150 AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE. 



The Better Prospect. It is a source of much hopeful- 

 ness regarding the future of the warmer sections of 

 Australia that farming is already carried on with more full 

 knowledge of the relations between highly-cultivated fields 

 and success. Draining, subsoiling, and manuring are 

 receiving more attention. Consequently horses, cattle, and 

 sheep are in much favour among the farming classes. The 

 practice most in favour is to use the native grasses largely 

 during summer, to cultivate for winter feed, and to have the 

 common run of cattle or sheep as the basis of the herd or 

 flock, resorting to thoroughbred male animals for improving 

 or keeping up the quality. When feeding is attended to 

 from the start, and shelter is provided against the changes 

 of climate felt in warm as well as in colder climates, the 

 groundwork of success is secured. The making of manure 

 is a primary object with the grazing-farmer, and he sells 

 when his stock brings a fair profit. Those who follow this 

 system may get no hundreds for a single animal, nor do 

 the animals sold " cost more than they come to." There 

 are, and will, we trust always be numbers of gentlemen who 

 have the time, the means, and the taste for breeding fine 

 stock, cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, &c., and to warrant them 

 in maintaining the herds and studs needed for the supply 

 of the active demand always existing ; and in case it should 

 cost some of them a few thousands for the gratification of 

 a worthy desire in this direction, nobody is much hurt. 

 But with the ordinary grazier or farmer who practises 

 mixed husbandry as a business rather than specialities, the 

 condition is different. The experimenting has been done 

 for him ; on a large scale it is always risky. 



The Stock Available. In this branch of agriculture 

 Australia has followed very close upon the lines of the 

 mother land. The noble cattle of England and Scotland, 

 the massive stately, handsome breeds are all here the 

 Shorthorns, the Herefords, the Devons, the red-polled cattle 

 of Norfolk and Suffolk, Longhorns from the early impor- 

 tations, South Devons, " South Hammers," an offshoot of 

 the Devons, North Devons, " cobs," plump, lively, enduring, 

 active and decidedly pretty. Then we have the larger 

 Welsh breeds, the polled breeds of Scotland and the 



