}777- however ihort, will be thought worth attending to, by thofe
<. who wilh to col left materials for tracing the origin of nations.
I ihall only premife, that the tall ftraight foreft
trees, which Mr. Anderfon defcribes in the following account,
are of a different fort from thofe which are found in
the more Northern parts of this coaft. The wood is very
long and clofe-grained; extremely tough ; fit for fpars, oars,
and many other ufes; and would, on occafion, make good
mails (perhaps none better), if a method could be found to
lighten it.
JS At the bottom of Adventure Bay is a beautiful fandy
beach, which feems to be wholly formed by the particles
wafhed by the fea from a very fine white fand-flone, that
in many places bounds the fhore, and of which Fluted
Cape, in the neighbourhood, from its appearance, feems
to be compofed. This beach is about two miles long,
and is excellently adapted for hauling a feine, which
both fhips' did repeatedly with fuccefs. Behind this, is
a plain or flat, with a fait, or rather brackifh lake (running
in length parallel with the beach), out of which
we caught, with angling rods, many whitifh bream,
and fome fmall trout. The other parts of the country adjoining
the bay are quite hilly ; and both thofe and the flat
are an entire foreft of very tall trees, rendered almoft impair-
able by fhrubs, brakes o f fern, and fallen trees; except on
the fides of fome of the hills, where the trees are but thin
and a coarfe grafs is the only interruption.
To the Northward o f the bay there is low land, ftretching
farther than the eye can reach, which is only covered with
wood in certain fpots; but we had no opportunity to examine
in what refpedts it differed from the hilly country.
The
The foil on the flat land is either fandy, or confifts of a yel- '777-
lowifli mould, and, in fome places, o f a reddifh clay. The 1 ^ y *
fame is found bn the lower part of the hills; but farther
up, efpecially where there are few trees, it is o f a grey tough
caft, to appearance very poor.
\ In the valleys between the hills, the water drains down
from their fides ; and at laft, in fome places, forms fmall
brooks; fuch indeed as were fufflcient to fupply us with
water, but by no means of that fize we might expedt in fo
exfenfive a country, efpecially as it is both hilly'and well
wooded. Upon the whole, it has many marks of being
naturally a very dry country; and perhaps might (independent
of its wood) be compared to Africa, about the Cape
of Good Hope, though that lies ten degrees farther Northward,
rather than to New Zealand, on its other fide, in the
fame latitude, where we find every valley, however fmall,
furnifhed with a confiderable ftream o f water. The heat too
appears to be great, as the thermometer flood at 64, 70, and
once at 74. And it was remarked, that birds were feldom
killed an hour or two, before they were almoft covered with
fmall- maggots, which I would rather, attribute merely to
the heat; as we had not any reafon to fuppofe there is a peculiar
difpolition in- the climate to render fubftances foon
putrid.
No mineral bodies, nor indeed ftones of any other fort,
but the white fand one already mentioned, were obferved.
Amongft the vegetable produdtions, there is not one, that
we could find, which afforded the fmalleft fubfiftence for
man.
The foreft trees are all of one fort, growing to a great
height, and in general quite ftraight, branching but little,
P 2 till