i 3 86 



,/ i \v TKAL. \ SI, I ILL USTR.l TED. 



m 



i 



i 



knew that though these plains were so devoid of grass, the salsolaceous plants that 

 abounded would prove an invaluable fodder for millions of sheep. The condemnation was 

 the more remarkable in Mitchell's case, because on his trip clown the Darling the fattest 

 sheep of the small flock that accompanied the expedition was always killed, and the last 



sheep was the fattest of the lot. The lesson 

 thus taught was not thoroughly learnt till some 

 years afterwards. Cattle thrive well in Australia, 

 though the country is not so specially adapted 

 for them as for sheep. The stock was of poor 

 quality in the early days, because in the small 

 wooden vessels then used, it was costly and 

 hazardous to import from England. It was 

 easier to get them from India, and for many 

 years the prevailing colours were black, brown 

 and brindle, inherited from the Indian ancestry. 

 But of late years, large sums have been spent 

 in importing the bluest blood from England, and 

 the progeny of Booth and Bates sires are now 

 to be found in most of the short-horn herds. 

 Tasmania was the first colony to introduce the 

 Hereford into Australia, and this favourite breed 

 is now much sought after, owing to its greater 

 hardihood, enabling it to withstand the severe 

 droughts to which the country is periodically 

 liable, and, being also a more active animal, it 

 -- can travel from distant pastures to market with 

 comparative immunity from loss. Devon cattle, 

 from their propensity to become wild when turned 

 out upon large runs, are not in favour ; but upon poor and wild country their activity 

 and hardihood make them profitable. Dairy cattle are now receiving much more atten- 

 tion than they did in earlier days, and Ayrshires and Alderneys, if well-bred, bring 

 extreme prices, dairy produce being more profitable than agricultural. Some of the 

 colonies are better adapted for cattle than others ; and some parts again, such as the 

 comparatively dry inland plains, are more suitable for sheep than for cattle, while the 

 whole of the coast districts, and the greater portion of Northern Queensland, are 

 better adapted for cattle than for sheep. It is also, as a rule, safer and better to stock 

 new country with cattle than sheep ; but while a good deal of the country which is 

 now stocked with sheep is well adapted for cattle, sheep are preferred, as they pay 

 better and are less liable to loss through drought. This accounts for the compara- 

 tively few cattle now in Victoria, and also in New South Wales, where the rearing of 

 cattle has very much declined of late, as compared with former years. Previous to 1851, 

 when gold was discovered, more attention indeed was paid to the breeding of sheep, 

 but from that time cattle began to displace the sheep; and in 1861, just after the 

 separation of Queensland, the figures show the value of the former within the colony at 





A TAR HOY ON A SHEEP STATION. 



