36 MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCE 



total quantity, the rest coming from British possessions, so 

 that not only did we not produce enough for our needs, but 

 of our imports less than one-sixth came from countries 

 within the Empire. 



Of empire countries Australia is the largest exporter of 

 frozen beef, and in Australia Queensland is the chief cattle 

 state. The Coastal Belt and the land near the Gulf of Carpen- 

 taria are the principal cattle districts, though in the extreme 

 west also there are a large number. Brisbane, Rockhampton, 

 Gladstone, and Townsville are some of the towns from which 

 the frozen beef is exported. New South Wales stands next to 

 Queensland as a cattle country, and in many other states 

 there is good pasture, so that the export of meat might be 

 greatly increased. 



Next in importance comes Canada. In former days over the 

 open prairie land of Alberta there roamed countless hosts of 

 bison and other bovine animals, and the abundant natural 

 food of those lands and the dry healthy atmosphere, which 

 made life possible for them, has in recent times made of 

 Alberta the great ranching province of Canada. It is true 

 that nowadays wheat has to a certain extent taken the place 

 of grass, yet thousands of acres still remain covered with 

 their natural grasses and could support vast herds of cattle. 



In Ontario, and nearly all the other provinces where mixed 

 farming is carried on, there are great numbers of cattle, and 

 there is nothing to prevent Canada from becoming a much 

 larger exporter of meat than she is at present. 



South Africa. The eastern coastal lands of the Cape Pro- 

 vince and Natal are at present the chief cattle lands of South 

 Africa, but probably in the near future Rhodesia will become 

 the chief meat- export ing country, and already many large 

 ranches are in existence. One authority considers that it is 

 capable of supporting ten million head of cattle ; at present 

 there are about 750,000. 



One of the difficulties against which Rhodesia has to 

 contend is an insufficiency of water, but in most places there 



