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Show 524 NEW SOUTH WALES. Jan. 1836. the Weatherboard. So early in the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect added to the apparent depth at which the forest was stretched below the country on which we were standing. Soon after leaving the Blackheath, we descended from the sandstone platform by the pass of Mount Victoria. To effect this pass, an enormous quantity of stone has been cut through ; the design, and its manner of execution, would have been worthy of any line of road in England,-even that of Holy head. We now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet, and consisting of granite. With the change of rock, the vegetation improved; the trees were both finer, and stood further apart; and the pasture between them was a little greener, and more plentiful. At Hassan's Walls, I left the high road, and made a short detour to a farm called Walerawang; to the superintendent of which, I had a letter of introduction from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the kindness to ~sk ~e to st~y the ensuing day, which I had much pleasure m domg. Th1s place offers an example of one of the large farming, or rather sheep-grazing, establishments of the colony. Cattle and horses are, however, in this case, rather more numerous than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy, and producing a coarser pasture. The sheep were 15,000 in number, of which the greater part were feeding under the care of different shepherds, on unoccupied ground, at the distance of more than a hundred miles, and beyond the limits of the colony. Mr. Browne had just finished, this day, the last of the shearing of seven thousand sheep; the rest being sheared in another place. I believe the profit of the average produce of wool from 15,000 sheep, would be more than 5000l. sterling. Two or three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest rrien were now reaping : but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. The usual number of as'iigned convict servants here is about Jan. 1836. NEW SOUTH WALES. 525 forty, but at the present time there were rather more. Although the farm was well stocked with every requisite, there was an apparent absence of comfort; and not even a single woman resided. here. The sunset of a fine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any scene ; but here, at this retired farm-house, the brightest tints on the surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened, profligate men, were ceasing from their daily labours, like the slaves from Africa, yet without their just claim for compassion. Early on the next morning, Mr. Archer, the joint superintendent, had the kindness to take me out Kangaroohunting. We continued riding the greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. The greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as big as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. A few years since, this country abounded with wild anima1s; but now the emu is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce ; to both, the English greyhound is utterly destructive. It may be long before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their doom is fixed. The natives are always anxious to borrow the dogs from the farm-houses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is killed, and milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the settlers, who push further and further towards the interior. The thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined to inherit the country of his children. Although having bad sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. The woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gallop through it. It is traversed by a few flatbottomed valleys, which are green and free from trees : in such spots the scenery was like that of a park, and pretty. In the whole country I scarcely saw a place without the marks of fire ; whether these had been more or less recentwhether the stumps were more or less black, was the greatest change which varied the uniformity, so wearisome to the |