SHEEP. 29 



were very much afraid that the gold discovery would 

 cause an abandonment of the pastures; but these fears 

 are a little calmed, and the sheep disputes attention 

 even with the gold. 



At the commencement of the present century, England 

 imported half of her foreign wools from Spain, but that 

 country now appears only nominally upon her import 

 lists. Countries which, fifty years ago, did not give a 

 pound of wool, the names even of which were scarcely 

 known, figure upon these lists for enormous quantities. 

 Among these are the British colonies in Australia, which 

 furnish forty million pounds of wool, the Cape of Good 

 Hope and the British possessions in India, which send 

 home ten to twelve million. These wools are of excel- 

 lent quality, and improve every day. The producers 

 from these far-off countries come to bid against our far- 

 mers for the Rambouillet rams, for which they give long 

 prices. Adding to her own the produce of her colonial 

 sheep, England every year realises six hundred to seven 

 hundred millions of francs, which she afterwards doubles 

 by her manufactures. What a wonderful power of hu- 

 man industry, that can thus turn the gifts of Providence 

 to such good account ! 



Surpassed in the production of meat by the European 

 portion of the British empire, France is again left behind 

 in the production of wool by the colonies and mother 

 country together. Yet, both at home and in our African 

 colony, which is much nearer to us than the Australian 

 colonies are to England, we have abundant means- for 

 rivalling her. The same distinction which exists between 

 England and her colonies may some day probably exist 

 also between our own country and colony. Our breeders, 

 without altogether renouncing wool, will have their 



