SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
the uniform belts. Here are the soft woods of the Queensland coast— 
the hardwoods of the south-east and of the south-west. Contrary to 
existing vegetation maps, there are no tropical rain forests of any value 
along the north coast, for the long winter drought prohibits their 
growth. 
The farming and close white settlement area is also confined prac- 
tically to regions 1, 2, and 3. Sheep are found chiefly in 1, 2, 3, and 5, 
though a few (perhaps 2 per cent.) occur in 4 and 7. 
~ Cattle will do well in rougher, hotter country than sheep, and so 
‘predominate in 4, and are fairly abundant in 6. Dairy herds, of 
course, exist throughout 1, 2, and 3. I have worked out the climatic 
controls for cattle, sheep, and wheat very fully in Meteorological _ 
Bulletin No. 11, Melbourne, 1916, which is illustrated by 18 maps 
in. colour, 
* A very important asset is the mining industry. Remembering the 
settlements at Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill, and elsewhere, one is apt to 
attach, perhaps, too much importance to mining as a means of settle- 
ment. It has been calculated that only about 120,000 people are settled 
in mining regions which would otherwise hardly be inhabited. Many 
of our mines are in good pastoral and agricultural land, where it is 
difficult to say what would have occurred if the mines had not been 
discovered. However, there is no doubt whatever as to the value of the 
early gold mines of Broken Hill, of Mount Morgan, Kalgoorlie, and 
the West Tasmanian mines in attracting settlers to Australia. The 
population graph shows very clearly a direct response from abroad; 
and, of course, much of this wealth is used to develop many other 
. phases of activity. 
The mineral wealth does not lend itself to generalizations so readily 
as do the climatic controls. One may, however, point out that the 
geological map naturally gives a very good clue to future mineral 
regions. For instance, many people fancy that the unknown arid 
inferior is very likely to produce another goldfield region, like that 
extending from Southern Cross to Laverton and Cue in Western Aus- — 
tralia. This is distinctly unlikely, for there seems to be a great change 
in the geological structure a little north of the Cue-Wiluna line. (See 
, 
Fig. B.) The strata are much less disturbed, and probably much newer. 
In fact, we can say safely that no such widespread field.can possibly be 
discovered, though smaller fields and valuable mines will doubtless be 
opened up from time to time. 
All the lowland country from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the mouth 
of the Murray is also too recent and undisturbed for mineral solutions — 
to have. penetrated it. However, no one can say that Nature has been 
niggardly in her store of mineral deposits in Australia. 
The chief interest to the economist, perhaps; lies in the coalfields. 
The surpassing wealth of the United States of America, of Britain, and 
of Germany is almost wholly due to their stores of buried energy. The — 
much-talked-of “decline” of France is due to her meagre supplies of 
industrial fuel. Lack of coal has hampered her industries—whereas all 
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