MODIFICATION OF PASTURES BY STOCK. 37 



their places : possibly to a great extent, by the larger 

 and coarser grasses being kept down, so that the 

 dwarfer, and more valuable kinds of herbage are ena- 

 bled to spring up and supplant them. 



Also, when stock had once become used to the 

 peculiar vegetation of the Australian plains, it was found 

 that Nature had endowed it with certain special qual- 

 ities of an exceedingly valuable character, for these 



" Grasses and herbs growing on the table lands, while 

 repellant in appearance and colour, compared to the richer 

 herbage of the coast, possess qualities that render them in- 

 valuable as fodder plants. Once let the grasses of the coast 

 lose their moisture, by drought, and they become sapless 

 and worthless; but it is not so on the table lands: months 

 of dry weather have no effect upon the fattening properties 

 of the shrubs ; the stock however require to become used to 

 feeding on them, before their full value is attained." * 



Such being the result of Australian experience, thus 

 far, we may leave this subject to settle itself, confident 

 in the advent of a splendid future for that continent, 

 where millions of acres yet await discovery and occu- 

 pation. For a new country, and wild lands, for several 

 reasons, it seems to be generally conceded that cattle, 

 at first, do better than sheep. They require less, atten- 

 tion, and fewer men to look after them; while for 

 those who are fond of a stirring existence in a new 

 country, the wild free life of a stockman presents greater 

 attractions than that of a sheep-farmer. Also, " Cattle 

 require less outlay, in the beginning, than sheep," and 

 " 10,000 acres will carry about 2000 cattle" | (that is 

 to say about one head for every five acres under 



* The History of Australian Exploration, by Ernest Favenac, 

 Sydney, 1888, pp. 40 and 41. 



f See Silver's ' Graziers' 1 Guide for Cattle in Australia, 1 88 1, p. 17, etc. 



