11 November 1868 Glenorchy My dear Donald You will be wondering I have not written you since your return from Wellington. I am certain you have plenty of annoyance and trouble with the native disturbance and I fear not likely to get over it in a hurry. It is indeed a bad busness for the country. It keeps everything back, what with the price of wool and stock it will require rigid management to be able at all to stem the tide. Sheep farming now is almost becoming a drug but it is hard to say what the next sales may do. You certainly have taken the only steps to improve the flock but it will take a great deal of fencing and out lay to make it come to pay with security. Indeed you ought to try if at all possible and get rid of all the old and faulty sheep that could be sold or fattened up if not sold, to boil down to make room for the good increase. Certainly the run this year looks better than it has done for the last three years, as we have got one of the old seasons back but that cannot be depended on. The English grasses is looking splendid. I am very anxious to see you for a few hours and if my leg was a little stronger I would make an effort to do so but I was out the other day round the boundary of McDugald and the bush having a quite look at the country and I must say the journey almost knocked me up but I saw what I wanted and that is that. Condie's idea of having that country fenced would be a very great advantage and a safeing [saving] of sheepherds that would soon pay the expence of fencing the half besides keeping other peoples rams out of the flock. I have a good may many things to tell you and sugest to you when I see you which I hope will be soon up this way. It would do you good to have a ride up just now and see the country. It is very strange that ever since you came back I have not had one single dream about you but all the time you were in Wellington I had continual dreams and some of them made me very uneasy. I hope and trust that Alexander is doing well at Canterbury and that this will be a lesson to him forever. Few if any has his head about stock and management. If he only would put it to good account. He has never written me a word and I supose he will not. Annabella talks of coming up. I will be very glade to see her now. Poor thing I dare say she would like to see me also. No more till we meet. Yours always affectionately Archibald John McLean