AUSTRALIA 



43 



surplus stock in times of plenty, and relieving the pressure 

 when droughts came. With a threatened scarcity of feed and 

 water before them, pastoralists were sometimes forced to sac- 

 rifice their stock in a flooded market. Sheep used to be killed 

 for the sake of the skins, and the carcases either left to 

 rot on the ground or were sold for a few pence per head to the 

 owner of the nearest boiling-down works and turned into 



Champion Aberdeen Angus Bull, Heather Duke, at 

 Brisbane Show, Q.', 1918 



Exhibited by Mr. J. Mcintosh 



tallow. The advent of the freezing process and the refrigerat- 

 ing chamber in steamers altered all this, and the day of the 

 " boiling-down " works passed away never to return. 



Reconstruction and Expansion 



A critical period has been reached in the business of raising 

 live-stock and in the export of meat, and the vital question is : 

 How can the drift be checked and the industry placed upon a 

 firm foundation ? The foregoing review and opinions ex- 

 pressed by practical men show clearly enough that while 

 climatic conditions impose distinct limitations, there are other 



