds, travelling slowly from the north-east, with some drops
of rain.
I was now convinced that the rainy season had set in near the
sea coast; for the clouds which came from that direction, had evidently
been charged with rain; but, in passing over a large tract of dry
country, they were exhausted of their moisture, and the north-easterly
winds were too weak to carry them quickly so far inland.
The whole country I had travelled over, is composed of sandstone, with
probably occasional outbreaks of igneous rocks, as indicated by the rich
black soil. The plains and creeks abound in fossil wood, changed into
iron-ore and silica. The soil is generally good, but some of the sandy
flats are rotten: and the ridges are covered with pebbles.
The trees, with the exception of the flooded-gum, are of stunted habit;
and scrub is here developed ad infinitum. A Grevillea (G. ceratophylla
R.Br.?) with pinnatifid leaves, a small tree from fifteen to twenty feet
high, and about four inches in diameter; a Melaleuca about the same size,
with stiff lanceolate leaves, about two inches long and half an inch
broad, and slightly foliaceous bark; and an Acacia with glaucous
bipinnate leaves, of the section of the brush Acacias of Moreton
Bay - grew on the sandy soil along the ridges; and a handsome Convolvulus
with pink flowers adorned the rich plain south-east of Mount Stewart.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 123 of 524
Words from 33028 to 33292
of 141354
