Natural resources were not quite so apparent. A wealth of brilliant flowers and tropical plants existed, but forests were few, timber was scarce and costly, and it was years before the introduction of the Australian Eucalyptus embowered many a village from the Cape to Kimberley and from Buluwayo to Pretoria in groves of that useful tree. The land in some cases was fertile, but, on the whole, was perhaps more suited to the raising of sheep and cattle than to agriculture in the American or Canadian sense. Farming of the latter kind involves severe labour, and neither the original slaves, the coloured labourers of an after-time, nor the Dutch farmers, were fitted by disposition or nature for the work. But, as the population increased from 26,000 Europeans in 1805 to 182,000 in 1865, and to 237,000 ten years later, the country assumed a more civilized and prosperous appearance. Sheep and cattle were literally scattered over a thousand hills, while various collateral industries were developed by English settlers which the slow-moving Dutch would never have dreamed of. Between 1812 and 1820 the Merino sheep was introduced, and its wool soon became a source of profit and wealth. In 1865 ostrich farming was commenced, and speedily developed great importance through the process of artificial incubation. Roads were made, churches and schools were built, municipal government in the towns and villages was introduced, and the Colonial finances were put into shape despite the expenses of Kaffir wars and native troubles--which were mainly charged to the Imperial exchequer. The first railway was constructed in 1859, and wagon roads were carried over various mountain passes and through much of the settled part of the country. [Sidenote: An Executive Council Created]