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prickly grass, but intersected by beautiful valleys, with a fertile soil and abundant supplies of fresh water. Further in the interior, the country in this part is described as of an unusually rich and fertile character, though generally flat, and traversed by a river of some size, which has been named Glenelg River.

Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania (so called from its discoverer, Tasman), consists generally of an alternation of hill and dale, almost every part of the island being adapted either for pasture or for cultivation. A mountain range, called the Western Mountains, traverses the interior, in some parts reaching the elevation of 5000 feet. Table Mount, which nearly overhangs Hobart Town, though less than 4000 feet in height, is covered with snow for twothirds of the year. The south-eastern portion of the coast is intersected with lagoons, much resembling the voes of the Zetland Isles, and forming excellent harbours; and the deeply-indented peninsula of Tasman, (at the extreme point of which rises the remarkable basaltic formation of Cape

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Pillar,) though of great extent, is only connected with the main land by a narrow isthmus, a few hundred feet in width. Van Diemen's Land, as we have already seen, enjoys a mild and equable climate; and the trees in this island attain the most magnificent dimensions, especially the eucalyptus and acacia trees, and the arborescent ferns, the latter, even in this latitude, growing to the height of thirty feet, with fronds twelve feet in length.

The mineral deposits of a considerable portion of Australia are yet unexplored. Some beds of coal have, however, been discovered: this valuable mineral having been met with near Newcastle, situated to the north of Sydney, where it is associated with the remains of fossilized trees, and with iron-stone nodules, containing impressions of leaves: and the carboniferous or coal-bearing system, has been recently observed, occurring in Victoria Province. Coal is also met with in considerable abundance in Van Diemen's Land.

In no part of the known world do we meet with so peculiar and so remarkable a flora as in Australia. Some trees occur, having their leaves twisted out of what appears their natural position; others with leaf stalks performing the office of leaves; others having fruit with the stone placed on the outside; plants belonging to parisitical orders, growing on the ground; and, from the very remarkable construction and appearance of a leguminous plant (a species of acacia), a Dutch botanist actually mistook it for a fern: indeed, so singular and peculiar is the aspect of many of the plants belonging to this region, that the eye of an experienced botanist is required to determine their true botanical character. In the eastern districts of Australia, however, the vegetation assimilates in some degree to that of South America; in the western districts, to that of Southern Africa; and, in the northern districts, yet nearer to that of the islands of the Indian Archipelago, the prevailing trees in the latter district, consisting chiefly of the seaforthia and other palms, the Cycas media, and the

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arborescent fern (fig. 213); whilst the mangrove lines the swampy shores near Port Essington.

Among the plants more peculiarly characteristic of Australian scenery, are the eucalyptus (fig. 14), of which there are several species, commonly known under the general name of gum-trees. These trees, in some parts, acquire splendid dimensions, and the brown gum-tree yields the timber called Australian mahogany. These trees, and the various species of acacia, or wattle-trees (fig. 73), with their countless yellow tufted flowers, form the prevailing trees in Australia. Some of the acacias present very extraordinary forms, being destitute of leaves, or having leaves of the most singular shape; and "the daviesias," says Professor Lindley, "rival the acacia itself in the strangeness of their foliage: daviesia quadrilatera has leaves which look more like objects prepared to puzzle a geometrician, than like any already known in the vegetable kingdom." The casuarina, or swamp oak (fig. 106), which is remarkable for its long weeping thread-like branches, appearing like the stem of an equisetum, forms the "beef wood" of the colonists, and occurs in great abundance in the south-western districts. In the same part, plants of the order proteaceæ are very prevalent, presenting many genera and species of the most varied appearance, as well as surpassing beauty; among these, one species of banksia (fig. 116), is said to have a trunk fifty feet high, and more than two feet and a half in diameter. The zamia genus (fig. 139), which, like the preceding order, occurs in Southern Africa, also inhabits these western districts; and one species is described which frequently attains the height of thirty feet. The xanthorrhea (fig. 193), is another native of these districts, and, with the banksia and zamia, forms groups that impart to some parts a character perfectly tropical. The Araucaria excelsa, or Norfolk Island pine (fig. 157), which grows in the eastern districts of Australia, is one of the most lofty trees known to exist, apparently only rivalled in height by the Califor nian pines. The pandanus, or screw pine (fig. 199), grows

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