Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/180



GREAT many young men who have been farm hands at Home, when they come to this country, having a little ready money, buy or rent land, and become farmers on their own account, forgetting that their knowledge gained in England or Ireland, as the case may be, is of very little use to them here in the colonies. The man who comes with a little money will do well to put that money into the Savings Bank, and hire himself as a labourer on a farm, where he will very soon pick up the knowledge he requires of the different seasons, the different crops grown, and many other details which he will be the better for knowing before risking his money in a venture on his own responsibility. While he is gaining experience his money is increasing, and he is becoming accustomed to the country, learning the manners, customs, and ways of working.

A year so spent under a good practical farmer will be worth a good £100 to a man when he does start on his own place.

If he is wise he will be on the look-out for a cheap investment in the shape of a small farm. So many young fellows upon their arrival rush into land speculation, buying almost any that is offered, even in some instances without going to inspect. They are so anxious to become the owners of a plot of ground, and the said plot being exceeding cheap in their eyes, that they clinch the bargain on the spur of the moment, and ten chances to one to find out when they do go to visit it, that they have bought a piece of a swamp, or the side of a mountain. It is only natural that emigrants should fall into such a mistake, for the simple reason that they think all land of value. In England, or wherever they have come from, the possession of a piece of land is a certain income however small, for all the land there has a value, and most