The point from which Sir Thomas Mitchell proposes, (according to the Sydney papers,) to start into the unknown interior towards Port Essington is the stockade on the Darling, made by him in his journey down that river, and which is about four hundred and fifty miles from Sydney.
Having in the foregoing pages thus attempted to describe the north-eastern part of the territory of New South Wales, which the late ministry at one time intended making a separate colony, and of which Moreton Bay was to have been the seat of Government, I will now briefly recapitulate, in general terms, the distinctive features of this part of New South Wales compared with its central districts.
Firstly, Its Geological formation, which, instead of being sandstone, so generally predominant, south of the river Hunter, consists of rocks, mostly of primitive or transition origin, such as granite, trap, ancient limestone, slates, &c.[1] Now in Australia,
- ↑ I have already observed, in the commencement of this work, that in Australia the rocks exercise a more marked influence on the vegetation growing on the soil which covers them, than in any other country. In estimating the quantity of land in any part of Australia, the nature of the subjacent rock, and the general formation of the surrounding country, should be considered of paramount importance. With regard to the influence of rocks on soil, Hausmann, in his work on the Connection of Geology with Agriculture and Planting, has observed that "from what has been said of the relations existing between the masses of which the crust of the globe is composed, and the loose earth or soil by which it is covered, it appears evident enough that they have great influence over its formation and nature, and therefore upon the more per-
