prefence would deprive us of the only fresh meals the fettlement affords, the flesh of the kangaroo. This fingular animal is already known in Europe, by the drawing and defcription of Mr. Cook. To the drawing nothing can be objected but the pofition of the claws of the hinder leg, which are mixed together like thofe of a dog, whereas no fuch indiftinctnefs is to be found in the animal I am defcribing. It was the Chevalier de Perroufe who pointed out this to me, while we were comparing a kangaroo with the plate; which, as he juftly obferved, is correct enough to give the world in general a good idea of the animal, but not fufficiently accurate for the man of fcience.

Of the natural history of the Kangaroo, we are ftill very ignorant. We may, however, venture to pronounce this animal a new fpecies of opoffum, the female being furnished with a bag, in which the young is contained; and in which the teats are found. Thefe laft are only two in number, a ftrong prefumptive proof, had we no other evidence, that the kangaroo brings forth rarely more than one at a birth. But this is fettled beyond a doubt, from more than a dozen females having been killed, which had invariably but one formed in the pouch. Notwithftanding this, the animal may be looked on as prolific, from the early age it begins to breed at, kangaroos with young having been taken of not more than thirty pounds weight; and there is room to believe that, when at their utmoft growth, they weigh not lefs than one hundred and fifty pounds. A male of one hundred and thirty pounds weight has been killed, whofe dimenfions were as follows:

After this, perhaps, I fhall hardly be credited, when I affirm, that the kangaroo, on being brought forth, is not larger than an English moufe. It is, however, in my power to speak pofitively on this head, as I have feen more than one inftanceofit.

In running, this animal confines himfelf entirely to his hinder legs, which are possessed with an extraor dinary mufcular power. Their speed is very great, though not in general quite equal to that of a greyhound; but, when the greyhounds are fo fortunate as to feize them, they are incapable of retaining their hold, from the amazing ftruggles of the animal. The bound of the kangaroo, when not hard preffed, has been measured, and found to exceed twenty feet.

At what time of the year they copulate, and in what manner, we know not: the tefticles of the male are placed contrary to the ufual order of nature.

When young, the Kangaroo eats tender and well flavoured, tafting like veal, but the old ones are more tough and ftringy than bull beef. They are not carnivorous, and fubfift altogether on particular flowers and grafs. Their bleat is mournful, and very different from that of any other animal: it is, however, feldom heard but in the young ones.

Fish, which our fanguine hopes led us to expect in great quantities, do not abound. In fummer, they are tolerably plentiful, but for fome

months

.. taken.

months paft very few have been Botany Bay in this refpect exceeds Port Jackfon. The French once caught near two thousand fish in one day, of a fpecies of grouper, to which, from the form of a bone in the head refembling a helmet, we have given the name of light horfe man. To this may be added bafs, mullets, fkait, foles, leather-jackets, and many other fpecies, all fo good in their kind, as to double our regret at their not being more numerous. Sharks of an enormous fize are found here. One of thefe was caught by the people on board the Sirius, which measured at the fhoulders fix feet and a half in circumference. His liver yielded twenty-four gallons of oil; and in his ftomach was found the head of a hark, which had been thrown overboard from the fame hip. The Indians, probably from having felt the effects of their voracious fury, teftify the utmoft horror on feeing thefe terrible fifli.

Venomous animals and reptiles are rarely feen. Large fnakes beautifully variegated have been killed, but of the effect of their bites we are happily ignorant. Infects, tho' numerous, are by no means, even in fummer, fo troublefome as I have found them in America, the Weft Indies, and other countries.

The climate is undoubtedly very

defirable to live in. In fummer the heats are ufually moderated by the fea breeze, which fets in early; and in winter the degree of cold is fo flight as to occafion no inconvenience; once or twice we have had hoar frofts and hail, but no appearance of fnow. The thermometer has never rifen beyond 84, nor fallen lower than 35, in general it stood, in the beginning of February, at between 78 and 74 at noon. Nor is the temperature of the air lefs healthy than pleafant. Thofe dreadful putrid fevers, by which new countries are to often ravaged, are unknown to us and excepting a flight diarrhoa, which prevailed foon after we had landed, and was fatal in very few inftances, we are ftrangers to epidemic difeaf s.

On the whole (thunder ftorms in the hot months excepted) I know not any climate equal to this I write in. Ere we had been a fortnight on fhore, we experienced fome ftorms of thunder, accompanied with rain, than which nothing can be conceived more violent and tremendous, and their repetition for feveral days, joined to the damage they did, by killing feveral of our theep, led us to draw prefages of an unpleasant nature. Happily, however, for many months we have escaped any fimilar vifitations."

USEFUL

Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Com

merce.

Sir,

A S my former accounts of

experiments comparatively made between drilling and broadcafting, in order to discover which was the most advantageous method of cultivating land, have met with a favourable reception by the fociety of arts, manufactures, and commerce, I am induced to lay before them a farther statement of my fuccefs in drilling, upon a fcale of three hundred and twenty-three acres, in the year 1788 (which makes the third year of my practice at large, in the drill fyftem, upon my farm, viz. wheat feventy, barley ninety, oats seven, beans fifty-two, peas twenty-eight, turnips feventy, cole

fix acres.

The comparative experiments, which I made in the year 1787, between drilling and broad-cafting four acres of each with wheat, was upon cold clay, that being the only foil upon which I entertained at that time any doubts of the drill fyftem having a fuperiority over the broadcaft; and, having repeatedly and fuccessfully derived an uniform fuperiority in favour of drilling, on light fands and dry loams, it was my intention never to give myself the trouble of repeating a comparative experiment on fuch foils; but, reflecting on the attention which the fociety have paid to my former letters on the fubject of drilling, by giving them a place in their tranfactions; and confidering that the fociety, by continuing to offer a premium for the comparative culture of drilling and broad-cafting, was defirous of ftill farther experiments

than those I have already commu-. nicated; I determined to facrifice the profits of fixteen pounds, which, from the refult of former experiments, I had reafon to believe I fhould lofe, by fowing four acres broad-caft, to the pleasure and fatisfaction I might have in furnishing the fociety with the refult of a comparative experiment between drilling and broad-casting four acres of each upon a fandy loam, agree. ably to the terms propofed by the 'fociety for making such ascertainment.

Accordingly I fixed upon a twenty-acre piece, which was trenchploughed for a turnip-fallow in the beginning of November, 1786, and dunged about Christmas following; afterwards ploughed three times, at proper intervals; alfo harrowed occafionally, and drilled with turnips, in rows twelve inches apart: the turnips were well hoed three times, and produced an exceeding good crop, which was eat off by fheep in autumn: the land was afterwards trench-ploughed, four acres of which were drilled with four bushels of wheat; the fame day four acres adjoining (the foil as fimilar as poffible, were fown broad-caft with ten bufhels of wheat, in order to make the comparative experiment.

In the first week of April, 1788, the drilled wheat was hoed, and repeated the last week in the fame month; at which time the broadcaft was alfo hoed, with hoes of a proper fize for the purpose, in order to give it every advantage: at harveft the crops of the refpeftive four acres were feparately reaped, each laid by itfelf in the barn, and feparately thrashed, in order to afcertain, with the greateft accuracy, the difference of each produce. The

refult

refult as follows; which alfo appears in the numbers 14 and 15 of the next afcertainments.

Produce of four acres drilled, one hundred and nineteen bufhels, one gallon, and four pints; produce of four acres broad-caft, ninety-four bufhels, two gallons, and four pints -difference in favour of drilling, twenty-four bufhels, feven gallons, which, at five fhillings and fixpence per bufhel, together with fix bufhels of feed faved by drilling, which coft me feven fhillings and fourpence halfpenny per bufhel, amounts to nine pounds one fhilling and three farthings. Deduct the extra expenfes of drilling four acres at fixpence, and extra hoeing at eighteenpence per acre, amounting to eight fhillings, the net profit in favour of drilling will be eight pounds thirteen fhillings and three farthings, or two pounds three fillings and threepence per acre.

From the apparent difproportion between the real advantages in favour of drilling, as above, and my apprehenfion, in a former letter, of lofing fixteen pounds by fowing four acres broad-caft, it may at first fight be inferred, that I muft have been very much mistaken in my calculations refpecting the real advantages of drilling, compared with thofe of broad-cafting; on which account I have to obferve, that toward the latter end of April, 1788, when the four acres drilled, three weeks after it had been hoed, gained fuch a decided fuperiority over the adjoining four acres broad-caft, which was felf-evident by the ftrength of the plants, and being of a darker green, that I determined to give the broad-caft every advantage: accordingly I had it as well hoed as was practicable to be done;

which is, in fact, doing all that can be done for any broad-caft crop : this evidently improved the four acres broad-caft; otherwife I am decidedly of opinion, that, in cafe the hoeing of the four acres broadcaft had not taken place, but the weeds had been fuffered to grow, the four acres drilled would have exceeded the four acres broad-caff more than one-third; from whence I cannot fee that I have any reafon to make the least abatement respect ing my affertions in a former letter, that I was apprehenfive I should lofe fixteen pounds by fowing four acres broad-caft. Hoeing of broadcaft corn is nothing new with me, or others; it is commonly done in Berkshire, and other places; and was my uniform practice for twelve or thirteen years of my broad-caft farming; but, as it cannot be performed fo effectually in a broadcaft crop as in a drilled one, it is unreasonable to expect equal advantages from it, fince, after all the care and pains that can be taken in hoeing a broad-caft crop, there will be many weeds left growing, being fo mixed and interwoven with the corn, as not to be cut up without cutting up the corn allo. I muft own, that neither the produce of the above four acres drilled, nor the produce of the four acres broadcafl, came up to my expectations, confidering the due preparation of the foil. This I attribute entirely to the drynefs of the feafon : there is nevertheless this inference to be drawn from it, that, in whatever proportion any drilled crop may luffer in a dry feason, for want of moisture, the broad-caft crop will fuffer fill more, by reafon of the feed being depofited in improper depths; for the plants of those feeds