January  8,  1913. 
JOURNAL  OB'  HORTICULTURE  AND  COri’A^E  GARDENER. 
33 
The  British  Colonies. 
There  are  many  parts  of  Australia  in  which  an  English 
A'isitor  would  find  it  difficult  to  realise  the  fact  that  a 
distance  of  sevei’al  thousand  miles  separated  him  from  the 
shores  of  his  native  land.  Such  is  the  extensive  district 
popularly  known  as  New  England,  in  the  north-eastern  por¬ 
tion  of  New  South  Wales,  and  so  called  by  reason  of  the 
resemblance,  in  some  degree,  of  soil  ancl  climate  to  what 
may  be  found  in  the  southern  part  of  the  mother  country. 
It  forms  a  magnificent  region,  embracing  an  area  of  about 
twenty  million  acres,  and  is  traversed  by  the  Great  Dividing 
Range,  the  backbone  of 
EASTERN  AUSTRALIA. 
Its  modern  history  dates  from  1818,  Avhen  it  was  dis¬ 
covered  by  Oxley,  a  State  explorer.  It  forms  an  immense 
tableland,  at  an  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet  above  sea 
lev'el,  and  the  residents  are,  generally  speaking,  a  robust  and 
healthy  race.  Much  of  the  country  is  mountainous,  and 
suitable  only  for  grazing  purposes,  but  in  the  valleys  and 
on  the  broad  plains  the  labours  of  the  farmer  and  the  fruit¬ 
grower  are  materially  assisted  by  an  ample  rainfall.  Severe 
droughts  are  not  of  frequent  occurrence  in  this  part  of  the 
State,  but  the  winters  are-  generally  cold,  a  circumstance 
which  explains  the  abundance  of  English  fruit,  siich  as 
Gooseberries  and  Currants,  which  are  not  easily  grown  in 
the  Avarmer  portions  of  the  State;  Avhere  the  Avinters  are  of 
a  mild  character. 
Of  the  land  suitable  for  agricultural  purposes 
scarcely  a  fourth  has  been  taken  up,  a  consider¬ 
able  portion  of  the  area  under  crop  be;ing  culti- 
A^ated  on  the  “  shares  ”  principle,  the  land-OAvner 
ghfing  the  use  of  the  land,  and,,  occasionally,  the 
implements,  and  the  cultivator  finding  the  neces¬ 
sary  labour,  all  profits  being  divided  in  propor¬ 
tions  mutually  agreed  upon  beforehand.  When 
increased  facilities  for  conveying  produce 
cheaply  and  rapidly  to  market  are  provided  there 
Avill  be  a  rapid  increase  of  agricultural  settlement 
and  cultivation. 
Meanwhile,  Ave  are  told,  the  large  land-OAvners 
find  it  more  profitable  to  breed  and  fatten  cattle 
and  sheep  than  to  groAv  Wheat  or  hay.  About 
four  million  acres  of  the  uplands  have  been  ring- 
barked  and  partially  cleared  for  grazing  purposes, 
and  there  is  no  sounder  sheep  country  in  Nbav 
South  Wales  than  is  to  be  found  throughout  NeAv 
England.  All  the  bottom  lands  are  naturally  free 
of  timber,  or  nearly  so.  The  principal  crops 
raised  comprise  Wheat,  Barley,  Oats,  hay,  and 
Lucerne.  In  1901  the  Wheat  area  exceeded 
98,000  acres,  while  14,841  acres  of  Wheat  Avas  cut 
for  hay.  The  Maize  crop  totalled  23,006  acres, 
461  acres  being  cut  for  green  feed.  Barley  is 
pretty  extensively  grown,  and  invariably  does 
Avell.  Oats  also  form  an  important  crop,  totalling 
about  22,000  acres,  the  greater  part  of  Avhich  is 
cut  for  hay,  and  the  latest  returns  show"  that 
nearly  10,000  acres  have  been  laid  dowm  to 
Lucerne,  yielding  from  three  to  four  tons  per 
acre.  Sorghum,  a  coarse  grass,  is  a  popular  crop 
Avith  dairymen,  who  cut  this  fodder  green  for 
their  cattle,  or  convert  it  into  ensilage.  Regard¬ 
ing  the  yield  of  grain  crops  in  1901,  Wheat 
averaged  15.1  bushels,  and  for  the  year  ending 
March,  1902,  the  average  Avas  68.5  bushels  per 
acre — a  higher  return  than  any  other  district  in 
the  State.  The  Barley  and  Oat  crops  last  year 
aA'eraged  13.2  bushels  and  25.4  bushels  per  aci’e 
respectiA^ely. 
Potatoes  and  other  vegetables  are  extensively 
gi’ow'n,  also  fruit  of  every  description,  some  of  the 
finest  in  the  State  coming  from  the  district, 
although  the  industry  has  never  received  the 
attention  it  deserves.  An  expex’ienced  British  or 
American  orchardist  could  desire  no  better  soil 
nor  climate  than  Avhat  may  be  found  in  Ncav 
England. 
The  principal  industry  of  the  district  is,  hoAv- 
ever,  according  to  the  authority  above  quoted, 
stock  breeding.  “There  are,”  he  says,  “more 
horses  bred  and  reared  on  the  northern  tableland 
than  in  any  other  divisid^  of  New  South  Wales,  the  total 
number  returned  for  last  year  being  no  less  than  63,817. 
You  see  them  in  eA^ery*  paddock  nearly,  and  in  a  day’s 
journey  will  passi,^undreds  of  them  on  the  road  making  for 
market  or  a  change  of  pasture. 
“New  England  also  rlturns  more  cattle  every  year  than 
any  other  district  in  the  ptate,  the  total  for  last  year  being 
420,067  beef  cattle,,  and  23,615  dairy  stock.  I  consider  it  an 
ideal  dairying  region,*  anti  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  best 
butter  producing  districts  on  the  South  Coast.  Pigs  are  not 
very  numerous,  but  thej^  are  of  a  very  superior  class. 
W alkers’  Berkshires  bred  at  Tenterfield,  are  known  through¬ 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  Australia.”  Razor-back 
swine  are  unknoAA'n  in  NeAV  England.  Sheep-breeding  is 
conducted  on  a  large  scale.  The  latest  returns  show  that  on 
December  31,  1900,  Nexv  England  carried  4,902,521  sheep, 
including  lambs.  The  lahibs  marked  during  that  year  num¬ 
bered  1,026,022.  The  increase  of  sheep  is.  not  affected  by 
drought  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  there  ahvays  being  an 
abundance  of  feed,  and  it  is  stated  that  during  the  early 
part  of  the  present  year  it  was  estimated  that  there  Avere 
100,000  travelling  sheep  in  the  district,  brought  from  the 
west  in  search  of  grass  and  Avater!  There  are  not  included 
in  the  figures  above  given.  •  < 
The  mineral  Avealth  of  the  district  is  enormous.  There 
are  numerous  gold  mines,  and  silver,  antimony,  and  other 
minerals  are  also  found,  in  addition  to  extensive  deposits, 
the  largest  in  the  State,  of  tin  and  diamonds. — John 
Plummer,  Sydney. 
Lime-tree  Avenue,  to  the  old  Castle. 
