fterwards, and, although the cut was
both large and deep, he soon recovered.

DISCOVERY OF MEW RIVER.

The frequent excursions of our shooting parties being more extended than
during our last visit became the means of adding considerably to our
knowledge of the surrounding country. One of the immediate consequences
was the discovery of several small streams of fresh water. The principal
of these, which we named Mew River (after its first finder, the sergeant
of marines on board) has its mouth in a small mangrove creek three
quarters of a mile to the eastward of Evans Bay. About five miles further
up its source was found to be a spring among rocks in a dense calamus
scrub. It waters a fine valley running nearly east and west behind the
range of hills to the southward of Evans Bay, and its line is marked by a
belt of tangled brush exceeding in luxuriance anything of the same
description which I had seen elsewhere. The variety of trees in this
dense brush is very great, and many were quite new to me. The Seaforthia
palm attained the height of 60 to 80 feet, and the rattan was very
abundant, and from the recurved prickles catching and tearing the
clothes, it was often no easy matter to penetrate the thickets. Among the
plants along the river the most interesting is an indigenous species of
banana or plantain, probably the same as that found at Endeavour River
during Cook's first voyage. The fruit is of small size with numerous hard
seeds and a small quantity of delicious pulp; cultivation would,
doubtless, wonderfully improve it. Another remarkable plant found on the
grassy borders of the jungle and characteristic of rich damp soil is a
beautiful species of Roscoea (?) (one of the Scitamineae or ginger
family) about a foot high, with a solitary leaf and large bracteae, the
lower green and the upper ones pink, partially concealing handsome yellow
flowers. From its succulent nature I failed in preparing specimens for
the herbarium, but some roots were preserved and given to the Botanical
Garden at Sydney.

THE VALLEY OF THE MEW.

The lower part of the valley is open forest land, or nearly level and
thinly wooded country covered with tall coarse grass. Further up it
becomes more beautiful. From the belt of wood, concealing the windings of
the river, grassy sloping meadows extend upwards on each side to the
flanking ridges which are covered with dense scrub occasionally extending
in straggling patches down to the water, and