Distribution of Wheat, Sheep, and Cattle in Australia. 121 



southern coast is reached. In this State alone we see a vast 

 area of country awaiting exploitation, the greater portion of it 

 having a winter rainfall equal in reliability and total amount to 

 the well-developed wheat belt in Victoria. Along the west coast 

 of South Australia this reliabiUty of rainfall still holds, and here 

 again might be expected a development beyond the 7.5-inch 

 line, as has already occurred in the regions of less reliable rainfall 

 about Edeowie. Passing over the extension of the belt north of 

 Spencer's Gulf, the line turns southwards and runs somewhat 

 north of the Murray, and approximately parallel to the 7.5-inch 

 line to about Ivanhoe, N.S.W., enclosing the imm-ense tract of 

 fertile Riverina country. Thence the line passes north-east 

 beyond the lo-inch line, and north to St. Lawrence on the 

 Queensland coast. As previously stated, the greater variability 

 and higher temperature make the actual rainfall less effective 

 than in the southern areas ; hence this marked departure from the 

 7.5-inch line. As to the probable northerly limits of the belt,, 

 although there is a considerable area shown with a sufficient 

 winter rainfall, and where wheat can doubtless be grown, yet 

 it seems unlikely that any considerable amount will be grown; 

 north of the Darling Downs, the high temperature, ample 

 rainfall, and its summer incidence combining to make wheat less- 

 profitable than other crops. 



The present wheat belt, as shown, extends over an area of 

 some 124 million acres, of which only one acre in fifteen, or a 

 total of nearly eight milUon acres was under wheat in 1918-19. 

 Since none of this is mountainous country, and wheat is every- 

 where the principal crop, it might be expected that the area at 

 present sown will be about trebled before this belt is utilised to- 

 anything like its full capacity. But, apart from this area, there- 

 is in the probable wheat belt indicated further inland an area 

 of some 138 million acres. Assuming that this area can be- 

 developed only to the same extent as at present obtains in the 

 Victorian Mallee, which is indeed a reasonable assumption when- 

 it is remembered that 20 years ago the advisability of abandon- 

 ing the Mallee for settlement was seriously considered, and that 

 even now but a relatively small portion of it is developed to any 

 extent, this area would then carry a population of some 570,000^ 

 or 2j people per square mile. 



-^^g^egating the two areas, we have a wheat belt of over 260 

 million acres. Of this we might ultimately expect at least 40 



