only trees throughout the extent of the plains. The level and clean surface of these plains gives them at first view very much the appearance of lands in a state of cultivation. It is impossible to behold this grand scene without a feeling of admiration and surprise, whilst the silence and solitude which reign. in a space of such extent and beauty as seems designed by Nature for the occupancy and comfort of man, create a degree of melancholy in the mind which may be more easily imagined than described. The Governor and suite arrived at these Plains on Thursday the 4th of May, and encamped on the southern or left bank of the Macquarrie River-the situation being selected in consequence of its commanding a beautiful and extensive prospect for many miles in every direction around it. At this place the Governor remained for a week, which time he occupied in making excursions in different directions through the adjoining country, on both sides of the river. On Sunday, the 7th of May, the Governor fixed on a site suitable for the erection of a town at some future period, to which he gave the name of Bathurst, in honour of the present Secretary of State for the Colonies. The situation of Bathurst is elevated sufficiently beyond the reach of any floods which may occur, and is at the same time so near to the river on its south bank as to derive all the advantages of its clear and beautiful stream. The mechanics and settlers of whatever description who may be hereafter permitted to form permanent residences to themselves at this place will have the highly important advantages of a rich and fertile soil, with a beautiful river flowing through it, for all the uses of man. The Governor must however add, that the hopes which were once so sanguinely entertained of this river becoming navigable to the Western Sea have ended in disappointment. During the week that the Governor remained at Bathurst he made daily excursions in various directions; one of these extended 22 miles in a south-west direction, and on that occasion, as well as on all the others, he found the country composed chiefly of vallies and plains, separated occasionally by ranges of low hills; the soil throughout being generally fertile, and well circumstanced for the purpose of agriculture or grazing. The Governor here feels much pleasure in being enabled to communicate to the public that the favourable reports which he had received of the country to the west of the Blue Mountains have not been by any means exaggerated. The difficulties which present themselves in the journey from hence are certainly great and inevitable; but those persons who may be inclined to become permanent settlers there will probably content themselves with visiting this part of the colony but rarely, and of course will have them seldom to encounter. Plenty of water, and a sufficiency of grass, are to be found in the mountains for the support of such cattle as may be sent over them; and the tracts of fertile soil and rich pasturage which the new country affords are fully extensive enough for any increase of population and stock which can possibly take place for many years. Within a distance of ten miles from the site of Bathurst there is not less than 50,000 acres of land clear of timber, and fully one half of that may be considered excellent soil, well calculated for cultivation. It is a matter of regret that in proportion as the soil improves the timber degenerates; and it is to be remarked, that every where to the westward of the mountains it is much inferior both in size and quality to that within the present colony; there is, however, a sufficiency of timber of tolerable quality within the district around Bathurst for the purposes of house-building and husbandry. The Governor has here to lament that neither coals nor lime-stone have been yet discovered in the western country; articles in themselves of so much importance, that the want of them must be severely felt whenever that country shall be settled. Having enumerated the principal and most important features of this new country, the Governor has now to notice some of its live productions. All around Bathurst abounds in a variety of game; and the two principal rivers contain a great quantity of fish, but all of one denomination, resembling the perch in appearance, and of a delicate and fine flavour, not unlike that of a rock cod. This fish grows to a large size, and is very voracious. Several of them were caught during the Governor's stay at Bathurst, and at the halting place on the Fish River. One of those caught weighed 17 lb. ; and the people stationed at Bathurst stated that they had caught some weighing 25 lb. The field game are the kangaroos, emus, black swans, wild geese, wild turkies, bustards, ducks of various kinds, quail, bronze, and other pigeons, &c. &c. The water mole, or paradox, also abounds in all the rivers and ponds. The site designed for the town of Bathurst, by observation taken at the Flag Staff, which was erected on the day of Bathurst receiving that name, is situated in latitude 33° 24' 30" south, and in longitude 149° 37′ 45" east of Greenwich, being also 27 miles north of Government House, in Sydney, and 944 west of it, bearing west 20° 30′ north, 83 geographic miles, or 954 statute miles; the measured road distance from Sydney to Bathurst being 140 English miles. The road constructed by Mr. Cox, and the party under him, commences at Emu Ford, on the left bank of the river Nepean, and is thence carried 101 miles to the Flag Staff at Bathurst. This road has been carefully measured, and each mile regularly marked on the trees growing on the left side of the road proceeding towards Bathurst. The Governor in his tour made the following stages, in which he was principally regulated by the consideration of having good pasturage for the cattle, and plenty of water : 1st stage-Spring Wood, distant from Emu Ford .. 12 miles 2d ditto-Jamieson's Valley, or second depôt, distant from ditto.... 28 41 56 ... 72 80 91 3d ditto-Blackheath, distant from ditto .... .... 1011 At all of which places the traveller may assure himself of good grass, and water in abundance. On Thursday, the 11th of May, the Governor and suite set out from Bathurst on their return, and arrived at Sydney on Friday, the 19th ult. The Governor deems it expedient here to notify to the public that he does not mean to make any grants of land to the westward of the Blue Mountains until he shall receive the commands of his Majesty's Ministers on that subject, and in reply to the report he is now about to make them upon it. In the mean time, such Gentlemen or other respectable free persons as may wish to visit this new country will be permitted to do so on making a written application to the Governor to that effect, who will order them to be furnished with written passes. It is at the same time strictly ordered and directed that no person, whether civil or military, shall attempt to travel over the Blue Mountains without having previously applied for and obtained permission, in the above prescribed form. The military guard stationed at the first depot on the mountains will receive full instructions to prevent the progress of any persons who shall not have obtained regular passes. The necessity for the establishing and strictly enforcing this regulation is too obvious to every one who will reflect on it to require any explanation here. The Governor cannot conclude this account of his tour without offering his best acknowledgments to William Cox, Esq. for the important service he has rendered to the colony in so short a period of time, by opening a passage to the new-discovered country, and at the same time assuring him that he shall have great pleasure in recommending his meritorious services on this occasion to the favourable consideration of his Majesty's Ministers. ARTICLE IV. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE; AND NOTICES OF SUBJECTS I. Lectures. Mr. Clarke will commence his next Course of Lectures on Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women and Children, on Wednesday, Jan. 24. The lectures are read every morning, from a quarter past ten to a quarter past eleven, for the convenience of students attending the hospitals, at No. 10, Saville-row. Dr. Clutterbuck will begin his Spring Course of Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Physic, Materia Medica, and Chemistry, about the middle of January, at ten o'clock in the morning, at his house, No. 1, in the Crescent, New Bridge-street. Medical Theatre, St. Bartholomew's Hospital. -- The Spring Courses of Lectures will commence at this place on Saturday, Jan. 20-On the Theory and Practice of Medicine; by Dr. Hue.-On Anatomy and Physiology; by Mr. Abernethy. On the Theory and Practice of Surgery; by Mr. Abernethy.-On Chemistry and Materia Medica; by Dr. Hue.-On Midwifery; by Dr. Gooch the Anatomical Demonstrations by Mr. Stanley. Russell Institution.-A Course of Lectures on the Elements of Electrical Science, including Galvanism and Electro-Chemistry, will be delivered at the Russell Institution during the ensuing season, by Mr. Singer. II. Geological Remarks on different Parts of Scotland: being an Extract of a Letter to the Editor from Professor Jameson. In my journey of this summer I revisited several points on the east coast of Scotland, re-examined the beds of porphyry and trap tuff in red sand-stone at Bervie, Crawtown, &c. discovered serpentine with imbedded diallage in the green-stone of the red sand-stone formation at Bervie, and found the Gabbro rock in situ at Portsoy, the andalusite near Macduff, the Hyperstene of Hauy at Portsoy; the great quartz formation which extends from Portsoy by Cullen nearly to Buchie, in which I observed beautiful illustrations of the chemical nature of the quartz breccias, and conglomerates of this and other parts of Scotland. Viewed the conglomerate rocks and red sandstone of Inverness; but only in a general way, as my intelligent friend Professor Buckland, of Oxford, had promised to examine them particularly. Found the conglomerate and red sand-stone extending nearly to the face of Fyers on the south side of Loch Ness, when they are succeeded by primitive rocks, which continue to Fort Augustus. The conglomerate rocks of Inverhavicket, and those near Fyers, are particularly interesting. The gneiss rocks at Fort Augustus abound in beds and veins of granite. A conglomerate rock appears again on the road from Fort Augustus to Letter Find lay, and contains beds and veins of granite. I remained several days at Fort William waiting for clear weather to ascend Ben Nevis; but the continuation of the fog and the rain confined my labours to the examination of Glen Nevis and the base of Ben Nevis. The beds of granite, syenite, and porphyry, are truly magnificent, and in a geognostic point of view highly interesting. Near Balahelish ferry, noticed various alternations of clay-slate with lime-stone; vast beds of quartz and trap. The country around Mr. Stewart, of Balahelish, I knew from my young friend Mr. Walter Adam to be well deserving the particular attention of the mineralogist, and the few hours I spent there proved highly gratifying to me. The geognostic relations of the granite, syenite, porphyry, quartz, and other rocks, correspond with those I observed in Glen Nevis. At the great slate quarries belonging to Mr. Stewart I observed fine examples of clayslate in distinct concretions of various magnitudes and forms, and which appeared to me to be illustrative of the chemical nature of clay-slate. Glenco exceeds in grandeur and magnificence all the mountainous scenery I have hitherto visited in Scotland. In this valley a great bed of a singular rock attracted my particular attention. It is composed of red granite, syenite, and porphyry, intermixed with enormous masses of quartz, which is sometimes pure, sometimes mixed with felspar or with mica; and it is to be observed passing into granite, or into gneiss, or mica-slate. This curious mass; has sometimes a conglomerated character; and, when not viewed on the great scale, might in some places be considered as granite, in others as quartz rock, or gneiss, or mica-slate, or porphyry; whereas the whole enormous mass is probably a conglomerated bed belonging to the mica-slate or clay-slate formation. The upper part of this glen, as remarked by Dr. Macknight, presents a grand display of porphyry rocks, and also those of the syenite formation; and few quarters in Scotland afford so fine a field for the study of their various geognostic relations. Here, as in Glen Nevis, &c. many appearances occur which show how cautious we ought to be in inferring the relative position of rocks from the direction and dip of the neighbouring strata. From the dreary inn of King's House the geognost can examine with ease the grand granite and syenite mountains that extend to Glenco and Inverouran; and at this latter place the connexion of the gneiss with these rocks can be satisfactorily ascertained. I spent some time in examining the lead mine in the vast bed of quartz at Tyndrum. The great conglomerate cliffs at Callender are trap tuff. It alternates with old red sand-stone. In Roxburghshire I find the predominating rocks to be greywacke-slate, greywacke, transition clay-slate, and red sand-stone, with its subordinate rocks. The transition rocks in this county agree with those which occur so abundantly in Peeblesshire, Berwickshire, Selkirkshire, Dumfriesshire, and Galloway. In Dumfriesshire I traced the coal field under the red sand-stone. In Lanarkshire the red sand-stone contains beds VOL. VII. N° I. F |