118 AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIANS. 



ter of a few shillings expense. If the water supply 

 (hiring those years is fairly good, a few thousands of 

 such stock are a rich harvest for their owners. 



The chief difficulty and danger is the uncertainty 

 of the rains. Drought in New South Wales or Queens- 

 land means not only much suffering on the part of the 

 poor beasts, but much loss. There has been, so far, 

 however, much more to encourage than to discourage, 

 or we should .not have the record of this large in- 

 crease of production. 



In 1873 the several colonies had on their "runs" 

 fifty-six and three-quarter millions of sheep. During 

 the twelve years under consideration the number had 

 increased to eighty -four and a quarter millions. 



There are many other sources of wealth, and other 

 evidences of growth, which I shall not enumerate. 



THE GOLD PRODUCT OF AUSTRALASIA. 



Few countries anywhere on the globe can present 

 a better record of material prosperity. I must, how- 

 ever, give the reader some account of that attractive 

 element which brought, originally, to these shores such 

 vast numbers from the Old World. 



The production of gold in all the Australasian colo- 

 nies, since that metal was first discovered in 1851, 

 down to 1888, is in round numbers 80,000,000 ounces, 



