Proc. Kot. Soc. Victoria 34 (N.S,), Pt. II., 1922]. 



Akt. XIV. — Present and Probable Future Distribution of 

 Wheat, Sheep and Cattle in Australia. 



By R. G. THOMAS, B.Ag.Sc, Dept. of Agriculture, Victoria. 

 (Communicated by A. E. V. Richardson, M.A.., B.Sc.) 



(With 3 Text Figures.) 



[Read 10th November, 1921]. 



Australia being essentially an agricultural and pastoral' 

 country, it was thought that considerable interest would attach- 

 to any method which would graphically and accurately represent 

 the distribution throughout the continent of the units of the main 

 primary industries; further, that such might give some insight 

 into the possibilities of extending the various industries beyond 

 their present boundaries, and the direction in which such exten- 

 sion is likely to take place. With this object in view the accom- 

 panying maps were prepared, showing the distribution of the 

 units of the three principal primary industries — viz., sheep, cattle 

 and wheat — in Australia (referring here and in all statistics to- 

 the continent of Australia, excluding Tasmania). The method 

 adopted has been to represent a certain number of head of stock, 

 or acres of wheat, by a dot placed on the map as near as possible- 

 to their situation, as indicated by official statistics ; this gives a. 

 more accurate representation of the distribution than can be ob- 

 tained by differential shading or coloring. Each dot represents 

 respectively 5000 acres of wheat, 10,000 head of sheep, and 1000= 

 head of cattle; these quotas are small enough to show a rela- 

 tively sparse distribution, yet without showing too great an area 

 where the dots run together, and no differentiation can be shown* 

 in the areas of concentration of the respective units. The statis- 

 tics used were those for the year 1918-19, being the latest typical 

 season for which details of all the States were available at the 

 time the work was commenced. Similar maps have been pre- 

 pared by the United States Department of Agriculture, but it is 

 hoped that so far as Australia is concerned those now published 

 are not only based on later records, but more accurately repre- 

 sent the actual distribution of the units throughout the country.. 



