About ten or twelve miles from this station there is a small fertile plain, or flat, called “Blowrin;” it abounds in rich herbage, and is surrounded by woody and verdant ranges of hills, with the Tumat river flowing through it, besides being irrigated by numerous rivulets. In the vicinity of this plain, small mountain rills would be seen gushing over the abrupt declivities into the vales beneath, refreshing the vegetation, so profuse about these spots. On the rich grassy plain, the “sparkling cowslip” was profusely scattered, and a multitude of other flowers, vying with each other in beautiful tints, adorning the soil. The roads, or rather cattle-paths, to this plain, led through defiles of hilly and picturesque scenery; hills towered above us, clothed at some parts densely, and at others thinly, with various kinds of timber; a number of trickling streams ran murmuring through the vales, their banks covered with a luxuriant vegetation, while the rich pasturage afforded abundance of food for the herds of cattle located here, and for the kangaroos and emus, which are numerous in these valleys and ranges. On the banks of the Tumat stream, shrubs of the genus, _Pomaderris_, _Westringia_, _Grevillea_, _Veronica_, and _Acacia_, were profusely in flower; and the flax plant, (_Linum Australis_?) called “Warruck” and “Brangara” by the natives, grew luxuriantly about the flat, attaining the height of from two to five feet, and the largest circumference of stem, half an inch. This plant, by cultivation, might form a valuable article of commerce, and could be procured in any quantity. The natives first pulling the bark from the stem, remove the epidermis from the flax, and dry it in the sun; they then manufacture it into small cord by rolling upon the thigh; (a similar method is adopted by the New Zealanders when manufacturing their flax into twine;) it is afterwards employed in the formation of nets, and for a variety of other purposes. CHAPTER XV. Kangaroo hunt—Ferocity of that animal—Use of its tendons—The culinary parts—Haunts of the kangaroo—A death struggle—Dissection of a kangaroo—Preservation of human fat—Ascent of trees in pursuit of game—Parrots and cockatoos—The emu—The native porcupine—Species of ophthalmia, termed the blight—Leave the Tumat country—Banks of the Murrumbidgee—Aborigines—Water gum-tree—Kangaroo rat—The fly-catcher—The satin bird—Sheep stations—Colonial industry.