THE PRICE OF SHEEP IN AtfSTRALfAj 491 
£58; pure Lincoln ewes, two-tooth, £31 to £51 ; do., four- 
tooth, £56. Imported full mouth ewes were sold from £8 to 
£31 each. Pure Lincoln ewes, weaners, fetched £9 to £25 
each. Ewes (weaners), three quarters bred to nearly pure, 
1451 in the lot, brought £l 13s. each; 925 three quarters 
bred two-tooth ewes, £l 14s. each ; and 838 four-tooth three 
quarters bred ewes, in lamb to pure Lincoln rams, £l 10s. 
each; while 1497 cross-bred ewes brought 15s. 6d.; and 800 
fat wedders 12s. each. With such prices obtainable it should 
no longer be matter of doubt with farmers as to whether 
keeping long-woolled sheep will pay or not. This sale at 
Barwon Park will have the effect of causing those farmers 
who are resident in suitable districts to put their fences in 
order, and make a commencement with sheep in conjunction 
with their cultivation. The improvement of the breeds of 
long-woolled sheep in England gave rise to the present 
improved system of agriculture in Britain. Many poor soils 
which previously would not pay for cultivation were ren¬ 
dered fertile and profitable by means of sheep. The poor, 
bleak Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire, the chalk wolds of 
Lincolnshire, and the light soils of Norfolk may be men¬ 
tioned as illustrating the value of these useful animals in 
rendering fertile naturally poor and unpromising soils. The 
demand for long lustre wools and tinned mutton in Britain 
combine to render sheep profitable stock for the farmer to 
keep in many parts of this colony. By means of these invalu¬ 
able animals much of the worn-out land will in the course of 
time be again rendered profitable to cultivate. Indeed, the 
grain-growing farmer, if he be desirous of avoiding the rocks 
and shoals of barrenness, can invoke no more powerful aid in 
making the production of cereals as profitable as it is capable 
of being made, than that of “ the animal with the golden 
hoof.” We look forward to the introduction of sheep to the 
farms of this colony as the advent of a new era in the pro¬ 
gress of agriculture, and restoration of the wealth and pros¬ 
perity which have begun to wane under the exhaustive 
practice of constant grain-growing. 
A subsequent issue of the same journal says:—Pure and 
cross bred Lincoln sheep are at present in high favour with 
farmers and flock-owners in the Western district, as witness 
the astonishingly long prices paid for these animals at the 
sale of the late Mr. Thomas Austin. Other long-woolled 
breeds, such as the Leicesters and Cotswolds, have also their 
admirers. Under present circumstances, with the high prices 
realised for long lustre -wools, our flock-owners are, no doubt, 
extremely desirous of procuring as much as possible of this 
