Thamanampalli Surekha

bakes the for-famed damper. By the time the flocks, return in the evening, he has every thing snug, and supper ready for the shepherds, as he had the day before. This routine at an out-station is continued daily without variation during the year, until shearing time comes, when the flocks are driven to the wool-shed, also when the rams are put to the flocks, and at the lambing season, when the presence of the master or superintendent is required, to see that the men perform their duties faithfully. From tins rough sketch of the management of an out-station we can easily trace ramifications of the entire system of sheep-farming throughout Australia. A run or squatting station is composed of a number of these out-stations surrounding the homestead at distances of four or five miles from each other, where it is good pasture-land, so that when you hear of a squatter being possessed of twenty or thirty thousand sheep, you do not see them all on his run at one spot, but in detached flocks, as we have described. And it is the duty of the overseer, or of the squatter himself, to visit these out-station occasionally, and issue their rations to them either every week or fortnight. Suppose then, for the sake of illustration, that an out-station possesses 3000 sheep, and that there are on an overage three of these on every run, giving 9000 sheep to each squatting station, and that there are one hundred squatting stations in a district, mustering 900,000 sheep, and that each colony has ten districts, this will give us eighteen millions of sheep for the two provinces of Victoria and New South Wales, which is near the total amount, according to the last returns. For every 4000 sheep depastured on crown lands, the settler pays a yearly squatting license of ten pounds to the government. After thanking the honest woman for her entertainment, we mounted our horses, and pursued our journey towards the head station, about eight miles distant. The track at some places was rather indistinct from the grass having grown over it, which made us proceed cautiously, as we had no idea of losing ourselves in the bush, or encountering unnecessary dangers from want of prudence - a common circumstance with strangers an their first travels through such solitary regions. In this manner, and from a stubborn self - confidence, which ignorant men display, many have lost their lives in the Australian wilderness. Fool - hardy people often encounter dangers which the bravest would shrink from, simply because they are ignorant of the consequences. At that time we heard of many who undertook journeys to the diggings of several hundred miles, who never had travelled ten miles beyond a township before. And the wonder was, not that they encountered so many privations, but that they ever, reached their destinations. While others, who were unaccustomed to the ordinary hardships of the bush, wrote letters to their friends, which appeared in the public prints at home, describing the dangers they encountered, and the hardships they had to put up with, which any bush traveller would have laughed at. In none of the Australian colonies are the bush-tracks, or natural roads, so good as they are in Victoria. Had it not possessed the extent of undulating prairie and open forest - land which it does, with so few mountain-chains to obstruct the progress of the settler, it would never have become so rapidly peopled by a pastoral population as it has been, who, in the course of ten years after its settlement, occupied all the available pasture - land with their flocks and herds within its territory, simply because they had good tracks through the country to the ports of shipment for their wool and tallow. As we approached the homestead we heard the lowing of kine, the bleating of sheep, and the homely bark of the dogs, which thrilled with a pleasing sensation through our wearied frame, while our good horse pricked up his ears and sniffed the air, as if he was sure there was a feed of corn at hand. Emerging from the forest, we came suddenly upon the head-station, with its house and out-offices built upon a small hill, at the foot of which was a running stream about ten yards wide, this stream we forded over a pebbly bed, with the horse up to his knees in water. A general whoop from all the live creation about announced our approach. Among barking dogs, crowing fowls, cackling geese, lowing cattle, and neighing horses, we made our way up to the house, where we found the proprietor standing at his open door, who cordially invited us to dismount and step in, after perusing a note of introduction which we presented to him from his agents in Melbourne. Apologising for the absence of his ostler, who had gone to the diggings, he leg the way to a roughly-built but comfortable stable in the rear of the premises, where, between us, we managed to put up our tired horse snugly for the night. After this he shaved us to the strangers' bed -rooms, of which there were half-a-dozen in the house, and left us to indulge in refreshing ablutions, which, under the circumstances, was the most agreeable thing we could have. When we had finished, we were shown into a comfortably furnished parlour, where we were introduced to our host's wife, a lady-like personage, and his family, consisting of four boys and two interesting girls, all in their teens. Besides these, there were two gentlemen from a neighbouring station, who had come a distance of ten miles to drink tea with them. Altogether, a more homely, pleasant - looking family party you would not find in the oldest form - house in England; and nowhere but in a gentleman - former's homestead would you find the some elegancies and comforts with which the room was