sandstone range; a fine stream ran through it in which were several large
reservoirs of fresh water; the hills on each side were lofty, being at
times of a rounded character, and at others broken into precipitous and
fantastic cliffs; the country was thinly wooded with large timber, and
the varied scenery, the facility which the country afforded for
travelling, and the pleasure incident on finding ourselves clear of the
marshy ground which had so long encumbered our movements, combined to
make me push along as fast as possible; the only check was the heat of
the sun; and it should always be borne in mind that no parallel whatever
can be instituted between travels in tropical and extra-tropical
Australia, for in the former the more exhausting nature of the climate
unfits both men and horses for making long journeys, and indeed renders
it almost impossible to travel during the heat of the day, whilst the
difficult nature of the ground caused by the dense vegetation, the
jungles, the ravines, and marshes, render it altogether impracticable to
move at night through an unknown country.

WILD OATS.

We crossed during the day several recent tracks of natives but did not
fall in with the natives themselves; we also saw many kangaroos, and
halted for the night on an elevated basaltic ridge, at a point close to
which there was a large crop of the grain which we called wild oats. This
is a remarkable vegetable production, growing to the height of from five
to six feet; in the stalk, the shape, and mode of insertion of the leaves
it is similar to the oat of Europe; the manner in which the seeds grow in
the two plants is also the same, and the seeds are nearly of the same
size, but the Australian oat is furnished with a beard like the barley.
When hungry I have repeatedly eaten these oats, which in some parts grow
in such abundance that several acres of them might be mown at once; and I
have little doubt that this plant would with cultivation turn out to be a
very great addition to our tropical grains.*

(*Footnote. I am informed that the seeds of it which I introduced into
the Isle of France in 1838 have greatly multiplied and that the plants
are in a very flourishing state.)

March 25.

This morning we resumed our journey, crossing a succession of basaltic
valleys. The vegetation was luxuriant beyond description; and it was
ludicrous to see the heavy-tailed kangaroos leaping and floundering about
in the long grass when they