Letter received by Banks from John Hunter, 20 August 1796 (Series 38.03) - No. 0001

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Sydney New South Wales

August 20th: 1796

Dear Sir

Notwithstanding I well know that the greatest part of your time is employd on Subjects more interesting than any thing I am capable of affording for your perusal, I must however beg leave to say, that I also know you are never inacceptable to those who may have anything to communicate whether it be of much Worth or not, that, You are willing to take the chance of -- From these considerations I am from time to time led to give you a Short account of a Colony in which you have from its first Establishment taken a very kind & friendly intrest, and as the present Opportunity of writing affords a more certain prospect of your reciving our letters than any which have laterly offerd, I coud not think of letting it slip without saying what we are about in this distant part of His Majestys Dominions: I wish to avoid repetitions as far as possible, but it is now so long since I did myself the honor of writing you, & I have since that time written so much, & have had my Mind so fully employd in a variety of Concerns, that I can scarsely recollect what I have already said to you, I wrote you from Rio de Janeiro, & also on my Arrival here, all which had then occurd or which I judg'd might afford you any amusement; I have now only to inform you that at the proper Season (December) we reap'd our Harvest of Wheat which taking the whole together turn'd  out abundant; Some of the Farms yielded from twenty to twenty five Bushels an Acre, others from Sixteen to twenty; a Bushell Weighing from 58 to 64 lb. on the whole we receivd I believe about 40,000 Bushells of good Wheat, which ensures ass Bread for another Year; and that exclusive of Maize of which we have recently gatherd  a good Crop -

I have been lately upon an excursion to Broken Bay, to which I travelld by Land, and with difficulty forded

[Margin note]

July 1 1797

March 1 1799