droughts not a blade of grass appears after a certain time, and the sheep are starved.

6. "The more provident settlers send their flocks to the coast, or to any other region where a little food may be found. It is a colonial law that a "squatter" has the right of driving his sheep over any other squatter's run, provided the flock is travelling to or from the run, and the owner of the travelling "mob has given notice to the lessee of the land over which he is driving them. He must, however, drive them at the rate of at least six miles per day.

7. "This legal usage is at times abused by sharp, but shabby squatters, who drive their sheep in a long round, getting them a bit of feed here and a bit there, until they return again to their own scanty run with flocks fattened at their neighbours' expense. It is needless to say that this practice is not popular with the large squatters, who cannot, however, prevent it, for flocks must be taken to and from the market.

8. "In times of drought, however, it is still worse. The squatter's pastures are getting browner and thinner day by day, and he has barely enough to keep life in his own sheep till the longed-for rain arrives. But what must his feelings be when he sees mob after mob of starved animals arriving, and, without his having power to prevent them, still further decreasing his feed.

9. "Such was the case in the drought of 1865-6. The flocks which came first fared badly, but those which followed fared worse, until the line of travel to the sea was strewed with dead and dying animals. Thousands of sheep were slaughtered in the hope that by reducing the number of mouths enough grass might be found for those left. At this time flocks of sheep were offered for sale in Adelaide for a shilling per head.”

10. In some places sheep feed and thrive on a low bush called the salt-bush, and this feed rarely fails even in the driest seasons; but water has to be obtained from deep wells.

11. Adelaide, the capital, is situated in a plain near the small river Torrens, which is dried up during a great

Including the suburbs, it contains a
All the other towns are very

part of the year. population of 50,000.

small.

A

Squatter. One who hires a large run for the use of his flocks. free selector is one who selects and settles on a piece of land not already occupied.

AUSTRALIA.-WESTERN AUSTRALIA-QUEENSLAND.

1. Western Australia is the largest in area but the poorest in resources, and the least promising of all the Australian colonies. Its area is about one million square miles, but only a very small portion is settled. The settled portion is confined to the south-west corner, a district about 320 miles long and about 160 miles wide; but there are also a few very small settlements on some of the small rivers farther north. Its total population is less than 30,000.

2. A range of low mountains runs north and south parallel with the coast line in the settled district. Its rivers are numerous, and some of them of considerable size, but they are not of much value, owing to want of water during a great part of the year. The Swan river is the chief.

3. The soil is principally sandy, with fertile spots here and there, and a large part of the country is covered with scrubs and bush and forest. One kind of Eucalyptus, the wood of which resembles mahogany, is useful as timber. Much of the scrub is poisonous, and sheep farming, therefore, is not extensive. The climate is hot and dry, and very healthy.

4. As yet no minerals of importance have been discovered, and the chief exports are wool, sandal-wood, and pearl shells: the latter are found in great quantities on the north-western shores. The chief towns are Perth and Freemantle: the former has about 6,000 inhabitants. 5. Queensland is the junior of the Australian colonies, having been made a separate colony in 1859. Previously

it was the Moreton Bay district of New South Wales. It occupies all the north-east of Australia, and covers an area of 670,000 square miles-eleven times the size of England and Wales. The population is mixed, consisting of four distinct races the white, or Europeans and Americans; the yellow, or Chinese; the brown, or immigrants from the Polynesian islands and the black natives. The total number of inhabitants amounts to about 200,000, of whom nine-tenths are whites.

6. Queensland, like its sister colony Victoria, or its parent colony New South Wales, has a great region of mountainous country, with chains branching off in various directions, but running in a direction more or less parallel with the coast and at varying distances from it.

7. We may divide the country according to its great water-slopes. The first of these is the eastern, or coast district, whose rivers run into the Pacific. This district is the most varied, the most fertile, and in every way the most important. It has a good climate, a fine coast-line, and boasts of some of the highest mountains.

8. The second district is the south-west watershed, drained by the Upper Darling and its tributaries. This is a pastoral country, well suited for sheep runs, but it is subject to droughts. The third district, the basin of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is a tropical country of plains and rivers. The fourth district is the western watershed, drained by the Cooper river and its tributary streams. This region is but little known. It is excessively dry, and its rivers lose themselves in the sandy deserts or flow into the inland salt lakes.

9. The climate is hot, but the country is free from the hot winds of the interior from which the other

Australian colonies suffer. The chief agricultural products are sugar-cane, cotton, and maize; but wool is the chief article of export. Gold is also found in many parts, and there are some coal and copper mines.

10. Brisbane, the capital, built on the river of the same name, is a city with about 30,000 inhabitants. Rockhampton, Ipswich, Maryborough, and Cooktown, are the other chief towns.

1. To the south of Victoria, and separated from it by Bass's Strait, is the island of Tasmania, formerly called Van Diemen's Land. Its greatest length from north to south is 240 miles, and its greatest width about 200 miles. Including the neighbouring island, it has an area of 26,300 square miles, that is, about four-fifths the size of Ireland.

2. Its coast has many bays and inlets, and some good harbours. On the west coast there are the fine harbour of Macquarie, once a penal settlement, and Port Davey. On the north coast the estuary of the Tamar is the chief opening, and on the east and south-east coasts are Oyster Bay, Storm Bay, the estuary of the Derwent, and many other bays and harbours.

3. The surface of the country is very mountainous. There are no regular mountain chains, but high tablelands, mountains and valleys, peaks and glens, make up the island. The highest peaks are Cradle Mount and Ben Lomond, each just over 5,000 feet in height.

4. Tasmania abounds in rivers, but they are mostly rapids and torrents, navigable only in their estuaries. Many of them rise in beautiful lakes embosomed among the mountains; some flow amid fine scenery and magnificent forests, and are adorned with picturesque waterfalls. The chief rivers are the Derwent and Tamar. The largest lakes are Great Lake, St. Clair, Echo, and Arthur's Lake.

5. The climate of Tasmania is superior to most parts of Australia. The summer temperature of the valleys and plains is high in the day, but the nights are always cool and refreshing. Snow lies on the mountains for several months in the year. The rainfall is not great, but the rainy days are many, and there are no long droughts.

6. The vegetable productions are numerous.

I

Wheat,