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Show NEW sOUni WALKS. Its Four Si'iisuits anil Climatic Descripliuii of Sydney and its Seltlcnieiil. The ArictiHurt', Horticulture antl Zoulojrvof that Interesting Interest-ing t'ulony. S,u:ciiil Corrtspomluncc Sv on&v, Australia, August 21th, 1870. A little more than nine months ago I stepped into the car at the Utah Central depot and left Salt Lake city for Auetralia, and in two days I was in San Francisco, enjoying the cuuny skies and breathing the balmy air of California. Two weeks later I was strolling through the streets of Honolulu, seeking the shade of the banana and fig trees, to shelter me Irnm tin Kf.ar,. U i r o- rnva nf Miomm: lrom me seorening rays oi tne sun; and after a lapse of two wctiks more, during which time I bad passed the Navigator's and other islands, aud been rocked to sleep many limes on the heaving bosom of the Pacific and South Pacific oee.um, I was standing on the eastern Bhore of Australia and was a resident uf .Sydney, the chief town and cupital of New S-'ouih Wales ; aud here I have since remained ; have endured the oppressive heat of one summer; the warmth, winds and dusts of autumn; tho cold aud drizzling rain of winter; and now the occasional t-bowers and pentle breezes admonish me that an Anitrrtiian spring is close at hand, which, if I survive, will bring me through the four Reasons of the year. The seasons in this country are not1 very clearly defined; still they have them: spring, summer, autumn and j winter. September, October aud I November are the spring months, diiring which the nights are said to be cold and the daya warm and pleasant. I have no doubt with regard to the warmth nl' tho itii'o hut. (m rcotinU flip nloai- ot the days, but as regards the pleasant pleas-ant days and cold nights, I shall be better able to judge after I have spent another three months in Sydney. Do-eember, Do-eember, January and February are the summer months, and the mean heat of a New South Wales summer, although recorded in our geographies at about 80, is in reality mean enough to run up to such a degree that by a trifling outlay for brimstone, Sydney could be converted into a first-clitss first-clitss Gehenna, all tho other requisites being now on hand. You miglit suggest sug-gest this idea to ex-James B. and Stratum, that when their father's dominion is full, he could select this place, as the expatriated convicts' future abode (which it once was,) and turn New South Wnles again iulo a penal settlement. Thatsublimo and more than mortal declaration, that rang out in clarion tones, trom old Independence Hal!, Philadelphia, on Lhe 4th day of July, 177G, virtually closed the American colonies as a place of transportation for felons, and caused Uncle "Johnny" to look somewhere some-where elae for a suitable locality where lie could ship his surplus "scalawags," and the favorable report of this country by the illustrious and Kuceceasful navigator, Captain Cook, decided the British government in selecting Australia as the desired spot, and a more judicious selection in my opinion could not have been made. opinion could not nave oeen niaue. The government oi Great Britain is justly acknowledged to be a good and wise one, but good governments, like kood men, are liable sometimes to commit errors, and one of the groat-eat groat-eat mistakes Great Britain ever made (equaled only by the attempt at-tempt to rivet the shackels of slavery on the 'American colonies) was, in allowing this country to be occupied for any other purpose or by any other class of people, than those by whom it was first settled, aud for whom and no other, it seems by nature na-ture to be so peculiarly and specially adapted. In 17SS the first fleet of: convict ships for Australia, with 757 , convicts aboard, anchored iu Botany bay, and iu June, 1849, the last ships with that kind of freight, entered Port Jackson, one of the finest harbors har-bors in the world, and the pride and admiration of Sydney's sons. One of the first questions propounded pro-pounded 'to a stranger on landing here is "Well, 'rhat do you think of our harbor?" and the secoud question is, "And how do you like Sydney?" The answer to the first question comes readily enough, "Fine harbor," "You havo a splendid harbor," etc., etc. Before answering the other question, wisdom might su.gest a little re flection, although the answer would almost iuva-iably come as spontaneously as the first, and in ninety-nino cases in one hundred would be, "I think your city shows everywhere unmistakable evidences of anledeluvian fogy ism, except in the baser passion and vices which afilict mankind, and In these its attainments and practices would place it conspicuously in tho front rank of any city of equal size either iu Europe or America." But when we take into consideration the character char-acter of the early settlers of tbis colony, and consider the fact that so, recent as 1S19 it was a penal settle-j mcut, and the more recent discovery i of gold inlSod or 1S51, attracting as it , did, adventurers and speculators from all parts of the world, perhaps the greater wonder is that tho social status of Sydney is no worse. The gold fever in any country is sufficient to disturb the tquilibrium of society; and for several years after the discovery dis-covery ol gold in Australia, that fever prevailed to aich an extent that, the historian has toid us, it disorganized lhe whole framework of colonial society, ana aitnougn a quarter oi a century has elapsed since this colony was convulsed with the scenes and eicitemonts incident to newly discovered dis-covered gold fields, yet the eflects of those days of wild excitement aud uubridkd passions are plainly visible in and around the capital of the colony. But with over a thousand places of worship, exclusive of private dwellings and out door places for devotion, and more than 500 paid ministers who weekly and "semi-occasionally" "semi-occasionally" lift their warning voices to warn the people Irom fire and brimstone, New South Wales will no doubt overcome the shock and convulsions con-vulsions ot the past and resume her normal condition; then will "colonial ale" and debauchery (the bane now of Sydney society) be banished from the colony, and peaceful, happy homes will epring up and occupy tne place where now bitter strife, burning burn-ing jealousies and reckless insiucerity lo the marriage vow seem to be the chief and predominating characteristics character-istics ol society. New South Wales extends from tlio 21 It to the 37th degree of south latitude, lati-tude, and from the 140th to the 154th degree of east longitude, and centAins an area of 823,4o7 square miles. From the large area ot the colony, extending over nine degree? of latitude, a great variety of climate is to be found. Thai of Sydney has been compared to Naplen. Tuii rally KOod-looking and well-eiiduvud per sons often buIUt by cump iri-nn with othersof superior beauty and Ituin incuts. Sj with the climate ol Sydney Syd-ney and Nap!es. 1 presume the latter has lot nothing by tS'C compariMin. Climatic circumstances and the absence of water render much of the land here entirely usvless for agricultural agricul-tural purposes. There are, however, narrow strips of fertile ground on th margins of some of the rivers, but lhe liability of inundation of liusw fertile fer-tile InjUihoh, where the year's har-veot har-veot is frequently swupt away in an hour, counterbalances their fertility and leaves them a'most as worthless, except for pastoral pas-toral purpose., as the other luuds mentioned. There are a great variety of indigenous trees, shrubs and plants that nourish in this colony. Nearly all the smaller varieties bear a yellow blossom ai.d are very pretty. Few decidiuus trees grow iu New South Wales; they are almcst universally evergreen, consequently there is no depo-i I of leaves in autumn to enrich I the soil. The gum trco, of which there are several varieties, abounds in all parts ot Australia. It resembles somewhat, in appearance, the eastern hickory, and is a valuable wood for ninny purposes. Native fig trees are plentiful and in great variety. , The fruit is email aud worthier, and the wood of little value. They are a fine shade tree, lhe leaves large and glossy of a dink green color and very thick, resembling very much the leaf of the dwarf magnolia or awamp laurel o' New Yi.-rk. Feins of endless diversity jrow here in great profusion and frequently attain to the heighth of t-.venty-tive and thirty feel, with a trunk of nine and ten inches in diameter. With the exception of the wild cherry and another fruit called the quandong, there are no native fruits of any kind in the colony. : To give you an idea of the native Hnimals, I will close my letter with an extract from the "Otlicial Hand Book of Australia" : "Nearly all of the larger animals found in Nw South Wales are of the marsupial order, that is, having a natural pouch in which they carry their young. The kangaroo takes precedence in size. It is found in various parts, aud occasion aily in such numbers as to-seriously to-seriously incommode the operations of tho settlers. Wallabys and Paddy-melons Paddy-melons ace a smaller species, and still snmlliT variplira nrp fnnnrl in tho rat family. The bandicoot, a small animal with a bead and snout resembling resem-bling the pig; the wombat; the opossum; opos-sum; the native bear, a small harmless harm-less creature in shape likoa bear; the native cat, a pretty but destructive animal; and the platypus, and native hedgehog, bout exhaust the number of the larger mammalia. Bats aro very numerous, from the flying foxes of large size to the flying mouse; like all this tribe they are nocturnal in their habits. Snakes are far loo plentiful to be pleasint; five diflerent families exist in New South Wales. The death-ndJer and the yellow snake are the most dangerous and their bite is frequently fatal. The lizard tribe are well represented, the largest being Lhe iguana. Birds are . remarkable for their variety, and, so far as the parrot tribe is concerned, the beauty ot their plumage. The eagle tribe is widely distributed; there aro also several species of owls. The great kingfisher, or laughing jackass, cau bo met with in most parts, its strange hoot and peculiar so called laugh making tho bush echo in the early moruiug and at sundown. The magpie mag-pie is also common, and its cry heard in tho early morning is very musical. Cockatoos, parrots and paroquets are very plentiful, and are of all the hues of the rainbow. Pigeons, particularly the wonga-wouga, too, are also plenti ful in the coast district. Quails, native pheasants, and bush turkey are found. The wild turkey and the emu, the latler the largest biped found on the continent, are now confined to the plains. Water birds are, the native companion and several other species of the crane and heron; the black wan is the most graceful and the largest of all. Leeches abound in most of the creeks and lagoons. Insects In-sects are prolific, almost beyond belief; be-lief; the mosquito is the most numerous numer-ous and certainly the most annoying of ail, but the locusts arc the most noisy, aud at. suudown Lheir shrill whittling fills the air. Ants are of various kinds, the species termed the bull ant being of large size and dangerous to interfere with. : Native bees are plentiful. Spiders of all eizos, from the tarantula (or the tri-anteiopeasit tri-anteiopeasit is more vulgarly called) downwards, flouiish in all parts." , I. G. |