The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-08-28
Life in New South Wales.

1.-The past year has been disastrous
to the stockmen, and consequently
business of all kinds has suffered
greatly" said Mr.. Burchitt, resident
of Sydney, New South Wales, to a
Rochester reporter, the other day.
For twelve months, not n drop of
rain has fallen in New South Wales,
and as a result the cattle and sheep
have died by hundreds of thousands.
One man lost $50, 900 sheep and Is, 600
CATTLE and many others have been
ruined. This is the most severe
drought since 1926, and has been SO
terrible that In many instances wild
beasts, large birds like the emu, cattle,
and sheep may be seen struggling in
the holes where the surface water col
lects. The rabbits are the greatest
pests which the Australians have ever
been called on to fight They arc so
numerous that at times the plains for
miles are alive with them, and are so
thickly covered by the moving mass
that what little verdure there is Is COW
cred from sight The kangaroo is also
very troublesome animal, and since
heritage has been cut off by the drought
these animals come up boldly to the
dwellings in search of food. The gov
eminent and the stockmen expond
large sums of money in eXterminating
these vermin. Ferrets and gunpowder
nre used to kill rabbits, and the kanga-
roos are surrounded by large bodies of
men and killed by thousands. There
is no apparent diminution, however, in
the number of the posts, and it is be-
coming a serious problem whether
they will not eventually drive the peo-
pie from their stock farms. The dam
age done by wild animals and the dis
astrous effect of the drought have prac-
tically put an end to stock-raising in
some portions of New South Wales.
On ranches where year ago the grass
was twelve inches high the ground is
now covered six inches deep with dry
sand, which has been blown in by the
wind"
Mr.. Burchitt has been engaged in the
wholesale tobacco business in Sydney.
Speaking of the Australians, Mr.
Burchitt said; "They are remarkably
fond of athletic sports and racing
Cricket rowing, football, ETC., are gen.
orally INDUCED in, and so far as racing
is concerned they 90 ahead of any other
nation. The tracks at Melbourne and
Sydney are the finest In the world, and
the racing stock is of the very best
Betting runs very high, and immense
sums are lost and won at each meet
ing At the race for the Melbourne
cup there are frequently three hundred
entries, with thirty starters. Tho at
tendance is generally from 100, 000:to
100000. The races are holly contest
cd, and Martin Henry, the winner of
the Melbourne cup last year, made two
miles in 2:274, beating the best record
ever made. He won by head, carry
ing LOG pounds"
In reference to the settlement of the
country, it has come to be the case that
squatters are taking up small farms in
the midst of the grazing country us
they have the right to do under the
law, Each man can take $40 acres
anywhere he can find unoccupied land,
and the water-courses are generally
taken first This compols the stock
men to buy out the sQuatters, and leads
to great deal of ill-foeling. "As one
of the results of the drought" said Mr..
Burchitt many stockmcn who year
ago could draw q check for fl00, 900
are not now worth Is note. The
banks own all the land and the stock,
and for their own protection must
carry the ranchmen through until it
ro;po ~