it will then be that the country becomes populated, for a couple of 

 iimdred acres, well tilled and planted with suitable crops, enables a 

 nan to acquire an independency. The country possesses not onlv 

 he rare advantage of being perfectly healthy, but the land best 

 uited for the growth of tropical products is free from timber. It, 

 herefore, requires no coloured labour to produce cotton, sugar, 

 ocoa, tobacco, rubber, or fibre, and other profitable articles of com- 

 ierce. Europeans can do the work, and no great capital is required 

 o prepare, the land, the grubbing of trees in a tropical forest being 

 Iways a great expense. Moreover, irrigation can be carried out at 

 minimum of expense. In a number of places it will be found that 

 rater can be conserved in such a way as to enable large areas to be 

 Catered by gravitation ; but where that method is impracticable, 

 indmills may effectively be employed, as a steady breeze generally 

 lows throughout the day." 



The districts that will be more particularly considered in this 

 andbook are those comprised between the Murchisoii Eiver, 50 

 liles North of Champion Bay, lat. 28deg. S., to King George's 

 ound, lat. 35deg. S., and an imaginary line enclosing a somewhat 

 "iangular-shaped territory, about 50 miles broad at the Murchisoii 

 ad to 300 miles at its base, from the Leeuwin to Esperance. 



Such area is shown on the maps issued by the Lands Depart- 

 tent of Western Australia as the South- West Division. 



That a great extent of the country is admirably suited for vine 

 ad fruit growing is abundantly demonstrated by the success which 

 as accompanied the numerous attempts made in that direction by 

 jttlers in the various districts of the State. 



The variety of climatic conditions and soil make it possible to 

 row in this division of Western Australia almost any fruit of the 

 >ol-temperate as well as semi-tropical climates, and for the purpose 

 ' guiding the choice of intending settlers and growers, as well as 

 Lose already established on the land, in selecting the sorts of fruit 

 plant, the areas susceptible of growing profitably fruit and vines 

 e sub-divided into zones or fruit-growing districts. 



The boundaries of these zones must, by reason of the great 

 inability in the configuration of the country, be only approximate, 

 id not regarded in the light of a definite line, on one side of which 

 'me varieties of trees could be grown with profit which would 

 irish if planted the other side. 



Wherever possible, permanent watercourses or ranges of hills 

 ive been selected as the boundaries of the several fruit-growing 

 stricts, which, in order to prevent confusion and complication, 

 ive been restricted to four, viz. : 



1. The "Northern Coastal Division, including the lower Mur- 

 tison, Champion Bay, the G-reenough flats, down to the Moore 

 iver. 



2. The Eastern Division, comprising the Victoria Plains,- 

 von Valley, and the agricultural country through which runs the 

 reat Southern Railway. 



