682 
AUSTRALIAN SHEEP FARMING. 
1868 and throughout 1869 has caused, however, very serious 
losses — upwards of a million sheep having perished, and a 
great deal of trouble and expense being further entailed in 
preserving the survivors in good health. During the past 
six months the Australian flockmasters have been troubled 
with exactly the opposite grievance — an excessive rainfall has 
flooded many grazings, the rankness of feed has destroyed 
many lambs, whilst foot-rot and fluke worms have prevailed. 
The Australian Merino sheep, descended from the original 
Camden stock, appears to be the most profitable throughout 
most parts of the colony. Stud rams in considerable numbers 
are annually imported from Victoria, and a few are also brought 
from Tasmania, Europe, America, and England. The Ram- 
bouillet Merinos have generally answered better than those 
bred in England. The average drop of lambs is 78 per cent. 
In the neighbourhood of the large towns, Leicesters, South- 
downs, with a few Cotswolds and Cheviots to the number of 
about 60,000, have been kept for breeding lambs. The 
Leicesters are stated to shear from 5 to 7 lbs. of washed wool ; 
whilst the lambs when three or four months old, fully ma- 
tured, have reached 200 lbs. in weight, showing that they are 
by no means unsuitable for the Australian climate. The in- 
spector remarks that great mistakes are made by many 
breeders of coarse-wooled sheep in breeding from mongrels. 
A half-bred Leicester Merino ram is put to a ewe of the same 
stamp, with the idea that theprogeny will turn out as good 
as the sire or dam ; but we are authoritatively told that “ these 
half-breeds deteriorate both in carcase and wool, and become 
useless rubbish.” 
The 16 , 000,000 of colonial sheep are said to produce on 
an average 2J lbs. per head of washed wool, of which the 
average price at Sydney for the season 1869-70 is ljd. per lb. 
This would give a return for the wool of 2^ millions sterling. 
One fifth of the sheep are estimated to be sold fat at 7s. 6d. 
per head, bringing in about lj millions sterling. Three and 
a half millions of money is thus the estimated annual yield 
of the Australian flocks. Nearly 2,000,000 sheep are every 
year boiled down and preserved in the Australian and Vic- 
torian colonies, and this trade is rapidly on the increase. 
Better returns are likely to be secured by greater care in the 
washing and getting up of the wool. Washing with hot 
M ater, which has on many stations been prosecuted at a con- 
siderable expense, is found to have the serious disadvantage 
of fixing the grease and other impurities in the wool, and the 
ordinary cold water washing, conducted as it is usually done 
in this country, is found to answer best. The careful sorting 
