Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/182

 He is almost certain to have timber fit for fencing upon his own land—iron bark, gum, bloodwood, any of them will do. Now suppose the trees to be felled. Lengths of six feet six must be sawn off for splitting into posts, which will give two feet in the ground and four feet six out. For rails the lengths sawn off must be nine feet.

I do not think I need say any more about fencing, as we are presuming that my imaginary young farmer has been a whole year on a farm in the country gaining experience, and so would have seen some fencing done even if he has not assisted with it himself. Before leaving the subject, in case I am writing for those who have neither seen nor done fencing, a word about mortising the posts. Measure six inches from the top of the post and chalk a line, and five inches below that mark another, those two lines represent the top and bottom of your mortise. Now fourteen inches from the bottom mark make the second mortise, then set to work with the mortising axe and make the holes for the rails between the two chalk lines, they must be two and a half inches wide. The posts should be eight feet apart, the rails being nine feet long, thus allowing six inches at each end to go through the mortised holes, For the opening or entrance to his paddock he can have slip rails to begin with, by and bye when he has more time he can make a gate.

Having fenced in his selection his next move should be to purchase a few head of cows, five or six will be a good number to start with and give him a small return, so that he may have something coming in from his land. If possible he should try to buy a couple of cows from his old master, cows that he knows and has had the handling of. They will be invaluable to him when breaking in his young herd. He may have to pay pretty high for old milkers if they are good, possibly as high as £8 or £9 if he lives in New South Wales or Victoria, less in Queensland, but the money is well laid out if they are good and know him. In buying these cows, unless he is a good judge, or, as they say "has a good eye for a cow," he will do well to take some old farm hand with him. He does not require a well bred cow, or one perfect in form and point. She may be the meanest looking old scare crow imaginable and yet an invaluable old lady in the yard with young and flighty mothers. It is not her personal appearance she rules them by, but her moral influence, her gentleness, good temper, and general amiability. And none but an "old hand" with cows will recognise such a one. If he is not in a position to buy such cows, he may have a friend or neighbour who will lend him a couple of old milkers to help him in breaking in his young stock, such things are done in the bush among neighbours. Prices in cattle vary