be put into the boat; but on our return the difficulty was how to get her
off, and it became necessary to pounce upon her suddenly. She was never
heard to bark, the only noise she ever made being the dismal howl
peculiar to her breed, and this only when tied up, which consequently,
for the sake of peace, was but of short duration, and always had to be
done with a chain, as she would instantly bite through a rope. Her
mischievous propensity was remarkable, as she often stole into the
officers' cabin and pulled books down from the shelves, tearing the backs
off and then destroying the leaves. As an instance of her sure-footedness
and activity I may mention that I have seen her leap twice her own height
from the stem of the midship boat, in endeavouring to seize fowls or meat
that was hung on the mainstay, always alighting on the point she sprang
from. At other times she would attempt to crawl up it like a cat, in
order to steal what was there. Her proneness to thieving was very great;
I have frequently seen her eating stolen things when she would refuse
what was offered her; it was never safe to take her near poultry.

GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Whilst in this locality I may take the opportunity of introducing a few
notes on the geological formation of the country in the neighbourhood of
Swan River, furnished by Mr. Bynoe:

The most remarkable feature is the absence or scantiness of the secondary
and transition rocks; all the tertiary appears to be of the newest kind,
and to lie in juxtaposition with the primary. This character forms the
sandy margin from the Darling Range, or chain of granite hills, nearly
2000 feet high to the sea, in the immediate vicinity of which the sand is
bounded by a calcareous form of limestone, and, where jutting into the
sea and forming perpendicular or overhanging cliffs, the faces are thrown