SHEEP HUSDANDRY L\ THE SOUTH. 323 



English and Fi'ench writers above quoted, as offering instances of the per- 

 fectly successful acclimation of Merinos, ■\vitlu)Ut detciiuration of their 

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

 Avliat the climate of tliose countries is ; and ^^•hat, if any, the other cir- 

 cumstances connected with theui, having an iufluence 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 other important point in our country** In do 

 scribing this region (New South Wales) INIalte l^run says : 



'• The coast itself is lii<ih but not inoinitjuuous ; and it is p;utly shaded by trees of gigantic 

 size. Toward the soulh-ejist a great part is covered witli coppice ; nmcli also is occupied 

 with marshes. About Botany liayt the soil is black, rich and exceedingly productive in 

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

 The heat ol" December rises to 112*^ Fahrenheit. The forests and the grass have been known 

 spontaneously to take fire.l The North-west wind, like tiie Kliamseen of Egypt, scorches 

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

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

 ditlerent trials have beiMi made have rather too warm a climate lor connnon barley and oats, 

 tiiough 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, gnavas, locpiets, cherries, walnuts, almonds, grape* 

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



The country, most of it, is remarkably dtsficient in watei,§ though many 

 portions are subject to destructive inundations.^ Its drouths are uncqualed 

 for their duration and intensity in, pcrliaj)s, any inhabited portion of the 

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

 in detached spots, aftbrd pasture throughout the year. 



The physical featiu'es of this country, its system of sheep husbandry, 

 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 sj^ace of three years these were so far 

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

 liair was entirely gone, and was succeeded by a fleece of wool.ff The 

 South-Down and Leicesters were subsequently introduced, and their 

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

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

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

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

 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."f j In 1810, the export of wool from Aus- 

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

 3,51G,S69 Ibs.llll I" 18-13, it amounted to 16,220,400 lbs.§§ 



The following, from a table in McCidloch'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 : 



$ Ct3. $ CtS. 



Spanish per lb. — 60 to — 77 



Portuguese — 44 '• — 02 



German, Saxon, &c — 48 " 1 If) 



Australian — 50 " 1 00 



English : .§ cts. $ its 



North & Sonth Down, per lb. — 44 to — 48 



Leicester — 33 '• — 44I 



Lincoln, Cotswold, Romney j 



Marsh — 40 " — 44 



■* Georgetown is perhaps half a doaree nearer the Equator, 

 t This place is twelve miles south of Port Jackson. 



♦ Maltc Brun cites Collins (an author frequently quoted in relation Ui New .^outh Wales) for this strona 

 and, perhaps, exaiicerated assertion. || Malte Brun, vol. i. pp. 6O0-G0.5. 



§ Spooner, \ouatt,etc. Ij Malte Brun. ** See McCulloch's Comtnerciai Dictionarr. 



tr » ouatt on Sheep, p 184. Spocner, Diseases of Sheep, p. 63. 



t: lb. p. 164. yil lb. et Spooner. §§ Spooner. 



