ch. xv SHEEP 147 



apprenticeship must be served by all. This applies 

 to every man, Englishman, Australian, or New 

 Zealander, who wishes to avoid an inevitable loss and 

 delay. The South African farmer alone will find con- 

 ditions of disease and herding more or less similar 

 to his own ; and even he has much to learn. 



The settler who arrives with the intention of sheep- 

 farming has to-day a far larger field from which to select 

 a site for his operations than the man to whom im- 

 mediate means of communication and a plentiful supply 

 of labour are essential. And here it may be emphasised 

 that already people are beginning to realise that, large 

 though our supply of native labour is, it is yet totally 

 inadequate to put under the more valuable crops, such 

 as coffee, sisal, and wattle, the total area which might 

 otherwise be developed in this way. If, as appears 

 likely, free grants on a sufficient scale may be no 

 longer obtainable from Government, he, the settler, 

 may yet acquire tracts of country at nominal prices 

 which are well suited to his purpose. Moreover, such 

 areas will tend consistently to increase in value as 

 communications improve and closer settlement becomes 

 feasible. The Uasin Guishu Hinterland and West 

 Kenia contain areas which at the present prices of six 

 to ten shillings an acre offer exceptional facilities for 

 the purpose, and when the long-delayed and extremely 

 mismanaged movement of the Masai is an accom- 

 plished fact the Likipia plateau will offer areas at least 

 as good as any now available. 



The farmer who has secured his land has next to de- 

 cide between two courses : whether to acquire a mob of 

 native ewes and from them to grade up to the pure sheep, 

 or to import a pure-bred flock and establish himself 

 immediately in the position which by the other method 



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