The power which the government possesses, by means of forced
labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has
been, I believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this
colony. I slept at night at a very comfortable inn at Emu ferry,
thirty-five miles from Sydney, and near the ascent of the Blue
Mountains. This line of road is the most frequented, and has been
the longest inhabited of any in the colony. The whole land is
enclosed with high railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in
rearing hedges. There are many substantial houses and good cottages
scattered about; but although considerable pieces of land are under
cultivation, the greater part yet remains as when first discovered.
The extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable
feature in the landscape of the greater part of New South Wales.
Everywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially
covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of
verdure. The trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have
their leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in Europe, in a
nearly horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of a
peculiar pale green tint, without any gloss.
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