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 I was away with grapes today at Mr. Baumgarten's. He makes wine. He gets the grapes at 5 pound per ton; that is only a little over one half penny per pound. I have tasted the juice of them both sweet and fermented. If I had you here I could give you some of my own making. All it wants is age. We can make either white or dark wine and no adulteration in it. The local makers sometimes only gets one and sometimes 2s. per gallon when selling to large vintners.  One ton of grapes will make from 120 till 160 gallons of wine. The picking is hot work and sore on the back but we have all ours away and is waiting for rain to start ploughing. 
I have two young horses under training at present. I intend to make a good job of them. The colonial when training thinks they are doing great things when they take a fresh colt and mounts him on the first or second day. How it is done is this way; when a young horse is brought in he is run into the crush (a small passage made of strong posts just the width of the colt and a pair of skakes same as you would put a cow into. There is also two strong poles put across behind him so he can neither get up back or forward) then he is either bridled or haltered. Believe me they get rough usage. Well they are chased and beaten with a large stock whip until they cannot go any longer. Then he is mounted and ridden while he is able to go. The same is repeated for two or three days and then he is broken. After that when his owner puts him into either plough or cart he is sure to be a jibber or buckjumper. I have not seen a proper mouthed horse since I came to the colonies. A jibber is what we would call at home, ruster and sulky, not doing what they are able. 
Mr. Newson went to Melbourne today to spend his Easter holidays so I have charge till he comes back. The young man that was here has left and a young fellow from Tasmania is here to get colonial knowledge. He is not very smart but has plenty of presumption. 
We'll have a single and double furrow going also the disc harrow with 8 bullocks in it. When the ground is loose the disc can prepare the ground without ploughing. In the second turn with the disc we can sow the seed.