a uniform direction, in others the hills are scattered about
without any regularity; the average direction of the ridges is
north-north-east and south-south-west. In the valleys between the
hills, are shallow clay plains, in which the water rapidly
collects, even after slight showers; but when full they seldom
exceed five or six inches in depth, so that in summer they are soon
dry again.

Stony Rises.--The stony ground, in contradistinction to the
sandstone ranges, appears to have been formed from the detritus of
the latter, deposited in undulating beds of vast extent. The
greater portion of this ground appears almost level when one is on
it, but when viewed from a distance the undulations are very
distinct; the stones are chiefly water-worn pebbles of sandstone,
quartz, and iron-stone; in some places the rises approach more
nearly to the nature of the sandstone ranges, and here the stones
are less water-worn, and are mixed with large blocks of rock. I
found the magnetic polarity to be very distinct in some of the
ironstone pebbles on these rises.

Earthy Plains.--The earthy plains which are such an important
geological feature in this part of the country, will, I fear,
greatly interfere with its future occupation. When dry they are so
intersected by chasms and cracks that it is in some places
dangerous for animals to cross them, and when wet they would be
quite impassable. Cattle would, perhaps, do well on them for some
time after an inundation, and the ground might improve after having
been stocked. The boggy nature of the banks of the creeks passing
through this ground would be another impediment to settlers, from
the losses of cattle that it would sometimes entail. To furnish an