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382 colonial phrase indicative of the same state of mind which is described in Scotland by the expression of "a bee in the bonnet."

I have spoken, in one of the earlier chapters, of the sandalwood trade carried on with China. As long as a supply of trees of fair size and weight could be obtained within a hundred miles, or even a hundred and fifty miles of Perth, with facility, this article of commerce was of great assistance to the settlers, especially to the lower grade of farmers. It afforded occupation to their horses and carts at times when nothing else was doing, and enabled them to obtain supplies from the storekeepers by the barter of this wood without being forced to trespass upon the proceeds of their flocks or of their cornfields. During the dull season of the year they employed their teams to bring in the sandal logs which had been felled and trimmed in the recesses of the bush in the last few months by their woodcutters, and they usually found that a fairly steady demand for the sweet-scented wood, at the rate of 6l. to 6l. 10s. a ton, existed amongst the shippers and merchants at Perth. The usual price paid to the woodcutters in the bush, whether they were working for an employer or on their own account, seemed to be about 25s. a ton.

The value at Perth being what I have said, the only question to be considered was, whether the 5l. or 4l. 10s. a ton, (speaking roughly,) which they would have to receive as the difference, would be sufficient to compensate them for the wear and tear of their horses and carts, and the food and wages of their carters. Moreover it must be remembered that the buyers at Perth did not pay in cash,