THE "AUSTRALASIAN SYSTEM" 265 



to carry out improvements in respect to " clear- 

 ing, cultivating, and ring-barking." By an 

 amending Act of 1890, the definition of such 

 improvements was extended to fencing, drainage 

 works, and the provision of wells, fresh water 

 reservoirs, buildings, or other works enhancing 

 the value of the holding. The capital of the 

 bank is £200,000 ; the maximum loan is £800, 

 and the maximum rate of interest is 5 per cent. 



Finally, in New Zealand the Government 

 Advances to Settlers Act of 1894 provided for 

 the establishment of an Advance to Settlers 

 Office, which was empowered to lend on first 

 mortgages on land occupied for farming, dairying, 

 or market gardening purposes. 



One sees, therefore, how these various con- 

 ditions may well have contributed to the advance 

 of Australasian agriculture : the bringing of the 

 markets of the Old World within reach of the 

 Antipodes by the successful resort to refriger- 

 ation ; the higher education of cultivators 

 who had been led by Bountiful Nature into 

 the adoption of easy-going and non-scientific 

 methods of production ; and the active aid of 

 the State both in directing the various brandies 

 of agricultural industry along practical lines 

 and in placing financial resources within the 

 reach of the cultivators in case of need. As for 



