Australia : The Dairy Country . 29 



are those of Great Britain, South Africa, India, and the East. At 

 present the industry is only in its infancy. It is capable of almost 

 unlimited expansion. So far, farmers have confined their attention 

 almost exclusively to butter, but the first steps have also been suc- 

 cessfully taken to manufacture cheese and condensed milk, and to 

 open up a regular market for fresh pork, hams, and bacon. 



A large portion of Victoria is suitable for dairy farming on 

 account of the suitability of soil for the production of pasture and 

 fodder crops, and the mild climatic conditions. For the most part 

 the cows are fed solely on the natural pastures, little provision 

 either in the way of food or shelter being thought necessary. Pro- 

 gressive farmers, however, find that it pays them to grow fodder 



Shorthorn Cattle. 



for their herd and to shelter the animals in the winter, and anyone 

 beginning in Victoria is advised to make up his mind to cultivate 

 a certain area of his land from the first, instead of trusting to 

 grazing alone. 



The southern half of Victoria is divided, roughly speaking, 

 into the Western District and Gippsland. Two-thirds of the dairy 

 cows are kept in these portions of the State. The Western District 

 is famed for its rich soil of volcanic origin. Every town and hamlet 

 has its butter factory. 



Gippsland is a district of rolling hills and downs, and of a 

 comparatively heavy rainfall. Many parts were once covered with 

 dense forests, but these are rapidly passing away before the pioneer. 

 Practically every railway station has become a centre of the dairy- 



