The exports for 1902 are valued at about 

 i:33,O00. This business could be con- 

 siderably extended. 



Beer. — Owing to natural conditions, bet- 

 ter beer can be brewed in Tasmania than 

 in other parts of the Common-weakh of 

 Australia. 



Weavino;. — Small beginnings have beenj 

 successfulh^ made in the weaving of 

 blankets, flannel, and tweed, and in the 

 making of biscuits. Under the new Cus- 

 toms regula-tions all these industries are 

 likely to grow. 



Steam Communication. — One o£ the re- 

 sults of the growth of the above indus- 

 tries has been an increase in the tonnage 

 of siieamers calling at the ports of Tas- 

 mania, not only from the oirber colonies, 

 but from Europe. The tonnage for 1903 

 (the present year) entering the port c(f 

 Hobart alone is estimated ro reach about 

 six hundred thousand tons net. or a mil- 

 lion tons gross. This por-t is a fine open 

 sheet of water, completely landlocked. 

 The wharves, situated 12 miles from the 

 open sea, can berth the largest ocean 

 going- steamers, and during the past sea- 

 son single vessels have been loaded "with 

 up to twenty thousand -tons of cargo, and 

 have left the wharf without trouble, 

 drawing thirty-one feet of water. At 

 present the steamers from London via 

 the Cape ^to New Zealand make Hobart a 

 port of call; also a nevr line from New 

 Zealand to the Cape, and besides this the 

 P. and O., Orient, Pacific, White Star, 

 Holfs Blue Funnel, and inbeTcolonial 

 steamers of several companies call at 

 various ports in the island. The new 

 line of steamers about to be s'tarted from 

 New Zealand to the Cape, making Hobart 

 a pore of call, besides increiasing tl^ ifa- 

 cilities of transport, "will be likely to 

 lower the cosf of living. 



There are prospects of several other 

 trades, tha*-: are at preisent minor indus- 

 tries, growing, in the near future, to a 

 large volume. 



Butter, Cheese, and Poultry.— The cli- 

 mate and soil of the island are excep- 

 tionally good for the production of but- 

 ter, cheese, bacon, eggs^ and poultry. 

 Large cool storage works are being erec"t- 

 pd both at Hobart and at Launceston, 

 and by their help there will be every op- 

 portunity for developing a large export 

 trade in these commodities. 



Fish. — Not only do the large lakes and 

 rivers abound with salmon and trou't, as 

 well as native fish of several kinds, but 

 the sea round the coast, and the estuaries, 

 are abundantly supplied with fish. At 

 present the fishing industry is without 

 organisation, and is carried on upon a 

 small scale. Freezing works and cool 

 sKrorage are only just being esitablished. 



Canning, drying, aud salting are also in 

 their infancy. Owing to the lack of these 

 conveniences- in the past little could be 

 done with large catches, but fish of many 

 varieties are abundant upon the coast at 

 different times of the year; and with the 

 advantage of cool istorage, and, with the 

 development of canning and salting, add 

 the present facilities of communication, 

 there is every probability thait the fish 

 trade will become a laro;e industry. Now 

 ■^he boats are small, and the men get a pre- 

 carious livelihood; but when freezing, 

 salting, aud canning are established the 

 effecc: will be to cause the industry to set- 

 tle down iipon relialale linets, and there 

 will be no difficulty in preserving catches 

 of any size, and in distributing them 

 amongst the markets of the world. 



TIMBEE, TAN BAEK, PERFUMES, 

 ETC. 



The acacia (known as wattle bark), a 

 tree which is common all over the island, 

 produces a bark rich in tannin, and would 

 well repay systematic culcivation. The 

 bark is collected in a somewhat wasteful 

 and primitive way from the natural 

 growth, but the cultivation of wattle in 

 plantations is unknown, although it is 

 probable that if systematically carried 

 out it would be a very profitable industry; 

 wattle bark to the value of =£40,000 was 

 exported during 1902. A large extent of 

 the country, especially the easi:ern half of 

 the island, where land is to be had at a 

 reasonable price, will grow wattle bark to 

 advantage. Flowers of miany kinds for 

 perfume, and honey, would do well ; fruit 

 also could be grown to advantage, and 

 would probably ripen earlier than in the 

 districts already planted; would realise 

 good prices, and would enable the preseuic 

 output to be very largely exceeded with- 

 out increasing the difficulty of disposing 

 of the crop. The East Coast, though set- 

 tled in the early days, has been lying dor- 

 mant for many years; but it can be re- 

 commended to persons wishing ito acquire 

 land which would not involve the very 

 heavy labour of clearing. The clim^ate of 

 the East Coast is remarkably equable and 

 salubrious, even for Tasmania ; the rain- 

 fall is regular, and the soil is of good 

 average fertility. The Ea.st Coast appears 

 an ideal place for the production of fruit, 

 honey, and perfumes. Neither honey nor 

 perfumes are made as an industry in Tas- 

 mania, although in o«cher countries less 

 favourably situated, incomes amounting 

 individually to thousiands of pounds are 

 made from these industries. 



At the present time large districts in 

 Tasmania are covered with forests, grow- 

 ing trees of immense size, and chere are 

 great possibilities in the systematic devel- 



