Squatters and Stations 19 



time, the shed is empty and silent. At one end 

 are the great wool press and the bins of the wool- 

 classers, while at the shearing-board that runs 

 along both sides of the shed may be inspected the 

 apparatus of the sheep-shearing machine, the in- 

 vention of Lord Wesley's brother. 



A ride around the run reveals signs of careful 

 management everywhere. Each paddock con- 

 tains its flocks of carefully graded sheep : in one 

 are wethers of a certain age, and in another ewes. 

 The stud flock occupies a domain of its own, and 

 there is a special paddock for the horses and an- 

 other for the cows. On the flats near the creek, 

 a heavy crop of the forage plant Alfalfa is being 

 grown under irrigation. It will presently be cut 

 and converted into ensilage as a precaution 

 against drought. 



The permanent staff attached to the station 

 seems disproportionately small when compared to 

 its size and the numbers of the flocks it supports. 

 The owner takes an active interest in his property 

 and spends a considerable portion of each year 

 there, bringing his life-long experience to bear 

 upon the more important details of management. 

 Should he be absent in town, his place is taken by 

 one of his sons, who has possibly spent his whole 

 life on the station, with the exception of a year or 

 two at a public school in Sydney or Melbourne, 

 which is held to complete the education begun by 

 a tutor. The administration of the station is in 

 the hands of an experienced manager, who, with 



