xxii President's Address 



and conservation of water. If we gather together the 

 statistics of rainfall for Australia for all the years in which 

 records have been made, and plot them graphically, as I 

 have done in the rainfall maps for the last two years, a very 

 prominent fact appears — namely, it is only a fringe around 

 the great continent, deep in some places, narrow in others, 

 and much serrated in portions — that is blessed with sufficient 

 rainfall to render successful agriculture possible, while over 

 a vast central area the average is so small as to make it a 

 matter of surprise that in such an arid region can be main- 

 tained vast flocks of sheep, which return in favourable 

 seasons enormous wealth in the shape of wool. Now, over 

 the regions I am speaking of the average fall is from 10 in. 

 to 5 in. per annum. This seems to be the maximum that 

 <;an be expected in the most favourable years, and it is now 

 well known that favourable years are the fewest. It appears 

 inevitable, therefore, that to avoid disaster and loss flock- 

 owners should not be tempted by a year or two, when the 

 rainfall has not only been near the maximum, but also well 

 timed, to increase their flocks beyond their power of main- 

 tenance in the drier years which are always found to follow. 

 If we examine the rainfall map we find that between these 

 comparatively arid central regions and the coastal fringe of 

 bountiful rainfall lies an area, in some measure parallel to 

 the coast line, but whose inland margin is very irregular 

 (owing to the physical features of the country), which is 

 shaded to represent an annual fall of from 15 in. to 20 in. 

 This margin may be assumed to be the limit of our wheat- 

 growing areas. 



M. PASTEUR'S DISCOVERIES. 



It has long been known that certain diseases to which 

 man is subject rarely attack the same individual twice, and 

 this is especially the case with small-pox, typhoid fever, and 

 less markedly with measles ; scarlet fever, &c. We are also 

 familiar with the fact that inoculation with small-pox poison 

 used to be resorted to with the view of inducing the disease 



