SHEEP AND STATIONS.—CLIMATE AND SOIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 149, 8 May 1862, Page 3

SHEEP AND STATIONS.—CLIMATE AND SOIL.

Although I Lave estimated saltbush country as being now far superior to any Other for the depasturing of sheep, there are'of course many varieties of, and even degrees of excellence in, inferior country. Some few stations are so good that with very firfet-rate manager ment, they can be made to pay {chiefly, from their proximity to a market, or from shortness of carriage), as well as an ordinarily managed first-class saltbush run. There are others which pay pretty well, but not much more than interast on the capital invested; but which perhaps the proprietorsdo not like to leave,: because they have made them their homes, and have sunk money in the purchase of land, which they could. not easily realize. And, again, there are other places which it is always a wonder to me people can Tie induced to accept as a gift, if thereto is attached the obligation of keeping sheep on them. I could instance several runs at this moment, whose owners would avert ruin from themselves if they were to take their sheep out at once to new good country and forfeit their runs. But no ! these men, although they know they have got into a bog, have not the sense to see that the best way of getting out is to back out as quick as possible. They persist in attempting to struggle through, imagining they can perceive iirm ground beyond. If there is a mortgage on the station, the extra weight drags them down at once;_ if there, is not one but they have no other means to aid them, the incubu3 soon comes, and then with it the end of their ownership. It is frequently the fashion to judge of country and to describe it by the nature of the timber growing on it; thus, in the North a great deal may be heard about silver-leaved, ironbark and box, as both indicating by their presence the goodness of the country; | but however correct this rule may be applied within one or two particular districts, it would be a very un- I safe guide to be used throughout the colony as a I whole. For instance, I have-seen in the Western districts the aforesaid silver-leaved ironbark, growing . on an extremely rubbishy ridge,-while in .the Western | saltbush country, whenever broad-leaved box is present,- it is always on a patch 'of inferior ground. ■IGiie only true criterion of sheep country is its comparative freedom from moisture, and it is obvious that the greatest degree of perfection to be obtained in this way will .be in those districts where the fall; of rain is very much below the average. It is in such districts that the saltbush grows. . The grand desir. deratum, therefore," for sheep is a dry climate. The climate is the first thing to be taken into conEidpration, and thatitisof much more importance than soil may be proved by comparing the black soil flats and plains on the higher parts of New England with the black soil plains on Darting Downs or else- | where under a dry climate. I believe if the two soils I were analysed they would be found to be identical, but theionnercountry has long since been abandoned as worthless for sheep, while on the latter sheep do capitally. The reason is that the former is continually like a wet sponge, while the latter is in >a chronic state of cracks and melon holes } the one grows an aromatic herbage, the other a sour one. ■' ;- After a dry climate the next thing to be secured, is a thorough drainage, bo that when it docs-rain 'the superabundant moisture may be permitted to pass off.

Most people probably would be inclined to imagine -■that undulaUng country generally, or-what we would , caU'ridgy country, would"be" well drained; but tliij is hot. always^ the; Case.: \ In? what ;is'terme;! granite country, for instance, the prevalence of. large ma-scs 'ofjimbi dded rock creates surface spi-ings; the bed of rock, especially if it is at ;Jio great distance fi-om the sur'acej'stops the drainage of the superfluous water, acting in the same'manner jthat.,a flower-pot would ifit.hadnphole nt, the bottcjip ;.; and this excess of moisture always keeps the little.'.vegetation'there is qiUterank. Such. a. .riclg'e.would be undrained land ol'itUe.ypry. I wovst.descriptionibr"sheep, a'porqus■ surface wiHiaJiard'substratxiiii.^ The same remarks ai-e stjll more applicable to a sandstone country. In.a. . " red Roil,"_ or whiristdu'e cbiiiitry, if it is situate? 1 in a dry climntc, (lie ridges nre' generally: pretty vonnd, Rild for. the first liftuen years or so they are depastured, constitute capital sheep country, bath for fattening and breeding purposes, but after that arise other objections, such as the growth of grass-seed, &c, which 1. have mentioned elsewhere, and will notice more at length ngnin. Provided that the drainage is good, it docs not very much matter whether the soil is a rich or a poor one, as far as the health of the sheep are concerned ; the truth of this reiaark I will illustrate by mentioning what is called a "scalded" ealtbushplain. Nothing can well appear more barren looking, the ground is of the consistency of Min-dried bricks; there is hardly a blade of grass to be seen, nothing but the bluelooking saltbush, ami yet sheep fatten there j the fact is, there is never any rank vegetation, the surface is so hard that nearly all the water run* off in twentyfour hours. It is not to be denied, however, that the dry climate being given, the richer the soil, the greater will be the cairying and fattening capabilities of the country; but still it is possible to have too much of a, gotd thing, and I thould consider no run perfect tha lyul not n few hard dry ridges, even if there was no liiiig on them, to which the sheep might retreat in oiigcontinued wet weather. : : As far as heat nud cold are concerned, extremes of either appear to have but little ellect on the health of the sheep, provided the climate- is a dry one, and' this' condition granted, they will thrive as well in a hot wind in January, as in a cold sou'wester in July. But if there should be much wet, then cold with it would be less injurious than neat, i. c., a cold wet climate such as Wow England or Maucroo, perhaps is less injurious for sheep than a hot wet one such as would prevail generally on the Clarence, or in the Queensland, within eighty miles of the coast. From this it may be deduced tliat a wet summer anywhere is more injurious than a wet winter. • It will be observed that I am constantly harping on the evils of " wet," and, indeed, I cannot lay too much stress on the importance of dryness for sheep. It is astonishing how well they will subsist on the shortest and dryest feed, und with how little water theywill do, if they are accustomed to have access but seldom to it. The only time at which it is at all of importance to have green feed for sheep, is while they are lambing, and then it is almost a necessity, the increase being always in direct proportion to the freshness and richness of the herbage. It is at this time that the rich soils tell; for in a dry season the herbage on a rich soil will last longer and continue to retain more nutriment than that on a poor one. But to the subject of lambing I will advert in a future chapter. I have mentioned elsewhere the fact that largo tracts of country which used formerly to be first-rato for sheep, are now looked upon as being comparatively worthless. This is on account of the total dying out of what may be called the aborignal grasses, and the subsequent apperranoe of a new, wiry species, which bears a sharp barb-shaped seed. This seed, when taken up by the fleece, works its way into the wool, thereby materially lessening its value; nor does the iniscliief stop here,' for in the varieties of the grass prevailing in New South Wales, the seed is' strong enough to penetrata the |skin and even the internal organs, and is frequently the cause of death among lambs. This grass seed prevail throucchot those sound ridgy portions of New South Wales that enjoy a dry climate; it does not extend to the western saltbush plains, and is hardly known on New Enland or the coast; neither, I believe, was it over found ia a new country. In the older pastoral districts of New South- Wales twenty or thirty years elapsed from the time.the country was stocked before it made its appearance ; but in the North it may now be seen, covering runs that have-not been occupied myre than ten or .fifteen years. The reason of this probably is that in former times, when labor was cheap and plentiful, sheep were run in flocks of 300 or 400; whereas now, on the frontiers, from the scarcity of menj flocks would more likely average 3,000 or 4,000. Of course, tbe new system is much more severe upon the pasture, the animals in the dry season regularly trampling out the roots of the original grasses. There is no known remedy against the evil. On the kinds of country before mentioned it appears sooner or later, even though the runs have been most considerately treated. Burning it off, or keeping it closely fed down in spring, are the palliative measures employed.—Combo, in. ' Sydney Morning Herald.