6 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



clair says, " when the crop (of some that he had planted) came into ear, the sort evidently ap- 

 peared to he a species of white cane-wheat. The straw had a pith in it, like a rush — a species 

 which, it is said, had this advantage, that if rusted or mildewed the grain derives nourishment 

 from the pith;" and further, '■' the produce is great ; the quality excellent ; and if the straw 

 alone is rusted or mildewed, the ear is not affected by it, drawing its nourishment through the 

 pith." (Can this he so?) No opportunity occurred of learning its mode of culture; hut its 

 superior excellence is easily understood, from the climate it grows in. Many tropical plants 

 succeed well at the Cape; and it is well known that, if wheat has rain enough to mature well, 

 it is always better in hot and dry than in cold and moist climates. 



The production of grain (barley, brans, and wheat) is sufficient for home consumption, with 

 a moderate surplus for exportation. Of the latter, there was exported in 1851, in grain, flour, 

 &c, to the amount of £14,908. But this quantity will not be greatly increased for many 

 years to come, however great may be the capacity of the land. This opinion is based upon the 

 probable difficulty and expense of transportation from the interior to the seaports, and from the 

 scarcity and cost of labor, already deficient, and becoming more so from the emigration to the 

 gold-fields of Australia. This latter cause must diminish the breadth of land under culture ; 

 but, on the other hand, it will increase the pasture surface, and correspondingly increase the 

 production of wool ; and this will be further stimulated by the decreased yield of wool in Aus- 

 tralia, where the flocks have been neglected and partially abandoned since the discovery of 

 gold. 



Tbe exports of wool have been regularly on the increase for the last twenty years, and an 

 intelligent merchant stated that it could be augmented to any amount to meet a demand. Nor 

 is this improbable, considering the very extensive tracts of country recently opened to new 

 settlers at the eastern end of the colony — lands rich, well watered, and admirably adapted to 

 sheep. In 1833 the exports were 113,0*77 lbs.; in 1841 they had advanced to 1,016,807 lbs.; 

 and in 1851 to 5,447,252 lbs. ; which, however, was a little less than in the immediately pre- 

 ceding year, but the first three quarters of 1852 promised a great advance upon either. 

 Thus, this is already the great staple of the colony for exportation. Including £12,707 worth 

 of sheep-skins, it amounts to £294,317, which considerably exceeds the total amount of all other 

 exported articles, viz : £222,31*7. 



That this branch of industry will continue to increase, may be inferred, not only from the 

 considerations already mentioned, but from the cheapness of producing, and the facility of trans- 

 porting wool to market. As an evidence of the growing spirit upon this subject, the follow- 

 ing extract from the Cape of Good Hope Almanac for 1853 is subjoined: "That the prejudice 

 which formerly existed among the Dutch farmers against merino and other wool-bearing sheep 

 has not only disappeared, but given way to a laudable desire to increase their operations in this 

 respect, and to improve their breed, is proved by the ready sale of good stock mats within this 

 district (G-raf-Eeynet)." 



On the 17th September last (1852), at a sale held by Messrs. Mesenthal Brothers, thirty 

 merino rams were sold at no less than £1,156 17s. 5d., or at a little more than an average of 

 £31 ($155) per head; some, however, fetching as much as £75 ($375). "It is pleasant," says 

 the local paper, "to see so many Dutch farmers' names in the list of purchasers, as it shows 

 that they are fully alive to the importance of improving the quality of their wool, and have 

 quite discarded the prejudice which induced them, formerly, to laugh at the stupidity of those 

 who, as they facetiously termed it, gave £10 for a sheep-skin !" 



