The next morning found us again “en route” over a good road; but gloomy forests and brush produced a dull scenery,[71] until, as we progressed, it became enlivened by the gay blossoms of _Acacias_, _Patersonia_, _Daviesia_, _Pimelea_; the long spikes of the grass-tree, with tufts of white flowers; and a few small and elegant trees of the _Eucalyptus corymbosa_, which were profusely covered with clusters of snowy blossoms. The large forest trees in this country have very small roots in proportion to their size and elevation, so much so as to excite surprise how they are capable of standing against the severe gusts of wind to which they are frequently exposed; and yet for trees to be uprooted by that cause is comparatively rare,—showing that nature is always correct in her work, however it may at first appear to our judgment. On approaching the settlement of “Bong, Bong,” the wild forest had, in most places, given way to a cleared, cultivated, and beautiful country, forming a strong contrast to the gloomy bush we passed not long before. The vivid green of the fields of grain, in ear, but not yet mature, gave promise of a plentiful harvest; and clumps of trees, scattered about the pastures, sufficient to shelter the cattle from the parching heats of summer, added to the pleasing character of the scenery. The neat cottages, to which barns, stables, &c. were attached, sprinkled over the landscape; the distant wooded hills; and smiling fields, animated by cattle,—could not fail of exciting pleasurable sensations, and a favourable impression of this “land of promise,” sufficient to banish the disappointment which the dulness of many of the wild parts of the country is too apt to produce. Numerous small farms, with fields of grain, pasturage land, abounding in cattle, horses, and sheep; neatly fenced paddocks, (for hedges are unknown,) continued more or less from this, which is called the settlement, to the township of “Bong, Bong,” a distance of five or six miles. At one of the farms we passed, the overseer did not appear to have yet received much benefit from the “march of intellect;” for on a board the following notice appeared:—_No Thorrofaer Hear_.