an a
press, very much like a cotton or hay press, and handled in the same
way. The bales of wool usually weigh about four hundred pounds, and are
manipulated with hooks, just as cotton bales are handled.

Ned asked if it was necessary to have the wool perfectly dry when
packing it.

"Yes, indeed," was the reply; "and for that reason all work in the wool
shed must stop during wet weather. The fleeces, when taken from the
sheep, must be absolutely dry, and if the sheep are caught out in a
rain, it takes two or three days to dry them thoroughly. It is a serious
loss of time when we have occasional rainy days, as we lose not only the
rainy day itself, but not less than one or two clear days afterwards in
order to have the fleeces in proper condition for baling."

Other observations were made around the wool shed, and about the time
that they were concluded a flock of sheep came in from its day's
pasturage. There were about five hundred sheep in the flock, accompanied
by the shepherd and his dog. They were not driven to the wool shed, but
to a yard a little distance away from it. The sheep were in good
condition and evidently well cared for.

Harry remarked as much to the owner, who answered that the man in charge
of them was a very faithful shepherd, and he added that he might well be
so, as he was constantly under the eye of his employer.

After looking at the flock and visiting several other buildings of the
establishment, the party returned to the house, and in due course of
time sat down to dinner. The entertainment was very much like that of
the cattle station. The cooking was good, the host was attentive, the
meal was enlivened by stories of sheep-farming life, and altogether the
occasion was a pleasant one.

The next morning Mr. Johnson accompanied his guests in a horseback ride
over a portion of his grounds. As the sheep run covered an area of about
one hundred square miles, it was too much to expect that they would
examine the whole of it. They visited two or three of the out-stations,
and saw the shepherds caring for their flocks. Each of the out-stations
that they visited consisted of a hut for two men, and two yards where
the sheep were kept at night. As already mentioned in our account of the
visit of the party to a sheep farm in South Africa, each shepherd
started out in the morning with his flock, moving it slowly along so as
to reach water about noon, and then slowly feeding it back again,
reaching th