THE ORGANIC ENVIRONMENT 27 



rivers. In the forties they were without creeks and 

 devoid of waterholes. In the early fifties sheep were 

 found in occupation of the whole of this country.* 



The country in the Wimmera district, which was poor 

 and thinly grassed when it was first occupied, has so 

 much improved since it was stocked with sheep that 

 it will now fatten more than double the number, writes 

 a Victorian pioneer in 1853. 



On the other hand, there has also been not a little 

 deterioration. On some runs coarse grasses took the 

 place of the natural grass and herbs. In other places 

 the native grass was apt to get scrubby from neglecting 

 to burn it. Having been driven away from Van 

 Diemen's Land by the ravages of the silk-grass, which 

 was destroying the pastures, he rejoiced to be unable 

 to " detect any of this noxious grass." Alas ! he was 

 very soon to discover it. A severe frost, in one night, 

 destroyed the beautiful blackwood trees. Next, the 

 shrubs were all burnt. Deprived of their shade and 

 shelter, many of the herbaceous plants began to dis- 

 appear, and in their place the silk-grass began to 

 appear in patches on the edge of the bush-track, and 

 in patches on the hillside. The patches grew larger, 

 and herbacous plants and grasses gave way before them. 

 The consequence was that the long, deep-rooted grasses 

 that held the strong clay hill together died out ; the 

 ground was exposed to the sun, and it cracked in all 

 directions ; and landslips were numerous. The tus- 

 socky grass in the water-channels died before the 

 springs of salt water that burst out in every water- 

 course, where the soil was trodden hard by stock. Ruts, 

 from seven to ten feet deep and wide, made the country 

 as hard to ride over as if it were fenced. The settler 

 who tells this, in its way, tragic narrative, deplores that 

 the number of sheep his run would carry was daily 

 diminishing. t The pastorahst thus partly creates and 

 partly destroys the scene of his activities. 



* Victorian Pioneers, pp. 243-4, 240. 

 t Ibid., pp. 147, 150, 33-5. 



