English lady not to relish fuch difcourfes, nor to improve by them, and endeavour, by reading and information, to have her share in those entertainments, rather than turn afide, as it is the custom, to confult the woman who fits next her about a hat, a bonnet, or a muflin."

Fall, if it be poffible, into the train of fome innocent and useful employment, to fill up all your leifure time, and prevent you from being troublefome to your families, and to fociety, when you grow old, by your cankered tempers, which are the infallible followers of idleness.

I am, Mr. Editor, with regard, your conftant reader and well-wisher, SOPHIA *.

To the Editor of the Bee.

SIR,

As chemistry and botany are favourite and fashionable studies at present, and many who refide in the country cannot have it in their power to attend the lectures of profeffors at the univerfity, feveral of your readers, as well as myself, of the above defcription, wifhing not to remain entirely in the dark with regard to those branches of science, which you alfo touch upon at times in the Bee, are defirous, that, if it could be done with any degree of propriety, you would point out a path or plan of ftudy, and fuch books as would enable us ruftics, with a little application on our part, to understand the terms of art, and something of the nature of those two branches of knowledge. Your complying with the above request, especially if you think it will be of any advantage to us, will very much oblige, Sir, your's, A COUNTRY READER †.

* I affume this fignature to avoid the tirefome length of my former. In my next, I fhall give you a genuine account of the management I have adopted in educating my own daughters, with the refult of that experiment.

This fubject fhall be treated hereafter.

A Defcription of Norfolk Island, extracted from the Papers refpecting Botany Bay, communicated to Parlia ment, April 8th, 1791.

OUR readers have often heard of Botany Bay, and the great expence of that fettlement. The island that forms the fubject of the prefent article, is in the neighbourhood of that fettlement, and is feveral times mentioned in Governor Phillip's letters, as the most fertile spot they had yet obferved. In his letter, dated April 11th, 1790, he fays: "The "goodness of the foil of Norfolk Island, and the industry of those employed there, rendered that ifland a refource, and the only "one that offered, when, from the time that had paffed fince my "letters might be supposed to have been received in England, there was reafon to fuppofe fome accident had happened to the ftore-ships

"fent out.

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"I therefore ordered two companies of marines to be ready to embark, with a number of convicts, by the 5th of March, if no fhip ar"rived before that time; and a proportion of what provifions and stores "remained in this fettlement, being put on board the Sirius and Sup"ply, fixty-five officers and men, with five women and children from "the detachment and civil department, one hundred and fixteen nale, "and fixty-feven female convicts, with twenty-seven children, em"barked and failed the 6th of March.

"The advantage I expected, by fending away fuch a number of "people, was from the little garden-ground they would leave, and "which would affift those who remained; and the fish which might "be caught in the winter, would go the farther; at the fame time, "those fent to Norfolk Island would have refources in the great abun"dance of vegetables raised there, and in fish and birds, which this "fettlement could not afford them; and it was my intention to have "fent more convicts to this ifland, if there had not been this neceffi

"C

ty. The provifions fent, with what was on the island, and the wheat "and Indian corn raifed there, more than would be neceffary for feed,

36

was calculated to laft full as long as the provisions in this place; and at Norfolk Ifland, from the richness of the foil, a man may Support himself with little affifiance from the fore, after the timber is "cleared away..

99

By the accounts laid before parliament, it appears, that the expences already incurred by this establishment, preceding the the 9th February 1791, befides contingencies that cannot as yet be ftated, amounts to 374,090 l. 15 s. 8 d. The total number of convicts fent out, is 2029.

The defcription of Norfolk Island, is as follows.

t

NORFOLK Iland is fituated in the latitude 29° co', and in the longitude of 168° 00' eaft: Its form is nearly an oblong, and contains from twelve to fourteen thoufand acres.

The face of the country is hilly, and fome of the vallies are tolerably large for the fize of the ifland; many of the hills are very steep, and fome few fo very perpendicular, that they cannot be cultivated; but where such fituations are, they will do very well for fuel; on the tops of the hills, are fome extensive flats.

Mount Pitt is the only remarkable high hill in the island, and is about one hundred and fifty fathoms high. The cliffs which furround the ifland, are about forty fathoms high, and perpendicular; the bafis of the illand is a hard firm clay. The whole ifland is covered with a thick wood, choaked up with underwood.

The island is well supplied with many ftreams of very fine water; many of which are fufficiently large to turn any number of mills. These springs are full of very large eels.

From the coaft, to the fummit of mount Pitt, is a continuation of the richest and deepest foil in the world, which varies from a rich black mould to a fat red earth; we have dug down forty feet, and found the fame foil; the air is very wholesome, and the climate may be called a very healthy one; there has been no fickness fince I first landed on the ifland.

There are five kind of trees on the island, which are good timber, viz. the pine, live oak, a yellow wood, a hard black wood, and a wood not unlike the English beech. The pine trees are of a great fize, many of which are from 180 to 220 feet in height, and from 6 to nine feet in diameter. Thofe trees which are from 100 to 180 feet in height are in general found; from the root to the lower branches there is from 80 to 90 feet of found timber, the reft is too hard and knotty for ufe; it fometimes happens, that after cutting off VOL. III.

+

Gg

twenty feet from the butt, it becomes rotten or shakey; for which reafon, no dependence can be put in it fo large mafts or yards. The timber of the pine is very ufeful in buildings, and is plentiful along the coaft; its dispersed situation in the interior parts of the island is well calculated for erecting fuch buildings as may be neceffary. From what I have feen of this wood, I think it is very durable. Two boats have been built of it, and have answered the purpose fully.

The live oak, yellow wood, black wood, and beech, are all of a close grain, and are a durable wood.

The flax plant of New Zealand grows fpontaneously in many parts of the island, but mostly abounds on the fea coaft, where there is a very great quantity of it; the leaves of which the flax is made is, when full grown, fix feet long and fix inches wide; each plant contains feven of thofe leaves; a ftrong woody ftalk rifes from the centre, which bears the flowers; it feeds annually, and the old leaves are forced out by young ones every year. Every method has been tried to work it; but I much fear, that until a native of New Zealand can be carried to Norfolk Island, that the method of dreffing that valuable commodity will not be known; and could that be obtained, I have no doubt but Norfolk island would very soon cloath the inhabitants of New South Wales.

There are a great quantity of pigeons, parrots, hawks, and other fmaller birds, which are now in a wild ftate.

The ground is much infefted with different kinds of the grub worm, which are very deftructive to the growth of vegetables; they are moftly troublefome a bout the fpring. It is to be hoped that when more ground is cleared away, that this evil will ceafe.

There is no quadruped on the ifland, except the rat, which is much fmaller than the Norway rat: Thefe vermin were very troublefome when firft we landed, but, at prefent, there are but very few.

The coafts of the island abound with very fine fish. No opportunities were ever loft of fending the boat out, which enabled us to make a faving of two pounds of meat, each man, a week.

The coasts of the island are in general fteep too, and, excepting at Sydney, Anfon, Ball, and Cascade Bays, they are inacceffible, being furrounded by steep perpendicular cliffs rifing from the sea. Some rocks are fcattered about clofe to the fhore.

Sydney Bay, on the fouth fide of the island, is where the fettlement is made: Landing at this place entirely. depends on the wind and the weather; I have feen as good landing as in the Thames, for a fortnight or three weeks together, and I have often feen it impracticable to land for ten or twelve days fucceffively; but it is much oftener good landing than bad.

Anfon Bay is a small bay with a fandy beach, where landing is in general good, with an off-shore wind and moderate weather; but as the interior parts of the iland are fo difficult of access from thence, no fhip's boats have ever landed there.

Ball Bay is on the fouth-eaft fide of the ifland, the beach is a large loofe ftone; when landing is bad in Sydney Bay, it is very good here, as it alfo is in Cafcade Bay, on the north fide of the island.

During the winter months, viz. from April to Auguft, the general winds are the south and fouth-west, with heavy gales at times. In the summer, the southeaft wind blows almoft conftant.

The fpring is vifible in Auguft; but the native trees, and many plants in the island, are in a constant state of flowering: The fummer is warm, and fometimes the droughts are very great; all the grain and European plants feeded in December; from February to Auguft, may be called the rainy feafon, not that I think there is any stated times for rains in thefe months, as it is fometimes very fine weather for a fortnight together; but when the rain does fall, it is in torrents. I do not