ountry which lay between the river and the
base of these hills. The waters of the Peel, and the shady trees
overhanging its banks, were visible for several miles; and the varying
outlines of wood, tinted with the delicate lights, around which the deep
grey shadows of early morning were still slumbering, contrasted finely
with the rugged rocks of the hill on which I stood, already sharpened by
the first rays of the rising sun. This hill consisted of trap-rock.

FORD OF WALLANBURRA.

The passage between it and the river was not very safe for the carts, so
that we made a detour on leaving the camp, and did not again see the Peel
until we arrived near the ford of Wallanburra, distant from Perimbungay 4
1/4 miles. The bed of the river was here broad and gravelly; and the
banks on each side were low, qualities most essential to a good ford, but
by no means common on the Peel. Two emus, the first we had seen on this
journey, were drinking on the opposite side, as we approached the ford,
but they ran away on seeing the party. The current was strong, though the
water did not reach above the axles of the carts, and by half-past seven
A.M. everything was safe on the other side of the Peel. On quitting the
immediate banks of the river, we passed through a forest of the tree
resembling pine (Callitris) with bushes of the Acacia pendula
interspersed. There was also a tree new to us, having a small round leaf.

PLAINS OF MULLUBA.

After proceeding six miles, we reached the borders of an extensive open
tract, named Mulluba. It could scarcely bear the usual designation of
plain (the term applied in New South Wales to almost all land free from
trees) for the undulations were as great as those which occur between
London and Hampstead, and, indeed, the whole territory bore a remarkable
resemblance to an enclosed and cultivated country. The ridges, of the
kind already described, I observed in directions, both with the slopes,
and across them, exactly resembling furrows in fallow land. Trees grew in
rows, as if connected with field enclosures, and parts, where bushes or
grass had been recently burnt, looked red or black, thus contributing to
the appearance of cultivation. The soil was, indeed, well worthy of being
cultivated, for it consisted of a rich black mould, so loose and deep
that it yawned in cracks, as if for want of feet to tread it down. It
appeared very probable however that in wet weather such parts of the
country might be to