Inhabitants; inferior to those of the continent
Range of the thermometer
Pass Table Cape
Circular head
Three Hummock Island
Albatross Island
Hunter's Isles
Proceed to the southward and westward

Leaving Furneaux's Islands, the _Norfolk_ proceeded toward the North
coast of Van Diemen's land; and on the 1st of November she anchored for a
tide at the largest of the Swan isles, two small islands so named by
Lieutenant Flinders, when he was here in the _Francis_, because a
European who belonged to the _Sydney Cove_ had assured him that he
had met with vast numbers of breeding swans upon them.

The isle at which the sloop anchored bore a great resemblance to
Preservation Island, being low, sandy, and barren, but differed from it
in the composition of its rocks, or that substance which formed the basis
of its support. This had not any affinity to granite, nor did Mr. Bass
remember to have seen any of a similar kind upon any part of New South
Wales. It was of various colours, but generally either a light brown, or
a sort of grey. It seemed to be lamellated, but the lamellae were placed
vertically, sometimes radiated with a diameter of four or five feet, and
sometimes they were placed parallel. Upon breaking the stone, the
fracture was vitreous, or like that of glass, and it scintillated on
steel being applied. Rust of iron was visible in several parts, the
stone breaking easily in those parts into plates correspondent to the
length and direction of the rust; but where that was not, it broke with
great difficulty. On the first view, the stone looked like a clay; but as
it produced fire with steel, there must have been a large portion of
flint in it. It appeared to contain iron in rather a large quantity, and
probably some other metallic substances.

Notwithstanding the information given by the European, not a single swan
was found upon the island; but several geese were breeding there, and the
sooty petrel possessed the grassy parts; the swans of the sailor, in this
instance, therefore, turned out to be geese. This bird had been seen
before upon Preservation Island, and was either a Brent or a Barnacle
goose, or between the two. It had a long and slender neck, with a small
short head, and a rounded crown; a short, thick arched bill, partly
covered with a pea-green membrane which soon shrivelled up, and came
away in the dried specimens. Its plumage was, for the most part, of a
dove colour, set with black spots. It had a