NEW SOUTH WALES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 195, 14 June 1860, Page 3

NEW SOUTH WALES.

Its Wines. —Our attention has recently • been directed to some of the wines manufactured by Messrs. Lavers and Company, the excellence of which, and suitability for common beverages at Ibis sultry season, deserve to be noticed. In a country ..where the grape is cultivated to such perfection, aud in sucii bountiful abundance as in New South Wales,, that fruit naturally offers the best material fo.i the manufacture of the ordinary refreshing drink of the people; and it is gratifying to 'notice that the admirable wines of this colony—particularly tlmse. from the Camden • and Irrawang vineyards—are daily coming into greater approval and. more frequent use. • There is no reason, however, why agreeable and wholesome fermented drinks should not bo made from the same fruit in-its imported form.. In England the tables of those - who cannot > afford the choice continental, wines,-are supplied with very fair substitutes, the palatable- - ness of which constitutes as, great- a recoin- • memlatioii as their' cheapness,—'good ginger - and currant wines being there sold at nearly, r every grocer’s shop at about Is. a bottle. Messrs. Lavers & Co. have been extremely - successful in the manufacture of wines of this- -

<?e3cription, and, with the diffusion of more temperate tasfevthey are likely to come i-ito very general consumption. The sherry made by Messrs. Lavers and Co., from imported grapes, though it may not fulfil some of the conditions requited in such a wine, nor suit the palate of dainty connoisseurs, will be a very agreeable drink, and is vastly preferable to what is generally produced at places of entertainment in the bush under that name. It might very advantageously displace a great portion of what is served out as sherry; indeed the quantity which d/essrs. Lavers and Co. dispose of indicates that some of it is applied to that use. The wine made from the Muscatel raisin, and which (after the Camden wine) is called Muscat, has a delicidus flavour, and must be admired by those partial to sweet wines. The black currant wine is also a very agreeable drink, being flavoured by* that fruit as imported in bottles ; and considering that currants required for bottling are mostly gathered before becoming quite ripe, it is a matter of surprise that the wine is so; free from acidity; the delicate taste of the currant is very perceptible. The orange wine, for the flavouring of which the colonial fruit is of course used, is a most delicious drink, its only defect as a common beverage being its excessive lusciousness. In process of time this peculiarity will, no doubt, be remedied, and the raisin wines will more partake of the character of dry wines, their great sweetness being at present caused by the quantity of sugar used. In connexion with the mention of these wines, we may repeat the often urged complaint, that our colonial wines are not allowed to be retailed without a license, and to express the hope that in any further amendment in the Licensing Act, some provision for remedying that grievance will be introduced. It is believed that by multiplying the number of agreeable and wholesome native drinks, and also by rendering them readily obtainable in small quantities, the consumption of injurious stimulants would be checked, and the cause of temperance thereby promoted. —Sydney Herald.

Its Pastoral Statistics— The following paper was read by Mr. R. Meston, at a recent meeting of the Australian Horticultural and Agricultural /Society, Nevy South Wales : The colonial statistics compiled by our Registrar-General, and recently published, are highly creditable to himself, and valuable to the colony. Amongst our sheep, a gradual decrease might have been readily foreseen. How many licensees are abandoning sheepfarming, and now depasture with cal tie ? On the Richmond River and the Clarence only remain two flockowners, and in several western districts, not one or two, but numbers of squatters feel themselves compelled to part with their sheep from manifest causes, either of unsuitable soils, exhaustion of natural grasses, d.' prevalence of that accursed lance grass, thereby occasioning unavoidable losses, which aio immediate good management can profitably counterbalance. During an overland ride of 450 miles a traveller counted fifteen sheep: stations all deserted in his route. The only method man can devise under these circumstances is one open to all. Endeavor to supplant the bad by introducing seeds of bet- , ter. The Medick trefoil dispossessed its predecessors ; the xanthium displaced the mediek; the milk thistles smother the xanthium ; and, in time, some others will eject the Carduus B. If this natural law is so obvious with weeds, it is equally true with grasses also. In the Bathurst country, trifoliumere, repens, or white clover, forms a considerable part of their present pastures. On Taberrajbuccra Swamp it reigns paramount. How delicious • the fragrance; how pleasant the hum of bees collecting its sweets; bow charming to the eye; what rich feeding for the cattle ! It may be observed, however, that our colonial stock are not so freely fond of this clover as British beeves, when the herbage- is green. Probably they have not yet been accustomed by habit to its excellent pies. But no sooner begins the clover to decline and wither than horses, cattle and sheep all delight to revel in its luxuriance. Jn our bauds was lately placed a calculation that during 1858, the net value in cattle, sheep, and, horses, pigs, &c., as belonging to this colony, real proceeds against Victoria, stood as undernoted, viz.:— Cattle ,£900,000. t Sheep 400,000 Horses 110,000 Pigs 4,000 Wool. 173,855

£1,587,855 Besides a trade to South Australia down the Hurray and overland from the Darling ; .of the worth of which it is. not easy nor safe to hazard an opinion. Take all our trade in grazing stock into account, but not officially accounted for, the round sum of two millions, including our wool,‘passed into Victoria and down by the Murray ; represent colonial income in these items, and quite enough to prove that the balances of trade are not so bad against us as some returns would show. The weight ami 'worth of wool exported via Victoria is obtained this way. Taking the number of sheep in 1857 at 8,139,162, then the clip, at two pounds six ounces each, will bring us 19,362,175 lbs. The quantity exported from New South Wales is stated at, or nearly, 17,044,20.1 lbs., leaving a substruction of 2,318,074 lbs,; the greater part of which, it is presumed, finds an exit by southern, transits. The price is only reckoned at Is. 6d. per 1b.,-—two pence, at least, below, the real worth. Certain gentlemen will be ready to say that the average clip is too highly rated. To the uninitiated it really looks suspicious. I am one of those who positively deny that New South fFal.es flocks have increased

their avoirdupois clip by the late system of breeding' too generally adopted, for previously 2| lbs. were believed a maximum.' Granted, Victorian averages have augmented by their adoption of Cotswold blood and Leicester crosses. But let us hope that no flock-owners of this, our colony, will act so insanely, as to introduce these’crosses (they will prove losses)- into this colony. It is a maxim in breeding economics, adapt your stock to your pastures. The stations are not very numerous which can feed these large sheep in Australia Major. . We ought also to bring into our computations the large quantity of wool borne from New South Wales and Victoria, on the back of 500,000 sheep or nearly, thus greatly in areas r ing their apparent shipment of our staple, from Melbourne and other Victorian ports. Take these sheep one with another at two pounds each of wool, the grand total will, with the former, amount to fqlly three millions of pounds to Victorian credit, and just as much from New South Wales exportation. The excess of Victorian exports in wool is thus far explained, and our own deficit plainly demonstrated.

Notwithstanding the seeming deficiency of three and a-half millions pounds of wool in 1858, when compared with 1857, yet the money value is something less than £150,000 ; thus proving that with a diminishing supply weeßjoy an increased value.