68 PRODUCTION 



and meat products, especially of beef, for many years to come. 

 With regard to dairy produce and pig-meat, although the exports 

 of neither of these from South American countries have been of 

 note in the past, it is possible that at a later stage of development 

 of these countries, the surplus of both will be of importance in inter- 

 national trade. In this event, however, the export trade in con- 

 centrated feeds tuffs is likely to receive some check. 



SURPLUS-PRODUCING REGIONS. 



(e) AUSTRALIA (INCLUDING TASMANIA). 



The limitations imposed by geographical conditions upon the 

 extension of animal industries are more obvious in Australia than 

 in any other of the important surplus-producing regions classed 

 above in Group I. Less than ^ of the whole continent has an 

 average rainfall of 20 inches or more. 1 If 20 inches annual average 

 rainfall be taken as the minimum for ordinary agriculture, this 

 feature alone imposes severe limitations upon the area available. 2 

 But more than a half of this fraction lies within the tropics, 3 leaving 

 only about J of the whole area in the temperate zone with a rainfall 

 of 20 inches or more. Even this fraction is subject to further de- 

 ductions, since it includes bare mountainous land in Victoria and 

 New South Wales nearly up to the snow line, as well as scattered 

 tracts of forest country at lower levels, and areas of barren sand- 

 stone in the coastal belt of New South Wales. About T ^ therefore, 

 of the entire continent, or an area of 2J times as large as the British 

 Isles is fertile, and has a really sufficient rainfall. It appears, 

 therefore, that the possible progress of animal industries on the 

 intensive system common in Western Europe is small compared 

 with the size of the continent, though greater compared with the 

 numbers of the population. 



However, stock raising in Australia has been by no means con- 

 fined to the temperate area having more than 20 inches rainfall. 

 This industry has always been much more of the " ranching ' 

 pastoral type than of the intensive farming type, and being largely 

 concentrated on wool-producing merino sheep, has flourished over 

 large areas with a rainfall between 10 and 20 inches. Indeed, the 

 exclusive pastoral stage was not threatened by more intensive 



1 Commonwealth Year Book, Vol. VII. The areas given are : 



Rainfall 20-30 inches 535,307 sq. miles 



30-40 212,297 



over 40 188,986 



Total 936-590 



out of a total area of 2,975,000 sq. miles. 



2 Much of the Australian wheat, however, is grown in districts where the 

 total rainfall is less than 20 inches, but falls almost entirely during the growing 

 period. 



3 " Australia Physiographic and Economic," 1916, Griffith Taylor, pp. 

 246-248. 



