AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION FOR ADULTS IN 



THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



AUSTRALIA. 



In order to properly understand and appreciate the value of the 

 methods used in Australia in reaching the rural population with suit- 

 able infornuition adapted to the diverse agricultural conditions that 

 exist throughout the Commonwealth, knowledge of the variety of 

 crops grown, the extent of the population, and the vast area of terri- 

 tory to be covered is necessary. 



The six States that compose the Commonwealth had in 1901 a popu- 

 lation of 3.773,370 and a total area of 2,973,070 square miles. This 

 is about equal in extent to that portion of the United States which 

 lies east of the Rocky Mountains. The sparse settlement of the coun- 

 try is better realized by comparing the areas of the several States 

 with that of Ohio, which contains 41,0G0 square miles and has a popu- 

 lation of 4,15r,5-t5: 



Area in 

 State: square miles. 



New South Wales 310.700 



Queensland 668. 497 



Victoria 87. 884 



Western Australia 075. 020 



South Australia 90.3.690 



Tasmania 26. 38.5 



Total 2, 97.3, 076 



The eastern section has an abundance, and in some localities a 

 suiDerabundance, of rainfall, but the interior and western parts are 

 very deficient in this respect, the annual rainfall varying in these 

 sections from 20 inches to almost nothing. The agriculture of the 

 country, therefore, necessarily varies according to the locality. The 

 east, with its mild and moist climate, the annual rainfall averaging 

 from 50 to 80 inches, is devoted largely to the production of cattle 

 and sheep ; the south and west to the growing of grain. 



Each State has a department of agriculture engaged in endeavoring 

 to solve the particular agricultural problems that are peculiar to it. 

 Among these is that of disseminating information among farming 



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