oad, is let for as much as 20
shillings per acre.

The mansion of Sir John Jamieson, situated several miles above Emu,
commands an extensive view over that noble stream, the rich margins of
which are hemmed in, on the west, by the abrupt precipices of the Blue
mountains. The intermediate space beyond the ford is called Emu plains.
At the inn near this ford I passed the night, being desirous to cross the
Blue mountains next day.

April 1.

At daybreak we crossed the river in the punt. The Hawkesbury is 130 yards
broad at this ferry, being the broadest freshwater stream known in
Australia before the discovery of the Murray.

COUNTY OF COOK.

We now entered the county of Cook, so named by me in considering that its
lofty summits must have been the first land that met the eye of the
celebrated navigator on his first approach to the eastern coast.

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

Here again we meet with that precipitous, inaccessible kind of country
which distinguishes the sandstone formation, so extensive in Australia.
This arenaceous deposit, for a long time, confined the colonists within
the line of the Hawkesbury, and until the want of fresh pastures during
dry seasons compelled them to explore these rocky regions. One party
succeeded in penetrating the country to the westward by following the
continuous line of high land which separates the ravines of the valley of
the river Cox on one side from those which belong to the valley of the
Grose on the other. In this direction the road to the interior country
was accordingly opened by Governor Macquarie; and the ravines on each
side are too deep and precipitous to admit of any extensive alteration of
the line, although it has recently been much improved, especially in the
ascent to these mountains above Emu, and in the descent from them to the
interior country. These were the chief difficulties in making the
original road across this mountain mass, as the old passes of Lapstone
Hill and Mount York still testify. The upper region being once gained, it
presents considerable uniformity of feature, at least along the
connecting ridge. The rise is gradual from a height of about 1000 feet
above Emu plains to 3,400 feet, its maximum, near King's Tableland, 25
miles further westward.

WEATHERBOARD INN.

This mass of sandstone is intersected by ravines, deep in proportion to
the height of the surface, until the profound depth of the valleys
adjacent to the Weatherboard Inn and Black