AUSTRALIAN LIFE 

 IN TOWN AND COUNTRY 



CHAPTER I 



COUNTRY AND CUMATE 



IT has often been claimed for the British that 

 they are a successful colonising people, and 

 this claim has not been advanced without very 

 sufficient grounds. Those who assign this char- 

 acteristic to the race imply that it possesses, above 

 all things, the faculty of adaptability. If the colo- 

 nising Briton were not able to suit himself readily 

 to the necessities and the climatic conditions of 

 his new environment, he would not be a success 

 as a colonist. It is further characteristic of the 

 Briton that, until very recently, he has not been 

 disposed to exhibit any satisfaction in his colonis- 

 ing feats. His attitude in the past has been that 

 of a father of a family of young children, who re- 

 gards each new arrival as a source of additional 

 expense and responsibility. 



