SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 



English and French writers above quoted, as offering instances of the per- 

 fectly successful acclimation of Merinos, without deterioration of tlieir 

 wool, in warm climates, it may be well to inquire a little more particularly 

 what the climate of those countries is ; and what, if any, the other cir- 

 cumstances connected with them, having an influence on the quality of 

 the wools grown in them. 



Port Jackson, in Australia, in the vicinity of which the Merinos were 

 first introduced, and are now extensively bred, lies in 33 55' South lati- 

 tude, corresponding as nearly with the latitude of Georgetown, South 

 Carolina, as that of any othei important point in our country.* In do 

 scribing this region (New South Wales) Malte Brun says : 



" The coast itself is high but not mountainous ; and it is partly shaded by trees of gigantic 

 size. Toward the south-east a great part is covered with coppice ; much also is occupied 

 with marshes. About Botany Bayt the soil is black, rich and exceedingly productive iji 

 plants. The north-east part seems lower. The coast is covered with mangroves. . . . 

 The heat of December rises to 112 Fahrenheit. The forests and the grass have been known 

 spontaneously to take fire.t The North-west wind, like the Khamseen of Egypt, scorches 

 the soil and reduces it to a light dust. . . . Notwithstanding these disadvantages, tho 

 climate is very healthy, and very favorable to population. . . . Those parts in which 

 different trials have been made have rather too warm a climate for common barley and oata. 

 though these grains have been found to succeed tolerably well on the poorer soils. . . 

 All the vegetables grown in England are produced in the English colony. . . Peaches, 

 apricots, nectarines, oranges, lemons, guavas, loquets, cherries, walnuts, almonds, grape* 

 pears, pomegranates and melons attain the highest maturity in the open air."|| 



The country, most of it, is remarkably deficient in water, though many 

 portions are subject to destructive inundations.^} Its drouths are unequaled 

 for their duration and intensity in, perhaps, any inhabited portion of the 

 globe.** Its vast plains, occasionally highly fertile, but more usually, only 

 *n detached spots, afford pasture throughout the year. 



The physical features of this country, its system of sheep husbandly, 

 etc. will be more particularly alluded to hereafter. 



The English first introduced into this remote possession the coarse hairy 

 sheep of Bengal. In the short space of three years these were so far 

 changed by the effect of the climate and other circumstances, that then 

 hair was entirely gone, and was succeeded by a fleece of wool.tt The 

 South-Down and Leicesters were subsequently introduced, and theii 

 crosses with the Bengal sheep soon became as fine as the pure bloods of 

 the former. At length some Merinos were imported by the colonists, 

 and, says Mr. Youatt, " The experiment was satisfactory beyond their ex- 

 pectation. The third or fourth cross with the then prevalent sheep of tho 

 colony produced an animal with a fleece equal to that of the pure Merino 

 in Europe ; and the wool of the pure blood seemed to improve as rapidly 

 as the native breed had done. "If In 1810, the export of wool from Aus- 

 tralia and Van Dieman's Land was 167 Ibs. ; in 1833, it had reached 

 3,516,869 Ibs.ljH In 1843, it amounted to 16,226,4*00 lbs. 



The following, from a table in McCulloch's Dictionary of Commerce, 

 will show the current prices (reduced to American- currency) of some of 

 the imported and domestic wools, in London, March, 1834 : 



$ cts. $ cts. 



SPANISH..... perlb. 60 to 77 



PORTUGUESE 44 " 62 



GERMAN. SAXON, &c 48" 1 15 



AUSTRALIAN .. .. 50 " 1 00 



ENGLISH : $ cts. $ ctn 



North & South-Down, perlb. 44 to 48 



Leicester 33 " 4<T 



Lincoln, Cotswold, llomney 



Marsh 40 4i 



* Georgetown is perhaps half a degree nearer the Equator, 

 t This place is twelve miles south of Port Jackson. 



J Malte Brun cites Collins (an aiithor frequently quoted in relation to New South Wales) for this strong 

 ind, perhaps, exaggerated assertion. || Malte Brun, vol. i. pp. 600605. 



Spooner, Youatt, etc. fl Malte Brun. ** See McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary. 



ft Youatt on Sheep, p 184. Spooner, Diseases of Sheep, p. 62. 



U Ib. v. 184. [Ill Ib. et Spooner. Spooner. 



