When at length the wool is fairly off on its way to Sydney the settler feels his mind considerably lightened, and congratulates himself that his laborious life during the past year has not been spent in vain. His thoughts, however, are still dwelling on his teams, like those of a merchant on his ships; the time of their absence, the state of the roads, and the probability of accidents, are his frequent topics of conversation, until in the course of two or three months he again descries his dray in the distance, dragging its slow length along, with jaded bullocks, and every mark of a wearisome journey, bringing back, in a less bulky but more compact load, his supplies for the coming year.

The amount of these supplies is surprising and amusing to a new comer half-a-dozen large chests of tea seem sufficient to last one's whole lifetime; and a ton of sugar is an inconceivable mass to one who has perhaps seldom seen a larger quantity than that contained in a china sugar-basin.

The scourge of the sheepowner is the catarrh; a disease peculiar to Australia, and of a nature so inexplicable, that it has hitherto baffled all attempts to discover either a prevention or a cure. It is not equally prevalent in all districts; some are visited by it nearly every year, some suffer from slight attacks, and in others it is as yet wholly unknown. It usually makes its appearance at the end of autumn or beginning of winter-that is to say, about March or April-which consequently becomes a very anxious time of year to the sheepowner, whose organs of sight and hearing are then most painfully acute. At this season his greatest bugbear is the arrival of a pastoral-looking man, with several coolie dogs at his heels, in whom, from as far as the eye can reach, he anticipates one of his watchmen, coming from the "Rocky Creek" or "Honeysuckle Flat," to report the first appearance of the dreaded "catarrh."

The principal symptoms are a discharge from the nostrils of a dark slimy matter, a drooping of the head, feeble gait, and loss of appetite; the infected animal lags behind, or separates itself from the flock, and dies, apparently in great pain, often within twenty-four hours from the time of its first seizure. The liver and stomach are, on examination, usually fouad in a highly disordered state. It is a most ruinous disease, no. only from the number of animals it destroys, but from the consequent depre

ciation of those it spares, as one of the first questions asked by a buyer of sheep is if they have ever had the catarrh? Nor do its effects cease even on its departure, for the sheep that have survived its attacks frequently lose the whole of their wool, which falls off their backs in flakes.

Among the most probable of the many causes which have been assigned of this capricious disease is the state of the stomach; for it is remarkable that the sheep suffer most severely from its attacks in dry seasons, when the want of moisture in the grass produces constipation; while a return of wet weather, or even a single shower of rain, which acts as an alterative, very frequently lessens, and often wholly arrests, the progress of the disease.

Whatever be its origin, it is certain that the settler is unable to stop its progress, and on its first appearance may always expect some, if not considerable, loss. All that can be done, however, he does he hires more men; skins the carcases of the sheep, and boils them down for the sake of the tallow, so that he may at least save something out of the wreck; and endeavours to persuade himself that the disease will cease at that indefinite period to-morrow, notwithstanding his secret misgivings, and wishes that his original capital were once more safe in his pocket. Any one who should happen to discover a cure, or means of prevention of this disease, might reasonably expect to realize a considerable sum of money in Australia.

Life at a stock establishment, when the catarrh is raging, is a very different thing from life at ordinary times. The usual air of repose, bordering on languor, which hangs over the residence of a settler, is exchanged for a continued bustle, impatience, and feverish excitement. There is a constant succession of horsemen hurriedly starting off in all directions to the various sheepstations, and returning with evidently bad news, and no better tempers. The arrival of drays loaded with unsightly carcases, "that do infect the air," and innumerable sheepskins hung around on every fence to dry in the sun, mark the ravages of the disease; while at a little distance apart, in the vicinity of water, a column of smoke points out the situation of the boiling-pans, now the last resource of the unlucky sheepowner.

To him indeed it is a trying time, and no wonder if his courage is shaken; he sees the fruits of perhaps many years' labour

and self-denial dissipated in the course of a few months, and his hopes of increasing the comforts of a bush life, or exchanging it for a more civilised one, placed further than ever beyond his reach by circumstances over which he has no control. He has the more cause for anxiety, since from the first appearance of the catarrh to its ultimate departure he can form no estimate of the probable extent of its ravages; and unless he has very numerous flocks or other property to fall back upon, he has good reason to fear that he may soon wholly cease to be a stockowner.

But everything has an end; the catarrh usually takes its departure at the approach of spring, which being also the lambing season, the prospect of increase revives the sheepowner's falling fortunes. At this season the ewe flocks require constant attention and additional labour for about six weeks, and various methods are taken to encourage the shepherds to more than usual exertion; some sheepowners allow them a bonus of so much per head for all weaned lambs, or award a prize to the man who succeeds in rearing the greatest number; and plans of this kind have generally been found successful.

At this time much rain is very destructive, as there is seldom any convenience for sheltering the lambs, which are all bred in the open air; but if the weather is tolerably favourable, as is usually the case, strict attention and proper management are the best security for a good increase.

Besides the catarrh, sheep in New South Wales are subject to a few other diseases, though comparatively of minor importance, inasmuch as they are better understood, and admit of a cure. Of these the most serious is the scab, which, though not usually fatal, causes considerable loss to the sheepowner, both in the quantity and quality of the wool, the condition of the flocks, and in the necessity which it creates for trouble and expense.

Its primary cause seems to be a disease of the blood, which is often brought on in the first instance by folding the sheep too long upon the same spot, or by driving them into the pens at night in a heated state, by which means, if the ground should chance to be chilly and damp, the perspiration is checked, and cutaneous eruption superinduced. The value of a trustworthy shepherd is here very apparent, for the sheepowner is greatly at the mercy of his servant, who, if ill-disposed or

careless, may cause his master serious loss, with little danger of being detected.

Sheep affected with the scab are dressed with the mercurial ointment, as in England, or with a solution of corrosive sublimate; and it is expedient, if practicable, to remove them immediately afterwards to some new and healthy station, the only means by which a complete cure can be effected.

Some sheepowners have their sheep constantly rubbed over, or, as it is called, "spotted," with the ointment; but the best way is to dress the whole flock thoroughly directly after shearing; for which purpose some settlers, whose flocks are much infected, shear twice in the year, though this lessens the value of the wool. When one flock is infected, it is no easy matter to prevent the disease from spreading, owing to the mode of sheep-farming pursued in the interior. The sheep-stations are seldom more than three or four miles apart, and are not divided by any enclosures or other artificial boundaries, so that the flocks are apt to run over the same ground on the borders of their respective stations; the more so as the shepherds are fond of getting together, for the sake of relieving their solitude by each other's company. When a sheepowner has a large extent of pasture land, the infected flock is put out alone at some distant station, and the shepherds are restricted to certain bounds on either side. But, in spite of every precaution, the chances are in favour of contagion spreading, as it can be communicated by the least accident, such as the straggling away of a single infected sheep, or the accidental removal of a few hurdles from the unhealthy station.

As a method of precaution against contagion, stockowners are prohibited, on pain of a heavy fine, from removing their sheep, when affected with the scab, from one part of the country to another, excepting at one season of the year. Were it not for this arrangement there would be no end to the disputes, damage, and consequent law-suits arising out of the injuries inflicted by a single diseased flock on its road to new pastures.

Foot-rot is occasionally met with in some districts, usually on rich soil and low, moist runs. In aggravated cases the feet swell out to a great size, the animal attacked is wholly unable to travel, and sometimes dwindles away to a mere skeleton, but the fleece

usually remains uninjured, and not unfrequently weighs half as much as the whole carcase. This is a troublesome disease, but comparatively of minor importance.

Upon the whole, notwithstanding their greater liability to disease, sheep are by far the best stock in New South Wales; and with tolerable success they hold out the most favourable prospects as a source of annual income. Owing to the mode of sheep-farming pursued throughout the colony, a large establishment, if properly conducted, can be managed with less proportionate expense than one on a limited scale; indeed, it is very questionable whether, all things being considered, sheep are an advisable speculation to a small capitalist. With success they will bring him the best and quickest interest for his money; but, owing to the smallness of his flocks, he must for several years run a considerable risk; as, by the attacks of catarrh or other casualties, they may be wholly annihilated, or so much reduced as to be insufficient in number to repay their expenses.

But both on a large and small establishment judicious and economical management is now indispensable. The once received notion that by sheep-farming in Australia it is easy, in the course of a few years, to make a fortune sufficient to enable the settler to return to England and live in luxury, has long been exploded as chimerical, if indeed it ever was formed on rational grounds; and the best advice that can be given to an emigrant of the present day, intending to become a sheep-owner, is to discard at once all extravagant ideas, to look forward to a permanent residence in the colony, considering his station as his home, and by making himself as comfortable as his situation will permit, to learn to be contented with that independence which, with perseverance and moderate success, he may yet reasonably expect.