qualified to pronounce an opinion upon it. "The climate of Swan River," says he, "is not only healthier than that of any other Australian colony, but may be pronounced also to be one of the very best in the whole world. The heat of summer, though it sometimes reaches 34° of Reaumur, is not stifling, and people can work out of doors without dread of injury, though exposed to the full force of the sun. Those hot winds that cause so much annoyance in the other Australian colonies are unknown here, and we inhale the fresh sea-breeze from eleven o'clock in the forenoon until sundown. The atmosphere of the winter's day is temperate and delightful after the rising of the sun, but the thermometer sinks to four degrees above zero at three or four o'clock in the morning. Frosts are frequent although snow is unknown. The summer nights are refreshed by heavy dews, and sometimes by rain in January" (this last occurred only once in our observation during five years) "which in that hot season is of the greatest benefit. Sleeping in the open air in the midst of the forests, on fine nights, is unhealthy neither in summer nor winter, least of all with the accompaniment of a good fire. The prevalent disorders are not fatal, and those which occur most frequently are dysentery and ophthalmia."
