Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/181

 of it is cultivated. The new chum stares aghast when told that a squatter possesses hundreds of miles without anything but the native grasses and trees upon it. He cannot understand why we do not cultivate more, and very often he thinks to himself "Oh, well, I'll buy it and I'll cultivate. I'll show the poor Colonials the way to farm. And very likely he does buy a piece of land, tries to show us how to cultivate, and more often than not breaks his heart in the effort. But if a man does as I suggest, by the time his year is up he has added to his previous knowledge of Home-farming a knowledge of Australian also, and the two combined must prove of untold value to a shrewd man just starting life on his own account.

Well, we will now suppose a man has served his twelve months with a farmer and has selected 160 acres of agricultural land at a rental of 6d. an acre per year. This is a better plan than purchasing outright, as it gives him the means to stock with the money he has saved. His cows will almost pay the rent, and at the end of five years the farm will be his own when he pays the 10s. for deed fees.

The first thing to do is to fence the selection, this he can do himself, having learnt to split and fence while on the farm, but it will be slow work for one pair of hands, and he must have someone to help him cross-cut the logs for posts and rails, and also he knows that the quicker this is done the sooner will he be receiving some return, for directly his fence is up he can put his cows in, and if close to town, as he may possibly be, he can sell his milk. He can live in a tent while all this is doing, and by and bye when his cows are in and growing he can build the house.

It is far better to have a good man who understands his work at 25s. per week, than it is to engage an emigrant like himself or a boy at 15s. or £1, who knows no more, perhaps not as much, as himself. If he has a good man with him for a few weeks he can gain experience from him, and in fact learn more than the worth of the wages he has to pay him. But to proceed. Now posts and rails have to be cut, and for this purpose he must have a cross-cut saw, he will have to pay about 25s. for it, unless he happens upon a bargain, second hand, but I would advise "new chum" to take "old chum" with him when he goes to see it, or he may be taken in. The wedges for splitting will be 6d. per pound as they are in sets, seven to each set. He must have the seven and two maul rings, which are also sold by the pound. The mauls he must make of hard wood. A good axe will be about 6/6 or 7/6, an adze 5/6, mortising axe 4/6, pick axe 3/6, spade 6/6. These are the tools he cannot do without; I have mentioned them elsewhere in the building of the house, but it is as well to have them here again.