nd retained in
his service who have served their terms. Should Mr. MacArthur wish for
an increase, they shall be assigned him when more arrive from England;
but your Lordship will observe by the number and employment Return that
the Public Labour absolutely necessary to be carried on, and in which
Agriculture on the part of the Crown is nearly given up, will not allow
of more Men being assigned at present until more arrive.

I have, etc.,

PHILLIP GIDLEY KING.

MACARTHUR'S OBSERVATIONS ON SHEEP-FARMING

A Report of the State of Mr. MacArthur's Flocks of Sheep, with some
observations on the Advantages which may be expected from the Growth of
fine Wool in New South Wales.

Paramatta, N.S.W., _2nd Oct., 1805._

The fine Woolled Sheep imported here from the Cape of Good Hope in the
Year 1797 were said to be of the Spanish Breed. The excellence of the
fleece of these Sheep combined with the consideration of their peculiar
form, bears strong evidence in favour of the Correctness of this Report,
tho' it is impossible to say whether they originally sprung from the
best kind of Sheep that is bred in Spain. Be this as it may nothing is
better established than that the Wool of this Breed of Sheep has
considerably improved in this Climate, and as Mr. MacArthur has had the
good fortune to bring out from England Four Rams and one Ewe, purchased
from His Majesty's Flock of Spanish Sheep, It is to be hoped that these
valuable animals will be the cause of a still further Melioration in the
Quality of our Wool. Indeed there appears no reason to fear but that the
Wool of this Country may by care and judicious Management be placed on
an equality with the very best that is grown in Spain. It has been Mr.
MacArthur's invariable practice to keep the Spanish Breed apart from all
others, and as fast as Spanish Rams have been reared they have been put
among the coarse-woolled Ewes. The result of this system has proved
extremely satisfactory, his Flocks now consist of more than Five
Thousand, of these Sixty are of the pure Spanish kind, and the whole are
much improved in the quality of the Wool; he is of Opinion the best
judge will be unable to discover any material difference between the
perfect and the mixed Breed in Seven years.

With respect to Constitution, Size, and Aptitude to fatten, he has tried
all the Breeds he could obtain in the Colony, and he has found the
Spanish surpass them all in every one of these qualities. In the
r