Star.
London, England, 1829-09-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE PICTURE OF AUSTRALIA. WnrruKta.TuLiouta,

and Co.

This is a honk professing to exhibit the state of New Holland,
Van Dietnen's Land, and all the settlements. from the first At Syd-
ney to the last at the Swan River. In a preliminary notice, the
Author observes :

" The great Southern Continent, with the adjacent island of
♦an Diemen's Laud and the smaller islets, has been the subject of
much dtscription, some of which is of a conflicting and contradic-
tory nature. On the one hand, those countries have been held out
as a ' Canaan of plenty,' where the settler has nothing to do but
set down and wax wealthy ►y the mere operation of nature ; and
on the other, they have been depicted as the abodes of crime, and
the sport of the seasons. The new settlement at the Swan River
has given them more than their wonted degree of interest ; but, at
the same time, it has tended to concentrate the public attention,
perhaps too muck, to that particular spot.
" Keeping these circumstances in view, it has been my object
to set Australia before the reader in its true aspect end condition,
as far as there are data for determining these ; and leave him to
draw his own conclusions. In order to accomplish this, I have
collated the published authorities with some care; and I have been
fortunate enough to receive. from those upon whose ability and
veracity I can implicitly depend, a considerable number of new
facts, as well as the means of correcting a few mistakes in former
writers. In short, I have endeavoured to make the book a ' Pic-
ture of Australis,'—a mere outline, it is true, but still, I hope,
faithful to the original in the principal features."

The Author has been true to hit promise. Within the compass
of one volume, and in eleven chapters, he gives us a general de-
scription of these regions—their seas, islands, and reefs—climate,
soil, and appearanse of the country—native minerals and plants—

animal—native population—progress of discovery—towns, build-
ings, colonial population, institutions, and cultivated produce. In
treating of the climate of Australia, we have the following passage :
" From a register of the weather kept at Sydney, during the
year 1821 and 1822, it appears that the greatest temperature on the
7th of February, was 77 deg. at six in the morning, 88 deg. at
noon, and 84 deg. at night; and the lowest, on the 14th
of July, g deg. SO ieg. and 51 deg. at the same hours respectively.
Another register, kept at Paramatta. gives the lowest tem-
perature (in June), 26 degrees, and the highest (in January),
106 degrees, which gives a seasonal range of 80 degrees. On
the Blue Mountains it freezes at bight for several months, and
there are falls of snow, which are unknown on the coast, though
hail be not uncommon. As is the case in other countries, hail
falls towards the summer months, in large and Irregular masses.
The rapid and great thanges of temperature that take place when
the wind changes from north-west to south-east, are the causes of
this formation so hail.

The following Gibvract of the state of the weather, taken daily
for eleven months, at six in the morning, at noon, and at eight in
the evening, will give some idea of the climate at Sydney, with
regard to dryness and moisture :

Month..

STATE Or ATIVISTERRN AT SYDNEY.
I Clear. 1 Cloudy or
Foggy.