210 INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN ANIMALS INTO AUSTRALIA. 
Wilson in the poetry of his subject, when he inquires, 
“ Why should the heart of our ploughman not be gladdened 
by the song of the skylark ? and why should the daughter 
of Australia, as she lingers with her lover upon a moonlight 
evening, be deprived of one more felicity, one more topic of 
conversation, in the nightingale perched in the neighbouring 
thicket?” we may confine ourselves to the utilitarian and 
practical point of view. 
When we see what has been already done in Australia for 
the comfort and sustenance of man, there is ample encourage¬ 
ment for further spirited exertion. The country, soil, and 
climate are highly favorable to the spread and support of 
living creatures. “It is but the other day,” remarks Mr. 
Wilson, “that we got the sheep; yet we already supply 
Great Britain with the chief portion of her finer wools. The 
first cow was imported within the memory of living man ; 
and now vast herds roam over millions of acres, from Wide 
Bay to South Australia, and good judges are beginning to 
ask whether the colonial cattle will not bear a favorable 
comparison with the English average. We have got the 
horse, unrivalled in the whole world for his powers of 
endurance; for were the deeds of our grass-fed stock-horses 
but whispered within your well-kept English stables the 
narrative would be roared down by a general chorus of 
incredulous horse laughter. The c time * of our races would 
compare not very unfavorably with your own. And thus, 
with the dog, cat, pig, domestic fowl, duck, rabbit, pigeon, 
down to our old friends the common house-rat and mouse, 
which, with their own amusing pertinacity, stick by us with 
a fidelity worthy of a better cause, and, multiplying exceed¬ 
ingly among us, give a home-aspect to our colonial houses in 
their own ingenious and significant style.” 
The demand for mutton and beef and pork will lead to 
improved breeds of these live stock. Poultry, w r hich have 
been little attended to, wdll greatly increase, in order to keep 
pace with the demand. Turkeys, we perceive, are fetching 
25s., geese 10s. to 12s., ducks 6s., and fowls 5s. a-head in the 
Melbourne market. Dairy produce is also brought to market 
on a very limited scale, or such prices as these would not be 
realized in an old colony—fresh butter 3s. Qd. a pound, milk 
Is. a quart, and eggs 3s. 6d. a dozen. All the cheese con¬ 
sumed is also imported. The absence of good roads, and 
the expense of transport from distant farms to the town, has 
doubtless had something to do with prices and supply. 
But the extension of railways and common roads, the water 
communication by steam on the Murray river, and other 
