We
now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet,
and consisting of granite. With the change of rock the vegetation
improved; the trees were both finer and stood farther apart; and
the pasture between them was a little greener and more plentiful.
At Hassan's Walls I left the high-road, and made a short detour to
a farm called Walerawang; to the superintendent of which I had a
letter of introduction from the owner in Sydney. Mr. Browne had the
kindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which I had much
pleasure in doing. This place offers an example of one of the large
farming, or rather sheep-grazing, establishments of the colony.
Cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous
than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and producing
a coarser pasture. Two or three flat pieces of ground near the
house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men
were now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the
annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. The
usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty, but
at the present time there were rather more. Although the farm was
well stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence of
comfort; and not one single woman resided here.
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