a
bushman may find that his contract has not paid him much more than the
worth of his tucker during the time; or, on the other hand, he may find
he has made ten shillings a day clear out.

New-chums often find a job of bush-falling is the first thing they can
get hold of, and a bitter apprenticeship it is. Their aching backs and
blistered hands convey a very real notion of what hard work and manual
labour means. And this goes wearily on day after day, while, very
likely, they find they are not earning a shilling a day, do all they
may. The ordinary English agricultural labourer, transplanted here, does
not seem to do better at this work at the start than the "young
gentleman." His class take a lot of teaching, and anything new appears
to be a tremendous difficulty to them. Moreover, they have to learn the
meaning of an Antipodean ganger's frequent cry, "Double up, there!
Double up!" And they do not like to work so hard that every now and then
a stop must be made to wring out the dripping shirt. Worst of all, there
is seldom any beer in the bush!

After we had got some grass clearings, the next thing to do was to fence
them in. A very necessary thing that; first, to keep the sheep in--and,
second, to keep the wild pigs out. Two most important reasons, besides
other lesser ones.

Fencing of many kinds has been tried in the colony, the question of
relative cost under different circumstances mainly influencing settlers
in their choice. I need only mention four varieties as being general in
the North. They are post-and-rail, wire, wattle, and stake.

The first is undoubtedly the best of any, but the labour of cutting,
splitting, getting on the ground, and setting up is so great, that the
cost of such a fence is very heavy. It may cost two to five pounds a
chain, or more; but it should require no repairs for ten or twelve
years, and is proof against cattle, sheep, or pigs. The materials,
whether kauri, totara, or other timber, is much the same as that we used
for our stockyard, only, of course, it is not needed anything like so
strong. But it is the same sort of rough stuff, procured in the same
way.

As to wire fences, they are useful enough for keeping sheep in, and come
in well for inner fences, being sufficiently cheap and easily set up.
But they will not keep out wild pigs, and cattle, accustomed to force
their way through the thickets of the bush, mistake wire fences for mere
supple-jack, and walk straight throug