58 



AUSTRALASIA. 



same extent as in New South Wales, though for 

 several years the decline has been slow. In 1889 

 the amount of gold mined was valued at 2,459,- 

 356, the number of miners at work being 24,047. 

 About one half the area suitable for agriculture 

 or pastoral purposes has been alienated, viz., 

 22,492,300 acres. The product of wheat in 1889 

 was 11,496,000 bushels ; of oats, 5,645,000 bush- 

 els ; of barley, 1,831,000 bushels. Vineyards 

 cover 15,662 acres, about double the area de- 

 voted to wine in New South Wales. The num-w 

 ber of sheep in 1890 was 10,882,231 ; of cattle, 

 1,394,209 ; of horses, 329,335. The wool export- 

 ed in 1889 was 135,607,370 pounds, more than 

 half being the product of other colonies. 



Queensland, lying in its northern parts under 

 the tropics, is a sugar-growing colony. Only 

 9,919,692 acres, about 2 per cent, of the area of 

 the colony, have been alienated by the Govern- 

 ment. About half the country is covered with 

 forests, and little has yet been done to utilize 

 this wealth. The leased sheep and cattle runs, 

 6,547 in number, occupy 289,706,747 acres. The 

 number of sheep in 1889 was 14,470,095 ; of cat- 

 tle, 4,872,416; of horses, 352,364. There were 

 232,643 acres under grain crops, mostly Indian 

 corn, and 49,741 acres under sugar cancan 1889. 

 The gold product is increasing, amounting in 

 1889 to 2,586,000. The value of tin mined was 

 156,406; of silver and lead, 61,500. Wool 

 was exported in 1889 to the amount of 2,680,- 

 134; sugar, 443,668; hides, 127,000; pre- 

 served meats, 83,168. 



South Australia raises large quantities of 

 wheat for export. The area under this crop in 

 1889-'90 was 1,842,961 acres, producing 14,577,- 

 358 bushels. It is also the chief wine-growing 

 colony, producing from 7,352 acres of vineyards 

 1,052,086 gallons of wine in 1889. The live 

 stock numbered 6,386.617 sheep, 324,412 cattle, 

 and 170,515 horses. The output of copper, sil- 

 ver, and other minerals was valued at 349,430. 

 Exports of wool in 1889 were valued at 2,194,- 

 701 ; wheat and flour, 928,675, of which 691,- 

 777 represent flour. 



Western Australia is a new colony which has 

 recently been admitted to the ranks of self-gov- 

 erning * states, having a variety of soil and cli- 

 mate, vast areas suitable for pasturage and agri- 

 culture, and mineral resources of unknown ex- 

 tent. Of a total area of 678,400,000 acres, only 

 117,833 were cultivated in 1889. The total area 

 of public lands sold up to the end of 1889 was 

 3,315,905 acres, of which 1,416,747 acres were 

 alienated during that year. The area sown to 

 wheat in 1889 was 35,517 acres. The average 

 yield of wheat is 14 bushels to the acre ; of 

 barley, 17 bushels ; of wine of good quality, 189 

 gallons. There were 1,088 acres planted to 

 vines in 1889. Gold, silver, lead, tin, and coal 

 have been found in the colony. The exports 

 of wool in 1889 were 395,904 in value; of 

 shells, 104,450; of timber, 63,080; of sandal- 

 wood, 57,465. 



Tasmania exports considerable quantities of 

 fruit in the fresh and preserved states. This 

 export was valued in 1889 at 128,822; hops, 

 23,115 ; timber and bark, 150,409. The wool 

 export was valued at 283,237. A more impor- 

 tant product is tin, which was exported to the 

 value of 345,407, and gold to the value of 123,- 



486. There are rich deposits of galena ore, and 

 large beds of coal. 



In New Zealand about two thirds of the soil 

 is capable of being made productive. The 

 wheat acreage in 1890 was 335,861 acres, yielding 

 8,448.000 bushels, an average of 25 bushels to 

 the acre. The oat crop was 13,673,000 bushels. 

 Of live stock, the colony in 1886 had 187,382 

 horses, 853,358 cattle, and 16,580,388 sheep. In 

 sheep there has been a large increase in recent 

 years. Butter and cheese making are important 

 industries, and frozen meat is one of the staples 

 of the export trade. The export in 1889 was 656,- 

 822 hundred-weight of the value of 783,387. 

 The export of wool was 102,227,354 pounds, hav- 

 ing nearly doubled in ten years. Woolen mills on 

 the islands worked up 3,556,000 pounds. Of 

 grain, 6,027,201 bushels were exported. The ex- 

 port of Kauri gum was 7,549 tons, valued at 

 329,590. Timber has recently become an ex- 

 port article of some importance, the shipments 

 in 1889 amounting to 42,568,000 feet. The ex- 

 ports of butter and cheese were valued at 213,- 

 945; hides and skins, 203,104; tallow, 159,- 

 460; grain and flour, 1,128,955. The gold 

 mined in 1889 was 808,549 in value, not one 

 third as much as in 1863, the year of greatest 

 production. 



Fiji in 1889 exported 13,178 tons of sugar, of 

 the value of 263,553 ; copra of the value of 

 41,543 ; and bananas of the value of 42,605. 



Navigation. The following table gives the 

 number of vessels and the tonnage entered and 

 cleared at the ports of the colonies in 1889 : 



* 1888. 



Communications, The Australian colonies 

 have the greatest railroad mileage of any coun- 

 try in proportion to the number of inhabitants, 

 unless Canada still holds that distinction ; but 

 in proportion to the extent of its territory Aus- 

 tralia is the most scantily provided with rail 

 communications of all countries. The capital to 

 build the lines, which are state property man- 

 aged by the colonial governments, was raised in 

 England by means of public loans, and these 

 form the bulk of the debts of the colonies. 

 Following are the statistics of mileage, capital, 

 cost, gross earnings, and expenditure of the 

 Australasian railroads for 1889 : 



