the banks of the river, when we re-embarked, and continued our course upwards. (*Footnote. See Illustration: View of the River Hastings at its Junction with King's River.) The river now became much narrower, not being more than seventy or eighty yards wide; four miles higher up we landed and joined Mr. Cunningham, who was botanizing in the Lady Nelson's boat: this gentleman had overtaken us about an hour before and passed on to look for a convenient place to encamp for the night; but for want of a better situation, was obliged to land in a brush, the banks of which were so thickly lined with trees and climbing plants that we should have passed it if the station had not been indicated to us by his boat made fast to the landing place. Some rain fell during the night, but this inconvenience was trifling compared to the discordant screams of a bird which had roosted over our fires, and which the people called the cat-bird. The trichillia and the ficus, before noticed, are abundant on these banks, and are all intricately connected with each other by climbing plants which grow to an incredible size, and hang down in rich clusters from the summit to the root of the tree, tending considerably to beautify the richness of the scene. The woods included every tree of the soil and climate, excepting a white and straight stemmed eucalyptus, which is common at Hunter's River, and there called the Flooded Gum; it is used and reckoned valuable for spars, but the few specimens that I have seen of it have been very brittle and bad. Some of these trees were observed by us to be from fifty to sixty feet high, perfectly straight, and without a fork for forty feet. May 13. The next morning our boats in company proceeded for two miles farther up; in this space we crossed four falls, the last of which, running with great rapidity, occasioned some difficulty and trouble in passing over it: a little above this fall our exploration terminated, and we stopped to examine the timber. Several cedar-trees (Cedrelea toona), of large growth, were observed; one of which, being measured, was found to be ten feet in diameter at the base. The upper part of the river is studded with islets covered with the Casuarina paludosa which is abundant in the swamps and low grounds at Port Jackson, where the colonists call it the Swamp Oak. The river appeared to be subject to inundations, for marks of floods were visible in all parts, and some considerably beyond the banks. On our return we landed at a high rocky head on the north bank, from which a tract of open country appeared to recede. From hence Brown's Bluff bore South 32 degrees West. This Bluff is a remarkable hill, and is distinctly seen from the coast: its position was fixed by Mr. Oxley on his last journey, who passing within a few miles, rode to its summit to gain a view of the country, which he described as very extensive and beautiful, and as having abundantly repaid him for his labour.