10 Jan., 1919.] America and Australia Compared. 9 



After years of contentious discussion, the States of New South 

 Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, and the Federal Government, 

 have come to an agreement regarding the utilization of the Murray 

 waters, and these Governments, acting co-operatively, propos^e spending 

 £5,000,000 in providing a series of storages, and at the same time, by 

 means of a system of locks, the river will be rendered navigable for a 

 distance of over 1,100 miles. 



What a remarkable prospect is opened up by a consideration of the 

 possibilities of the Murray lands ! The settlement at Mildura is an 

 example of what can be done by the application of irrigation water in 

 arid districts. Prior to the advent of irrigation Mildura was a sheep 

 walk, supporting, at most, a few families on the whole area. To-day 

 the 12,000 included in the settlement support in comfort a population 

 of 6,000 souls, and the total production of the settlement is £600,000 per 

 annum. Settlers are prosperous, and the settlement has a high standard 

 of comfort, and reaps all the social and educational advantages of a 

 compact and closely-knit community. 



It would, perhaps, be extravagant to say that the one and a half 

 million acres of irrigible land to be opened up in the Murray valley 

 by the construction of new storages under the Murray Waters Act can 

 be expected to equal Mildura in out-turn per acre, for Mildura confines 

 itself to specialized fruits, for which there is but a limited demand at 

 current prices. But these new lands may be expected to carry immense 

 numbers of live stock, and will be similar to many of the prosperous 

 irrigation settlements throughout Australia. Irrigation offers an ideal 

 method of settling people in smaller areas than would be possible if the 

 natural rainfall were to be depended on. 



Stock. 



The live stock industries in the United States have been well deve- 

 loped. The live stock supported in 1915 were: — Cattle, 60,000,000; 

 pigs, 68,000,000 ; sheep, 45,000,000. 



One striking contrast between American and Australian practice is 

 the extent to which systematic stock feeding is practised in America. 

 Here in Australia sheep and cattle are merely grazed on natural pas- 

 tures. The cultivation of forages for feeding stock is jiractised only 

 in isolated instances. In the American States, however, the production 

 of hay, grain and silage for feeding to like stock is regularly practised 

 throughout the agricultural regions. Hand-feeding of stock at first 

 necessitated in winter by the rigorous climate has now become the 

 general practice throughout the year. 



In the Western States, where there is a large area of range country, 

 with a rainfall insufficient for the successful production of cereals, cattle 

 are grazed on the plains and mountains and shipped to the corn belt to 

 be fattened for the great packing centres. In the Southern States, the 

 prevalence of cattle tick has hindered the expansion of the cattle in- 

 dustry. 



In the east and north-eastern portions, the population is denser, and 

 the pasture and feed pay better for dairying than for raising beef cattle. 



The distribution of beef cattle in the United States varies with the 

 availability of cheap feed and pasture. The greatest number of beef 

 cattle is found in the western portion of the maize belt. Maize and hay 



