Distribution of Wheat, Sheep, and Cattle in Australia. 127 



country in its natural state being unsuited to grazing; but with 

 the progress of agriculture there is every reason to expect a 

 rapid increase in the numbers of cattle maintained in this well- 

 watered region. 



A word as to the agricultural potentialities of Australia as 

 indicated by this cattle distribution map. It is an axiom among 

 stockmen that "cattle country is good country"; and when we 

 consider not only the great concentration along the fertile coastal 

 belt of the. continent, but also the vast areas of New South 

 Wales, north-west Australia, and particularly Queensland, 

 carrying relative to their human population and stage of develop- 

 ment, a dense and uniform stock population (for it must be re- 

 membered that sheep largely fill up what appear to be the blanks 

 in the cattle map), we can see room for a tremendous increase 

 in Au^ralia's population, her stock and agricultural industries, 

 before there is need to seriously consider how we are to support 

 her excess population in that arid interior of which we are fre- 

 quently reminded. Even in this arid interior we find, along the 

 only long-established line of communication, viz., the Oodna- 

 datta railway line and telegraph line to Darwin, some cattle; 

 and it seems evident that, as our knowledge of the country and 

 facilities for communication and transport improve, much of this 

 country will carry stock in numbers quite sufficient to repudiate 

 the name of desert. 



