the rise of these new industries; for the horses were neglected; 

 they were consequently an easier prey to the disease and this shat- 

 tered all hopes of regaining the trade with India. 



The wool inductry was introduced at an early date at the Cape, 

 but the flocks of the indigenous sheep were large and were given 

 preference to an imported animal which was considered of inferior 

 food value and not half so hardy. 



In 1793 Spanish Merino rams from the royal flocks of George 

 III were imported and although there was much opposition against 

 this new undertaking by the conservative farmers, it soon developed 

 quite favorably and spread very fast over the Colony. 



In 1854, the period when the trade in remounts was fairly well 

 developed and. horse-breeding was very successful, the number of 

 pure-bred wool sheeps was 3,788,436 and the number of ordinary 

 and mixed breeds 1,766,817. During the next decade, as we know, 

 horse-breeding received its severest knocks and the wool sheep in- 

 dustry at the end of that decade showed a wonderful increase. The 

 number of pure-breds have almost trebled arid have even had the 

 effect of decreasing the number of half-breds by over 100,000. 



The Industry developed very rapidly and spread beyond the 

 borders of the Colony into the Orange Free State, Transvaal and 

 Natal. 



It is interesting to note here that Australia obtained some of 

 the pure-bred sheep imported in 1793, since the farmers were not 

 anxious to attempt an undertaking they knew nothing about. 

 Twenty-nine of these, rams and ewes went to establish the finewool 

 industry in Australia, and to-day she produces about five times as 

 much wool as we do * * * * * But then she is "the only nation 

 sprung from glorious peace" and South Africa has for centuries 

 been at the mercy first of hordes of thieving and murdering natives 

 and swarms of wild animals and secondly of bad Government, 

 agressive wars and devastating diseases. In spite of all this the 

 wool industry of South Africa is the only one that shows a remark- 

 able increase whereas all other countries are on the decrease. 



Two other farming industries must still be mentioned as grow- 

 ing out of the fallen reputation of our excellent horse and flourish- 

 ing at his expense ; they will increase and sweeten our consolation 

 for what we have lost in other fields ; for we stand pre-eminent in 

 them. 



(90) Boiert Wallace, "Farming Industries of the Cape Colony." 1896. 



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