<^xrIonial and JnJian (Mifotian, JTdlulxrn, 1886. ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK OF VICTOEIA, §v gUthoritn : x ' • JOHN FERRES, GOVERNMENT X'RINTER, MELBOURNE. THE NIAV YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 735097 A /reTO*\ LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1934 L v. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Map, showing positions of St Houses of Parliament, Melbourne. The International Exhibition. Melbourne. General Post Office, Melbourne. New Law Courts, Melbourne. Public Library, National Gallery, and Techno- logical Museum, Melbourne. Interior of National Gallery (Public Library). Public Offices, Melbourne. Government House, Melbourne. Ormoiul College, Melbourne University. ,, „ Exterior and Interior Views. New Prince's Bridge, Melbourne. Prince's Bridge on the Yarra—the Old and the New. Melbourne Town Hall. The Wilson Hall, Melbourne University. New Medical School Buildings, at Melbourne University. St. Paul's New Church of England Cathedral, Melbourne. Interior of St. Paul's New Church of England Cathedral, Melbourne. Grand Stand, Melbourne Cricket Ground. Melbourne in 1840. 1875. Melbourne Improvements—Main Drain, Elizabeth- street. Melbourne Harbour Trust Works. Mansion of Sir W. J. Clarke, Bart., Sunbury. "Kamesburgh," Brighton, the residence of W. K. Thomson, Esq. "Noorilim," the Country Mansion of the Hon. Wm. Irving Winter, M.L.C., Murchison. Ing1ewood Town Hall. Suburban Town Hall—City of Collingwood. Richmond Town Hall. Port Melbourne Town Hall. Municipal Chambers, Benalla. State School, St. Kilda. Yan Yean Reservoir and Waterworks. Town of Geelong. Barwon River, near Fyansford, Geelong. Schools throughout die Colony. Sturt-street, Ballarat. Pall Mall, Sandhurst. Hawthorn—a Melbourne Suburb. Town of Creswick. Public Buildings, Beech worth. Town of Clunes. Port Phillip and Colonial Gold Mining Company, Clunes. Town of Ararat. Marysville—a Country Township. Stevenson's Falls, Marysville. Vineyard of the late Hon. J. G. Francis, Sunbury. Victorian Vintage Season, St. Hubert's Vineyard. Gold-fields Rush, near Navarre. A Gippsland Track after Rain. Sketch near Macedon. by M. Buvelot. Dryden's Rock, Mount Macedon. The Giant Tree of Victoria. La1 La1 Falls, near Buninyong. Snagging the Goulburn, Victoria. The Watts River, Victoria. A Big Gum Tree. A Victorian Selector's Homestead. Australian Native Dog. Fallen Tree, Dandenong Forest. Pulpit Rock, Cape Schanck. Opening New State School at Hamilton. City of Melbourne Bank, Melbourne. Union Bank of Australia, Melbourne. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Com- pany's Offices, Melbourne. Goldsbrough's Wool Stores, Melbourne. James McEwan and Co.'s Warehouses, Melbourne. Carlton Brewery, Melbourne. ,, ,, and City Brewery, Melbourne. Parkside Iron Works, Melbourne. Switch-room, Victorian Telephone Exchange. Melbourne and Richmond Cable Tramway. Guest's Biscuit Factory. Melbourne. Gold Nugget, "Welcome Stranger." Gun-boat Victoria in Graving Dock. The Victorian Navy. is marked by red spots on this map. i Colonial and Jtulian flfohiMftm, Jtotta- 1886. AUSTRALIA. By Joseph Bosisto, M.P. (President of the Commission for Victoria). From a very early period the learned men of Europe held that a great country existed somewhere in the distant portion of the Southern Hemisphere, and Mr. R. H. Major, commenting on the ancient traditions concerning an anti- podean continent, is of opinion that Australia was known to the Portuguese navigators of the sixteenth century as Great Java. Nothing definite, however, was known until in 1616, Dirk Hartog, in the ship Endraght, discovered the western coast, the record of this expedition being corroborated by the discovery of a tin plate, engraved with a statement of the voyage, on an islet in Shark's Bay in 1801. The Dutch navigators did not sight Cape Leeuwin until 1627, when the land was named New Holland. Still it was left for that noble and revered mariner, Captain Cook, to thoroughly explore the Southern Ocean in 1770, and through his representations Australia, as New Holland was after- wards called, became part of the British Empire. The first settlement was established by an Order in Council drawn up at Buckingham Palace in 1785, but it was not till January, 1788, that a fleet of 11 ships arrived, after an eight months' voyage, at Botany Bay, and then sailing into Port Jackson harbour, founded the first Australian settlement at Sydney. For the next ten years nothing was done towards surveying the coast line, but ultimately this important work was performed by officers of the Royal Navy, special attention being given to the southern and eastern shores. Inland exploration proceeded quite as slowly, and in almost every instance the reports brought back by the adventurous travellers as to the appearance of the country were adverse to settlement. This disparagement of the land arose from various causes, chief among which was that these pioneers were looking for grazing land. They knew little about the seasons of the year, and nothing concerning the liability of the country to drought, so, traversing it during the hot summer months, they concluded from its barren, parched appearance that it was unfit for settlement. The prevailing idea of settlement in those days meant sheep and cattle raising. Afterwards, in better seasons, fine pastoral land was found in plenty, and the "squatter," as the holder of a licence to occupy Crown lands for A 2 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: pastoral purposes was termed, pushed on to the far interior. The area licensed to each individual applicant often covered 300 square miles, and was termed "a run," the residence on it being styled a " station." Commerce developed very gradually, and, until the discovery of gold, inland towns and villages, all invariably called "townships," were small and few. "Within the last thirty years, however, a surprising development has taken place, and the wool-grower or cattle raiser has retreated still further to the interior, his former "runs " being occupied by " selectors," as farmers are termed. The whole of Australia was originally reckoned as a single Crown colony, the Governor residing at Sydney, but under the direct control of the British Ministry. At present the mainland is divided into five colonies, each presided over by a Governor appointed by Her Majesty the Queen, but with the exception of West Australia otherwise self-governing. The island of Tasmania, divided from Victoria by Bass Straits, is now also self- governing. The area of the Australian mainland is something over three milliou square miles, and measures 2,500 miles from west to east, and 1,950 miles from north to south. The northern portion lies within the tropic of Capricorn, but the greater part is only sub-tropical. Long mountain chains run chiefly from north to south, but their elevation is not very great as compared with old world and American ranges. The loftiest mountain is less than 10,000 feet high, and few exceed 6,000 feet, which elevation, however, in Victoria, is an almost perpetual snow region, though glaciers are unknown. Lower ranges, connected with the main ranges, spread over the country from east to west for hundreds of miles, but in the interior vast arid plains also exist, computed to be below the level of the sea. The country is now pretty thoroughly explored, the latest discoveries proving the existence of immense fertile plains in the northern part of West Australia, which until within the last decade was supposed to be quite barren. Enormous forests exist all over the country, consisting chiefly of varieties of the eucalyptus tree, many of which form valuable timber. Good grass also grows on many of the plains, and in other districts it has been found that sheep thrive well upon a plant, which exists in soil too acrid for herbage, called " salt bush" (mesembryanthemum). Salt and fresh water lakes cover extensive areas in a line, which leads geologists to surmise that at one period the western half of Australia was divided by a continuous series of lakes from the eastern half. Some of these lakes are formed in the craters of extinct volcanoes. Large rivers are but few, the longest being the Murray, which, rising in the Victorian Alps, forms the boundary line for a considerable length between that colony and New South Wales, then, after a tortuous course of 1,300 miles, it finds an outlet to the sea in South Australia. The River Darling, rising near the Queensland border, flows into the Murray after a course of 1,160 miles. Besides these, the Murrumbidgee and the Lachlan Rivers are navigable inland for some distance. Handbook: Victoria. 5 some of the crew landed, and several were killed by the aborigines. The statements brought to Holland by the survivors awakened a desire for further information, and an expedition was sent out to found a colony. It is uncertain where the landing was effected, but the territory was soon aban- doned in consequence of the hostility of the natives. On their return, the members of the expedition reported that the land was rich with gold, but this was not generally believed. After this, repeated attempts to obtain particulars of the unknown land were made by the Dutch. Dirk Hartog, in 1616, fell in with the north-west coast, and examined it from lat. 19° to lat. 25° S. Jan Edels, in 1619, coasted along the shore as far as 29° S., and gave his name to portion of the present colony of Western Australia. In 1622 the south-western extremity of Australia was discovered by a Dutch ship named the Leeumin (Lioness), and in the same year Francis Pelsart, in a ship called the Bataiia, was wrecked on a reef of rocks about 200 miles north of Swan River. In 1642 Abel Jansen Tasman discovered Van Die- men's Land, now called Tasmania, which for long afterwards was believed to be part of the Australian mainland. In 1664 the continent was named New Holland by the Dutch Government, and for many years Dutch navi- gators attempted explorations of the north-western and western coasts of their new-claimed territory. Australia, the fifth continent, after the United States the greatest heritage of the Anglo-Saxon race, was in fact discovered and its coasts partly explored by the Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch. Great Britain had no part therein until in 1688 William Dampier, "the buccaneer," in his vessel, the Cygnet, made the shores of New Holland, and, sailing along the north-west coast, was the first Englishman who trod Australian soil. William Dampier, from the west country (Somersetshire), was a bold seaman, "a gentleman adventurer" of the type of Drake and Hawkins and Morgan. Whatever peace there might be in Europe, beyond the Atlantic waves, and across the line, the Englishman then owned no truce with Spaniard or " Portingal." These buccaneers seem to have been the first to realize the idea that England must not only rule the waves, but that it was her manifest destiny to take possession of the waste places of the earth. Returning to England, and making known his discoveries, Captain Dampier was appointed to the command of H.M.S. Roebuck, and, in 1699, explored a considerable portion of what is now the colony of Western Australia; Dampier Bay and Islands, Roebuck Bay, and the Buccaneer Islands being named by him. Dampier afterwards published an interesting account of his voyages. All honour to the ex-buccaneer, who, if he had on occasions fought for his own hand, still always struck for England and England's rights, after " the good old rule, the simple plan," the primal law of all mankind. But the man who really discovered Australia, and gave it to the British Crown and the British race, was Captain James Cook. All the earlier navigators of whom we have any record, with the exception of Tasman, confined their examinations to the western and northern coasts. But in 1770, when Captain Cook sailed from New Zealand towards our shores, he first sighted Australia at Point Hicks 8 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: delivered. After exploring King's Island, the Cumberland proceeded on her voyage, entering Port Phillip Heads on the 20th of January, 1803. Recently "The Journal of the Exploration of Charles Grimes, kept by James Hem- ming," has been found by Mr. J. J. Shillinglaw, in the archives of the Colonial Secretary's Office at Sydney, and this shows that the greater portion of the coast line of Port Phillip, to some distance inland, was explored by Mr. Grimes and his party. The first ascent of the Yarra was made on the 2nd of February, 1803. On one occasion the party breakfasted on what was afterwards known as Batman's Hill (which has beeu swept away for the Melbourne Spencer-street Railway Station), and consequently have the honour of being the first white men who trod the site of the Victorian capital. On the 7th of February, Mr. Grimes went up the river as far as Dight's Falls (Studley Park). In its first mention it is called by Mr. Grimes the Great River. Mr. Flemming concludes his report by saying—" The most eligible place for a settlement that I have seen is on the Freshwater River (the Yarra). In several places there are small tracts of good land, but they are without wood and water. The country in general is excellent pasture and thin of timber, which is mostly low and crooked." During the same year Lieutenant-Colonel Collins, who was judge advocate in Captain Phillip's expedition, which colonized New South Wales, was sent out from England, with a small armed force and a party of convicts, in order to form a settlement on the shores of Port Phillip similar to that at Sydney Cove. This expedition, consisting in all of 402 souls, comprised 15 Government officials, 9 officers of marines, 2 drummers and 39 privates, 5 soldiers' wives and a child, 307 convicts with 12 of their wives and a child, carried in H.M. ship Calcutta, 50 guns, 1,200 tons, and the tender Ocean, 481 tons, sailed from Spithead the 24th of April, 1803. On the voyage out the Calcutta called at Teneriffe, Rio Janeiro, and Simon's Bay, at which places stock and seed were purchased for the new settlement. The Calcutta made King's Island on the 8th of October, "the laud about Port Phillip " on the 9th, and entered the harbour the same day. The Ocean, which had been in company more or less all through the voyage, arrived on the 7th, two days previous. A landing was made in a part of the southern portion of the Bay, about eight miles from the Heads, near the present site of the popular watering-place, Sorrento. Several explorations were made into the country, residting generally in a belief of the unsnitability of the locality for a settlement. The first interviews with the natives were friendly, but on one occasion there was a disposition to attack the settlers, when the chief, after being warned, was shot dead. Divine service was held on the 23rd of October, " to return thanks for the prosperous voyage and safe arrival in the harbour." Finding no water (all that could be obtained was from casks snuk in the sand) Collins aban- doned such an apparently sterile aud inhospitable spot on the 27th of January, 1804, after a short sojourn of a little over three months, tempted too, no doubt, by the glowing accounts he had heard of the beauty and fertility of the opposite shores of Tasmania, to which place he removed. Governor Kiug, in his desjmtch to Colonel Collins, dated Port Jackson, 26th November, 1803, Handbook: Victoria. 9 writes—" It appears as well by Mr. Grimes' and Mr. Bobbins' survey, as well as by your own report, that Port Phillip is totally unfit in every point of view." The General Orders issued by Colonel Collins during his stay at Sullivan's Bay (which were printed on the spot on a small press set up under a gum tree) have been made public. In the order of 31st December, he regrets that circumstances compel him to employ the Sunday in labour (in loading the Ocean for their departure), but defends it on the ground that "the sooner we are enabled to leave this unpromising and unproductive country the sooner shall we be able to reap the advantages and enjoy the comforts of a more fertile spot." In a letter to Lord Hobart, Collins concludes by saying—"When all the disadvantages attending this Bay (Port Phillip) are publicly known, it cannot be supposed that commercial people will be very desirous of visiting Port Phillip." Colonel Collins' attempt at settlement in Victoria resulted in the country being thoroughly despised by the Sydney authorities. But during his stay the first sermon was preached, the first marriage took place, the first white child was born, the first death occurred. Also, it is recorded that some officers of the Calcutta found in the sandy bed of a stream, near Port Phillip, grains of a sparkling substance which some thought to be gold, but the majority declared to be mica. They probably had fortune within their grasp, and knew it not. One of the convicts under Colonel Collins' rule, William Buckley, succeeded in escaping, and, when the party sailed away, was reputed to have died in the bush. For twenty years Buckley, living amongst the blacks, was the only white man in Victoria. No attempt was made to explore it, either from the sea or the land; Colonel Collins had damned it for ever. The historian of the expedition, Lieutenant Tuckey, wrote of Port Phillip—" The kangaroo seems to reign undisturbed lord of the soil, a dominion which he is likely to retain for ages." Victorians of the present generation thank him for his unpro- mising report, otherwise it might have been a convict colony. But during this twenty years a fringe of territory around Sydney had prospered. Flocks and herds had increased and multiplied. Fresh pastures were eagerly sought for. The early pioneers, who settled on the fertile country between the sea coast and the Blue Mountains, had an idea that there was either a great navigable river or an inland sea on the other side of the then impenetrable boundary. In 1817, Messrs. Wentworth and Blaxland scaled the Blue Mountains to the head-waters of the Macquarie. John Evans followed these as far as the present productive Bathurst plains. About the same time, the explorer Oxley made journeys along the Macquarie and Lachlan, proving without doubt the existence of a watershed to the south-west, and the probability of a mighty river. But the first white men who saw the Murray, and crossed Victoria, were neither scientific explorers nor Government officials, but two stockmen in search of new fields. Hamilton Hume and W. C. Hovell, in 1824, crossed the Australian Alps from New South Wales, and discovered the Upper Murray, which was named the Hume, in honour of the father of one of the explorers, who was then a Government official in Sydney. Then they found the Ovens and the Goulburn, which they named the Hovell. Crossing these, 10 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: and over the Dividing Ranges, after a sixteen weeks' journey of more than 400 miles, on the 16th of December, 1824, they came to Corio Bay, near the site of the present town of Geelong, and then went back again without making any attempt at settlement. Hamilton Hume was afterwards second in command to Captain Charles Sturt, one of the bravest and most intrepid explorers the world has ever seen. Mr. Hume died in 1873, at Yass. Hovell was two years afterwards attached to an expedition despatched from Sydney in order to forestall a supposed design of the French to occupy some portion of the southern coast. This consisted of detachments of the 3rd and 30th Regiments, under the command of Captain S. Wright and Lieutenant B. I. Burchall, and was despatched in H.M. ship Fly and the brig Dragon to the shores of Western Port Bay, at a place called Old Settlement Point, facing French Island. The place was occupied for about a year, and then abandoned at the instance of Governor Darling, on the ground that the place was not fit for colonization, though the reports of Hovell and the military officers hardly afford the reasons for such a decision. The ruins of the dwellings at Western Port are yet to be seen. After this the coast of our colony was visited by whalers and sealers from Tasmania, and ten years later the first permanent settlement in Victoria was formed at Portland Bay, 266 miles westward of Port Phillip, by the Messrs. Henty. The late Mr. Edward Henty, who died in 1878, was the real founder and father of the colony, of which Portland was the cradle. Edward was the son of Mr. Thomas Henty, banker and landowner in Sussex, who, with his sons, emigrated to Launceston, Tasmania, in 1831. Edward Henty, being anxious to learn something about the capabilities of Australia for settlement, sailed for Spencer's Gulf, and stayed there two months examining the country. He secured a passage back to Launceston in the Thistle. Bad weather drove the Thistle to take refuge in Portland Bay. Edward Henty was struck with the natural capacities of the country. In Tasmania no good land could be obtained, while here it was to be had for the taking. At this time there was no white man in Southern Australia, save Buckley, nearer than King George's Sound on the west, and Twofold Bay on the east. Edward Henty again visited Portland Bay in 1833, and his father some months after fitted him out with farm implements, fruit trees, and vegetable seeds. On the 19th of November, Edward Henty placed his foot on Victorian soil, being the first white man who landed here with the intention of stopping. The first building erected in Victoria was Richmond House, where the first Victorian native citizen, Richmond Henty, was born. Edward Henty made the first plough, turned the first furrow, planted the first vine, shod the first horse, and sheared the first sheep in Victoria. He and his brother Stephen were largely successful in whaling pursuits, as well as in the breeding of flocks and herds, an occupation begun to be known in Australia as "squatting." Mr. Francis Henty, who was a boy when he landed at Portland with his brother, is still living in Melbourne. The name of Henty has from the birth of the colony been foremost in the city as well as the country. When Sir Handbook: Victoria. 11 Thomas (then Major) Mitchell, in 1836, made his celebrated journey overland, traversing a considerable portion of the as yet unknown territory which he named Australia Felix, he was astonished, when he arrived at the sea at Portland Bay, to find ships in the water and houses on the laud. He thought it was a nest of pirates, and the Hentys thought the Major's party was a gang of bushrangers. They were equally happy at being undeceived. In the early part of 1835 a syndicate was formed in Tasmania, then known as Van Diemen's Land, to colonize Port Phillip. John Batman, a native of Parramatta, New South Wales, was at the head of this. He sailed from Georgetown on the 12th of May, in the small schooner Rebecca. On the 29th he entered Port Phillip Heads, and, landing on the west side of the Bay, ascended Station Peak (the You Yangs), following in the track of Matthew Flinders, a copy of whose chart was in Batman's possession. He surveyed the beautiful downs, "called Iramoo by the natives," which Hume and Hovell had passed over. Then Batman ascended the Freshwater and Salt- water rivers, described by Surveyor-General Grimes. The former he called the Yarra Yarra, presumed to be the native term for " ever-flowing." He had several interviews with the natives, and entered into a simple arrange- ment with eight of the principal chiefs for the transfer "to him and to his heirs for ever" of some 800,000 acres of land (which would now include Geelong and Melbourne, and all its suburbs) in consideration of receiving a certain quantity of apparel, and other miscellaneous wares, particularized as "20 pairs of blankets, 30 tomahawks, 100 knives, 50 pairs of scissors, 30 looking-glasses, 200 handkerchiefs, 100 lbs. of flour, and 6 shirts," a "deal" worthy of the Dutch captain who bought the island of Manhattan, the site of New York, from the Indians; or of the New Caledonian speculators of the present day in the New Hebrides. This "bargain" was, however, ignored and nullified by the Government; as was a similar one dealing with 100,000 acres of land beyond Geelong. Ultimately the Governor of New South Wales allowed the Batman Association £7,000 in the remission of the purchase of land at Port Phillip as compensation in respect of their claims, "recognising the services which the company had rendered, by assisting in the colonization of the new country." Batman was followed in the same year by Mr. John Pascoe Fawkner, who despatched the schooner Enterprise from Georgetown on the 27th of July, 1835, which sailed up the Yarra, and on the 28th or 30th of August was moored by its captain, John Lancey, to a tree standing on the present site of the Australian Wharf. Two horses, two pigs, three dogs, and a cat were landed with the provisions—the first imports into the new settlement which Mr. Fawkner may fairly claim to have founded. Mr. Fawkner, when he landed on the banks of the Yarra on the second voyage of the Enterprise, formed a cultivation paddock of 80 . acres on the south side of the river. "He turned the first sod, built the first house, opened the first church, and started the first newspaper in the settle- ment," and was, in fact, the father of Melbourne. To Batman, however, may be credited the fame of being the first colonizer of the shores of Port Phillip Bay. Mr. Fawkner died on the 4th of September, 1869. Mr. Batman died on 12 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: the 6th of May, 1839, at his residence on the slope of Batman's Hill, and was buried in the Old Cemetery on Flagstaff Hill. In the early part of 1882, an obelisk of dressed bluestone, raised by public subscription, was placed over his grave. Mr. Batman's journal, and also the deed made with the natives, are now in the Melbourne Public Library. Batman and Fawkner were soon followed by other pioneers from Van Diemen's Land. The "Wild White Man" Buckley, who had been 32 years among the blacks, became interpreter to one party of settlers. On the 10th of November, 1835, 50 pure Hereford cows and 500 sheep were landed. Stock was driven overland from New South Wales. The "downs of Iramoo" were soon covered with the flocks and herds of the white settlers. Officialdom in Sydney suddenly awoke to the fact that there was a southern part of Australia to govern and tax. The church, in the person of the Rev. Mr. Orton, a Wesleyan minister, had previously come to the fore. The first sermon was preached by him in April, 183G, under the shade of the Casuarina oaks on Batman's Hill. The State asserted itself five months later. On the 29th of September, 1836, Captain William Lonsdale, of the 4th Regiment, arrived at Port Phillip, in H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Captain Hobson, after whom Hobson's Bay is named, and assumed the position of resident magistrate. He selected the present site of Melbourne for that of the future city, his selection being endorsed by Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales, in his visit some six months after, in April, 1837. Captain Hunter, military secretary; G. K. Holden, private secretary; Captain P. P. King; and the late Mr. Robert Hoddle, surveyor, accompanied Governor Bourke. Mr. Hoddle laid out the town of Melbourne, and the Governor gave it its name, after the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, and also named the principal streets. Prior to this time the settlement was variously known as Bearbrass, Bearpnrt, Batmania, Doutigalla, Yarrow Yarrow, and Glenelg. A few months later James Baker, the Quaker missionary, thus describes the settlement:—" The town of Melbourne, though scarcely more than fifteen months old, consists of about 100 houses, amongst which are stores, inns, a gaol, a barrack, and a school-house. Some of the dwelling-houses are tolerable structures of brick. A few of the inhabitants are living in tents or in hovels, resembling thatched roofs, till they can provide themselves with better accommodation. There is much bustle and traffic in the place, and gangs of prisoners are employed in levelling the streets. The town allotments (of half an acre each) were put up here a short time since at £5 each, the surveyor thinking £7 too much to ask for them; but the fineness of the country has excited such a mania for settling here that they sold for from £25 to £100 each." The Bank of Australasia was started in 1838. Fawkner's first newspaper, the Advertiser, made its appearance the same year. Inland, pas- toral man drove his flocks over the plains to the north and west. Far beyond Corio Bay most fertile land was discovered by the pioneers from Tasmania. The magnificent country around Lake Colac was taken up and afterwards purchased from the Crown by Mr. William Robertson, of Hobart, one of Batman's syndicate. The Colac pure-bred herds have since been renowned, Handbook: Victoria. 13 even in Great Britain. The name of Robertson, like that of Henty, has remained foremost in the colony, and the present Mr. William Robertson, son of the pioneer, who is Member of Parliament for the district, is an Oxford graduate, and, in his day, was a member of the University "eight." The city of Geelong, with its good harbour in Corio Bay, sprang into existence through the fertility of the western pastures. For a long time this was a formidable rival to Melbourne. The yearly exports of wool and tallow and hides from the province of Port Phillip went on increasing, immigration from Great Britain swelled the population, thousands of acres were under crop, Melbourne was made a city, and in 1850, the year previous to the gold discovery, Port Phillip, not fifteen years old, had a revenue of £230,000, its exports amounted to £760,000, and its population was over 76,000. Such figures show that the colony, even at that early day, had ample sources of prosperity quite irrespective of the golden wealth which shortly was to bring it so prominently before the civilized world, making Melbourne by name the best known of any city in the colonies of England. The year 1851 was notable in Victorian history. In February the great "bush" fires occurred. For hundreds of miles the whole country was wrapped in flames, the most fertile districts were utterly wasted, flocks and herds were abandoned by their keepers, the whole population fled for their lives, destitution and ruin spread over the whole colony. The ashes from the forests on fire at Macedon, forty-six miles away, fell into the streets of Melbourne. The annals of the colony contain no more disastrous day than "Black Thursday." On the 16th of July following, Mr. Charles Joseph Latrobe, who had been "Superintendent" of the district of Port Phillip since 1839, was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor of the new "Colony of Victoria." "Responsible Government" was not, however, introduced until 1855. The present Constitution is moulded on those of the United Kingdom and the American States. The two Houses of Legislature make laws subject to the assent of the Crown, as represented generally by the Governor of the colony, "advised" by Ministers having seats in Parliament. Both Houses are elective, members of the Legislative Council, or Upper House, being returned by voters possessing property qualifications. For the Legislative Assembly, or Lower House, an elector only needs residential qualification, practically manhood suffrage. In 1851, however, the Legislative Council, established by the act of separation from New South Wales, consisted of thirty members, ten Government nominees, the rest elected by the people. The early meetings of the Council were stormy, and Governor Latrobe was perhaps the best abused administrator the colonies have known. But shortly occurred an event which drove all ideas of politics from the minds of Victorian colonists—the discovery of payable gold diggings "uplifted Victoria in a night, as it were, to the position of a nation and a power in the world," and advanced her destinies hundreds of years at one bound. As early as January, 1849, a shepherd in the employ of Mr. J. Wood Beilby, who had a station on the South Australian border, discovered gold in a creek near the Pyrenees, a mountain range in the west of the colony so 14 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: named by Major Mitchell, who was a Peninsular veteran. This shepherd sold his treasure to Mr. Charles Brentani, a jeweller in Melbourne, but carefully concealed the locality of the trove, until falling sick, and being nursed by his master, in gratitude he imparted to him the secret that he had discovered, worked, and sold gold. Mr. Beilby communicated this to Governor Latrobe, who, following the tactics of the Sydney authorities, would have hushed up the fact. But there were other than ignorant shepherds to deal with. At the time when people from all parts of the world hastened to the Californian gold-fields, Australia suffered in losing hundreds of her people, who flocked thither. This in the end, however, proved a blessing, for when the gold- seekers returned they were struck with the similarity between the rock and soil of their adopted land and that they had just left. They sought for gold and found it. A man named Esmond discovered it in quartz rock at Climes. Then it was found at Bnuinyong and at Ballarat. When the reports reached Melbourne, members of all classes were seized with the gold mania, and there was "a rush" to the gold-fields. Desks, offices, shops, ships were deserted. Closely following the Ballarat finds came those of Mount Alexander and Bendigo, which fanned the flames of excitement to a frenzy. The people were "drunk with the hope of gold." From every quarter of the globe ships sailed into the once peaceful harbour. Victoria was crowded with searchers for fortune; in one year nearly 80,000 immigrants being added to the population of the colony. From that time it has advanced with giant strides. Well may Victoria and its capital be termed marvellous! Well may old men who remember Collins-street as a broken forest shake their heads when they gaze upon the fashionable crowd on the "Block," and feel like Tulliver, that" the world is too much for them." Who would recognise in the Melbourne of 1885 the "bush town " of thirty years ago? Then the streets were full of gum-tree stumps and deep ruts. The principal thoroughfare, Elizabeth-street, was for months in the year a flooded quagmire, in which on one occasion a waggon and team of horses were absolutely swallowed up, and bullock drays were daily bogged. Iron buildings and bark "humpies" were seeu on every hand, and what is now the important municipality of South Melbourne was a sea of tents known as Canvas Town. The old pioneers who have not "made their pile" tell strange tales of the doings in those early days when Gold was King, and each man did that which was right iu his own eyes. Yet the records of crime are very slight. The rude, rough, hard life on the gold-fields, whilst it produced a few bushrangers, tempted by the enormous spoils within their grasp, was not productive of petty offences. With gold flowing from every man's hand and pocket, hunger and want were unknown here. Melbourne may not have been very moral in those days, but of "habitual" criminals it had few, and the vagrant and the pauper were unknown. Melbourne is now one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, and it is also the most populous and important city in the southern hemisphere. Including its suburban municipalities, eighteen in number, all lying within a radius of ten miles from the Town Hall, it contains 305,000 inhabitants. Handbook: Victoria. 15 Mr. Anthony Trollope well described it as "one of the most successful cities on the face of the earth." It is well laid out with wide and regular streets, with broad side-walks well paved and lighted. Tree planting in the streets has been extensively carried on, giving a pleasant shade as well as refreshing the eye. The buildings are not only handsome, but many are of great architectural merit. The cathedrals and churches, schools, Parliament House, Treasury, Town Hall, Post-office, Law Courts, Custom House, University, Museum, Free Library, National Gallery, clubs, theatres, and other public institutions are worthy of special admiration. The banking corporations are settled in buildings which would adorn Threadneedle-street. The wharfs on the banks of the Yarra now give accommodation to large ocean-going steamers. The shops and warehouses are equal to those of most cities in the Old World. Everything necessary to make life content and easy can be procured in Melbourne. And the mansions in the fashionable suburbs are only less gratifying evidences of the prosperity of the people than the thousands of pleasant cottages which one sees on every road within a few miles of the city. Any visitor to the colony must be struck with the perfect arrangements for water supply. There is hardly the smallest cottage without its bath-room. 'The most important reservoir is the Yan Yean, which is an artificial lake at the foot of the Plenty Ranges, nearly nineteen miles from Melbourne proper. A few years back, complaints as to the quality of the water of the Yan Yean were numerous, but now the water, though perhaps not quite pellucid, is perfectly safe and pure. The numerous parks and reserves and public gardens in and around Melbourne are heritages sacred to the health and enjoyment of the people, which astonish the "new chum" from crowded European cities, where one is taxed for space to breathe. This is above all a place for the people. In no large town of the world has a working man so many enjoyments as in Melbourne, or so many privileges. There is no State Church here, but free State schools give secular instruction to children whose parents may be willing to accept it. Children between the ages of six and fifteen who do not attend the State schools must give evidence that they are educated at a private school up to a given standard. The whole country, as well as the metropolis, is dotted with State schools. The Free Library, Museum, and Picture Galleries, and the Botanic and Zoological Gardens afford free recreation and instruction to the labourer and mechanic, as well as to the clerk or shopman. Melbourne is plentifully furnished with provident, charitable, literary, scientific, and social institutions to suit all classes and creeds. In the matter of amusement, the inhabi- tants of the metropolis are furnished with four theatres and several music- halls. At the Exhibition Building and at the Town Hall grand concerts are weekly given. Besides the Mayor and Town Clerk, the two greatest civic functionaries outside London, Melbourne possesses a "city organist," whose position in the musical world is as that of the Poet Laureate in literature. But theatre and concert-loving as are the Victorians generally, it is in out- door sports that they chiefly relax. Cricket, lawn tennis, football, rowing, yachting, and bicycle riding are the most popular amusements. In cricket 16 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: our native youth have made their mark against the Gentlemen and Players of England at Lord's. There are no more perfect arrangements of the kind in the world than those at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the members' pavilion is not only a "grand stand," but possesses dining, billiard, and bath- rooms. Football is as popular here as in some parts of England. It is proposed that a football team shall be shortly sent to Great Britain from Victoria. Next to cricket, horse-racing absorbs the affections of the Vic- torian people. In any new township a race-course is one of the first things laid out. Young Australian natives of both sexes are as much at home in the saddle as Arabs or Comanche Indians. Melbourne possesses two first- class race-courses within a few minutes' ride by rail from the city. At Flemington the greatest race in Australia, the "Melbourne Cup," is run early in November (our spring). From every part of the continent people of all classes then flock to Victoria's metropolis. The "Cup Week" is the Carnival of Australia. If Flemington is like Epsom, Canlfield course may be said to be the Ascot of Melbourne. The stranger at the Cup meeting will perhaps get a better sample of Victorian customs than anywhere else. There is an annual attendance of not less than 100,000 people on Cup Day, yet the "new chum" will be surprised to see that policemen are conspicuous by their rarity, that there is scarcely a trace of drunkenness, and that amongst the vast crowd, the members all well dressed, and with money in their pockets, nothing but good-humoured order prevails. Here, where every one's working hours are so much shorter than in other parts of the world, the toiler with hand or brain has no temptation to make a Saturnalia of his holiday. There is less drunkenness in Victoria and as little crime as anywhere in the world. Victoria, however, should not be judged only by its metropolis. The inland townships deserve mention. Ballarat, the second city in the colony, is situated exactly 100 miles from Melbourne. It well bears the title of the "Golden City." In the early days, the gold-yielding powers of Ballarat were simply marvellous. No district in the world produced so much gold in such a short space of time. It has been stated that, in many instances, "claims" not more than 8 feet square and about the same depth, yielded from £10,000 to £12,000 each. At the Prince Kegent mine, men made as much as £16,000 each for a few months' work. At one claim, a tubful of dirt yielded £3,325. The "Welcome Nugget," found in 1858, was sold for £10,500. Those days have gone, but Ballarat, as it is now, is still more wonderful than when gold was, in very truth, "more plentiful than blackberries," when it was "scat- tered a thousand times like seeds upon the earth." Anthony Trollope, some thirteen years ago, said with justice, of Ballarat, that it struck him with more surprise than any city in Australia, that "in point of architectural excellence, and general civilized city comfort, it is certainly the metropolis of the Australian gold-fields." Sturt-street, the principal thoroughfare, is a mile and a half long, 200 feet wide, and has a fine row of trees in the centre. The principal buildings on either side are the City Hall, Post-office, Mechanics' Institute, banks, theatre, hospital, and several large churches. Handbook: Victoria. 17 The population is 40,000. The reservoirs from which the water supply is obtained have a storage capacity of 600,000,000 gallons. These works cost £300,000. Lake Wendouree now adds to the charming aspect of the city; hundreds of small yachts, miniature steamers, and rowing boats in numbers float on the lake, which is stocked with perch, trout, and carp. The Botanical Gardens, on the other side of the lake, are prettily laid out and well kept. The finest wool in the world is produced near Ballarat, and on Sir William Clarke's estate, a few miles from the town, and on the small farms in the forest of Bungaree, splendid crops are grown. Ballarat is now not only "a city of gold," but is an important inland centre. Sandhurst, or, as it was formerly termed, Bendigo, is a little over 100 miles from Melbourne. It has about the same population as Ballarat, 40,000. In 1851, shortly after the first gold discovery, Sandhurst was found to contain that precious metal in such abundance that in a short time it became famous for the number of its immense nuggets, the best known of which was the "Victoria Nugget," which was bought by the Victorian Government and presented to Her Majesty. In 1872 Sandhurst took rank as a principal Victorian city. It is certainly equal to any European city of the same size. The most prominent buildings are the Masonic Hall, the Town Hall, and hospital, together with a very fine theatre. The streets of Sandhurst are beautifully planted with English trees, the cool shade of which is as pleasant to visitors as to the residents. In the centre of the town is a public fernery known as " Bosamond's Bower." Pall Mall is the principal business thoroughfare. The streets have a total length of about 100 miles. Sandhurst is rich in other ways besides gold. The district produces yearly more than 1,000,000 bushels of grain, 17,000 tons of hay, and some 60,000 gallons of good wine. Fruits of all kinds grow most luxuriantly in the volcanic soil. Schools of Mines have been established at Sandhurst and Ballarat, to which are attached museums, containing geological and technological specimens, models of mining machinery and mining plant, sections of mines, and geological maps and plans. At these schools instruction is given not only in the various branches of science connected with mining operations, in the theory and practice of mining and safe conduct of mining works, mining surveying and mining engineering, but also in many other subjects not necessarily connected with mining. Students at the Sandhurst school number about 380, and at the Ballarat school about 500. The annual income of the two institutions is about £5,900, of which all but £1,900 is granted by Government. Schools of Design have also been established at twenty-five other places in Victoria, in connexion with a Royal Commission for promoting technological and industrial instruction. There are over 2,800 pupils on the rolls of these schools. An exhibition of the works of pupils is held yearly in Melbourne, and local exhibitions are held in other towns. Geelong, which takes rank as fourth in Victorian cities, is picturesquely situated in Corio Bay. At one time it was thought it would continue to rival Melbourne, and from its fine harbour, position, and rich back country there B 18 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: was a good foundation for the idea. But an idea it remains, although Geelong is ever ready to come to the front. Some important woollen factories are situated here, and "Geelong tweeds" are celebrated in the colonies. There is no danger of any "Mississippi wool" getting into this fabric. In the Western District of Victoria there are many important towns, Warr- nambool being the chief centre as well as an important shipping port. Belfast and Portland rank next to Warrnambool as sea-port towns. Hamilton, nearer to the South Australian border, is the capital of a fine pastoral district. In the east, Sale is the chief town in Gippsland, an extensive and prosperous division of the colony, which was discovered by Mr. Angus MacMillan in 1839. Echuca, on the Murray, is the principal city in the North of Victoria. In the old days this was a crossing-place for stock from New South Wales. From Echuca there is a vast river traffic. During the winter months, when the Murray's waters are swelled by the thousand tributaries from the Australian Alps, steamers ply to Albury on the one hand, and to South Australia, New South Wales, and far inland rivers on the other. Echuca, a river-port, is only second to Melbourne in the amount of its shipping tonnage inwards and outwards. The most beautiful thing in Echuca is the park, chiefly because nature has been encouraged, educated in fact. Sitting here on the logs in careless, happy indolence, watching the river in its ever-flowing passage to the sea, and listening to the sweet warbling of the birds overhead, every sense is pleased, " drinking delights from the murmur of streams and the flutter of wings." The railway bridge at Echuca is the finest thing of the kind in the southern hemisphere. Of iron (over 4,000 tons being used in its construction), it is 1,905 feet long, and cost £124,000, having been made at the joint expense of the two colonies. It was opened in March, 1879. The Murray is for nearly 1,000 miles the northern boundary of Victoria. It was discovered in 1830 by Captain Charles Sturt. From New South Wales he traced the Lachlan to the Murrumbidgee, and the latter to its debouchure into a magnificent stream of 350 feet wide, and from 15 to 20 feet deep, which, in honour of the then Colonial Secretary Sir George Murray, he gave its present name. Leaving the main body of the expedition in dep6t on the Murrumbidgee, Captain Sturt started down the river in a whale-boat and a small skiff built in seven days. Captain Sturt overcame all obstacles—dangers from snags as well as from the hostile natives on shore—and in 32 days arrived at a large but shallow lake, where, finding it impossible to force a passage through the dangerous navigation of Lake Alexandrina to the sea, he turned back. The return journey was one of suffering, as the stock of provisions were all but exhausted. Brave Charles Sturt lost the use of his eyes through blight and lack of proper treatment on these journeys. He died in England, in 1869. Few men have done so much good work for Australia and received such a pittance of reward and honour. Until 1851 the mighty father of Australian waters, the Murray, was almost an aqua incognita. No sounds, save, perhaps, the "coo-ee" of some wandering blackfellow, or the screech of a wildfowl, flying startled from its nest among the reeds, awoke echoes in the quiet bends. The pelicans and the beautiful blue and white cranes lazily flapped Handbook: Victoria. 19 their wings above the river's surface unmolested. The fish in its waters multiplied, unheeded by all except the natives and the hungry shags, whose descendants to this day haunt dead trees along the banks. The pant and thud of a river steamer, retarded by a heavily-laden barge, ne'er, as now, caused a " mob " of kangaroos to pause, curious for a moment, and then to scamper across an arm of land till lost to sight in the bush. In 1853, Captain Francis Cadell, in the little steamer Lady Augusta, navigated the Murray for a distance of over 1,300 miles from its mouth. A true Argonaut was Captain Cadell, for he exploited the land of the real Golden Fleece, opening up a vast extent of country for pastoral purposes. The Murray would be one of the most useful rivers in the world if the channels of its head-waters were locked, and a supply Btored for navigation during the dry season. But the sources of the Murray and its tributaries are in New South Wales, and in this matter joint action by the two colonies has not yet been decided upon. It is but 50 years since the first settlement was made in Victoria; now it possesses a million of inhabitants. The country is traversed by a network of 1,700 miles of railway, and dotted with prosperous townships. Its imports are valued at £19,201,633, its exports at £16,050,465. Last year gold yielded 778,618 ozs.; pastoral produce about £10,000,000; agricultural produce, £6,500,000. Manufacturing interests have been fostered in the capital and other towns of the colony; the yearly value of manufactured goods is com- puted at £13,500,000. There are State schools and churches and news- papers everywhere—of the latter, five "dailies" in Melbourne. We have an Observatory we are proud of, and a Government Astronomer who, like our Government Botanist, is a scientist of world-wide repute. We have also a military and naval force, and our shores are well protected. We have no fear of foreign invasion. Victorians are proud of their colony, but they are also proud of being Australians of British blood. More than 95 per cent. of our Victorian population is British, or of British parentage. England and Great Britain are yet spoken of as " home" here. In spite of the establishment of the Melbourne University, which grants every degree except those in Divinity, a large number of Victorian youths are yearly sent "home" to school and college (partly, it is said, because the examina- tions are much easier there). Yet there is room here for many of our race; for although, by the side of the flocks and herds of the squatter, one sees the corn-fields and potato-patches of the small farmer, and the vineyards of the wine-maker, there is plenty of forest yet to be cleared and bush land to be cultivated. There is a tendency in Victoria, as in all the colonies, to centralization in the cities and townships, the urban population amounting to more than half the population of the whole colony. The factories and mechanical trades absorb perhaps too large a proportion of our youth. Girls, too, prefer to work sewing-machines in the clothing warehouses to domestic service, although they would find the latter a better paid and easier employ- ment. The immigrants most welcomed in Victoria will be female servants and country labourers, men who can fight churlish Nature, or train her in softer moods, as the early pioneers of the colony did. b a 20 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Those early pioneers! From Henty and Batman and Fawkner and Robertson to the men of the last decade, farmer or sailor, or trader or miner, they were all the very salt of the earth! During the gold fever, the brains and the blood, the mental courage, as well as the bone and muscle, of Enrope flocked hither; and the fittest survived. Victoria has ever been essentially a pioneer colony. It owed nothing to Government aid; in fact, its early pro- sperity was retarded by Government interference. It was founded solely by individual energy; and its people have ever remained pioneers. It is in their blood. Victorians, Burke and Wills, were the first to cross the continent in 1860. They lost their lives, but made their names immortal. A massive monolith of granite was placed over their graves in Melbourne cemetery, and a fine bronze statue of the two explorers, from a design by Charles Summers, was for years the chief sight of Collins-street—an object lesson for our youth. It has now been removed to a more retired spot to make room for the cable tramway. The Burke and Wills expedition cost the people of Victoria £57,000. The end justified it, for within two years of the death of the leaders from starvation "tierces of beef were displayed in Melbourne, salted down from cattle pasturing on the spot where they perished." Far away in the " back blocks " in the centre of the continent, in the sugar lands of the North, on every new gold-field, Victorian muscle and energy and capital are to be found. In the South Sea Islands, in the pearl fisheries of Torres Straits and Western Australia, Victorian pioneers are foremost; and Victorian enterprise has done much towards the exploration of New Guinea. Although they claim Victoria to be the richest, the most populous, the most prosperous, and the most energetic of all the Australian colonies, yet Victorians were the first to raise their voices for the Federation of the Colonies, the Political Unity of Australia. Then the peoples of all the provinces, at present divided by absurd local prejudices and jealousies, will be joined together for defence aud, if need be, for defiance; and some day in the future, following ont the manifest destiny of the British race, with the dear Old Mother Country, and her eldest-born the United States of America, will be linked together in a strong bond, ruling land and seas and giving laws to all the world. Handbook: Facts and Figures. 21 FACTS AND FIGURES. By Henry Heylyn Hayter, C.M.G. (Government Statist). PRELIMINARY REMARKS. Victoria as a Field for Settlement.—There is probably no country in the world that offers such attractions to the working man as Victoria. There, it is not unusual for the agricultural labourer, the artisan, and the mechanic to find several masters competing for his services, and outbidding each other in order to obtain them. What is called the eight hours system, founded upon the division of the day into three parts of eight hours each— one to be devoted to labour, one to recreation, and one to rest—has been in existence for the last 28 years, and no employer would venture to ask his men to work a minute longer than the recognised time. Wages are so high and work so constant—the weather being habitually so fine that there is scarcely any broken time—that an industrious man is often able, not only to maintain his family in comfort, but by the exercise of economy to lay by as much as the whole sum of his wages would amount to in England. Free instruction to his children is provided by the State, and, as his boys and girls grow up, plenty of employment offers for them, so that instead of being an expense they soon bring in money. 2. To women and girls desirous of engaging in domestic service, the colony presents even greater attractions. Wages have been going up steadily for years past, notwithstanding which it is now difficult to get good servants at any wages. Besides the satisfaction of obtaining high remuneration, servants feel that their privileges are greater and the restrictions placed upon them are fewer than in England, whilst, from the value placed upon their services in consequence of the smallness of the supply, they are naturally treated with a kindness and consideration to which many of them had been strangers before coming to Victoria. 3. To professional men, clerks, shopmen, and shopwomen, the certainty of remunerative employment is not so absolute as it is to the operative classes. Many succeed beyond their warmest aspirations, whilst others fail utterly. Industry, perseverance, and, it may be added, versatility, will in time conquer many difficulties. The colony presents a large field for male and female instructors, but in this there is already no dearth of competitors, and much will depend on the qualifications of the individual. The failures of society—the dissipated, the drunken, and the idle—had far better not come to the colony. If they do, they will assuredly soon fall into destitution. 4. Those desirous of entering into farming pursuits can either lease land direct from the Crown at an annual rental of from 2d. to 4d. per acre, with a 22 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: conditional pre-emptive right to 320 acres of the leasehold; or, if they prefer it, they can purchase or lease improved farms from private individnals. Farming has, npon the whole, paid fairly well in the past, although the precarious nature of the seasons has occasionally subjected the farmer to disappointments. Irrigation, however, is now being successfully practised, and a measure for its better promotion and regulation has passed the Legis- lature; Royal Commissions have also been appointed to inquire fully into the subject. Many of the driest districts are those which, from their position, can be most easily irrigated, and, for these, elaborate irrigation schemes have been devised, some of which are already being carried out. 5. Probably no better field for the employment of capital exists than Victoria, where, if anywhere, money makes money. Judgment in its use is of course necessary, and new-comers should be especially careful. Safe and profitable investments are plentiful, and, if proper caution be exercised, no risk need be run. 6. An important consideration to all classes is that the rate of mortality at every period of life is much lower in Victoria than in the United Kingdom. Therefore, persons from the latter settling in the former have a greater prospect of rearing their children, and themselves living to old age, than they would have had if they had remained in the country from which they took their departure. 7. A word of advice to those who are about to emigrate to Victoria, with the view of making it their home: Do not condemn the colony if you do not succeed in it immediately. Land of plenty though it be, it is not sufficient merely to set your foot in it to become a partaker of that plenty to its fullest extent. On landing, yon will probably know no one, and be known of none; consequently it may be some time before you obtain exactly the kind of employment which suits you, but every fresh job you get will gain you acquaintances, both amongst employers and workmen, and will also afford you the opportunity of looking about yon. Your qualifications will gradually become knowa, and you will drop into the fitting groove at last. Remember that, even in the most palmy days of gold-getting, the precious metal was not to be picked up in the streets, but had to be wrung from the soil by hard toil. "Work, honest work!" must still be the watchword of him who desires success. POPULATION. Population of Victoria.—Although Victoria occupies no more than the thirty-fourth part of the Australian Continent, from various causes such has been its attractiveness, as compared with the other colonies of the group, that it is now the most populous Australian colony, and contains 38 per cent. of the inhabitants of the whole continent. The population at the last census, which was taken on the 3rd April, 1881, was 862,346. Between that period and 30th September, 1885, the inhabitants are estimated to have increased to 981,465, consisting of 522,671 males and 458,794 females. These numbers Handbook: Facts and Figures. 23 show an average of about 88 females to 100 males, or 114 males to i00 females. Nationalities.—According to the census of 1881, 96£ per cent. of the colonists are British subjects by birth, and only 3£ per cent. are foreigners. The native Victorians numbered about 500,000, or 58 per cent. of the popu- lation; the natives of other Australian colonies numbered 40,000; the English, 147,000; the Irish, 87,000; the Scotch, 48,000; the Chinese, 12,000; and the natives of other countries, about 28,000. Religions.—The religions of the people, as returned at the census of 1881, were as follow:—Protestants, 618,000; Roman Catholics, 203,000; Jews, 4,300; Pagans, 11,000; and persons of other sects or of no denomina- tion or religion, about 26,000. Occupations.—The occupations as returned at the census are classified under a great number of heads. They may, however, be condensed into the following groups:—Ministering to government, 5,000; ministering to religion, 1,200; ministering to health, 3,500; ministering to law, 1,200; ministering to education, 6,800; ministering to art, science, and literature, 3,700; traders, 23,600; ministering to entertaining or clothing," 41,700; domestic servants, 24,700; contractors, artisans, and mechanics, 46,900; engaged in mining, 36,100; engaged in pastoral pursuits and agriculture, 122,700; engaged in land carriage, 14,700; engaged in sea navigation, 3,300; dealing in food, 15,600; labourers, 23,800; wives, widows, children, &c, 465,600; following other pursuits or no occupation, about 22,000. Aborigines.—At the first colonization of the district now called Victoria, the aborigines were officially estimated to number about 5,000; but according to other and apparently more reliable estimates they numbered at that time not less than 15,000. When the colony was separated from New South Wales in 1851 the number was officially stated to be 2,693. In 1881 the number had become reduced to 780, viz., 460 males and 320 females. The existence of the few that still remain alive has no political or social significance what- ever. The race will probably become extinct in the course of a few years. MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS. Marriages in Victoria numbered 6,771 in 1884, or 7*63 to every 1,000 of the population. Births in 1884 numbered 28,850, or 30-49 per 1,000 of the population. Owing partly to the same causes as those which have affected the marriage rate, the birth rate is now not so high as formerly. It is only natural to expect, however, that it will increase after the improvement which has taken place in the former. Deaths in 1884 numbered 13,505, or 14*27 per 1,000 of the population, which is exceedingly low proportion. Seventeen deaths per 1,000 persons living has been held by high authority to be a natural rate of mortality in countries where adults and children exist in their normal proportions, but few countries can show so low a rate. For instance, in England and Wales the death rate averages about 22 per 1,000; in Belgium about 23; in France and the Netherlands, over 24. 24 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: FINANCE. Revenue and Expenditure.—The revenue of Victoria, in the financial year ended with the 30th June, 1885, was £6,290,361, and the expenditure was £6,140,366. These were the largest amounts ever raised and spent in any year. The revenue per head was £6 lis., and the expenditure per head was £6 7s. lid. The amount raised by taxation was about £2,543,700, or 40 per cent. of the whole revenue, the principal item under this head being Customs duties, which yielded £1,919,539. The land revenue amounted to £666,507, and the railway revenue to £2,200,067. Besides the ordinary- expenditure just alluded to, an amount of £1,980,975, derived from the proceeds of loans, was also expended during the year on railways and other public works. Omitting the receipts from the sale and occupation of land and from railways, in order to make the figures comparable with those of other countries, the balance of revenue in 1884-5 was £3,423,787, or a larger amount in proportion to population than is raised in any country in the world out of Australia. The amount per head was £3 lis. 4d. as against £3 6s. in France; £2 10s. in the United Kingdom; £2 6s. 9d. in Germany; £2 4s. 5d. in Holland; £2 2s. lOd. in Belgium; £2 0s. lOd. in Italy; £1 18s. in Austria-Hungary; £1 17s. 3d. in Spain; and £1 13s. 4d. in the United States; yet such are the resources of the colony that the large amount named is raised without difficulty, and taxation is scarcely felt. Municipal Revenue and Expenditure.—The revenue of municipalities consists of amounts received from rates, licences, dues, &c, supplemented by a State subsidy. In 1884, their total receipts amounted to £1,129,168, and their expenditure to £1,211,209. The State subsidy, which is divided amongst the different municipalities according to a scale based npon the amount they respectively levy from rates, is fixed at £310,000 per annum. Public Debt.—On the 30th June, 1885, the public debt of Victoria amounted to £31,757,407, which is equivalent to a proportionate indebtedness of £32 12s. 6d. to every man, woman, and child in the colony. Nearly four-fifths of the debt was borrowed for the construction of railways, nearly an eighth for works of water supply, and the remainder for defences, State schools, construction of a graving dock, and for miscellaneous public works and buildings. It will be observed that the debt, unlike the national debts of most of the countries of the Old World, was not incurred for expensive wars or other unproductive objects, but for the prosecution of works of a permanent character, necessary for the development of the colony, from which amounts are already received sufficient to go a long way towards payment of the interest on the loans, and by which succeeding generations will be largely benefited. Of the total amount of 32 millions, 4£ millions bears interest at 6 per cent., 2£ millions at 5 per cent., 5 millions at 4£ per cent., and 20 millions at 4 per cent. Over 3 millions of the 6 per cent. debentures are repayable before the end of the year, which will reduce the average rate of interest to less than 4£ per cent. At the present time the railways are returning an annual profit of 4 per cent. Handbook: Facts and Figures. 25 MONETARY INSTITUTIONS. Royal Mint.—The Melbourne branch of the Royal Mint was established in 1872. From the time of its opening to the end of 1884, 7,386,639 ozs. of gold had been received thereat, valued at £29,621,753. Gold is issued from the Mint as coin or as bullion. The former, with the exception of 441,000 half-sovereigns, has consisted entirely of sovereigns, which have numbered 26,118,600. The bullion issued has amounted to 789,300 ozs., valued at £3,281,417. Banks.—There is no State bank in Victoria, but there are eleven joint- stock banks of issue, of which six are Victorian institutions, with about 370 branches within the colony. According to the sworn returns of these banks, their note circulation during the second quarter of 1885 was £1,406,490, and their total liabilities £31,346,540, as against which the coin and bullion on hand amounted to £4,987,580, and the total assets to £38,027,560. At the same date the capital stock paid up was £8,828,750, and the amount of reserved profits was £3,756,632. The last half-yearly dividend declared amounted to £544,360, or at an average rate of 12£ per cent. per annum. It may be observed that banking in Victoria has hitherto been conducted with much intelligence and judgment, and has been attended with almost uninterrupted success. Savings Banks.—Every facility is afforded in Victoria to persons desirous of investing their savings securely and profitably. Two kinds of savings banks exist—the ordinary savings banks, which were established in 1842, and the post-office savings banks, which were established in 1865. Both of these are State institutions; of the former there are 13, and of the latter 230. According to the returns for 1884, the number of deposits in the two institutions was 152,344, who had to their credit £2,981,083, or an average of £19 lis. 4d. to each depositor. Most of the depositors belong to the working classes. The highest rate of interest savings banks are permitted to give on moneys left on deposit is 4 per cent. The full rate is paid by both kinds of institutions. Moneys on Deposit.—The moneys on deposit in banks, savings banks, and building societies, at the close of 1884, amounted to £33,192,119, of which £28,417,044 was in banks, £2,981,083 in savings banks, and £1,793,992 in building societies. Other institutions, such as deposit banks and some of the insurance companies, also receive deposits, but of these no returns are furnished. TRADE AND COMMERCE. Imports and Exports.—In 1884, the declared value of goods imported into Victoria was £19,201,633, and that of goods exported therefrom was £16,050,465. The excess of imports over exports was thus £3,151,168, and the total value of external trade was £35,252,098. Per head of the popula- tion, the average value of the imports was £20 5s. lid., and that of the exports £16 19s. 4d., or together £37 5s. 3d. These proportionate values are higher than corresponding amounts in most other countries in the world. In 26 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: the latest year of which returns are at hand, the value per head of the external trade of Belgium, which is larger than that of any other independent country, was £41 4s. 6d., whilst that of Holland was £35 2s. 1d., that of the United Kingdom was £20 l1s. 3d., that of France was £11 12s. 7d., and that of the United States was only £6 12s. 9d. Nearly half the total trade is with the United Kingdom, and nearly a third with the neighbouring colonies—principally New South Wales. In 1884, the principal articles imported were wool (from across the border), valued at £2,575,905; sugar and molasses, £1,292,260; cottons, £946,305; woollens, £923,072; live stock, £1,336,899; iron and steel (exclusive of railway rails, &c), £664,945; and gold (including specie), £1,268,615. The principal exports were wool, of the value of £6,342,887; gold (including specie), £2,010,295; wheat, flour, and biscuit, £1,769,526; and live stock, £764,968. The value of these articles of export alone represent nearly four-fifths of the whole export trade. Articles of Victorian produce or manufacture were represented in the exports by £13,155,484, being equivalent to £13 18s. 2d. per head of population; or to 82 per cent. of the total exports. The three staple articles included in the list were—wool, of the value of £5,707,668; gold (including specie), £2,010,295; and wheat, flour, and biscuit, £1,744,831. Shipping.—The vessels entered and cleared at Victorian ports in 1884 numbered 3,975, of an aggregate burthen of 3,151,587 tons, and carried 129,034 men. The tonnage was in excess of that in any former year. Nearly three-fourths of the vessels, embracing over seven-ninths of the tonnage, and carrying seven-eighths of the men, were steamers. MANUFACTURES. Manufactories, Works, etc.—Manufacturing enterprise in Victoria has for years past been stimulated by protective duties. Great difference of opinion exists as to the wisdom of such a policy; but, whether in conse- quence or in spite of these imposts, there can be no doubt that Victoria, as a manufacturing country, now occupies a far higher position than any other colony of the Australasian group. Statistics of manufactures and works in operation are collected annually. The collectors are instructed to obtain returns only from establishments of an extensive character, except when the existence of industries of an unusual or interesting nature seems to call for special comment. No attempt is made to enumerate mere shops, although some manufacturing industry may be carried on thereat; were this done, the manufactories of the colony might be multiplied to an almost indefinite extent. According to the latest returns, there are in the colony 139 flour-mills, which, during the year, operated upon 7,631,963 bushels of wheat and 637,448 bushels of other grain; 74 breweries, in which 14,400,749 gallons of beer were brewed; 218 brick-yards, some being also potteries, which made over 129,900,000 bricks, and pottery valued at £41,500; 170 tanneries, fellmongeries, and wool-washing establishments, which tanned 1,860,000 hides and skins, and obtained over 8,000,000 lbs. of wool by stripping skins, and washed nearly 9,400,000 lbs. of wool; 9 woollen-mills, Handbook: Facts and Figures. 27 which used 1,502,000 lbs. of wool, and produced 1,077,800 yards of tweed, cloth, and flannel, and 1,430 pairs of blankets; 32 soap and candle works. which made 113,000 cwt. of soap and 56,600 cwt. of candles; 12 tobacco manufactories, which manufactured 1,254,000 lbs. of tobacco, over 8,000,000 cigars and cigarettes, and 2,200 lbs. of snuff; 6 distilleries, which made 237,000 gallons of spirits; 138 establishments working in books or stationery; 9 in musical instruments; 2 in statuary works; 5 in designs, medals, and dies; 5 in philosophical instruments; 3 in surgical instruments; 8 in arms and ammunition; 271 in machines, tools,and implements; 243 in carriages and harness; 16 in ships and boats; 49 in houses, buildings, &c.; 142 in furniture; 49 in chemicals; 231 in dress; 32 in fibrous materials; 47 in animal food; 48 in vegetable food; 176 in drinks and stimulants; 70 in animal matters; 496 in vegetable matters; 22 in coal (gasworks) and lighting; 68 in stone, clay, earthenware, and glass; 4 in water (ice making); 26 in gold, silver, and precious stones; and 36 in metals other than gold and silver. The total number of these establishments is 2,856, of which 1,340 use steam or gas engines. RAILWAYS. All the railways in Victoria are the property of the State, whose policy it has been to open up the interior by their means to such an extent that railway communication should keep pace with settlement, be the latter ever so rapid. The consequence is that railways are extending to the most remote parts of the colony, and it appears probable that ere long there will be a railway at every man's door, the advantage to farmers, graziers, miners, and all others who have business relations with the interior of the colony being incalculable. Cheap excursion trains are run weekly as well as at all holiday seasons, the tickets of the former being available from Friday until Monday, and those of the latter for much longer periods. At the end of 1884,1,663 miles were open for traffic, 205 miles of which were laid with double lines. The cost of construction, inclusive of rolling-stock, and building a bridge over the Murray to connect with the New South Wales lines, was over £21,620,000, or an average of about £13,000 per mile; of this amount about £19,110,000 was raised by means of debentures, and the remainder—or about 12 per cent.—was paid from the general revenue. The train mileage during the year was 6,947,876. The total receipts amounted to £2,196,149, and the working expenses to £1,335,800. The net income was thus £860,349, which is equivalent to a return of 4 per cent. on the whole capital cost, or of 4£ per cent. on the debenture capital. This must be considered a most satisfactory result, since at the present time the average rate of interest payable upon the railway loans is less than 4J per cent. POST AND TELEGRAPHS. Post-offices.—A very efficient postal system exists in Victoria, and post-offices are established throughout the length and breadth of the colony; 1,342 of such institutions now exist, as against 1,007 six years since. In the same sexennial period, the letters and newspapers despatched and received in 28 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: a year increased from 33,000,000 to 48,500,000. The postage on letters to places in any of the Australasian colonies is twopence per ounce, and on newspapers one halfpenny each. The postage on letters to the United Kingdom is sixpence, and on newspapers one penny. Money Orders.—Money-order offices in Victoria in connexion with- the Post-office have been established in 337 places, and the system is being rapidly extended by the opening of fresh offices. Besides the issue and payment of money orders at these places, such orders are issued in favour of Victoria, and Victorian orders are paid, at places in Great Britain and Ireland, and in the various Australasian colonies; also in the United States and Canada; Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and some of the other European countries; Ceylon, India, Straits Settlements, China (including Macao), Japan, the Cape of Good Hope, &c The number of money orders issued during the year 1884 was 202,526, of an aggregate value of £569,040, and the number paid was 212,173, of an aggregate value of £616,605. The number and value of orders issued in favour of the United Kingdom are always much greater than the number and value of those received therefrom; but the reverse is the case with orders between Victoria and the neighbouring colonies. The net amount remitted to the United Kingdom by this means has, however, beeu gradually falling off, whilst the net amount received from the neighbouring colonies has been fast increasing. The commission on money orders for sums not exceeding £5 is 6d. to places in Victoria, and Is. to places in the other Australasian colonies. For sums over £5 and under £10, the commission is Is. to places in Victoria, and 2s. to places in the other colonies. To the United Kingdom and the other countries named above, the scale is as follows:—Not exceeding £2, Is.; from £2 to £5, 2s. 6d.; from £5 to £7, 3s. 6d.; from £7 to £10, 5s. Money orders may be made payable in some of the Australasian colonies by telegraph at the following rates:—Under £5, to places in Victoria, Is.; New South Wales, 2s.; South Australia and Tasmania, 3s.; Queensland, 4s. For sums over £5 and under £10, to places in Victoria, Is. 6d.; New South Wales, 3s.; South Australia and Tasmania, 4s.; Queensland, 5s. Money orders are not granted for sums exceeding £10. Postal Notes.—Postal notes are also issued, for use within the colony, for any amounts not exceeding £1, at charges ranging from £d. to 3d. The number of such notes issued during the first quarter of 1885 was 18,202, having a total nominal value of £7,947. Electric Telegraphs.—Telegraphs in Victoria are Government property, and are worked in connexion with the Post-office. Telegraphic communica- tion exists between 401 stations within the colony, and the Victorian lines are connected besides with the lines of New South Wales, and by means of them with Queensland and New Zealand. They are also connected with the lines of South Australia, and by their means with Western Australia, and with the Eastern Archipelago, Asia, Europe, and America. They are likewise united with a submarine cable to Tasmania. In 1884 the miles of line along which poles extended numbered 4,020, and the miles of wire Handbook: Facta and Figures. 29 8,055; the telegrams transmitted numbered 1,594,296, of which 473,670 were on Government business. A considerable extension of the lines, as -well as an increase of business, takes place each year. To places within "Victoria, telegrams containing not more than six words are sent for 6d., Id. extra being charged for each additional word. To New South Wales the charge is Is. for ten words; to South Australia and Tasmania, 2s.; and to "Western Australia and Queensland, 3s. To New Zealand ten words are sent for 8s. 6d., each additional word being charged lOd. To England or the Continent of Europe, the rate is 10s. 8d. per word; to India it varies from 7s. lid. to 8s. 4d.; and to the United States, from 12s. 4d. to 13s. lOd. In the case of telegrams to places on the Australian Continent, names and addresses are not charged for; to places in Tasmania they are not charged for unless they exceed ten words, but all words above that number are charged for as part of the message. In the case of telegrams to New Zealand, England, the Continent of Europe, India, and the United States, the names and addresses of both sender and receiver are charged for as part of the message. EDUCATION. University.—The Melbourne University was established under a special Act of the Victorian Legislature, which was assented to on the 22nd January, 1853. This Act, as amended by an Act passed in 1881, provides for its endowment by the payment of £9,000 annually out of the general revenue —recently increased by Parliament to £11,000; also, that no religious test shall be administered to any one to entitle him to be admitted to the rights and privileges of the institution; also for the election, by the senate, of a council consisting of twenty members, to hold office for five years, of whom not more than three may be members of the teaching staff, and for the election by them, out of their own body, of a chancellor and a vice-chancellor; also for the constitution of a senate, consisting of all male persons who have • been admitted to the degree of master or doctor, and for the election by them annually of one of their body as warden, as soon as the superior degrees should amount to not less than 100. This number was reached in 1867, and the senate was constituted on the 14th of June of that year. The council are empowered to grant in any faculty except divinity any degree, diploma, certificate, or licence which can be conferred in any university in the British dominions. Royal letters patent, under the sign-manual of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, were issued on the 14th March, 1859, declaring that all degrees granted, or thereafter to be granted, by the Melbourne University should be recognised as academic distinctions and rewards of merit, and should be entitled to rank, precedence, and consideration in the United Kingdom and in British colonies and possessions throughout the world just as fully as if they had been granted by any university in the United King- dom. The foundation stone was laid on the 3rd July, 1854, and the building was opened on the 3rd October of the following year. On the 22nd March, 1880, the University was thrown open to females, and they can now be admitted to all its corporate privileges except as regards the study of 30 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: medicine. Affiliated to the University is a college in connexion with the Chnrch of England, and one in connexion with the Presbyterian Church. The latter is called the Ormond College, after the Hon. Francis Ormond, M.L.C., who has given nearly £25,000 towards its erection and endowment. The University Hall, built at a cost of about £40,000, is called the "Wilson Hall, after Sir Samuel Wilson, who contributed the greater portion of the funds for its erection. Since the opening of the University, 2,084 students matriculated, and 955 degrees were granted, of which 694 were direct, and 261 ad eundem. The students who matriculated in 1884 numbered 173, of whom 9 were females, and the graduates in the same year numbered 91. State Education.—The State educational system of Victoria, the basis of which is that secular instruction shall be provided, without payment, for children whose parents may be willing to accept it, but that, whether accepted or not, satisfactory evidence must be produced that all children are educated up to a given standard, has been most successful in its operation; and for securing the object sought to be attained, it is believed, compares favorably with that of any other country in the world. In 1872, just before the present system came into operation, the number of children returned as on the rolls of State schools was 136,055, whilst in 1884, after the system had been in force for eleven years, the number had increased to 222,054, or by 63 per cent.; the increase of children at the school age in the population during the same period having been only about 15 per cent. It has been estimated that the children attending school for not less than 30 days in each quarter amount to about 74 per cent. of the numbers on the rolls, a proportion of efficient school attendance which, it is believed, has been attained in but few countries. Private Schools.—Besides the State schools, which are attended by five- sixths of the children under instruction in the colony, there are, according to . the latest returns, 655 private schools, attended by 35,115 scholars. Some of these private schools are attached to religious denominations, as many as 172, with 20,369 scholars, being connected with the Roman Catholic Church. Six are called colleges, or grammar schools, two of which are connected with the Church of England, two with the Roman Catholic, one with the Presbyterian, and one with the Wesleyan Church. In these, as well as in some of the other private schools, a very high class of education, quite equal to that obtained in the best public schools in England, is given. Results op Victoeian School System. — It has been officially estimated that all the children in Victoria between the ages of six and fifteen (the school age), except about 6 per cent., receive education during some portion of each year. The results are shown in the very large proportion of educated children comprised in the population. According to the returns of the census of 1881, of every 10,000 children at the school age, 9,481 could read, 8,535 of whom could also write, and only 519 were unable to read. The proportion of instructed children indicated by these figures is far higher than the proportion prevailing in any of the other Australasian colonies, and is equalled in few, if any, other countries. Handbook: Facts and Figures. 3l CLERGY AND CHURCHES. Clergy.—There being no State religion in Victoria, and no money voted for any religious object, tbe clergy are supported by the efforts of the denomi- nation to which they are attached. The clergy, ministers, &c, number 828, of whom 185 belong to the Church of England, 121 to the Roman Catholic Church, 177 to the Presbyterian Church, 161 to the Methodist Churches, 54 to the Independent Church, 38 to the Baptist Church, 29 to the Bible Christian Church, 56 to other Christian churches, and 7 to the Jewish Church. Besides these there are other officials connected with some of the sects who, without being regularly ordained, perform the functions of clergymen, and are styled lay readers, lay assistants, local preachers, mission agents, &c The number of these is not known, but it no doubt materially swells the ranks of religious instructors in the colony. Churches and Chapels.—The buildings used for public worship throughout Victoria number at the present time about 3,700, of which 2,000 are regular churches and chapels, 400 school-houses, and 1,400 public or private buildings. Accommodation is provided for 500,000 persons, but the number attending the principal weekly services is said not to exceed 315,000. More than 304,000 services are performed during the year. Of the whole number of buildings used for religious worship, 764 belong to the Church of England, 618 to the Roman Catholics, 906 to the Presbyterians, 962 to the Methodists, 76 to the Independents, 99 to the Baptists, 154 to the Bible Christians, 146 to other Christians, and 6 to the Jews. The Salvation Army have erected their "barracks" in various localities and sometimes rent edifices for the performance of Divine service, but no statistice of their operations have yet been obtained. PRICES. The following are the quoted prices of the principal articles of consump- tion, also of live stock, in Melbourne during the year 1885. In country districts the cost of groceries, tobacco, wines and spirits, &c, is naturally somewhat higher, and that of agricultural and grazing produce, firewood, &c, somewhat lower, than in Melbourne:— Prices in Melbourne, 1885. Articles. Prices. Agricultural Produce. Wheat .>. ... ... ... ... ... per bushel 3s. 6d. to 4s. 2d. 2s. 6d. to 4s. lOd. 2s. 4d. to 3s. 5d. 4s. to 5s. 2d. lid. to Is. 3d. Barley ... ... ... ... ... ... ,, Oats ... ... ... ... ... Maize ... ... ... ... ... ... ,, I^rim •■• •■■ ■•• ... ■■■ »» Hay ... ... ... ... ... ... per ton £3 to £7 £7 10s. to £9 10s. 5d. to 6d. Flour ... ... ... ... ... ... Bread ... ... ... ... ... per 41b. loaf 32 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Prices in Melbourne—continued. Articles. Prices. Horses—Medium to heavy draught Grazing Produce. ... ... • •• each £20 to £50 ,, Extra heavy draught ... ... ... • •• >> £50 to £70 „ Saddle and light harness ... ... • •• ii £20 to £45 ,, Light hacks... ... ... »•• ii £8 to £10 Bullocks. fat—Prime ... ij jy Good •• • • • • ... ... ... ii £11 to £16 ... • •• ii £8 to £12 10s. Cows, fat—Prime „ „ Second and inferior ... • •• ii £5 to £10 ,, ,, Good ... ... ... ... ... ii £7 10s. to £1110s ,, „ Second and inferior ... ... • •• ii £6 to £9 ... .*• ... ii £4 to £6 10s. Sheep, fat—Prime „ „ Good ... ... ... ii 1is. to 19s. ,, ,, Second and inferior ... ... ... ii 9s. 6d. to 16s. ... ... ... ii 4s. 6d. to 14s. Lambs, fat—Prime ... ... ... ... ii 8s. 6d.tol3s. 6d. ,, ,, Good ... ... ... ... ... ii 6s. 6d. to 10s. „ „ Second and inferior ... ... ... ii 3s. 6d. to 8s. Milch cows ... ... ... ... ii £5 to £12 Butchers' meat—Beef ... ... • •• per lb. 4d. to8d. ,, ,, Mutton ... ... ... ii lid. to 5d. » n Veal ... ... ... ii 5d. to8d. „ „ Pork ... ... ii 7d. to 9d. „ „ Lamb ... ... ... per quarter 2s. to 3s. 6d. Butter—Fresh Dairy Produce. ... •a. ... per lb. Is. to 2s. 3d. ,, Potted ... ... ... ii 10d. to Is. Cheese ... ... • •• ii 5d. to Is. Milk Farm-yard Produce. ... ... per quart 4d. to 6d. Turkeys ... ... *•* each 7s. to 15s. Geese ... ... ... ... ... ... ii 3s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. Ducks ... ... ii 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. Fowls ... ... ii 2s. to 4s. Rabbits ... ... ... per pair 6d. to Is. Pigeons ... ... ... ... ... ii 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. Sucking pigs ... ... ... each 10s. to 14s. Bacon ... ... ... per lb. 8d. to Is. Ham ... ... ... ... ii lOd. to 1a. 2d. Fggs ... •*. ... Garden Produce. ... ... ... per doz. 10d. to 2s. 6d. Potatoes ... ... ... per cwt. 3s. to 5s. Onions, dried ... • •• ... ii 4s. to 8s. Carrots ... ... ... per doz. bunches 6d. to 9d. Turnips • •• ... n 4d. to Is. Radishes ... ... n 4d. to 6d. Parsnips ... ... ... ii 9d. to Is. 6d. Rhubarb ... ... ... ii 6d. to 2s. Cabbages ... ... ... each Id. to 6d. Cauliflowers... ... ... ... ii 2d. to 7d. Lettuces ... ... ... ii Id. to 2d. Handbook: Facts and Figures. 33 Prices in Melbourne—continued. Articles. Prices. Garden Produce—continued. Vegetable marrows ... each 2d. to 6d. Pumpkins ... ... ... ... ... ... ,, 3d. to Is. Celery ... ... per head 2d. to 6d. Green peas ... per lb. Id. to 3d. Miscellaneous Articles. Tea ... ... ... ... ... per lb. Is. 6d. to 2s. 6d. Coffee ... ... ... Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. Sugar .., ,, 3d. to 4d. Rice ... ... ... ... 2Jd. to 4d. Jama ... per lb. tin 5d. to 7d. Tobacco—Colonial ... per lb. 3s. ,, American ... ... ,, 5s. to 6s. Soap ... ... ,, 3d. to 4d. Candles—Sperm, stearine, paraffine, &c. ii 9d. to Is. Salt ... ... ,, Id. Coals ... ... ... ... per ton 25s. to 36s. Firewood ii 9s. 6d. to 12s. Wines, Spirits, etc. Ale—English ... ... ... ... per doz. 10s. to 12s. ,, Colonial ... ... ... ... 5s. and 6s. Porter—English ... 11 10s. to 12s. „ Colonial ... ... ,, per gal. 5s. and 6s. Brandy ... ... 22s. 6d. to 35s. Rum ... ... ... ... ii 15s. to 18s. Whisky ... ... ... ... ■i 18s. to 28s. Geneva ... ... ... ... per case, 15 bottles 60s. to 62s. 6d. Port wine ... ... per doz. 33s. to 72s. Sherry ... ... ... ,, 35s. to 75s. Claret .. ii 32s. 6d. to 70s. Champagne ... ... ... ... ... ii 70s. to 105s. Colonial wine ... ... ... ... ii 12s. to 30s. 0 34 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: AGRICULTURE. By John L. Dow, M.P. All profound thinkers, both ancient and modern, have agreed in basing the prosperity of a country upon its agriculture, and the marvellous progress made by the colony of Victoria will be found, upon examination, to be in accordance with this -well-established truth. The agricultural resources of the colony, although only developed to a comparatively limited extent, have contributed in a marked degree to place Victoria in its present proud position, and the best guarantee for its future progress is to be found in the agricul- tural expansion capable of resulting from its rich soil, genial climate, and various other advantages. What has already been accomplished is the best indication of what may be expected in the future. In the past all the difficulties connected with carrying on agricultural operations in a new country have had to be overcome. The pioneer farmer had to learn the peculiarities of the soil and the Bpecial conditions of climate with which he had to cope in an unknown and untried country, and all this had to be done under special difficulties. Seeds, plants, tools, and implements had to be imported from distant countries; horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry had also to be brought from abroad, while the breeds best suited to the new conditions, and the peculiar treatment necessary, had to be learned by experiments more or less expensive. Iu establishing agriculture amidst all these difficulties there were other obstacles which had to bo overcome. There were but few large towns, so that the markets for produce were limited, and it frequently happened that when a successful harvest was obtained the farmer would find the port glutted with foreign products. Not only were markets limited, but they were difficult of access. There were no roads through the forests, over the hills, or across the plains. Rivers had to be bridged and roads had to be made before the farmers' produce could be taken to market. All this up-hill work had to be carried on by farmers who were far from schools, churches, and social institutions. Those who commence farming now, either upon Crown lands or upon farms purchased from settlers, have none of these difficulties to overcome. The large cities provide markets for produce, and supply implements and machinery of the most approved kind, manufactured locally and in Europe and America; seeds and plants of every kind have been brought from all parts of the world; all the best breeds of live stock are available; and the conditions of soil and climate have been so well ascertained that all branches of agriculture can be carried on with a complete knowledge of the most suitable treatment to be pursued. Roads have been made in every direction, Handbook: Agriculture. 35 the rivers have been bridged at all necessary, points, and railways have been extended to all settled portions of the colony, with the certainty that they will follow the settlers to the districts not yet occupied. In addition to all this, schools have been established in the midst of every group of settlers, churches have been built in every village, and even the most distant portions of the colony enjoy social advantages not surpassed in any country in the world. Much has been done in a short time. It is only 51 years since the first white man settled upon Victorian soil, but a much shorter time has elapsed since the march of progress properly began with the inrush of population soon after the discovery of gold in 1851. The development of agriculture had a still more recent commencement, for at the time of the gold diggings the land was in the possession of Crown tenants, who leased it as sheep and cattle runs, and many years passed before the new colonists, attracted by the discovery of gold, could succeed in passing laws for the throwing open of the land to agricultural settlers. Up to the year 1860 land could only be obtained at auction, and it was difficult for men of small means to obtain farms, and, although more liberal land laws were passed after that date, it was not until 1869 that an Act was framed under which agricultural settlement was effectually encouraged. During the period intervening between the landing of the first white men and the passing of the Land Act of 1869 agricultural settlement made very slow progress, but much useful work was done, the beneficial effects of which are still experienced. Mr. Henty commenced to cultivate immediately after arriving, and the plough which he used is preserved in Melbourne as a valuable historical relic, being the plough which turned the first sod in Victoria. This plough is now to be seen in the Victorian Court of the Exhibition, shown by its present possessor, Mr. Hugh Lennon, in juxtaposition with others turned out of his workshops. The farms afterwards near Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Lancefield, Kilmore, Warr- nambool, Belfast, and other early towns tested the quality of soils, and made known the peculiar treatment required by different crops in the climate of the colony. Owing also to the enterprise of the early colonists, live stock of different breeds were imported, so that when the public lands were thrown open for selection in 1869 the colony was well supplied with trained farmers with local experience, stud herds of shorthorn, Hereford, Ayrshire, and Alderney cattle had been established, as well as studs of the best draught and thoroughbred horses, flocks of merino, Lincoln, and Leicester sheep, with well-bred representatives of other kinds of live stock. It was under the above circumstances that the agriculture of the colony began a career of remarkable development fifteen years ago. It may bo mentioned also that the mining industry had been for some time affording employment to a diminishing number of men, and that many of the miners settled upon land under the liberal provisions of the new Land Act. Under preceding Laud Acts the greater portion of the best laud in the coast districts had been alienated, many large estates used for grazing purposes 36 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: having been formed, so that agricultural settlement under the more liberal provisions of the Act of 1869 had to extend mainly over the northern or inland portion of the colony. Settlements were rapidly formed in all parts of the northern plains, and wheat^growing, the most suitable industry for the pioneering stages of such districts, was quickly developed to larger proportions. Three years after the Act came into force—viz., in 1873— the land under cultivation amounted to 964,996 acres, while ten years later, in 1883, the area had increased to 2,215,923 acres. The total extent of land under the wheat crop in 1873 was 349,976 acres, and in 1883 it was 1,104,392 acres. As the production of all other farm products also increased during the same period, while live stock multiplied, and marked improve- ment was made in the quality of the various breeds, the natural advantages possessed by the colony for carrying on the various branches of agricultural industry are clearly manifested by the rapid progress which has taken place. When it is taken into account that the population of Victoria is only at present one million, and that important mining, manufacturing, pastoral, and other industries have been carried on, the development of agriculture which has taken place proves conclusively that the soil and climate of the colony afford special advantages for agricultural pursuits. In a new country the people are eager for large profits, and so much attention would not have been given to agriculture had not the favorable conditions of climate and soil made the industry remunerative. FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. It was soon discovered that the soil of Victoria was exceedingly fertile. It had all the appearance of being rich, and when tried it more than realized expectations. Only a few years after the landing of the first settlers, "Port Fairy" potatoes won fame on account of their superior quality in older-established parts of Australia, and other products were soon afterwards grown with equal success. The potatoes were grown at Belfast and Warrnambool, on the south-west coast of the colony, districts still famed for the production of root crops. The rich soil is of volcanic origin, being very friable and of a reddish or chocolate colour, capable of growing all kinds of crops for many years without manure. A yield of from 12 to 15 tons per acre of potatoes is sometimes obtained, and 10 tons per acre is a frequent yield. Lancefield, Daylesford, Kyneton, Ballarat, and Gippsland districts contain land of the same kind, and all over the colony a large proportion of the soil is exceedingly fertile. Even in those parts of the colony where the yield of the crops is small, the defect is not so much in the soil as in the supply of moisture. There are in the inland northern portions of the colony districts which do not enjoy such a liberal rainfall as others. In such localities the yield of the crops is generally comparatively light, but the soil is rich, a fact that is proved from the large yield obtained in a moist season. Having extensive areas of fertile soil in all parts of its territory, and consequently under different conditions of climate, the products of the colony are both abundant and varied. Handbook: Agriculture. 37 THE CLIMATE AND RAINFALL. "The finest climate in the world." Such is the verdict of all observant colonists who have travelled enough to give weight to their opinion. There is no winter in the English or American sense of the word. The time called winter is merely the season in which there is more rain and less heat than in summer. Very few Australians have ever seen snow. Upon the inland mountain ranges and the elevated land in their vicinity a little snow falls occasionally, but only sufficient to make the ground white for a few hours. The native trees are evergreen, not casting their leaves in the winter, although English trees and others indigenous to cold countries go through the form apparently out of respect to old-established family customs, and altogether the winter is only a modified summer. Stock are neither housed nor fed in the winter. The merino sheep, which produce the finest wool in the world, run out on the pastures all winter generally without even a hedge to shelter them; cattle in the same way are not only able to live on the pastures through the winter but to fatten fit for the butcher; the dairy cows also are kept milking without being housed or fed, and when horses are not at work they spend the whole winter in the open fields. Any fanner who knows what it is to provide for housing and feeding his live stock through the winter in England, Scotland, Ireland, or America will be able to understand what advantages Victoria possesses in its winter- less climate. In order to obtain a clear idea of the rainfall of Victoria, it will be necessary to take note of the physical features of the colony. It will be observed, by looking at the map, that the eastern coast range of the Australian continent terminates about 100 miles south of the northern boundary of Victoria, or in the Gippsland district. From the terminal point a spur called the Great Dividing Range strikes off to the westward and extends across the colony of Victoria. This Dividing Range divides the colony into two parts, viz., the northern and southern division, or if we take the whole coarse of the mountain chain, including the portion of the eastern coast range of the continent which extends into Victoria, we have the colony divided into the inland and coast districts. On the coast side of the mountains the territory, which averages a little over 100 miles wide, enjoys a copious rainfall, while in the inland country, averaging roughly over 100 miles from the river Murray, the average rainfall is somewhat less. All over the coast districts the rainfall is sufficient for the requirements of cereal and some kinds of root crops. Wheat, oats, and barley are successfully cultivated, and permanent pastures of English grasses can also be laid down. Root crops also do well, good crops of potatoes being obtained in many districts, and, although but little success has been obtained with turnips, mangolds and beets yield satisfactorily. The rainfall of Melbourne, which may be taken as representing the coast districts of the colony, has averaged for twenty years 25-44 inches. This is more than the rainfall of London 38 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: (24 inches), Nottingham (23-7 inches), and Paris (22'9 inches). In the northern or inland districts the average rainfall is generally below 20 inches, and some specially dry localities do not average more than 10 inches. In the more moist sections of the northern districts, where the annual rainfall varies from'12 inches to 18 inches, oats, barley, and wheat are cultivated and satisfactory yields are obtained, but root crops are rarely cultivated with success, while in the drier portions of the inland districts, where the rainfall varies from 10 to 12 inches, the wheat crop is the only one that can be depended upon to yield a fair retnrn in average seasons. It is important to note that the largest number of Victorian farmers are settled in the northern or inland districts, and, if the climate may seem to be too dry, it must be remembered that there are special advantages which compensate in a great measure for a deficiency of moisture. The land is generally ready for the plough, and even when some clearing is necessary the work is light and inexpensive. Stock of all kinds thrive remarkably well in the warm climate, and the Australian system of harvesting, viz., "stripping," by far the cheapest in the world, can be adopted. The climate is, no doubt, drier than might be desired in these districts, but with the advantages referred to the farmers are able to carry on their industry successfully. The wheat-growers of the colony of South Australia, the largest wheat producers of the group, have to contend against a drier climate and a smaller yield of grain per acre. It is only in the driest sections of the inland districts that oats and barley cannot be successfully grown, so that only a comparatively small number of farmers are compelled to restrict their agricultural operations to the growing of wheat. If we examine the driest sections of Victoria, we find that the settlers are in a prosperous condition, arising from other advantages which tend to compensate for the deficiency of moisture. The cheap system of cultivation and harvesting which is carried on enables the farmer to make good profits from light crops. There is scarcely any timber in the dry districts. Trees enough grow in patches or belts to provide fencing timber, but every farm contains a large area of open plain land which is ready for the plough. This land is more fertile and as easily tilled as the prairies of Western America, while a cheaper system of harvesting can be adopted. The peculiar dryness of the air enables the stripper, which is a combined reaping and threshing machine, to be used, while on the American prairies the grain has to be reaped, bound, stooked, carted, and threshed. In the colony of South Australia, where this cheap system of cultivating and harvesting is adopted, the wheat-growers have been able to make a living from crops averaging only five bushels the acre. In the dry parts of Victoria the system of farming is similar, and the yields vary from 10 to 12 bushels per acre. In the dry districts too the natural pastures are excellent, and, as the climate is warm, stock thrives well. Farmers in these parts, therefore, make profit both from cultivation and stock-keeping, and they are generally prosperous and well content with their prospects. A system of irrigation is also being introduced which will make some of the arid districts the most productive portions of the colony. Handbook: Agriculture. 39 PRODUCTIONS. The rich soil and warm genial climate combine to render the colony's productions abundant and varied. In the coast districts, where all kinds of cereals, leguminous and root crops are cultivated, the yields obtained from the unmanured land are all that could be desired. The average of the whole colony is always lower than the results obtained by farmers who understand their business. The system of farming carried on stands much in need of improvement. The majority of those upon the land have had no training as farmers, and the system, like that of all new countries, is not calculated to produce the best results. Farmers who understand their business, and give the land reasonable cultivation, obtain from 35 to 45 bushels of wheat, oats, and barley per acre in districts where the general average is not more than from 15 to 20 bushels per acre. Much heavier yields than those stated are frequently obtained, but from 35 to 45 bushels per acre are common when the land is well cultivated. With potatoes, maugolds, beets, and peas, the same difference is observed between the average obtained by a rough system of farming and upon land properly cultivated. About 5 tons of potatoes per acre is a payable crop, and from 12 to 15 tons per acre are frequently obtained. Hay, which is made from wheat or oats, yields from 2 tons to 4 tons per acre, and English grasses for pasture are successfully cultivated in all the coast districts. Maize is a crop which grows well in the more moist portions of the coast districts, and as much as 100 bushels per acre is frequently obtained. Owing to the defective system of farming, many of the crops for which the colony is suitable are much neglected, the tendency of settlers being to neglect rotation and confine their attention to growing a single description of grain. Thus wheat-growing is carried on more extensively than most other departments of farming. All over the northern or inland districts wheat can be profitably produced, and in some sections other cereals do not do so well, and this fact also tends to swell the proportion of the colony's wheat production. The statistics of the harvest of 1883-4 show that the colony produced 15,570,000 bushels of wheat, 4,717,624 bushels of oats, 1,069,000 bushels of barley, 117,294 bushels of maize, 791,093 bushels peas, 161,088 tons of potatoes, 18,906 tons mangolds, 139,540 tons onions, 433,143 tons of "hay, 15,717 cwt. hops, 9,124 cwt. of tobacco, besides smaller quantities of carrots, turnips, chicory, grass seed, and other products. In addition, there was the produce from 20,000 acres of orchards and gardens, 7,326 acres of vines, and 286,866 acres cultivated for green forage. The wheat production of the colony is capable of great expansion, but there are more numerous opportunities and larger profits to be made by developing the various branches of husbandry which are partially neglected by the farmers. Wheat.—The wheat grown in Victoria is the finest in the world. It always brings the highest price in the London market, fetching considerably more than English, Indian, American, or New Zealand wheat. The wheat crop is generally the first sown by the new settler, as it quickly returns a profit, and brings in resources to keep the farmer going until stock-raising, 40 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: dairying, or other branches of industry are established. Many settlers have found continuous wheat-growing upon the rich virgin soil of the colony a profitable business; but the rule is that the best farmers, after a year or two, add the growing of other crops in rotation, and establish herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, breeding also horses and swine upon the farms. Oats.—Oats grow well in all the coast districts of the colony, and in the more moist of the inland districts. In the driest sections of the inland dis- tricts there is not moisture enough for the oat crop, but the area of the colony upon which oats cannot be cultivated is comparatively small. In the moist districts from 40 to 50 and up to 60 and 70 bushels per acre are obtained with good cultivation, and the crop is successfully grown in rotation with wheat, barley, and roots. Barley.—As barley requires more moisture than wheat, there are dry districts inland from the coast ranges where it cannot be properly grown, but the area of its cultivation is more extensive than that of oats. It yields good returns all over the coast half of the colony, and upon about half of the inland area. English barley grows well, producing a fair malting sample and a good yield, the crop being a profitable one, although considerably neglected by the farmers, who generally give too much attention to wheat^growing-. Those farmers who grow barley in rotation with oat, wheat, and root crops are generally the most successful. Maize.—The maize crop is one which is not understood by the majority of Victorian farmers. Although crops of 100 bushels per acre, or as heavy as in any part of America, are obtained, and those who engage in its cultiva- tion make large profits, the majority of farmers pay no attention to the cultivation of this cereal. In America it is much more extensively cultivated even than wheat, maize being, in fact, the staple crop of the country. It is grown as a general crop in those states where only from 30 to 40 bushels per acre are obtained, and there are but few of the coast districts of Victoria where better yields would not be produced. The cultivation of maize, if attended to by the farmers, would be as profitable in Victoria as in many parts of America. Leguminous Crops.—As in the case of maize, the cultivation of peas, beans, and vetches is much neglected by Victorian farmers. Peas have received some attention, and the result has been highly satisfactory. In the coast districts good yields are obtained, and the crop is profitable in more ways than one, for it has been found highly valuable in a system of rotation. Lands which had been impoverished by continuous grain-growing have been brought back to a state of fertility by sowing the pea crop, and in limited districts where the merits of the pea crop are understood it plays a leading part in the system of maintaining the productiveness of the soil. Beans, although growing fairly well in the moist district, are not extensively culti- vated, and although vetches are found to do satisfactorily their cultivation is at present limited. It is in the cultivation of many of these neglected crops that the agriculture of the colony could be greatly developed. The crude 42 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: afforded by the self-sown grain, and in the second year the natural grass has established itself so well as to carry more stock than the unbroken pasture. Hops.—Hop-culture has been established in the colony for some years, and there are extensive districts along the coast and near the mountain ranges specially well suited for the industry. Although hop-growing was introduced at a comparatively recent date, and much had to be learned as to the cultivation of the plant and the treatment of the hops, the industry has already assumed an important position. The crop of 1883-4, which yielded 15,717 cwt., is only Bmall compared with what the colony is capable of producing, for in the districts in which the industry is carried on there are extensive areas of land equally fertile. The soil and climate are much better suited for hop-growing than those of England or the eastern states of America, as shown in the higher yields obtained. From 20 to 25 cwt. per acre are frequently obtained from unmanured virgin soil, and about 10 cwt. per acre is yielded by yearling hops. California is the only country in the world that can show results equal to those of Victoria. Although such heavy crops are obtained, and the quality of the hops is excellent, only a few growers at present appear to understand the art of properly preparing the hops for market. Only a small quantity, therefore, is suitable for exportation to the London market; but, as the art of treating the hops becomes better understood, the industry will no doubt furnish a large quantity for export. Otheb Products.—The tobacco crop is one which may be expected to increase as time passes. The soil and climate have been proved to be well suited for tobacco culture, and the cultivation of such a valuable crop may be expected to show development with the increase of population and the progress of the country. It will have been gathered from what has already been said that the climate resembles that of the south of Europe, and it follows that the various products of France, Spain, and Italy can be cultivated in the colony. This is not a matter of theory only, for experiments have already been tried which prove that the various rural industries of southern Europe can be introduced with an assurance of greater success than ever attended them in their native country. Fruits of all kinds —from apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, and cherries to grapes, oranges, lemons, and olives—have been tried and found to flourish in a manner which astonishes natives of the south of Europe. The mulberry grows luxuriantly, and the introduction of silk culture is only a matter of time. The only reason why the colony does not produce more fruits, olive oil, and silk is that it is too prosperous. Wages are so high that other industries involving less labour absorb the attention of the population. The state of California, however, the climate of which resembles that of Victoria, is teaching us that, by adopting machinery and labour-saving methods of management, many of the industries of southern Europe can be profitably carried on when the population is limited and the rate of wages high. The attention of colonists has recently been attracted to the fact that in California fruit-growing is developing marvellously on account of the system which is 44 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: institutions of the colony. The advantages of the American bntter factory system have recently been bronght prominently under the notice of the farmers of the colony, and, as the cheese factories have been successful, butter factories will soon be established. The butter factories will do much to open up a trade in exporting butter to England. While the colony exports a considerable quantity of dairy produce to other parts of Australasia, a regular trade with England has not yet been established. The trade, however, will no doubt soon be opened up. A few successful experiments have been made, and, seeing that fresh meat can be sent to London, there can be no serious difficulty in the way of sending fresh butter. The principal difficulty is in the absence of large quantities of butter of an even quality, and this will disappear with the establishment of butter factories. The introduction of the centrifugal cream separator opens up another avenue for developing the dairying interests of the colony. During the present spring (1885) the De Laval cream separator has been exhibited at agricultural shows throughout the colony, and several of the machines have been purchased by farmers. The separators have given entire satisfaction, and it may be expected that they will be extensively sold. As this machine separates the cream from the milk by centrifugal force in a few seconds, it saves a large amount of labour. All the labour of setting, milk skimming, and washing milk dishes is done away with, and there is also a great saving of dairy room. A very small dairy is sufficient to keep cream in, while a large space is needed for setting milk. Not only is there a saving of dairy room, but a saving of milk and cream, for there is no danger of losing cream by the souring of the milk. The whole of the cream is obtained, and both the cream and skim milk are perfectly sweet, so that the farmer obtains the best article in the best condition. To farmers who will apply intelligence and enterprise to the business, there are large profits in the dairying industry. Those who carry on the old system are doing well, but others who will adopt modern methods will do much better. The soil and climate of the colony will admit of dairying being extended almost indefinitely, and the prospects of an export trade with the English market open up an unlimited field for development. The fact that the colony is in the southern hemisphere is an important one. When it is summer in Australia it is winter in England, and this fact puts these colonies in a peculiarly advantageous position with regard to supplying the English markets. The dairy produce manufactured during the spring and summer in the colony can reach England in time to supply the high winter market. In this, as in many other respects, these colonies possess a great advantage over America, for North America has its seasons simultaneously with those of Europe. There is an extensive field for new-comers to enter into the dairying business. The existing farmers are wedded to the estab- lished system of cultivating large fields of grain, and they have shown themselves slow to enter systematically upon the dairying industry. Farmers from England, Ireland, and Scotland, who understand the advantages of feeding stock, and who appreciate the profitableness of dairying under Handbook: Agriculture. 45 favorable circumstances, have every inducement to enter into this flourishing industry in the colony. Many landholders have been induced by the mildness of the climate, and the luxuriance of the natural pastures, to be content with obtaining an easy living by taking what bountifid nature has provided, and thus there is a wide scope afforded to the energy and skill of farmers coming from the older countries. COMPARED WITH AMERICA. North America receives a constant stream of population from the United Kingdom and Europe, and, in most cases, emigrants have bettered their condition by going to the newer country. Can Victoria offer equal induce- ments to the agriculturist who is seeking a new field of operation? Happily, an authoritative and satisfactory answer can be given to that question. Within the last two years the two leading newspapers of Victoria have sent special agricultural reporters to America to report upon the condition of farm- ing in that country. The farmers of the colony wished to know what they had to fear from American competition in grain-growing, wool-production, and other branches of agriculture, and to be instructed in the best and cheapest methods of carrying on farming operations. In order to supply this informa- tion, each of the two leading journals of Melbourne sent a special agricultural reporter to travel all over the United States in 1883. The writer of these pages, who was one of the special reporters thus sent, reported that the colony had nothing to fear from American competition, and dwelt upon the many superior advantages possessed by Victoria. Upon these points the special reporter of the other journal fully agreed with the present writer, and thus the superiority of the colony was testified to by two independent experts. In the present year (1885), a member of the Government, as Chairman of a Royal Commission upon Irrigation, visited the United States, and he was accompanied by two reporters representing the same newspapers. The writer was again one of the special reporters, thus having two visits to the country upon which to found an opinion. The reports of the member of the Govern- ment referred to, and of press representatives who accompanied him, all agreed in testifying to the superior richness of the soil, and the more genial character of the climate of this colony, as compared with those of the United States. The verdict of all those independent and well-qualified witnesses was that, as far as climate, soil, and other natural conditions were concerned, the balance of advantages was on the side of Victoria. California was the only state in which the climate was anything bike as favorable to agricultural and pastoral pursuits as that of the colony. The severe winter in the best parts of the Mississippi Valley, or out on the Western Prairies, is a great draw- back to the progress of the farmer and stock-breeder. In America the farmer must house and feed his stock in winter, while in Victoria the custom is almost unknown. The fine-woolled merino sheep, the horse stock, the fatten- ing cattle, and the dairy cows, all thrive throughout the year without shelter upon the open, natural pasture lands. The lands in America available for settlement are from 1,000 to 2,000 miles from the sea-ports, while the 4G Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: compact colony of Victoria, with its extensive coast-line, lies near its shipping ports, the most distant districts being little more than 300 miles inland. The seasons are opposite to those of the northern hemisphere, giving the colony command of the great markets of the world, while those of India, China, and Japan are close at hand. What was worthy of imitation in American machinery, and methods of carrying on farming in a new country, was brought under notice, and the latest improvements are now being adopted. The farmer in Victoria can adopt the best American methods and labour- saving machinery; he lives under the congenial rule of the British flag, and he carries on his industry upon a soil and in a climate unsurpassed in the whole world. IRRIGATION. The most productive portions of America are those in which the rainfall is so deficient that it has to be supplemented by means of irrigation. The Commissioners from this colony to America who have been referred to saw no districts in their travels which were so productive, or which were so profitably cultivated, as those in California, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico (all of which are irrigated), and their reports establish the fact that irrigation can be carried on with great success in thinly-populated new countries. From this it is predicted that the inland districts of Victoria, in which, as before mentioned, the rainfall is lighter than on the coast side of the Dividing Kange, will become the most productive. At present the land can only be occupied in large holdings of from 600 to 1,000 acres in extent, upon which a combined system of wheat-growing and stock-grazing is carried on; but with irrigation the land will become so productive that these districts will possess the smallest farms and the most dense population. The Murray, the Goulburn, the Ovens, and other rivers, containing a plentiful supply of water, only require to be utilized in order to bring about such changes or change as has taken place in some of the dry tracts of Western America. Not only is the suitableness of irrigation for the colony founded upon American experience, but the system has already been well tried in the dry districts of the colony itself. A few experiments have been carried on for many years, and during the last three or four seasons many thousands of acres have been irrigated. The area irrigated has increased rapidly of late years, and that increase is the best proof that farmers have found it profit- able. The yields of wheat, oats, barley, hay, potatoes, mangolds, maize, sorghum, fruits, and grasses have been increased fourfold when irrigation has been applied, and the experiments have been so successful that public opinion in the colony is in favour of making it general in the dry districts. The Government, as already stated, has appointed a Royal Commission upon Irrigation, and full inquiry is being made as to the volume of the rivers, the levels of the country, and other aspects of the question. The Chairman of the Royal Commission, who was accompanied upon his American tour by a competent engineer, has reported favorably upon the system of that country, and the Government has pledged itself to bring in a comprehensive Irrigation Handbook: Agriculture. 47 Bill at an early date. The experiments already carried out are confined to farms on the banks of the rivers, and only a few farmers are able to obtain water by the pumping appliances which must be used. The Irrigation Act will provide for the carrying out of more or less extensive schemes, which will bring the water by gravitation within the reach of the farms over extensive areas. When these schemes are carried out, the inland dry districts of the colony will offer an inviting field for the industry of an almost unlimited number of farmers. The present farmers, who hold large areas of from 300 to 600 and 1,000 acres, will be glad to subdivide and sell their land in small and moderate-sized holdings, and such dense settlements as Ontario, Pomona, and Riverside, in Southern California, will come into existence, in place of the present extensive wheat farms. Those who buy farms before extensive irrigation shows the marvellous productiveness of the soil when supplied with water will have the best chance of obtaining cheap land. AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. The importance of instructing the youth of the colony in scientific and practical agriculture has long been recognised by thoughtful colonists, but little of importance has been accomplished hitherto. At length, however, the Government has set apart 150,000 acres of land as an inducement for agricultural colleges, and steps are being taken to organize a good system of agricultural education. The endowment lands have been assigned to three trustees, and a Council of Agricultural Education, representing the Agricultural Societies of the colonies and the Government, has been appointed. The trustees are engaged in arranging for the letting of the endowment lands, which will return a handsome revenue, and the Council is taking steps to establish a high-class Central College, with a few preparatory schools upon experimental farms in different parts of the colony. It is proposed that, at the agricultural schools and Central College, students will receive a thoroughly liberal English education, combined with scientific agriculture, as well as practical experience of all branches of farming industry. The absence, hitherto, of any such schools, and the fact that the majority of the settlers have had no previous agricultural experience, accounts for the backward condition of many branches of colonial farming. While this state of things offers special advantages to new-comers with good agricultural training and experience, the new colleges will in time raise the standard of agriculture in the colony. It is probable that the instruction will be free in the agricultural schools, as it is in the ordinary State schools, and the charge for board and lodging will, no doubt, be as low as the bare paying of expenses will admit of. The existence of such colleges should offer no small inducement to intending emigrants to make a home in Victoria, for a means of practically training one's family for a colonial career, while obtaining their education, is of no small importance. One learns of two proposed institutions in England which profess to give an agricultural training for fitting young men for colonial life, but the training obtained 50 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: They obtain land near markets and npon railway lines, at a cheap rate. In the inland dry districts, where land is rising in value owing to its prodnctive- "ness having been tested, good land is sold at from £2 to £3 per acre. Farms with fencing and buildings upon them change hands at from £2 10s. to £4 10s. per acre. These may be taken as average prices. In positions specially convenient to large towns, first-class agricultural land is worth from £20 to £25 per acre, and land which is suitable for the potato crop fetches from £30 to £50 per acre, but these are exceptional values. It frequently happens that sheep farmers give from £2 to £3 per acre for unimproved grass land, to be used for grazing purposes alone, and the agriculturist can generally obtain a much larger return than the keeper of stock. It will be readily understood that the present value of land is low when compared with the returns obtainable from the soil, for the price is regulated by the circumstances of the country. Those circumstances which tend to keep down the price of land are the limited population, the quantity of Government land offered for the nominal sum of £1 per acre, with easy terms, and the absence of a system of high farming. When the Government lands are all taken up, and the growth of population increases, the demand bringing into existence also a system of high farming, land will command a much higher price than at present. The time is, therefore, a favorable one for obtaining cheap land. Farms are always to be had, as they change hands, and those who purchase within the next few years will not only make profits upon their agricultural operations, but at the same time gain advantage by the increasing value of the land. Government Land.—The colony of Victoria is about 56,250,000 acres in extent. Of this area about 15,530,000 acres have been alienated to private owners. An area of about 7,584,000 acres is in process of alienation nnder a system of defined measurements, and after deducting roads, mining reserves, and State forests there remains an area of about 30,000,000 acres available for settlement. Of the 30 million acres available for settlement, 11£ million acres are what is known as the mallee country, which occupies the extreme north-western portion of the colony. The mallee country has been set apart for occupation under a system of leases from the Crown. The mallee in its present condition being insufficiently supplied with water, and covered more or less with a scrub of small trees and shrubs, is unsuitable for being taken up in farms of the ordinary size for agricultural purposes. The mallee is divided into two parts—viz., "the border" and the interior area. On the border allotments of various sizes up to 20,000 acres are let for a period of 20 years, and in the interior larger blocks are let for the same period. In the case of the border allotments the rent is fixed by regulation, and applications are granted without competition at a land board. The rents fixed for the interior blocks are 2d. per sheep and Is. per head of cattle for the first five years, double those amounts for the second five years, and 6d. per sheep and 3s. per head of cattle for the last 10 years. At the end of the leases the land reverts to the Crown, and lessees are to be compensated for permanent improvements. It is expected that, at the expiration of the leases, the land, having been improved, will be suitable for occupation in Handbook: Agriculture. 51 smaller areas. The greater part of the mallee country has already been taken tip, and occupiers have commenced to carry out improvements. An area of about 20,000,000 acres of Crown lands, apart from the mallee, is now open for settlement under an Act of Parliament passed in 1885. This area is divided into "Pastoral lands" and "Agricultural and grazing lands." The pastoral lands are surveyed in holdings capable of carrying from 1,000 to 4,000 sheep, and from 150 to 500 head of cattle. These pastoral holdings are leased for a term of 14 years, the rent being Is. per bead for sheep, and 5s. per head for cattle, the carrying capacity of the holding to be determined upon a basis of not less than 10 acres to a sheep. If there 'is more than one applicant for a holding the block is put up to auction among the applicants, and given to the highest bidder. Lessees are required to destroy rabbits, wild dogs, kangaroos, and wallabies, and at the termination of the lease compensation is to be granted for such improve- ments as fences, wells, reservoirs, and dams to the amount of 2s. 6d. per acre. The agricultural and grazing lands, amounting to about 8,712,000 acres, are surveyed in blocks of not more than 1,000 acres each. These areas are leased for a term of 14 years, the rents being fixed at not less than 2d. per acre or more than 4d. per acre, the valuation, according to quality, being made by officers of the Government. The allotments are surveyed, and shown numbered upon a plan. The applicant makes application for a given block, and if there are more than one application a land board decides which party is to obtain the land. The holder of one of these areas is not required to reside upon it, but he must destroy rabbits and other vermin, and fence his allotment within a period of three years. At the expiration of the lease compensation is granted for all such improvements as fences, wells, reservoirs, tanks, and dams up to a limit of 10s. per acre. Upon the leasehold the occupier is allowed to cultivate for his own use, but not for market. Any male person eighteen years of age, who has not already selected land under any previous Land Act, is eligible to take up land under the existing law. The occupier of one of these allotments can obtain the ownership of 320 acres of it upon easy terms. Any person who has not previously taken up land in the colony can select 320 acres of his leased land as a freehold. If an occupier selects a freehold, he must pay for it at the rate of Is. per acre annually for six years. At the end of the six years, he can either continue paying at the rate of Is. per acre until a total amount of 20s. per acre has been paid, or he may pay the balance of 14s. per acre, and obtain a Crown grant. The conditions are that the selector must reside upon his allotment, or within five miles of it, for six years, and within that period put on improve- ments to the value of £1 per acre. Persons who do not reside upon their selections must pay altogether £2 per acre for the freehold, and put on the £1 per acre improvements within three years. Under the existing law also grazing licences are granted over auriferous lands and State forests. A limited extent of Crown land is sold at auction annually, and special leases are granted for swamp lands, but the great bulk of the remaining State D2 Handbook: Agriculture. 53 infancy. There is great room for improvement in the system of carrying on each branch of agriculture, and there are rural industries capable of almost unlimited extension, which have as yet made scarcely any progress. Of the total area of the colony—over 56 million acres—not more than about 20 million acres have been permanently occupied. The number of farm holdings is only 38,000, and not more than 2,040,000 acres are under cultivation. The cultivation amounts to only 2f acres for each person in the colony. Cultivation has of late years made satisfactory progress, and all the sur- roundings of the case show that the rate of development will be much more rapid in the future. The greatest increase has taken place in the production of wheat, a result which. may be accounted for by the suitableness of the product for export and the facilities offered by the crop in the way of giving a quick return to the occupiers of new country. Dairying, fruit-growing, vine-growing, hop culture, the cultivation of tobacco, and other lucrative branches of industry require some extra attention, and hence their progress has been less rapid. These latter industries are now receiving increased attention, and their progress opens up a very wide field for future develop- ment. For many years the special industries referred to have been kept back through having to depend upon the local markets. The American system of pushing exports of butter, cheese, hams and bacon, dried and canned fruits and vegetables out into "the markets of the world has not been yet adopted, and hence prices have ruled low for what should have been our most valuable products. Now, however, steps are being taken to organize an export trade in the various products for which our soil and climate are specially favorable. Several cheese factories have been established, butter factories are beginning to receive attention, and the success of sending frozen meat to England opens up the prospect of exporting fresh butter to the same market. AVith fresh butter made here in our luxuriant spring and summer reaching London to catch the high winter market, the dairying industry will soon far surpass the production of grain. A few fruit-canning factories have been established, and the increase of these will enable our orchards to be extended in every direc- tion, supplying fruit to distant markets, and so on with the various rural industries which at present are subordinate to wheat-growing. Those who are now engaging in agriculture will take part in the colony's new career of agricultural progress, and at the present time the colony offers special induce- ments to new-comers. It would be difficult to find a more promising field for the emigrant with capital, small means, or only his labour to depend upon. Wages are high, living is cheap, and capital commands a high rate of interest. The capitalist can find a profitable investment, be his resources extensive or limited, and the man who has no money can soon turn his labour into capital. Land being cheap, the freehold of a farm can easily be acquired, and the farmer carries on his industry upon rich soil in a mild genial climate, under the security of the British flag, and in a country where the rough pioneering system has given place to the comfort and conveniences, as well as the educational and social advantages, of civilized life. 54 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: VICTORIA AS A WINE-PRODUCING COUNTRY. By Hubert de Castella. It may be said that any country where the vine flourishes in a perfect degree must eventually become a large producer of wine. Australia can lay claim to this condition, and, favoured by a variety of climes in every way suitable to its cultivation, can thus supply, not only wines of moderate strength, similar to those of France and Germany, but also rich vintages, such as those of Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Daring the last twenty years our three principal colonies, New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, have given much attention to viticulture; and in this industry, as in many others, Victoria lias taken the lead, her vineyards at present covering no less than 10,000 acres. This, of course, is a comparatively insignificant area; but there are thousands of enterprising men ready to increase it largely, if it be proved that the culture of the vine is to be a considerable factor in the prosperity of our colony. This aspiration of our vignerons has been made light of in the countries which have hitherto had the monopoly of the commerce of wine. Yet La Fontaine's verses— "Petit poisson deviendra grand Pourvn que Dieu lui prete vie,"* may be said to apply to our small vineyard. Will our mother country England, by encouraging the industry, aid us in making it larger? Australia's best chance of making her wines known was by sending them to the World's Great Exhibitions. Her first display was at Paris, in 1851, and since then those of London, Vienna, Paris again, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Bordeaux have received her samples, and she may well be grateful for the reception they met with at the hands of her elders. It may have been kindness of heart toward a new-comer, or perhaps, as was said in a French report we are about to quote from, "kind curiosity;" but the prizes given, although perhaps only to encourage the young scholar, were numerous and highly esteemed. Three years ago, Bordeaux, the queen city of wine, invited the world to exhibit samples of its vintages within her walls, and, amongst others, appeared 70 from Australian vignerons. A book was published reviewing impartially the produce of the exhibiting nations, and our beginnings were given full consideration to. If we give now at some length how our position was weighed, it will not be to complain, for it may be that others judge of it more correctly than ourselves. But we wish to differ on some points, and our rejoinder will come better after we have mentioned what has been said about us. "A sprat even will to bigness grow, Provided God keeps life aglow." Handbook: Victoria as a Wine-producing Country. 55 Mr. R. Semp6, the writer of the review in question, begins by showing the admirable adaptability of our soil and climate for the cultivation of the vine; and by exposing, we quote him now, "the unique spectacle of develop- ment and greatness of the colonies, which, born yesterday, have arrived by their courage and energy, coupled with liberty, to a degree of richness and civilization which rivals even the largest towns of old Europe." But Australia, he says, "spoiled by successes that have received no check, has every audacity; nothing seems impossible in a land which one would believe to be haunted by fairies. Her people, young and strong, feel able to do everything. You find them attending in numbers every one of our exhibitions, aiming at replacing the wine-producing countries in the estab- lished markets—even more, aspiring to supply the wine-producing countries themselves, and this whilst their production is only equal to one gallon per head of their population. Will the fairy which has multiplied their herds also multiply their wines? We do not think so. "Let Australians use a small portion of their immense wealth to attract to their fertile lands and marvellous climate the wine-growers of Europe— nothing better—but many years will pass before their vineyards will produce even the wine necessary to the colonies themselves. If the wine production increases, their population increases even in larger proportion. "The aim of Australians must be, we think, more modest; they must begin to grow wine for themselves, and later on, when their production will be equal to twenty-five gallons per head of the inhabitants, as in France, Spain, and Italy—but only then—dream of becoming exporters. "The vine is different from gold, or coal, or even wool. A seam found in a mine, perhaps a single ingot, may bring a fortune; a few men on vast plains can manage fabulous numbers of sheep, which bring mountains of wool. Not so with the vine. Hands are wanted to cultivate the soil, to prime the plants, to suppress the diseases, to gather the fruit. It is absolutely necessary to have spacious cellars, supplied with requisite machi- nery, directed by practical and experienced men. Viticulture and cenology are two sciences long to acquire. Australians know it well, since they confess themselves that they have hitherto produced only imperfect wines, which fare badly when removed. (Who confessed it? When ?—Note of transl.) "And yet with a total production incapable of supplying the demand of one of our second-rate merchants or the wants of the population of Paris during five days, with means of manufacture necessarily insufficient, far away as they are from the markets to be supplied, the Australians think that, by the help of the phylloxera, they can take the place of the great and old vinicole countries. "Notwithstanding our admiration for the prodigious activity and for the incomparable resources of their soil, even on account of that admiration, let us tell them at once that theirs is only a dream, and, whilst we sincerely hope that their production will reach a figure more in proportion with their own consumption, let us add that their splendid country seems to us called, for long years yet, to export wines to Europe only on account of their curiosity. 56 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: "They have, besides, important markets which they can and should first secure to themselves, when they will succeed in producing at cheap prices large quantities of well constituted and keeping wines. If they do not fulfil these conditions, without which a commerce of exportation is impossible, it will yet be old Europe which will supply the Malayan Archipelago, Japan, Hindostan, and even their own colonies. The consumers will not lose by it. "Australian viticulture can obtain, not the place which it ambitions, but that which it may hope to occupy only when it will succeed, by proper cultivation and manufacture, in correcting faults that at present necessitate many years of keeping. It has yet almost everything to do, and, to give a last proof of the little resources at its disposal, we may add that cooperage is absolutely unknown in Australia. The wine-growers keep their wines in brandy casks they receive from France." And this is how history is written! At the time the above was printed there were in Melbourne alone eleven firms of coopers employing over 110 workmen. Mr. Sempd, in saying that "it is absolutely necessary to have spacious cellars supplied with requisite machinery," implies that Australians have none. The other day we had occasion to enjoy the astonishment of a French proprietor visiting some Victorian vineyards. A short description of one of the cellars he was taken to will be the best answer to Mr. Sempe's assertion; and it can apply to every one of the large Victorian establishments. The cellars in question, built of stone, cover half an acre of ground, a square of 150 feet each way. A roadway passes through the middle over vaults, to allow the grapes at vintage time being brought into the centre of the fermenting and press rooms above the wine cellars. These rooms contain eight wine presses, the biggest imported from Amboise, being the largest in use in France, costing with freight £170. Four more of these presses were imported from Europe; the others, copies of those found best, were manufactured in Melbourne. In the same rooms there are 27 oak vats for fermenting red wine, a number sufficient to allow all necessary time for a thorough fermentation of a large acreage of grapes. Each vat is capable of holding from 800 to 1,200 gallons of must, and they are disposed around four platforms where the grapes, brought on carts from the vineyards, are hoisted by machinery, then crushed in four grape mills imported from France, and trodden with naked feet afterwards, until fit to be thrown into the vats. The whole is so disposed that 30 tons of grapes, sufficient to make 3,000 gallons of wine, can be passed through in a single day. In the necessary operations for all the work of the vintage, gravitation is taken advantage of, the must or wine flowing from above through gutta percha pipes. The fermenting vats are all fitted with movable covers, according to best principles. The marc, after the wine is made, is washed with water, and only that wash is distilled by steam. If these condensed details fall under the notice of one conversant in oenology, he will judge whether we are totally ignorant of that science, and "with means of manufacture necessarily insufficient." Handbook: Victoria as a Wine-producing Country. 67 The very spacious cellars below, partly excavated in the ground, cement floored, ventilated from above to ensure an even temperature, contain over 400 casks of various sizes, of which fifty hold from 1,000 to 1,500 gallons each, aDd 200 an average of 500 gallons each. Many of these large casks were made on the spot, a cooper's shed and a forge being attached to the establishment. After having examined the various agricultural implements, the huge subsoiling ploughs, the double and single furrow light ploughs to work between the rows of vines, the scarifiers of various shapes and sizes, some imported from California, the farming machines, reapers and binders imported from England,—" Ah ! gentlemen," said our foreign visitor, " we have no idea in France of your advance in wine industry, as in all others I" And he was right. This sketch of a Victorian vineyard, as we said before, applies to many in the colony; we give it because it answers the reproach of our inferiority. Barring a few princely establishments in the Bordelais, such as the recent one of Messrs. Gilbey, at Londenne, there are no larger nor better appointed chais (vineyard cellars, &c.) than the large Victorian ones. A short review of the past is necessary, the better to understand the present and the future of the vine in Victoria. Twenty-five years ago, in 1860, the number of acres under vines had not reached 2,000. Some of the wines made, however, had already found their way abroad, and obtained favorable notice. About that time a rush for establishing vineyards took place; the Victorian Government offered, in various localities, lands considered as best adapted to that cultivation, under especially favorable conditions; the newspapers issued periodical encourage- ments in shape of reports on the plantations going on, and on the successes obtained or expected; the Argus gave a large gold cup to the best-appointed vineyard; lawyers, doctors, and men of means, taking land under the wine industry clause, planted by proxy; various companies were formed to work large areas of vines. In four years over 2,000 acres were planted. All, in fact, seemed to indicate great and immediate prosperity. Unfortunately, however, the colonial taste was for strong drinks. Port and sherry advocates had taken up the movement, the warmest districts were proclaimed as the best to settle in, and the men who planted in more temperate countries were pitied for their mistake. But to those growers who took as types the strong wines of low commerce, it was not sufficient to obtain, by proper maturity, musts equal in richness to those of Spain and Portugal. Many of them left their grapes standing on the vines until they were turned into raisins; and we recollect the case of an amateur vigueron who had his grapes placed on the zinc roofs of his house and cellars, previous to crushing them, in order to leave them for two days improving, as he called it, under a burning sun. Wines made in this fashion, not from must, but from syrup, incapable of a complete fermentation, true compounds of sugar and alcohol, soon turned to vinegary sourness. The light wines of the cooler districts, mixed by 58 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: inexperienced wine merchants with these strong ones, only developed their acidity. Day by day the name of colonial wine became more ignominions, the trade died out, and neglected vineyards were gradually rooted oat. The statistics of 1880 showed a diminution of 553 acres of vines, as compared with those of 1875. All the while, however, a few persevering men, both in the northern districts and around Melbourne and other towns, careful of their plantations and diligent in study, were every year improving their vintages, and the Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition of 1881, displaying a real and solid advance, again brought the wine industry to the fore. A grand prix, a trophy of solid silver, of the value of £800, was offered by the Emperor of Germany to be awarded " to an exhibitor in one of the Australasian colonies as an acknowledgment of the efforts in promoting art and industry as shown by the high qualities of the goods manufactured by such exhibitor." The fact that, after a keen competition, this prize was awarded to the most successful exhibitor of Australian wine, as fulfilling best the conditions specified by the imperial donor, caused a stir which is remembered to this day; and not only in the colonies, but in England and in foreign countries was the announcement received with marked interest. From that day colonial wine was no longer thrown promiscuously under general condemnation. People who had never tasted it before condescended to have it on their tables. Clubs aud hotels, full of visitors, could no longer refuse it admission, since it had obtained such high recognition. It was a benefit to all. A few months afterwards the growers of Victoria could count the value of their produce, even of their properties, substantially advanced. Yet another benefit, still more important, was conferred by that eminent distinction upon the wine-growers at large. It opened their eyes to the requirements of the public taste—at least, of educated taste—and it educated their own. Many vignerons, some of them possessors of smaller extent of vines than the lucky winners of the Emperor's prize, had run closely with them in the race. Their wines had been of equal value, but were exhibited on a lesser scale. The result was that the other growers—those who, to that day, had desired to obtain strength, and what they mistook for body—began to ponder over the list of awards. When they found these awards given to delicacy and bouquet, to light wines principally, and to those only amongst the heavy ones which were free from alcoholic taste and non-converted sugar, faith in alcohol was shaken in their hearts, and the value of proper fermentation dawned upon them. From that time dates a general improvement in the manufacture, and the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, the forthcoming great educating event, will doubtless show us how far we have advanced. The warm district of the Murray, of which Rutherglen is the centre, supplies at present one-third of the wines grown in Victoria, although it Handbook: Victoria as a Wine-producing Country. 59 only occupies a four-hundredth part of its total superficies. The growths of this district must necessarily take a large place amongst the exhibits of the colony, and they will probably have a weighty influence on the fate of Australian wines in England. It is, therefore, of importance for us to consider the circumstances of their production. A vast plain of most fertile, heavy, red soil, 30 miles in diameter, stretches alongside the Murray River, which, with the River Ovens and the Barambogie Ranges, completely encircle it. The main Australian artery, the road from Melbourne to Sydney, passes through the middle of it, and before agriculture was thought of, the fact that three or four groups of rich quartz reefs occurred had settled on it a well-doing population of miners. In that plain, where nature had not placed a single hindrance to cultiva- tion, half a million of acres were, fifteen years ago, offered for selection. A host of strong, steady, and intelligent men took possession; houses and farms emerged as by magic, the straight roads which divided them seemed closed by lines of fencing spun in a night like cobwebs on the eve of rain. A few years more, and endless fields of wheat and oats, plantations of tobacco, orchards with oranges, citrons, and lemons, and, lastly, vines, had replaced the native grass. As to the grapes, they had been planted as a speculation, mostly by English, Scotch, and Irish farmers, quite ignorant of wine manufacture, who had gone into it on their being told of the fitness of the country for vine culture. Very few foreigners were amongst them, and at that stage, and in that locality, there was truly everything to do. Moreover, when wines were produced, they were too strong for daily consumption in such a warm region. There was no outside market, and the railway was not constructed. A reaction took place; and, shortly before the Melbourne Exhibition, one of. the largest vineyard properties of the district, held by a syndicate, was sold for the bare value of the ground. At the same time, close to the mining township of Rutherglen, on a small parcel of land, just abutting on a broad track of overturned soil which marked an exhausted seam of gold, a middle-aged German bachelor, half a man of letters and a thorough man of wines, cultivated a small vineyard of six acres. He was a kind of recluse, worked his vines by himself, and accumulated the results of his crops. His casks were his friends, and only now and then, if pressed by his modest wants, did he part with any. When the demand for colonial wine revived in Melbourne, an innkeeper, his neighbour, took samples from him to a city merchant, who struck with their quality, and being told that to obtain these wines he had to find the maker in a selling mood, the merchant arrived with a round sum to tempt him, and with a contract in which the figures only were to be filled. Our wine-grower's cellar was such as Mr. Sempd had heard of—a wooden structure stocked only with French hogsheads. One hundred and twenty containing about 7,000 gallons, the produce of the six acres during three years, stored under a bark roof next to his bedroom, so that he could watch 60 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: over them. And truly valuable they were: £1,680 was paid him; nearly five shillings per gallon. The news of that sale spread like wild-fire in the district. It was no longer speculation; the little shed, the small green vineyard which every one saw, now glorified at the entrance of the township, revealed the future. But it rested not there. Six months afterwards it became known that the 7,000 gallons of our German friend were re-sold in the wood in Melbourne, in one single day at auction, in parcels of 30 gallons each, and that the enterprising purchaser had realized double what he paid in the first instance. When subsequently other wine merchants appeared in the district in quest of similar wines, ready to pay similar prices, trenching ground and planting began in earnest again, and in four years the number of acres under vines in the shire of Rutherglen alone swelled, from 700 acres reported in 1881, to about 3,500 acres in 1885. It is quite futile to say that a wine-producing country can only be an exporter when her own market is glutted. Why should it be so? If her people are not wine drinkers themselves, her wines are good and facilities for exportation exist. The district of Rutherglen counts only 2,000 inhabitants. Calculating upon 3,000 acres of vines now in full bearing and a production of 250 gallons per acre, there is already a total of 750,000 gallons—375 gallons per head—and this with a railway placing their vineyards in communication with the immense shipping of Melbourne. As justly said, all depends upon price and quality. The first is ruled by the cost of production. All the operations required for the cultivation of the vine are reduced to a minimum in warm countries. A thousand plants to an acre, half the quantity which is planted in cooler districts, are sufficient to give normal returns. The heat develops the vines, and they bear more fruit with considerably less labour in winter pruning, in stalking and trellising, and in other works necessary in summer where the fruit must be exposed to the sun. As to the cleaning of the ground, without which there is nowhere a crop; in cool countries, weeds require to be kept down, constant ploughing, scarifying, and hand-hoeing; in the warm districts, if weeds are only dis- turbed, the sun, the lover of the vine, destroys them. All through, and in every way, the expenses of a vineyard increase or decrease according to the mean temperature of the land. In the warm districts of Victoria, the total cost of the cultivation of a vineyard by hired labour can be set down at £3 per acre, exclusive of vintage expenses. A moderate extent of grapes, say 15 acres, can be culti- vated by a farmer and his family at a trifling outlay. Time can be found to attend to them without interfering with the ordinary work of a farm. It is not the enterprise of a few that will cause a whole country to be reckoned as wine-producing. The large growers may show the way; having more at stake, they must study more, introduce new improvements, &c; but if they be the leaders, the small farmers—the rank and file—are the strength of the host. Handbook: Victoria as a Wine-producing Country. 61 At Rutherglen, the district for us to judge by, there are five wine-growers cultivating an average of 200 acres each—not a bad beginning—and 147 farmers an average of 12 acres each. With these latter rest the future of the industry. Their wines cost them 6d. per gallon, or about that, and if they can sell them at their farms, during the year following the vintage, for Is. 6d. per gallon, there is, on an average crop of 250 gallons per acre, a profit of over £12 per acre, which no other crop can give. A cultivation based upon such returns cannot but increase. The excellence of the kinds of wine on which this development is to be founded is important to notice; for, next to the climate and soil which Vic- toria possesses, next to the skill which she is sure to acquire, the kind of grapes grown decide for quality. In this respect, unlike so many old coun- tries where the grapes cultivated for centuries have to be rooted out to be replaced by better sorts, Victoria has from the first grown the best kinds only. William Macarthur, of Camden, in New South Wales, the founder of Australian viticulture, and after him the leading planters all over Australia, have obtained their vine-cuttings from the best vineyards of Europe. The Pineans from Burgundy, the Syra and Roussane from the Hermitage, the Cabernets, Sauvignons, and Malbec from Bordeaux, the Chasselas from Switzerland, the Reislings from the Rhine, the Tokay from Hungary, the Grenache, Pedro-Ximenes, and Verdeilho from Spain and Madeira. We have named the best kind of grapes; Victoria cultivates almost none outside these. Another consideration—in this short etude we can only trace leading features*—Victoria, born of yesterday, has not had time yet to find out where it is best for her to increase her plantations. In France or Germany, a hill turned to the best aspect, escaping the cold winds; a gravelly ground retain- ing the rays of the sun; a river or a lake which supply warmth at night, have perhaps created Pouillac, Nuits, Rudesheim. Who can tell if in Australia, where everything is to be in an inverse way, a valley in the mountains, a plateau with a lower mean temperature, some mild district not yet planted with vines, shall not grow some day, if not grands crus, at least grands ordinaires? The whole of the northern slopes of the ranges in the centre of Victoria, from Stawell to Bendigo, a zigzag line of 200 miles of mountains and gullies more or less auriferous, and all producing, or capable of producing, fine wines, is dotted about by townships which are only awaiting a signal to increase their plantations. The shire of Stawell, for example, includes, with a rural population of 3,500 people, 76 vineyards, three of them an average of sixty acres, the other 73 an average of eight acres. At Ararat, 38 growers cultivate an average of ten acres each; at Marong, an average of three acres. Strathfieldsaye, near Bendigo, which contains several vineyards of old repute •It maybe mentioned that a work is now in course of publication, entitled "John Bull's Vineyards," which will give the fullest possible details of the wine industry of the colony. 02 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1S86: on the Emn Creek, counts 62 growers, three of them with over thirty acres, the others au average of five. Castlemaine counts also some valuable vine- yards, and there are a good mauy on the River Goulburn in the same latitude, the Tahbilk Vineyard, with 250 acres, taking the lead. Further north, Benalla and others. All the wines of this region of Victoria are full-bodied and generous, of magnificent colour; the red can be similar to the fine wines of Roussillon and Asti, and we have met on the Emu Creek, at Stawell, and sometimes in smaller vineyards, where wines had been fermented in smaller quantities— brilliant ruby wines like the cote-rdtie of the Hermitage, and sprightly ones like the best of the Valteline. "We can only hope that these will have found their way to the London Exhibition. If the wines of the Murray can be compared to those of Spain and Portugal; the wines of Bendigo, Stawell, and the Goulburn to those of the Rhone and the Pyrenees; the grapes near Melbourne, growing in a cooler latitude, one or two degrees more south, and often visited by the coast rains, produce wines more similar to those of the Rhine and Bordeaux. The fine wines of Sunbury, of Essendon, and the Yarra district have gained colonial reputations. The Yarra vineyards occupy about 400 acres. They are situated on the slopes of gentle hills surrounded by broad flats, flooded in winter. Every night in autumn, when the grapes ripen, a fog envelops these hills, and, giving moisture after the heat of the day, ensures lightness to the forth- coming vintage. At the time of the Melbourne Exhibition of 1881, the proprietor of one of those vineyards requested M. Eigenshenck, the representative of the well- known house of Arles-Dufonr, of Paris, &c, to take back with him some samples of his wines and have them valued in Bordeaux. The result of this inquiry is so important, by the high position of the judge it was submitted to in -Bordeaux, that it is only right for us to give the full particulars. In December, 1881, Messrs. Arles-Dufour communicated the following, written to them by Mr. A. Lalande, of Bordeaux, to whom the wines had been submitted:— "We have found the Nos. 1 and 2 (red wine 1879, made from Cabernet- Sauviguon) very good, and we have given them a value of frs. 1,000 per tonneau of 900 litres." "We have found the No. 4 good (white Hermitage 1879), and we have given it a value of frs. 600 to 700 per tonneau." The name of Mr. Armand Lalande, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux, is a household word in England as well as in France. He is the first authority on wine. He was told that these wines were Australian, and his opinion was asked, as compared with Bordeaux value. The price he fixed for the two red wines, 1,000 frs. per tonneau, was the price of the cms bourgeois superior of Margaux and St. Julien at two years old, the age the Australian wines were, also the price of the third classified crua Handbook: Victoria as a Wine-producing Country. 03 St. Emilion. As to the price of 700 frs. for the white, E. Ferret, in his recent book on Bordeaux wines, speaking of the white wines of the canton of Ste. Foix, which he classes amongst the fine white wines of the Gironde, says— "These wines, in the first cms, have a handsome pale yellow colour, much finesse, sometimes mellowness, and a very agreeable bouquet; they are worth, young, from 450 to 600 frs.; old they reach up to 700 frs. the tonneau." Pardon these lengthy details, they show iu what company the Victorian wines were placed. Such a valuation, by an authority such as Mr. A. Lalande, can go a long way to answer the assertion " that Australians have only produced imperfect wines, which fare badly when removed." Up to the present time, with the exception of the vineyards around Melbourne and those of the Yarra, the whole of the southern coast of Victoria, the most temperate parts of all of Australia, and perhaps the most fertile, a stretch of land 500 miles long by 60 miles broad, extending from Cape Otway to the River Glenelg, had scarcely been tried for viticulture. Should, as we may anticipate, the London Exhibition prove the value of wines grown in mild latitudes, there are 16,000,000 acres on that southern coast hitherto held as a region too cold for growing vines, which may yet become one of the most valuable parts of the Australian continent for that purpose. We are advised to look to Malaya, Japan, and Hindostan for our market. So we shall, and who can tell what expansion may occur in the wine industry when introduced to the immense populations of these countries just beginning to live the life of other nations? If it be, as we are led to hope, that the Indian and Colonial Exhibition has for its object to facilitate a study of the resources of the various English possessions; and that a rational interchange between the dominions of the empire is in the possibilities of the future; Victoria, with India and the East so near, will occupy, as a wine-growing country, the first place in the Southern Hemisphere. On this occasion it is not to be a scramble for prizes, or for tickets to stick in one's hat, as at a rifle match; for medals to be reproduced in golden patches on a label, obtained for perhaps a few bottles, and those containing licpior wines whose glorification often misleads. The Exhibition will be, we are told, apart from the scientific and artistic display, a long national picnic, at which the people of Great Britain are called to judge of the food and drink supplied by her immense empire. Here judgment will not be left to chance, or to the confusion and fatigue of one single tasting of a collection of samples. It will be a well-considered verdict, repeated by an ever-recruiting jury. It will be a verdict without appeal, perhaps without remedy, if so be it is directed against young Australia—scarcely prepared, perhaps, for the ordeal. Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 65 described as comprising the south-eastern portion of Australia, and as including the southern terminal spurs of the Cordillera. The Cordillera passes into Victoria at Forest Hill, and trends thence south-westerly to a point near St. Clair, between the head-waters of three of the principal streams of Victoria, namely, the Yarra, falling into Port Phillip, the Goulburn, an affluent of the Murray, and the Thomson, running into the Latrobe Eiver, a few miles above where the latter enters the Gippsland Lakes. From St. Clair a great spur of the Cordillera extends through the colony, in a general direction slightly to the north of west, to the Glenelg River, near the South Australian border, where the range slopes down to the low- lying, nearly level, country of which the western margin of Victoria, from the sea to the Murray, principally consists. The Grampians, including the Sierra, the Victoria, the Dundas, and the Black Ranges, constitute the terminal western points of this mountain chain. Another spur, which will, for the sake of distinction, be here termed the Southern Spur, branches from the Cordillera at St. Clair, and extends southerly, but in a very zig-zag manner, to Wilson's Promontory, the extreme southern point of Australia. This spur is not so conspicuous a mountain chain as the western range, but is of geographical importance, being really a portion of the main water- shed line extending from the extreme northern to the extreme southern point of Australia. THE MAIN DIVIDE. The portion of the Cordillera from Forest Hill to St. Clair, and the western range, together constitute geographically, and will be here referred to as "the Main Divide" of Victoria, forming, as it does, the watershed line between the Murray River system on the north, and the numerous streams debouching on the southern coast. The loftiest summit of the Australian Cordillera is Mount Kosciusko, 7,300 feet above sea-level, situated in New South Wales, about 24 miles northward from Forest Hill. In Victoria, the highest points of the Main Divide are between Forest Hill and St. Clair. The names and heights of the principal are as follows:—Forest Hill, (about) 5,000 feet; Cobberas, 6,025 feet; Mount Tambo, 4,700 feet; Mount Hotham, 6,100 feet; The Twins, 5,575 feet; Mount Howitt, 5,715 feet; Connor's Plain, 5,500 feet; Fullarton's Spring Hill, 5,400 feet; and Mount Matlock, 4,561 feet. Mount Bogong,* 6,508 feet, and Mount Feathertop, 6,303 feet, the highest mountains in Victoria, are peaks on northern spurs from the Main Divide, the former between the Kiewa and the MittaMitta, the latter between the Kiewa and the Ovens Rivers. * This was the name given by the aborigines to a large species of moth which frequents the mountain at certain seasons in great numbers, and was highly prized by the blacks as an article of diet. E GG Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Besides these there are—on spurs extending north from the Main Divide —Mount Gibbo, 5,764 feet; Mount Wills, 5,758 feet; Mount Cope, 6,015 feet; Mount Buffalo, 5,645 feet; Mount Cobbler, 5,342 feet; and Monnt Buller, 5,934 feet; while on spurs running south there are—Mount Tamboritha, 5,381 feet; Mount Kent, 5,129 feet; Castle Hill, 4,860 feet; Mount Welling- ton, 5,363 feet; and Mount Useful, 4,756 feet. Westward from St. Clair to Mount Strickland the Main Divide maintains an average elevation of not much less than 4,000 feet, but from Mount Strick- land westward none of the highest peaks attain that altitude. Mount Disappointment, 2,631 feet; Mount Macedon, 3,324 feet; Mount Buangor, 3,247 feet; Lar no Gcrin, 3,123 feet; Mount Ararat, 2,020 feet; and Mount William, in the Grampians, 3,827 feet above sea-level, are the highest elevations westward from the meridian of Melbourne. The average height of the Main Divide may be approximately stated at about 3,000 feet, some of the lowest gaps being little over 1,000 feet above sea-level. The Main Divide has a general bearing of a few degrees south of west, taking a direct line from Forest Hill, on the north-east boundary line, to Mount William, the highest peak of the Grampians, in the western part of the colony. The average distance of the Main Divide from the coast is approximately 70 miles, or about the distance which the two mountains above referred to (Forest Hill and Mount William) are from the mouths of the Snowy and Hopkins Rivers respectively, so that a straight line between the two latter points is nearly parallel with one between the two mountains. In its principal deviations the course of the Main Divide conforms noticeably to the configuration of the coast line; the southernmost point of the former is where the Cordillera bifurcates at St. Clair, and is directly north of Wilson's Promontory, the southernmost point on the coast line. The Divide recedes northward, conformably to the indentation of Port Phillip, turns again slightly south-westward, and then deflects north-westward, coinciding in general direction with the coast line from Cape Otway to Portland. Of the leading spurs branching from the Main Divide on the north, only some of those eastward of the Ovens River extend as far north as the Murray; the spurs westward from the Ovens terminate on level country many miles back from the Murray. The extreme eastern portion of Victoria, a triangular area, bounded by the Snowy River, the north-east boundary line, and the sea, is a mountainous tract connected with the Cordillera by a very devious mountain range extending from New South Wales; the two principal mountains in this tract are Mount Deddick, 4,318 feet high, close to the boundary line, and Mount Ellery (aboriginal name Goongrah), 4,255 feet, about the centre of the area. On the southern slopes of the Main Divide the leading spurs separating the principal drainage areas lying between Cape Howe and Port Phillip extend down to, or to within a short distance of, the sea; but to the westward Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 67 of Port Phillip a wide extent of low-lying, and level or slightly nndulating country, intervenes between the foot-hills of the Main Divide and the coast line. An isolated mountainous tract, known as the Cape Otway Ranges, totally nnconnected by any conspicuous leading range with the Main Divide, lies to the south of a line from Geelong to Warrnambool; the highest point in these ranges is Mount Sabine, 1,800 feet above the sea, and from the range of which it is the culminating point numerous spurs descend to the coast, where they terminate in cliffs and bold head-lands. THE SOUTHERN SPUR. The Southern Spur, branching from the Cordillera at St. Clair, trends southward for some miles to Mount Baw Baw, a conspicuous mountain of over 5,000 feet in altitude; it then turns westerly as far as the head of the Latrobe, forming the dividing range between that river and the Yarra; thence it makes a south-easterly deflection and descends to a level not 500 feet above the sea, in the neighbourhood of Drouiu, where it forms the watershed line between the valleys of Gippsland and of Western Port. From here the spur rises again and forms the Strzelecki Range, over 2,000 feet in altitude above the sea. As the Strzelecki Range, and further south-east as the Hoddle Range, it forms the main watershed line of the South Gippsland Ranges, and with its numerous offshoots constitutes—within an area lying south of a direct line from Western Port to the Gippsland Lakes—a mountainous tract, whose only connexion with the Main Divide is the low ridge near Drouin above referred to. From the Hoddle Range one spur descends to Cape Liptrap, while another slopes down to a narrow low isthmus - between Corner Inlet and Shallow Inlet. South from this isthmus rises a rugged mountainous peninsula, con- sisting wholly of granite, of which the highest peak, Mount Latrobe, is 2,400 feet above the sea, and the terminal point is Wilson's Promontory, the southernmost extremity of Australia. RIVERS AND DRAINAGE AREAS. That portion of the Murray River drainage area contained within Victoria lies to the north of the Main Divide, and comprises more than half of the entire area of the colony. The total length of the river is 1,300 miles, of which 980 border Victoria, and it is navigable by steamers as far as Wodonga, about the 147th meridian. The principal Victorian tributaries of the Murray are the Mitta Mitta, the Kiewa, the Ovens, the Goulburn (navi- gable for a considerable length), the Campaspe, and the Loddon, all of which rise in the Main Divide, and are fed by numerous tributaries. Westward from the Loddon are the Avoca, the Wimmera, and several smaller streams, which run only during wet seasons, and whose waters rarely reach the Murray, being received in lakes and swamps, the overflow from which is E 2 70 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: The Hopkins, which drains a wide area, has its ontlet at WarrnambooL, and its sources in a considerable length of the Main Divide, extending from north of Ballarat to the Grampians. The Glenelg River, rising in and skirting the northern slopes, flows round the western extremity of the Grampians, and after being joined by the Wannon, which receives their southern drainage, enters the sea at the western boundary-line of the colony. LAKES. North of the Cape Otway Ranges, in low-lying country between the watersheds of Cnrdie's River, the Gellibrand, the Hopkins, and the Leigh Rivers, is a district containing numerous lakes, salt and fresh. The largest of these, and also the most extensive in Victoria, is Lake Korangamite, a salt lake covering nearly 58,000 acres, situated in a large central depression about 350 feet above sea-level, receiving the drainage of nearly 1,200 square miles, and having no outlet save by evaporation. Lake Colac, a few miles distant, covers nearly 7,000 acres, and is quite fresh, but has an outlet for its superfluous waters. Lake Burrumbeet, 10 miles westward from Ballarat, covers over 5,000 acres, is fresh, and has an outlet to the Hopkins. A number of the lakes in the Western District occupy the craters of now extinct volcanoes, and though not of large extent, are in many cases of great depth, and of highly picturesque appearance. The explanation of the lakes having outlets being fresh, while those having none are salt, is that in the case of the latter the salt brought by rain waters from the soil of the surrounding country is collected in them and has no means of escape, while in that of the former the salt is carried away in solution and cannot become concentrated in sufficient quantity to affect the taste of the water. Some of the salt lakes become dry in summer, and a thick crust of salt remains in their beds; this is collected and made of commercial value. Several large lakes on the plains of the North-western District are fine sheets of water in wet seasons, but, being very shallow, are liable to become dried up during drought; the principal of these are Lake Hindmarsh, Lake Tyrrell, and Lake Buloke. There are no lakes among the mountains of Victoria, except Lake Omeo, a shallow depression in the Omeo Plains, an elevated plateau near the heads of the Mitta; this lake is also liable to become dried up during the summer time. The Gippsland Lakes, and the various inlets along the coast, have been already noticed. Among the latter, Port Albert and Corner Inlet are navigable by medium-sized vessels, and Anderson's Inlet by smaller craft. Western Port is a noble bay, navigable by the largest vessels through either entrance, and around Phillip Island, at its southern portion, and by smaller craft to its head, through the deep, but narrow, channels which extend on either side of French Island, further northward. Port Phillip, whose northern extremity, Hobson's Bay, is the port of Melbourne, and the western arm, Corio Bay, that of Geelong, is easily navigable by, and affords safe harborage to, the largest vessels afloat. Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology oj Victoria. 71 Apollo Bay, Warrnambool Bay, and Portland Bay arc good shipping ports, but do not afford very secure harborage for large vessels in unfavorable weather. GEOLOGY OF VICTORIA. The following Table indicates the groups of rock formations known to exist in Victoria; most of them have been proved on palajontological evidence to be the equivalents of well-explored analogous formations in Europe and elsewhere. Table of Geological Formations Occurring in Victoria. Groups. Divisions. Distinguishing Colour on Geological Sketch Map. f t Recent and in progress ... | Pale Olive Green. 8 . at 3-2 (a.) Upper Tertiary (Pliocene) (b.) Middle Tertiary (Miocene) (o.) Lower Tertiary (Oligocene) ... P Light Yellowish Drab. Emerald Green. Mesozoic or Secondary. (d.) Oolitic (Carbonaceous) Light Burnt Sienna. Primary.! c ■ (e ) Upper Paleozoic (probably Upper Devonian) ... (f.) Devonian (Sedimentary Rocks) (g.) Upper Silurian (h.) Lower Silurian Light Burnt Umber. Blue. \ French Grey. Neutral Tint. i t i (Azoic). (i.) Metamorphosed Stratified Rocks (Palaeozoic as regards Geological Age) c Light Purple. f | I ((j.) Newer Vol«anic"| r Pink. Igneous. J 1 Igneous Rocks of the Tertiary \(k.) Older Volcanic J ^ Pink barred. cS o § ((1. ) Trappean^ ( Indian Red. Carmine. IS J 1 Igneous rocks of the upper and lower l(m.) Granitic J ™*ozoic Epochs o Victoria presents no striking geological features of which counterparts cannot be found in other parts of the world. Representatives of many of the formations known elsewhere are wanting, or occupy insignificant areas, in 72 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Victoria, though it would appear that some of these were once present, but have been subsequently removed by denuding agencies; others are perhaps concealed by overlying beds. The principal gaps are those which in other countries are filled by the Eocene beds of the Tertiary, by the cretaceous rocks of the Mesozoic, and by the Permian and carboniferous strata of the Palaeozoic eras. Generally described, with reference to the physical configuration of the country, Victorian geology presents the following main features:—1st. The Main Divide, and its accessory systems of ranges to the north and south, forming a great central longitudinal area, composed of Lower Pala;ozoic rocks, through which protrude masses of granite and trappean rocks, and on which are overlying or flanking deposits of Upper Palreozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary age. 2nd. The two great southern projections of Victoria, comprising the South Gippslaud and Western Port ranges on the east, and the Cape Otway ranges on the west of Port Phillip; also an area in the Western District lying south of the Wannon and east of the Glenelg Rivers. In these three areas the prevailing rock formation is Mesozoic, more or less overlaid or flanked by Tertiary, sedimentary, and volcanic layers. Wilson's Promontory, however, the extreme southern portion of the South Gippsland ranges, consists entirely of granite, between which and the Mesozoic area appears a strip, extending from Corner Inlet to Cape Liptrap, of Upper Silurian rocks. 3rd. The low-lying, level, or slightly undulating areas where Tertiary and Post-tertiary sedimentary deposits constitute the surface layers, such as the great plains bordering the Murray, the western and south-western margin of the colony, a tract extending from the eastern shore of Port Phillip to the head of Western Port, the Gippsland plains, and various minor areas bordering the coast. 4th. The areas in which newer volcanic rocks of the Upper Tertiary period are the prevalent surface formation. Of these the principal is that lying westward of the meridian of Melbourne, and extending to that of Portland; bounded on the north by the foot-hills of the Main Divide, and on the south partly by the coast and partly by the Cape Otway ranges. In some places strips of volcanic rock extend over the Main Divide, thus connecting the great volcanic areas lying to the south with those of less extent on the slopes towards the Murray. A number of small and a few extensive tracts are occupied by older volcanic rocks, of the Miocene or Middle Tertiary epoch. Throughout the colony sedimentary and volcanic cappings and outHers of Tertiary age overlie the Mesozoic and Pala3ozoic rocks up to elevations of nearly 6,000 feet above sea-level. Tertiary beds of marine origin are not, however, found at elevations higher than 1,000 feet above sea-level, all deposits beyond that altitude showing evidence of being due to fluviatile or lacustrine action, so far as the now visible arrangement of their materials is concerned. Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 73 GRANITE. Granite occurs in protruding masses, forming isolated areas of varying extent throughout the colony. It does not follow any defined line or mark any main axis of elevation; at only a few intervals does it constitute the crest of the Main Divide, and the largest areas occupied by it are among the offshoot systems of ranges formed by leading spurs north and south from the Main Divide. In many instances granite occurs in isolated out-crops, forming groups of hills rising abruptly from, and surrounded by, low level country. Except where in less elevated tracts the outlines have been softened by denuding agencies, the granitic areas usually present a rugged physical aspect, and jutting out-crops of bare weathered rock are frequently surmounted by huge egg-shaped masses or "tors" standing on end, and appearing as though a touch would overturn them. The soil of the granitic areas is, as a rule, poor, and supports only medium-sized timber, but in some localities, where the climatic conditions are favorable, there flourishes a gigantic forest growth of the tallest trees in the world (Encalypts) amongst an almost impenetrable scrub of native hazel, musk, dog-wood, sassafras, and pittosporum, with numerous smaller shrubs and tree-ferns of several species. The native beech (Fagus Cunninghami), the most beautiful of our forest trees, attains its greatest perfection in these localities. TRAPPEAN ROCKS. The intrusive trappean rocks are frequently found so blended with the granites that a line of demarcation can hardly be drawn between the two. They occur in some instances over extensive areas; in others, they form huge longitudinal dykes. In the first class, felsites, quartz and felspar-porphyries, granite-porphyries, and syenite-porphyries are the prevailing distinctive forms; in the second, greenstone and diorite are the more common varieties. Near Lancefield occurs a greenstone which was once largely used by the aborigines for manufacturing stone tomahawks, and the site is still known as "the native tomahawk quarry." The features of the trappean areas are usually bold and picturesque; the soil is superior to that derived from the granite, and, like the latter, supports a luxuriant vegetation where the climatic conditions are favorable. Though lower than the sedimentary older Palajozoic rocks, as regards stratigraphical position, the granites and intrusive older trappean rocks are really younger, geologically, as regards their present structure, for they have evidently been in a heated condition, and have cooled therefrom since the deposit, and while under the superincumbent pressure, of the Silurian strata; in fact, portions of the latter have no doubt been absorbed by underlying igneous masses, and transmuted into granite and kindred plutonic rocks. THE METAMORPHIC ROCKS. These appear, for the most part, to be altered Silurian rocks, and prevail in the western and north-eastern portions of the main mountain system. Around the western bases of the Grampians, and along the upper portion of 74 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: the Glenelg River, are fonnd mica-schists, quartz-schists, serpentine-schists, and other forms in great variety, while in the north-eastern district the prevailing rocks are mica-schists and gneissose-schists, which latter frequently pass into a schistose granite. The country drained by the upper waters of the Mitta Mitta consists of metamorphic rocks, and is rugged and alpine in character, diversified by many conspicuous mountain-peaks, bold steep ranges, and deep valleys, through which flow never-failing streams. Portions of this country are heavily timbered and scrubby, while others are bare and rocky, clothed with a scanty growth of heathy scrub and snow-grass, traversed by broad peaty valleys, and somewhat resembling portions of the Scottish High- lands in scenery. Some important gold-fields, such as Omeo, are situated in the eastern metamorphic area, while Ararat and Stawell lie along the lines of passage of the metamorphic into the normal Silurian rocks in the western portion. No payable gold has, however, been found associated with the metamorjmic rocks of the Grampians. THE SILURIAN ROCKS. The Silurian rocks constitute the principal portion of the central moun- tain system of Victoria; the Lower Silurian rocks prevail westward and the Upper Silurian eastward of the meridian of Port Phillip. The former consist of slates, indurated shales, schistose sandstones, and occasionally quartz ites of various colours and textures; they have been up-tilted and compressed into a series of successive anticlinal and synclinal folds, the lower edges of which have been invaded, metamorphosed, and partly absorbed by the subjacent plutonic rocks, while the upper have been planed off by denudation. The normal strike of the up-tilted strata is nearly meridional, and the dip invariably at a high angle, frequently almost vertical; the distinguishing fossils are various species of graptolites. The Upper Silurian group comprises many varieties of sandstone, shale, and mudstone, some conglomerates, and a few limestones and marbles; they are less acutely flexured, more variable as regards their direction of strike, and have a lower average angle of dip than the Lower Silurian strata. The more common fossils are trilobites, orthoccras, spiri/ers, and some graptolites of various species. The scenery of the Lower Silurian country is characterized by a good deal of sameness, though by no means devoid of beauty. Constituting aa it does the less elevated western portion and foot-hills of the Main Divide, it presents few conspicuous mountain points, and has been chiselled by denudation into a number of groups of ranges of medium height and nearly uniform appear- ance, traversed by numerous creeks and gullies tributary to the large rivers. Once well timbered, most of the Lower Silurian country has been stripped of its forests to supply the wants of the miners, and is now covered with a plentiful growth of young saplings, rising to repair the loss. The Upper Siluriau country is more diversified as regards scenery; the mountains are loftier, exhibit far bolder outlines, and have been less generally denuded of their natural forest growth. In the lower districts broad grassy Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 75 flats border the larger streams, and from these the hills rise steep and abruptly, lightly timbered, fairly grassed, and sculptured into an infinite variety of contour. Both groups of Silurian rocks possess special interest as the sources of gold-supply. The most extensive and permanent alluvial gold-fields, the heaviest nuggets of gold, the greatest number of the largest and most persistent auriferous quartz-lodes have been found where the Lower Silurian rocks prevail. The gold-fields of the Upper Silurian tracts are farther apart, cover less areas, yield smaller nuggets, and contain, as a rule, smaller and less persistent quartz-lodes,• but in many places have proved locally richer in alluvial gold, and have always maintained a higher average yield of gold per ton extracted from quartz, than those of the Lower Silurian areas. DEVONIAN ROCKS. The Devonian group is best developed in the Snowy River drainage area, and comprises rocks of igneous origin and limestones. The former consist of a series of porphyries and felsitie rocks, which bear evidence of having been the lava-flows of the Devonian epoch, subsequently metamorphosed to their present forms. The scenery of the mountainous country where these rocks prevail is wild and grand, characterized by rugged steppes and bold ridges, whose nearly precipitous sides descend into deeply eroded valleys and rocky gorges. The timber is somewhat sparse, and the herbage scanty. The limestones occur in isolated patches, occupying basins in the older rocks, and the areas occupied by them exhibit steep but well-rounded hills, lightly timbered and fairly grassed, with occasional cliffs and bare out- crops of limestone. The principal fossils of the Devonian limestones are spirifers and some ganoid fishes. UPPER PALAEOZOIC ROCKS. The above general term has been provisionally applied to groups of rocks occurring in the Grampians, in the central portion of Gippsland, and at Mansfield, and comprising thick-bedded sandstones, flags, shales, and conglomerates, frequently nearly horizontal, and rarely steeply inclined.! The Grampians exhibit a succession of mountain peaks, having on one side a gradual slope conformable to the incline of the rock layers, and terminating in rugged precipices on the other. At Mansfield the Upper Pabeozoic beds are nearly horizontal, and occupy a basin in the granites and Silurian rocks which form the surrounding lofty and rugged mountains; the basin itself is open and well grassed, and agreeably diversified with smooth hills and rocky scaurs, the latter formed by the out-crops of the harder bands. * A notable exception occurs in the case of Cohen's Reef, at Walhalla, worked by the Long Tunnel Company, whose property stands first among dividend-paying quartz mines. t At Mansfield and in Gippsland some of the beds yield fossils of Upper Devonian or lower carboniferous aspect; among these arc species of Lejridodendron, Archceopleris, Cordaites, and fragmentary portions of fossil fish. 7C> Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: In Gippsland there occur, intercalated with the sedimentary layers, bands of porphyry, melaphyre, and other igneous rocks, representing the lava-flows of the period, and the country occupied by these rocks is character- ized by bold lofty mountains, precipices, and rocky gorges. There are few more rugged tracts in Victoria than the Upper Palfeozoic area lying between the McAllister and Wonnongatta Rivers, from the edge of the Gippslaad plains up to the Main Divide. THE MESOZOIC ROCKS. This group consists of sandstones, shales, and, occasionally, conglome- rates, yielding various forms of fossil flora—Tceniopteris, Zamites, Pecopteris, Sphenopteris, and (in the beds of one locality) Gangamoptcris. The fossil fauna as yet found consist only of two species of Unio. The rocks of the Western Mesozoic areas contain but few coal-seams, too thin to be workable. Those of the Eastern, or South Gippsland and Western Port areas, contain coal-seams of small but workable size, and of excellent quality, which will doubtless be developed when railways penetrate that country. Portions of the Mesozoic areas consist of open well-rounded grassy hills and downs, but for the most part they are rangy, and even mountainous, covered with a dense forest of large timber and a luxuriant growth of scrubs and ferns. The soil of these tracts being of excellent quality, thousands of acres have been taken up by selectors, and are now in course of being cleared and cultivated. THE TERTIARY FORMATIONS. The Oligocene Lower Tertiary beds are only exposed at a few places along the coast, and at one spot inland near Hamilton. They consist of grey clays, often containing septarian nodules, and rich in fossils, various species of Cyprcca, Limopsis, Aturia, and Voluta being the prevailing forms. The marine beds of the Miocene or middle tertiary group consist of limestones and calcareous sandy and clayey layers, principally exposed along portions of the sea-coast and on the sides of valleys inland, within an altitude of about 600 feet above sea-level. They are rich in fossils, the teeth of sharks, toothed whales, and seals, ear-bones of whales, and a great variety of molluscs, including several species of Trigonia, Pecten, Tercbratula, Cardium, &c The Miocene formations of lacustrine and fluviatile origin are chiefly clays, lignites, gravels, and conglomerates, and are met with up to elevations of nearly 5,000 feet. Some of the gravels and conglomerates yield alluvial gold, derived from the denudation of the Silurian rocks. Some of the beds are rich in fossil leaf impressions, chiefly of lauraceous types. The older volcanic rocks mark the close of the Miocene epoch, of which they were the lava-flows, and, where undecomposed, consist of hard, dense, dark basalts. They are usually, however, decomposed into variegated Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 77 clays, containing half-decomposed nodules of basalt, and yield perhaps the most luxuriantly fertile soils known in Victoria. The Upper Tertiary sedimentary formations consist of conglomerates, gravels, sands, clays, &c, of both marine and fluviatile origin. The former compose heathy and sparsely timbered tracts of poor soil; the latter are frequently covered by newer volcanic layers, and comprise most of the richest alluvial gold deposits. The newer volcanic rocks represent the close of the Tertiary period, and consist of many varieties of basalt, which constitute the surface rocks of the wide open plains south of the Main Divide. It is to the excellent pasturage afforded by these tracts that Victoria owes much of her eminence as a wool-producing country. The soils covering or derived from the dis- integration of these rocks are usually very fertile. The Post-tertiary or recent formations occupy every flat and gully, but are most widely developed in the great level grassy plains of the Gippsland and Murray River valleys. Generally the soil of these plains is excellent for agricultural or pastoral purposes, and the country is naturally devoid of timber and scrub, except along the river margins. In the north- western portion of the colony, however, there are extensive sandy tracts, and large areas are clothed with a dense growth of malice scrub, a dwarf species of eucalyptus. The fossils of the Upper and Post-tertiary formations comprise the remains of many gigantic extinct forms of marsupial animals, more or less allied to their dwarf congeners of the present day, numerous mollnsca, and, in the Upper Tertiary gold-drifts, a number of species of fossil fruit, many of which are distinct from, and others allied to, the existing types of vegetation. VICTORIAN GOLD MINING. ITS GEOLOGY AND HISTORY. This industry comprises two principal classes:—quartz and alluvial gold mining. In the first, veins and lodes, or "reefs" of quartz traversing the Silurian rocks, and containing gold, are mined in much the same manner as other metalliferous lodes, and the quartz is crushed and the gold separated by means of appliances which will be referred to hereafter. These auriferous reefs occur in a number of zones or belts of the highly inclined Silurian strata, between which are intervening zones of apparently the same character, but containing reefs barren of, or poor in, gold. The quartz is contained in the Silurian rocks in an infinite variety of forms:—as solid lodes, coinciding with the planes of the nearly vertical strata; as "saddle formations," resembling in cross-section a succession of inverted Vs, thick at the apices, and thinning out in the legs; as successions of blocks; as flat veins; and as assemblages of veins and bunches, following certain bauds of the Silurian rocks, or traversing igneous dykes which intersect the latter. 78 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: The gold occurs in the quartz in many forms:—as small specks, as strings and ragged pieces, occasionally attaining a large size, and, more rarely, as crystals or groups of crystals. The principal associated minerals are iron, copper, and arsenical pyrites, galena, and zinc-blende; the iron pyrites frequently contain a large proportion of gold in mechanical combination. "Alluvial" gold mining includes a number of different conditions, varying from "surfacing"—where the gold is found in the thin soil and rabble, covering the surface of nearly exposed Silurian rock—to "deep lead" mining, where the concealed auriferous gravel-deposits of ancient river-beds are reached by means of sinking costly shafts through hundreds of feet of volcanic and sedimentary layers which overlie them. Under whatever conditions, however, it may be found, "alluvial" gold means detrital gold, or that which, once contained in veins and reefs of quartz, has been disintegrated and conveyed by geological action to various distances from the sites of those matrices. Geological investigations tend to show that the gold-bearing reefs were formed in the Silurian rocks of Victoria before the close of the Palajozoic era, and that the upper portions of these rocks, with their contained quartz veins, have been planed off by denudation to the extent of thousands of feet in vertical height. All the alluvial or detrital gold deposits yet found in Victoria are no older than the Middle Tertiary or Miocene epoch; many of them are Post-tertiary or recent. This does not, however, imply that gold-bearing drifts older than Tertiary never existed; there is good evidence that such were extensively developed, but they have been denuded, and their component materials re-arranged and concentrated by the geological action of the Tertiary and Post-tertiary epochs. The denudation of the Silurian rocks, aud the disin- tegration of the gold contained in their quartz veins, has been in constant progress during the long ages which have elapsed from the later portion of the Palaaozoic era to recent times, and much of the alluvial gold has entered into the composition of many different deposits which have been successively formed, denuded, and re-distributed. From its high specific gravity, the gold has always tended to remain near its sources, while cubic miles of its parent rocks have been denuded and carried away; hence all the remunerative alluvial gold workings occur on, or in close proximity to, the auriferous zones of the Silurian rocks. The great richness of some of the alluvial fields often appears disproportionate to the auriferous quality of the quartz reefs, and, though large pieces of gold have often been found in quartz, none of them have equalled the great nuggets found in the detrital deposits. The explanations of these apparent discrepancies are that an incal- culable amount of Silurian rock and contained quartz reefs has been disintegrated to supply the auriferous gravels, and also that the quartz in the removed portions was richer, and contained gold in larger masses, than what remains undenuded. Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 79 The latter deduction is arrived at by backward reasoning on the fact that, notwithstanding many local exceptions, our quartz lodes have generally proved richer, and contained larger pieces of gold, near the surface than at great depths, jnstifying the belief that the removed upper portions were still richer and contained still greater masses of gold. HISTORICAL OUTLINES. From the establishment of the colony in 1836, to 1850, the progress of Victoria was measured by the increase of flocks and herds, the taking up of large areas as pastoral runs, and the slow increase of population and wealth, consequent on the gradual development of the wool-producing, and, in a minor degree, the agricultural resources of the country. As a matter of course, the large open tracts of rich land, affording abundant natural pasturage, were first tenanted, and as these became occupied, smaller detached areas of similar character, in conjunction with larger ones of poor rangy country, were taken up. The population was thin and scattered, the difficulties of travelling were great, and the means of communication slow and limited. Towards the close of the fifth decade of this century, the financial condition of Victoria was low; live stock, the main wealth of the settlement, were of small value, and the general prospects appeared gloomy. The commercial health of the community was at such a stage as, in the case of the bodily health of a growing individual, would require a stimulant to promote increased activity of circulation and development of the powers of growth; this stimulant was at hand in the shape of gold, to the presence of which men's minds became thoroughly awakened in 1851. Some time previously to actual discoveries of gold being made, Sir Boderick Murchison, the late eminent geologist, had predicted them on the strength of specimens of Australian rocks which had been sent to him. Various stories were also in circulation as to pieces of gold being found by employes of station-owners and others, but were either discredited or hushed up. The squatters did not want the even tenor of their bucolic existence disturbed by an influx of gold-seekers, or else did not realize the possibilities of speedy wealth to themselves arising from confirmation of the reports. The great gold discoveries in California, followed by those in New South Wales, inspired efforts to achieve similar results in Victoria, and these efforts were crowned with unexampled success. Between March and September, 1851, gold was found at Clunes, Mount Alexander, Ballarat, Buninyong, the Pyrenees, and various other localities. Licences to dig were first issued in September, 1851,* and, as the richness and extent of the fields became apparent, a movement of population took place, unparalleled, save in the case of California, in the world's history. Thousands and thousands of men flocked from the mother country to Victoria; most of them were young or in their prime, full of energy and * "Gold-fielda and Mineral Districts of Victoria," by R. Brough Smyth. 80 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: conrage, and in their ranks were the best specimens of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic races. It is the descendants of these men that now form the bulk of the Victorian people—and under a bright sunny sky and genial climate they are developing in the highest degree those characteristics which go so far to form a great nation. From 1851 to 1855 was Victoria's period of hot youth; the richness of some of the diggings was marvellous; pounds weight of gold to the tubful of wash-dirt were frequently obtained in choice spots; large nuggets were unearthed from time to time; men who previously had never had five pounds at once in their possession, suddenly became owners of hundreds or thousands. Some quietly returned home to enjoy their affluence, but the majority simply went mad, and spent their earnings recklessly. Ninepins were played with bottles of champagne, for which he who broke fewest had to pay; dozens of the same wine were emptied into tubs and drank from tin pannikins, spirits or porter being frequently added to give body to the drink. Gorgeous satin "jumpers " or blouses were fashionable, and it was not rare to see a lucky digger so attired lolling in a carriage, with pipe in mouth, and good store of potables, accompanied by the fair temporary partner of his joys. One man, at least, who has since known poverty, had his horse shod with gold, and general "shouting" or treating all comers to drink, some- times to the extent of hundreds of pounds at one "shout," was the correct thing on the part of the lucky ones. In more than one case, men went back rich on the return voyage of the same ship by which they arrived; but many of those who were most successful wasted all, and are now in poverty, while others settled in the country, embarked in other pursuits, and are now among the leaders in commerce, the various professions, and the Legislature. Most of the great gold-fields were opened during the few years immediately following the first discovery, the prospecting population being then so great. Other new fields of less importance and extensions of old ones have since been opened from time to time, but no great discovery in shallow ground has been made for the last ten years, nor can such be now expected, as no large area of possibly auriferous shallow country remains untried. As the rich shallow diggings of the early days became exhausted, the auriferous drifts resting on the Silurian bed-rock were traced further, and at increasing depths, until they took the form of leads, or gravel deposits, filling ancient river beds, concealed by overlying volcanic layers and other formations. As the geological conditions became better recognised, adventurous miners took conrage to sink through these layers, and found the leads passing under them to be frequently as rich as the shallower deposits. Capital was fearlessly invested in powerful steam machinery to drain the water, to haul the wash-dirt to the surface, and to separate the gold, for which latter process large and costly appliances gradually superseded the primitive machines. Handbook: Physical Geography and Geology of Victoria. 81 There are now leads being worked at depths of from 400 to 500 feet from the surface, and alluvial mining plants whose pumps are capable of raising millions of gallons of water daily. The positions and depths of leads sup- posed to be auriferous are now usually first ascertained by means of boring, for which purpose diamond-drills have of late been extensively used. Shafts are then sunk through the superincumbent layers into the bed-rock, drives are extended, and rises from the latter put up to the gravel, which, if payable, is then excavated and brought to the surface to be washed. Tens of thousands of pounds are frequently expended before the deep alluvial mines become remunerative, and sometimes after all failure is encountered; but, nevertheless, successes have, in the main, counterbalanced the failures, and increasing experience tends to lessen the risk of the latter. There are still hundreds of miles in length of unworked leads which are likely to reward future enterprise. QUARTZ MINING. During the first few years of gold digging little or no attention was paid to quartz mining. Gold was found in the out-cropping quartz-reefs, and people used to break out the richer specimens as a Sunday afternoon amuse- ment, at Bendigo and elsewhere. Soon, however, it was found worth while to crush portions of the stone with pestle and mortar, or other crude appliances, and to separate the gold by washing. The next step was the introduction of Chilian mills—large pans, in which heavy rollers were made to revolve by horse-power, and so pulverize the quartz—and mercury was used to retain the disintegrated gold. By degrees, batteries of stampers worked by steam-power came into vogue, and year by year improvements were made in their construction, and in that of the various means of saving the gold. There are now at work on the various gold-fields throughout Victoria hundreds of crushing plants of from five to nearly a hundred heads of stampers each, and fitted with every appliance to facilitate the crushing of the quartz, the amalgamation of the gold with the mercury, and the saving of the amalgam. For saving the pyrites contained in the quartz, and the extraction of the gold therefrom, special appliances are attached to the principal crushing plants, and in some places the treatment of pyrites has become an important industry. In quartz, as in alluvial mining, the early modes of working were rude and simple, and conducted with little effort at systematic mining. There was also a distrust as to the downward permanence of the lodes, partly arising from the actual diminutiou in richness of some of them as followed down- wards, and partly from an expression of opinion, alleged as emanating from high scientific authority, that the lodes were not likely to prove remunerative below a depth of 400 feet from the surface. As far back as 1858, Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn, then Government Geologist, indicated the groundlessness of this fear, but the idea had taken root, and for some time tended to retard quartz- mining development. r 82 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: By degrees, however, it was found that in many reefs whose payable quartz had died ont at short distances from the surface, other "makes" of auriferous stone were to be met with by sinking deeper, and confidence was restored as fresh discoveries were made at increasing depths in the quartz lodes of Stawell, Sandhurst, Clunes, and other mining centres. There are now many mines in which highly remunerative quartz is being obtained at depths varying from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. In Mr. George Lansell's principal mine at Sandhurst it is being mined at between 2,000 and 2,500 feet. At Ballarat the Band of Hope and Albion Consols mine was for many years the premier alluvial mine of the colony, and auriferous gravels of extraordinary richness were mined at from 200 to 400 feet from the surface, beneath volcanic and sedimentary layers. When the alluvial deposits were nearly exhausted, attention was turned to the quartz reefs found intersecting the Silurian bed-rock, and this mine is now one of the premier quartz mines, its workings extending to more than 1,000 feet from the surface, and still progressing downwards. The total yield of gold obtained in Victoria, from the first discovery to the end of 1885, has been, roughly, 54,000,000 ounces, and the proportions of that total obtained respectively from quartz and from alluvial workings are about equal, though during the first ten or fifteen years the alluvial gold greatly exceeded in quantity that obtained from quartz. In future it may be expected that the yield from quartz will year by year progressively exceed that from alluvial workings. Extensive and important as are the known quartz mines of Victoria, the total area occupied by them is insignificant compared with what are of probably similar character, which, although as yet untested, contain alluvial gold deposits, and these are sure indicators of the proximity of auriferous quartz. There is little cause for doubt that, as predicted by Mr. A. R. C. Sclwyn twenty years ago, the quartz lodes of Victoria are likely to equal the tin mines of Cornwall as permanent fields for mining industry. The British capitalist hesitates to invest in Victorian gold mines, but not many years back dropped a million or two in those of India, which proved failures. Had a tithe of the amount lost in India been judiciously expended in Victoria, the result would have been very different. The following are the gross amounts of gold raised from some of the principal mines:— ounces. The Madame Berry mine, Creswick (at present the premier alluvial mine) ... 120.000 The Band of Hope and Albion Consols I From alluvial ... ... ... 519,551 mine, Ballarat (From quartz to 11th August, 1885 ... 105,889 Total 625.440 The Long Tunnel Company's mine, Walha1la, to 7th August, 1885 ... ... 447,308 The Port Phillip and Colonial Gold Mining Company's mine, Clunes, to 5th August. 1S85 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 508,994 The Pleasant Creek Cross Reefs Gold Mining Company's mine, Stawell (about) ... 320.000 The Garden Gully United Gold Mining Company's mine, Sandhurst (about) ... 285,000 Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 83 LIVE STOCK HUSBANDRY. By George A. Brown (Anthor of "The Merino Sheep in Australia," &c.). Although the trading, manufacturing, agricultural, and mining interests have been developed to a greater extent in Victoria than in any other of the Australian colonies, the pastoral interest may be fairly ranked as standing second to none in importance. With a climate that is admirably suited to the perfect development of all the domestic animals, an excellent natural pasturage, and scarcely any diseases among the live stock but such as are caused by neglect or mismanagement, it was only natural that the country should become famous for the excellence of its flocks and herds. In this, as in almost every industrial pursuit, the enterprise and energy of the Victorian colonists have placed them in the front, and for many years past the sheep and cattle breeders of the neighbouring colonies have been seeking to improve their flocks and herds by purchasing high-class sires from famous studs of Victoria. Oar stock-owners have succeeded in bringing all breeds of domestic animals to the highest perfection, but it is in sheep breeding that the greatest success has been achieved. This result is partly due to the skill of the stock-owners, but it is in a still greater measure owing to the genial climate, pure dry atmosphere, and excellence of the pastures. Since the colony was first occupied by Europeans, a great change has taken place iu the system of stock management. The old settlers followed the old patriarchal plan. The owners of sheep and cattle wandered at will over the country in search of fresh pastures and water, and while there was an unlimited range, and stock were few, they throve remarkably well under this treatment. All that is changed long ago, the stock are grazed in fields as in Europe; with this difference, that in the Victorian climate the bulk of the stock are on the pastures all the year round. Stud flocks and herds have long since been established, which are bred with as much care as the finest studs in the old world. Questions relating to live-stock husbandry always possess a great interest for the inhabitants of Victoria, owing to so large a portion of the population being themselves stock-owners. In Mr. Hayter's Year Book it is shown that in 1884 there were 3 horses, 15 head of cattle, and 118 sheep to the square mile, while in 1882 the population was 10-312 per square mile. SHEEP. Victoria, under its old name of Port Phillip, was the first of the Australian colonies to demonstrate to the world that merino wool of excep- tional fineness, length of staple, softness, and lustre, could be grown in large quantities on the wide pasture lands of Australia. For nearly half a century V 2 84 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: the wool produced by the famous flocks of Victoria has held a foremost place in the estimation of European manufacturers, and has always realized the highest prices in the markets of Europe. Though great strides have been made by the flock-masters in the other Australasian colonies, Victoria still holds her pride of place in the front rank. The advantage that Victoria possesses over other pastoral lands in the production of merino wool, of the highest quality, is in a measure due to the skill of her flock-masters; but it must be admitted that the beauty of Victorian wool is mainly owing to the climate and pastures of the country. In summer, the heat, as measured by the thermometer, is very great, but such is the character of the atmosphere that Europeans can work under the blazing sun, and in the greatest heat, without injury to their health. ' In winter the cold is never excessive; snow is seldom seen save on the highest mountains. Frosts are frequent, but not so severe as to injure the stock, and the sharpest frost is dissipated before the sun is a couple of hours high. The climate much resembles that in which the merino flocks were reared in their old home in the Spanish Peninsula, when they passed the summer in the mountains of Montanat, the winter on the plains of Estremadura. By some people it has been thought that in this peculiarity of climate lies the secret of the beauty of Victorian merino wool. Victoria has been justly called the land of the golden fleece, for it is her golden fleeces that have brought wealth to the country more than any other industry. This colony is another illustration of the truth of the old Spanish proverb—" Sheep have golden feet, and whenever the print of their footstep is seen the land is turned to gold." The originals of the Victorian merino flocks were obtained from the mother colony of New South Wales and from the adjacent island of Tasmania. The country was fortunate in having for its first inhabitants men having sufficient skill, backed up by a fair amount of capital, to secure the finest sheep in both colonies. It is, however, to Tasmanian flocks that the best Victorian studs trace their origin, and even now rams from the island flocks are highly prized, and realize very high prices at the annual ram fairs held in Melbourne. The first to introduce sheep into Victoria were the Messrs. Henty, who sailed from Launceston in 1834, and settled down near Portland, now a small town on the coast of Victoria. These gentlemen were not only the first to introduce sheep into Victoria, but they were the first colonists who set foot in the land. To Mr. T. Henty and his sons Australia is greatly indebted for the introduction of merino sheep of the highest class. The flock was formed in England, towards the end of the last century, with pure merinos obtained from the flock kept by H.M. George III. The following notice of this flock appears in Thos. AV. Horsefield's History of Sussex:— "In the year 1796, Thomas Henty, Esq., purchased the demesne lauds in this parish (West Tarring), consisting of 281 acres. . . . The breed of merino sheep has been brought by Mr. Henty to great perfection, and from his flock many have been sent to New South Wales." Mr. Henty took first prizes wherever he exhibited his sheep in England, till at last he became an exhibitor merely for honour, being barred from taking prizes on account of Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 85 the immense superiority of his sheep over those of any other flock in Great Britain. This flock wandered a long distance before it rested in its final home in the west of Victoria. A portion was shipped to Western Australia in 1829 in charge of two of Mr. Henty's sons; but. finding the sheep did not thrive, they shipped them on board the Cornwallis and sailed for Tasmania, where they were joined by their father with the rest of the flock. Being unable to obtain the grant of land he was led to expect on leaving England, Mr. Henty sailed for the mainland of Australia, and took up his residence at Portland Bay, in what was then an unknown land. Sheep from Mr. Henty's flock have been used in many of the old and most famous studs of Victoria; but the flock itself, owing to bad management and neglect, has been entirely lost. Another source whence early Victorian colonists obtained merino sheep was at the annnal sales held by the Van Diemen's Land Company. This company was formed in 1827 with the patriotic object of relieving England from dependence upon foreign countries for a supply of fine wool. The com- pany imported all descriptions of stock into Tasmania, and in one year expended £30,000 in the purchase of merino sheep from the best flocks in Germany. Many private individuals in those days imported Saxon merinos, and of their produce a fair share of the finest specimens found their way across the Straits to the rising young colony of Port Phillip. From New South Wales some good sheep were obtained, but almost the only flock of any note was the celebrated Camden flock established by Captain Macarthnr in 1797 with a few pure merinos imported from the Cape of Good Hope. These were the first merinos ever brought to Australia. The only sheep added to this flock were a few purchased by Captain Macarthur from George III.'s stud. Since that time the flock has been bred without the addition of any foreign blood. The Macarthur family lost their old flock, but it has been preserved in Victoria, and is now in the possession of the Hon. William Campbell. The Camden sheep did much good to the Victorian flocks, there being scarcely a leading stud flock which does not owe some of its excellence to an infusion of Camden blood. In a few studs, French sheep, from the Ba.mbouillet flock, have been used, and in one or two others American merinos, from Vermont, have been introduced; but the finest sheep in Vic- toria are descended from Saxon merinos, and those are most esteemed that have no other blood. With a wide extent of the finest pasture land, and a climate so genial that it was named by the first settlers "Australia Felix," it is not surprising that Victoria soon outstripped her neighbours in the production of merino wool of the highest quality. It was noticed by the first colonists that the sheep bred in Victoria grew wool of quite a different character to that pro- duced by Tasmanian or New South Wales flocks. The staple was longer, the wool was softer and had a brighter lustre than had ever before been seen on merino sheep. Beside it other wools looked mean and dull. In its brilliancy and softness it seemed to reflect the sunny skies under which it was growing The Port Phillip wool became the favorite with European 86 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: manufacturers, and ever since it has maintained its place as the most valuable merino wool in the world. When Victoria first became a field for colonization, the early settlers managed their flocks on a plan somewhat similar to that followed by Abraham on the plains of Mamre. The world was before them where to choose, and they wandered over the face of the country till they fonnd good pasture, with plenty of wood and water. They then settled down, and took up as large an area of land as they thought they wonld require, which was held as a leasehold from the Crown. The greater portion of the colony was open forest or almost treeless plains. There were scarcely any difficulties in the way of settlement, save some tribes of aborigines, who occasionally killed a few sheep, and the much more troublesome dingo, as the indigenous wild dog was called. The sheep were everywhere shepherded by day, and enclosed in hnrdle yards at night. For greater security against prowling dingo or blackfellow, a man slept in a watch-box close to the sheep-yard. The country was unenclosed, and one might ride from Melbourne to the boundary of the colony in every direction, and not meet with a fence, save round a rare cultivation paddock. Occasionally sheep were taken as wages by some of the shepherds, while others took sheep on terms, the person finding the stock receiving a portion of the increase and wool; and by these means were laid the foundations of many large fortunes. While the land was held as squatting runs, as the leaseholds from the Crown were called, the practice of shepherding the sheep (usually in flocks from 1,500 to 2,000 in open country, and less in forest land) was universally adopted, but gradually the advantages of running sheep in paddocks became generally understood, and in places where timber was plentifnl ring fences and large paddocks were formed. Some of the old squatters were strongly opposed to the practice of running sheep at large. They maintained that such a spirited animal as the merino sheep required shepherding to keep him tome, and that, once granted full liberty, he would become a wild animal. It had been found necessary from the earliest times to shepherd the merino, and it was as necessary in young Australia as in old Spain. Despite the opinion of these old squatters, the work of enclosing and subdividing the country went on rapidly, the fences being often made of logs or brushwood. As the leaseholds were transformed into freeholds, better fences were put up, and gradually wire fencing came into general use. As smaller enclosures were formed, wells were sunk, dams made, and tanks excavated, in order to provide a sufficient supply of water for the sheep; while, later on, belts of timber were, in the open country, planted across the line of the prevailing winds. These plantations afford a welcome shelter to the stock in wet stormy weather. Fencing in and subdividing the land, and providing an ample supply of water for the stock, have increased the grazing capabilities of the country greatly, in some instances the increase being fully fourfold, while the sheep under the new management are healthier and yield heavier fleeces. Stud flocks were formed early in Victoria with selections of the best sheep in the famous flocks of the Western district, and annual sales Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 87 of rams were established, the most noted of these being held at Skipton, a small hamlet on the edge of the Great Western Plain, about 130 miles from Melbourne. The inconvenience of drawing a large number of flock- masters to such an out-of-the-way place as Skipton became so great that at last the annual sale of stud rams was established in Melbourne, which is attended by sheep-farmers from all parts of the Australian colonies, and where sheep to the value of many thousands of pounds are annually disposed of. The effect of the new style of sheep-farming was marked, in 1874, by the purchase of the celebrated ram Sir Thomas by Mr. William Cumming, of Mount Fyans, and Mr. T. F. Cumming, of Stony Point, for the then unprece- dented sum of £714. This grand specimen of a merino ram was bred by Mr. James Gibson, of Bellevue, Tasmania. Sir Thomas was six years old when he was bought by the Messrs. Cumming, and it was est.' mated that Mr. Gibson had realized £5,000 by the sale of his male progeny alone. The enterprise of the Messrs. Cumming was amply rewarded. The progeny of Sir Thomas were almost invincible in the show-yards of the colony, and flock-masters from all parts of Australia competed eagerly for the Sir Thomas rams at the annual sales. The sale of Sir Thomas gave a great impetus to the breeding of stud sheep in Victoria. Greater care was taken in the selection of the breeders, and some attention was paid to pedigree, a thing that had previously been almost entirely neglected. At present, in all the leading stud flocks of merinos, the pedigrees of the animals forming the stud are carefully recorded. Owing to the long series of droughts that have afflicted the greater portion of Australia, by which enormous losses have been incurred by flock- masters, the prices of stud rams have of late declined greatly. At the annual sheep fair, held in Melbourne early this spring, large numbers of the finest merinos were offered for sale, but, owing to losses from drought and the prospect of a low price for wool, the rates at this year's sale have ruled very low. In spite, however, of the gloomy prospect, whenever a really high-class ram is brought forward there are plenty of buyers ready to give a good price for him. At the last Melbourne sale a ram, bred by Mr. David Taylor, of St. Johnston, Tasmania, was greatly fancied by several wealthy flock-masters, and Mr. J. H. Angus, of Hill River, South Australia, had to pay 1,150 guineas to secure Mm. For second-class rams the prices have declined greatly. This is mainly owing to the bad seasons, but partly to stud-flock owners breeding too many rams, and sending inferior animals to market. The success of the leading stud-flock owners has induced a number of persons who have not the slightest qualifications for the business to embark in breeding stud sheep, and the result has been that for the last few years the market has been flooded with inferior and often worthless stocks. For a long time an unfounded prejudice existed in the minds of agriculturists that there was something antagonistic between the occupation of the farmer and that of the husbandman, and it was long ere our farmers began to combine sheep husbandry with agriculture. At first the farmers' flocks were of a very inferior character. They were known by the name 88 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: of cross-bred, which described them exactly. The advantage of breeding well- bred sheep gradually dawned on the minds of the farmers, and during the last half-dozen years a sensible improvement has taken place in the quality of their sheep throughout the colony, though many of them might still be described as of a very inferior description. The merino is invariably the sheep bred on the large pastoral properties, and it is sometimes bred by farmers in the warmer portions of the colony, but wherever there is a rainfall above the average the long-wool is always the farmers' sheep. Of the long-wool breeds the Liucolu is that generally preferred. In moist heavily-grassed districts near the southern coast there are many flocks of long-wools kept, and some of the Lincolns in these studs will compare on very favorable terms for weight of fleece, quality, lustre of wool, and size of frame with any sheep of the breed that we have imported from England. Leicesters were grown for a time, but they are now being merged in the Lincoln flocks. In a few cold wet localities the hardy Romney Marsh sheep are reared, but their numbers are very small as com- pared with the merinos and the Lincolns. Of the other breeds of sheeps only one or two small flocks of Ootswolds and Southdowns are bred in Victoria. Though very profitable sheep, these breeds have never taken with Victorian flock-masters. The first official return of our sheep was in 1836, when there were 41,332 sheep in the colony. Their increase was very rapid, and in ten years they numbered within a trifle of three million. The number of sheep was doubled in the next two decades, and in 1879 the number of sheep in Victoria reached 11,749,532, since when they have decreased, and in 1883 the return was about one million less. It is difficult to arrive at the quantity of wool produced in Victoria, as so much wool comes across the border from the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, much of which is shipped from Melbourne as Victorian wool. In 1882 it was estimated that the 10,172,000 sheep in the colony yielded 52,223,000 lbs. of wool, which was valued at £3,321,000, but, as this makes the average return per sheep a little over 6s., it may be regarded as a high valuation. The great bulk of the sheep in Victoria never receive any food save the natural pastures of the country, and in seasons of drought great sufferings are entailed on the flocks, and occasionally the deaths are very numerous. Stud sheep have been carefully reared for many years past; indeed, there is a complaint among flock-masters that the stud stock are becoming weakened in constitution by the pampering they receive. Farmers having small scope for their flocks have been in the habit of supplying their sheep with coarse fodder, such as wheat straw, during summer time, when the grass fails, but there has been no systematic attempt to supply the large flocks of sheep with wholesome food during the time of the year when there is scarcely any grass. When such a thing has been suggested, the invariable reply is that labour is too high to grow food for sheep. There are, however, indications that a great change in the mode of sheep-farming is about to take place in Victoria. Many crops can be grown over the larger portion of Victoria on which sheep will thrive, and experiments are now being made, with the view of ascertaining Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 89 in what way fodder for sheep can be grown and stored, to meet a bad season. In this new system of sheep management, the farmer will naturally be foremost, he being more used to agricultural operations than the owners of large pastoral estates. The low price of wool has acted .as a discourage- ment to many flock-masters who had taken up this matter, while the present fine season has for the time put off the necessity for securing a store of fodder, but it will recur again with the first dry season, and by that time our agriculturists will probably have solved the question of what crop to grow for sheep-feed, and how to fatten sheep at the least expense when the pastures fail. Already the owners of small flocks are supplying the greater portion of the fat sheep sent to the Melbourne market, and fully one-half of the wool that is sold in Melbourne is from their flocks. The quantity of their wool and stock is steadily improving, and their business is eagerly sought by the stock agents. Prices of sheep vary according to the time of year and the character of the season. When there has been an insufficient rainfall in winter, and the summer sets in hot and dry, store sheep are sold at a very low rate. Since the country was enclosed and subdivided, the bad habit of over-stocking has been practised by many property-owners. Consequently, on any failure of the natural pastures, they must sell a large portion of their stock or see them starve, and on such occasions store sheep are sometimes to be got as low as 3s. per head. A few years ago, during a very dry season, many thousand sheep would have been sold at 1s. per head, but they had been kept on the bare paddocks so long they had not strength to walk away, and nearly all of them died. In ordinary seasons excellent merino sheep can be bought off the shears at from 6s. to 8s. for young ewes; wethers rule lower, and may be quoted at from 5s. to 7s. Stud rams are too expensive for the ordinary sheep- breeder, but very good flock rams can be purchased at from £3 to £5 per head. Long-wool sheep rule higher than merinos; young wethers, the first cross between the merino and Lincoln, are much liked; they grow to a large size, yield a heavy fleece, which realizes a good price, and they are favorites with the butchers. The first cross between the two breeds are the sheep generally selected for shipment to London in a frozen state. Lamb-breeding for the market will likely fall entirely into the hands of the small flock- owners, and for this purpose the Southdown and Shropshiredown rams will likely be used with the merino and cross-bred ewes. For this purpose the farmers are beginning to grow crops so as to force the lambs and secure a quick return. Sheep-farming in most countries is a profitable occupation, but it is in Victoria that the sheep gives the highest return for the capital expended. Land that will support a sheep per acre in its natural condition can be purchased at from £3 to £3 10s. per acre, and where sheep husbandry is combined with agriculture the farmer invariably prospers. The greater portion of the Crown lands of Victoria that are suitable for sheep-grazing have been already sold, but land can be easily obtained in almost any part of the country, it being bought and sold as readily as a chattel. In Australia, the possession of large landed property confers no social advantage on the 90 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: individual. Land is held merely as an investment, and, in many cases, when it will realize more to cut np and sell as farms, the owner of a large estate is quite willing to part with it. Since; Victoria became a wool-producing country, on several occasions we have had the cry raised that the production of wool had overtaken the consumption, and the gloomiest forebodings were entertained as to the future of the country wheu the staple industry was ruined. On each of these occasions we have seen the price of wool, after a depression of a year or so, rise higher than ever, new outlets having been found for the fabric. This cry is again raised in the land, and certainly not without reason. The enormous quantities of wool produced by Australia and the South American countries have, for a time at all events, overtaken the demand for inferior qualities of wool, and this is followed, as a natural consequence, by low prices. The depreciation in the value of wool has entailed a very heavy loss on the flock- masters of Australia, but few believe the depression in the wool trade is a permanent one. The general opinion is that, though the crisis may be more severe and last longer than any that have preceded it, the result will be as great a revival as on former occasions when the price of wool fell exceptionally low. This season's sales, so far as they have gone, show beyond a doubt that for really first-class clips the reduction in price is not nearly so great as was expected. It is the low-quality wools that have experienced the greatest decline. An influential association of wool-growers has been formed with the view of inducing the inhabitants of China and other parts of the East to use woollen fabrics. The reduction in the price of wool will for a time have the effect of lowering the value of pastoral land, but good country in Victoria will ever find ready purchasers at fair prices. The advantage this colony possesses is this, that no other country can produce wool of so fine a texture, softness, and brilliancy, and while this remains to us we need fear no great depression in the price of onr staple commodity. The visitor to Melbourne will gain some idea of the importance of the wool trade by inspecting the magnificent wool warehouses erected by the leading firms engaged in the business, and of which one or two illustrations are given in this work. The most striking of these buildings is that of the old-established firm of Messrs. R. Goldsbrough and Co., in Bourke- street. It is of immense size, being in five flats, and having a storage capacity of 64,212 tons measurement, the area of all the floors being 5*61 acres. It is built of solid bluestone, with walls almost as strong as a fortress, and seems as if it would defy even time. The cost of this magnificent pile of buildings and the land on which they stand was £167,000. This firm is one of the oldest engaged in the wool business in Australia. The warehouse of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company is a remarkably handsome structure, and is held by many to be the finest building in Melbourne. The cost of erecting this warehouse exclusive of the land (which from its position is very valuable) was £95,000. The Australian Mortgage and Agency Company have an extensive wool warehouse close by, capable of storing a krge number of bales of wool. Messrs. Monckton D. Synnot Brothers 92 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: with the ladies, and in this respect it differs from the other colonies. The toilettes on the Fleniington lawn on Cup Day are remarkable for their elegance and costliness, many of the dresses being ordered specially for this day from the leading establishments of London and Paris. It is a remarkable feature at this great gathering that there is no amusement for the public but the racing, and so orderly is the crowd that such a thing as a fight is seldom seen, a drunken man is a rarity, and the police-van often returns empty from the course. There are no beggars to be seen, every one is well dressed, and has money to spend, and, strange to relate, welshing is not of frequent occurrence. In the country every city, town, and little village has its race-course, on which races are held generally about the new year, or any other great holiday. The larger cities and towns have each a well-appointed course, managed on the plan established at Flemington by the late R. C. Bagot, for many years secretary to the Victoria Racing Club. The principal weight for age race of the Victorian turf is the V.R.C. Champion Stakes, three miles. It was established in 1859, when Flying Buck, a three-year-old, proved the victor, the race being run in 5m. 57s. The fastest time is 5m. 26s., made by First King in 1878, and by Commotion in 1883. The largest field that has started for this race was eighteen horses. The Derby was established in 1860, and was, for a time, run on New Year's Day. It is now run on the first day of the V.R.C. Spring Meeting. The fastest time was made by the New Zealand colt Martini-Henry, by Musket (imp.), who won easily in 2m. 39s. The largest field for this race was thirteen starters. Hie St. Leger and Oaks stakes are arranged on the lines of the English races bearing those names, but they do not possess so much attraction for the public as the Derby aud Champion Stakes. The great race for two-year-olds is the Maribyrnong Plate, colts 8st. lOlbs., fillies 8st. 51bs., distance five furlongs. This is a very rich stake, and attracts large fields of youngsters, as many as thirty having started on one occasion. Iolanthe won in the fastest time in 1883, when the distance was covered in lm. 2£s. This time is, however, generally considered incorrect. The next fastest time was made by Newstead, by Neckersgat, in 1884, when he won in lm. 3s. The great handicap race of Australia is certainly the Melbourne Cup, distance two miles. There is far more speculation over this race than any other turf event south of the equator. It was established in 1861, when it at once took the first place in the estimation of Australian racing men. Previous to this year's Cup, the fastest time made was by the New Zealand-bred Martini-Heury, by Musket, 3 years, carrying 7st. 51bs., won comfortably in 3m. 30£s. The record, however, was beaten this year by the Tasmanian-bred Sheet Anchor, by St. Albans (imp.), aged, 7st. lllbs., who won the race in 3m. 29£s. This was the largest field that has yet been seen for this race, there being 35 starters. Another race that causes much speculation is the Newmarket Handicap, run at the V.R.C. Autumn Meeting, distance three-quarters of a mile. The fastest time for this race was in 1884, when Malua won in lm. 15£s. Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 93 The Victoria Amateur Tnrf Club have a very beautiful course at Caulfield, a healthy district about eight miles from Melbourne. Under the able management of Mr. N. R. D. Bond, it is becoming a very favorite public resort. The racing is generally good, and some important events are decided on this ground. The Caulfield Cup, a handicap, distance one mile and a half, and the Caulfield Guineas, a handicap, distance one mile, are the principal races. The arrangements on this attractive course are almost as good as at Flemington, to which it ranks next in importance. There is a trotting track at Elsternwick, near Melbourne, where trotting and other events are decided, but though several celebrated American trotting horses have been imported, and Victorian horses are no mean performers when properly trained, the public do not take to the sport, and the trotting track would be entirely neglected were it not for the other races. Racing is such a popular sport with Victorians that there are very few weeks in the year in which a race meeting is not held on one or other of the courses round Melbourne. In addition to the public race-courses mentioned, there is a private course at Moonee Ponds, four miles from town, on which some good racing is shown. To the early settlers in Victoria the saddle horse was a necessity, for there was no other means of locomotion. Throughout the colony there was no bar to the progress of the horseman. The whole country was unenclosed, the surface was pleasantly undulating, and the few ranges of hills could be ridden over at almost any point. The saddle horse of those days was strong, well bred, and of unequalled endurance. Many of them worked their long life without ever having a shoe on their feet. The performances of these grass-fed horses in the old squatting days seem fabulous to those used to stabled horses only, and certainly it would be impossible for any stabled horse of the present day to rival in endurance the old stock horses. As the country became enclosed, the creeks and rivers were bridged, some attempts were made to form roads, and vehicles came into fashion. At first, gigs and dogcarts were used, but these were soon superseded by that useful vehicle, the American buggy. The trade with India for supplying the army with cavalry remounts and artillery horses has lately assumed large dimensions, over 3,000 per annum being now shipped from Melbourne alone. The omnibus horses are of a fine stamp, and, as a very remunerative price is paid for this style of horse, many stock-owners have undertaken breeding them for the market. They are a most useful type of animal, as they are fitted to do the work on a light-soil farm, draw a cart or waggon, or run in a chaise or dogcart, and they always command a good price, if sound and well shaped, as omnibus or Indian artillery horses. At three years to four years old they sell readily at from £20 to £30 per head. Buggy horses are plentiful and vary greatly. During the last few years a pronounced taste has sprung up for ponies, which are bred in great numbers in several localities. They are wonderfully hardy, and have as much pace as most buggy horses; they are cheaply kept, and are more docile than horses. 94 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: In the breeding of heavy draught horses, Victorian stock-owners have been very successful. In the early days of Victoria the other colonies were searched for good specimens of draught breeding mares, and afterwards importations of sires were made every year from the old country. Owing to so many of the colonists being from the north of the Tweed, the Clydes- dale breed of draught horse was the one most fancied. Suffolk punches and Lincolnshire horses were imported, but they never came into general favour, and now the draught horse of Victoria is the highest type of Clydesdale. In fertile districts, where there is a good rainfall, such as Kyneton, Warrnam- bool, and Gippsland, Clydesdales are bred that rival the best importations from the old country. Climate and food have effected some change in the appearance of the Clydesdale horse, but have not injured his powers and constitution, or spoilt his appearance. The muscular system of the Victorian- bred Clydesdale is not so well developed as that of the imported horse, but his frame is as large and his bone as good, and many stock-owners believe the colonial horse has greater energy and quickness than the imported horse. The hair is scarcely so abundant, but it is of excellent quality. For all practical purposes the Victorian-bred Clydesdale is in every respect the equal of the parent type. Every year, just before spring, a large parade and sale of draught horses are held in Melbourne. At the parade the horses are merely exhibited, so that breeders can make their arrangements for the season, or select a sire to purchase at the sale which commences the next day. At these sales the stallions, both imported and Victorian-bred, are sold by auction, and for the more fancied animals prices as high as £700 and £800 are some- times paid. An excellent young stallion, fit for farm purposes, can be pur- chased on these occasions for about £150 to £200. Large numbers of draught mares are sold at this annual horse fair, the prices ranging from £20 to £80, according to quality. There is now such a network of railways over Victoria that very few horses are required for carrying on the roads, but to make up for this there is every year a large area of land brought under the plough, while all surplus draught stock is readily taken by Queensland buyers. CATTLE. When Victoria was first occupied by Europeans, labour was scarce, and cattle breeding, as requiring fewer hands than sheep farming, was preferred by the majority of the pioneers. The population was small, production very Boon overtook consumption, and the natural result, low prices, soon followed. Prime steers of four and five years old were frequently Bold in Melbourne for £2 and £3 per head, and even this price would not have been obtained but for the practice of boiling down cattle for their tallow, by which means the surplus fat stock was got rid of. Many thousands of prime cattle were at this time annually sent to the boiling-down establishments, and their tallow shipped to Englaud. The return derived from cattle farming was not very encouraging, but, notwithstanding the gloomy prospects of the industry, there were many enterprising men in the country who every now and then imported shipments of bulls and cows from the best herds in the old country. The 96 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: to stall-feed cattle in Victoria, nor has the system of giving them in the fields what is called artificial food, such as hay, corn, or roots, been practised. The natural grasses of the country are very nutritious, and in good seasons very little difficulty is experienced in fattening off the year's supply of steers. In dry seasons the cattle suffer greatly, and the price of fat stock goes up, almost to the rates ruling in the old country. Store cattle vary in price, according to the season and quality of the stock. Three-year-old store steers sold at from £4 to £6 per head will realize from £7 to £10 per head when fat. A few small herds of Herefords are still kept up in Victoria, but as a rule they are of only moderate quality. Devons are very seldom met with. Both breeds were introduced into the colony, and they throve well, but the early maturity and heavier weights of the shorthorns have turned the scale in their favour. The milking breeds of cattle most fancied in Victoria are Ayrshires and Alderneys, of which there are many herds of great excellence. The best specimens of these cattle realize good prices, and many are purchased for export, principally to New South Wales. On some herds of Alderneys being dispersed of late, the finest cows realized from £30 to £50 per head. Ayrshires, though in good favour, do not rule so high in price. In the agricultural districts of Western Victoria, the farmers prefer the milking families of shorthorns, for the reason that they are more readily fattened and bring a higher price when their career in the dairy is over. PIGS. The most profitable branch of live-stock husbandry over the greater portion of Victoria is undoubtedly pig-breeding. Pigs thrive everywhere and increase rapidly, they are not subject to any serious diseases, their food is readily grown, a fair crop being almost a certainty, and yet in most of the agricultural districts of the country the business of pig-breeding is strangely neglected. In a few localities pig-breeding is extensively carried on and the farmers realize excellent profits in the business, but the mode of feeding leaves much to be desired. In most farming districts pigs are kept in excellent condition on grass, for nine months out of the year, and it is probably owing to this that good feeding is so seldom practised, and that colonial bacon is generally so indifferent in quality. Victoria is capable, under proper management, of not only supplying itself with the finest bacon, but of exporting large quantities. Throughout the southern half of the country, pig-raising and bacon curing can be carried on under exceptionally favorable circumstances. Of late this business has attracted some attention among farmers, and the results obtained by a few skilful pig-farmers have led to the subject receiving more notice than it has done hitherto. The low price of cereals will likely lead to an extension of pig-farming in Victoria. At various times all the best English breeds of pigs have been introduced into Victoria. Of these the Berkshire is the most in favour, and so much are they fancied that one seldom sees a specimen of any other breed. During the last three or four years several Handbook: Live Stock Husbandry. 97 studs of Berkshire pigs have been formed, the stock from which sell at high prices. Last year a sow, bred by Lord Fitzhardinge, of Berkeley Castle, Gloucester, was sold in Melbourne for 150 guineas, a fact which shows that there are in Victoria pig-breeders fully alive to the necessity of breeding from the finest animals, and who are not afraid to pay a high price to obtain them. At present there are 235,525 pigs in Victoria, which is slightly below the number returned a few years ago; but there is every reason to believe that the number of pigs reared in Victoria will be largely increased within a very few years. 98 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: HOETICULTUEE. By William Elliott (Horticultural Editor of the Leader). Horticultuke lias advanced with rapid strides in Victoria in the course of the last twenty years, and both public and private gardens have largely increased in numbers and extent. In 1857 the acreage of gardens and orchards was estimated at 1,939£ only, and in 1884 at 20,754, an increase of 18,814^ acres, of which 11,365 acres are orchards, and 9,389 vegetable and flower gardens; the increase during the latter year being 1,317 acres; and as the area planted with fruit trees in the course of the whiter of 1885 was very large, it is computed that upwards of 12,000 acres is now devoted to that industry. The value of fruit exported in 1884 amounted to £19,064, and of jams to £26,238. The imports of fruit were valued at £98,796, and of jams at £10,978. In 1883, the last year for which the returns have been published, 1,657£ tons of fresh vegetables were exported; the importations have, however, greatly increased during the last two years. BOTANY. Victoria can boast that her Department of Botany is presided over by one of the most eminent botanists of the present age, in the person of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., M.D., who has worked unin- terruptedly in Australia since 1847, and, by his assiduous labours on the flora of this and adjacent countries, his explorations of a large portion of the continent of Australia, his extensive herbarium, his chemical and phyto- graphical researches, his large and valuable contributions to the flora of Australia, and his numerous other publications, has extended the bounds and enriched the science of Botany to a large and much-appreciated extent. With his name must be honorably associated that of Mr. Joseph Bosisto, M.P., one of the pioneers of botanic research in Victoria. Mr. Bosisto, singularly enough, was a fellow labourer in the paths of science with Baron von Mueller in South Australia as far back as 1849, and since then both have been closely identified with the important discoveries connected with the Eucalyptus vegetation. In all matters connected with materia medica • Mr. Bosisto occupies a high position, and the College of Pharmacy in Melbourne now stands as a monument of his efforts as a legislator to advance the cause of science. PUBLIC PARKS AND .GARDENS. Laud for Public Parks, Gardens, and Recreation Grounds has been reserved in connexion with all the most important cities and towns in the colony; the land being placed under the management of the respective town and borough councils. The grounds are supported by rates subsidized by Handbook: Horticulture. 99 annual grants from the general revenue, at the rate of 15s. for every pound expended from funds locally contributed. During the year 1884-5, the sum of £7,233 7s. 6d. was granted to 67 councils, in sums varying from £2 3s. to £957, independent of those in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. The latter comprise an area of 4,766 acres, including 604 acres under the joint control of the Government and the Melbourne City Council; the Botanic Garden, 83 acres; Government House Domain, 152 acres; University Grounds, 109J acres; and the Garden of the Horticultural Society of Victoria, 28 acres. The grant for Horticultural Societies amounts to £500, in addition to £250 to the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria. BOTANIC GARDENS. Public Gardens, generally termed Botanic Gardens, are common throughout the colony, ground for the purpose having been set apart in connexion with all the principal towns. The gardens of Ballarat, Sandhurst, Castlemaine, and other inland cities are very handsome. The Melbourne Botanic Garden, situated on the banks of the River Yarra Yarra, about a mile from the city of Melbourne, is 84 acres in extent. It adjoins the grounds of Government House and the public Domain, of which it forms a part. It was formerly under the direction of the Government Botanist, Baron von Mueller, but some years ago the garden was placed in charge of a landscape gardener, under whose curatorship the grounds have been extended, altered, and greatly improved. The newer portions, as well as some of the old ground, have been laid out in broad gravel walks, and extensive lawns with clumps and single specimens of trees and shrubs, which have rendered the garden highly attractive to the public, who frequent it in large numbers on Sundays and holidays. The garden contains two large conservatories, one devoted to the cultiva- tion of ferns and some plants of industrial value; the other is filled with a miscellaneous collection of stove plants in pots. A smaller house is occupied by succulent plants. There are also several other small houses for propagating and other purposes, besides frames, and a large shelter shed for the hardier plants. The older portions of the gardens contain numerous fine specimens of palms, arancarias, and other conifers, various oaks, elms, and other deciduous trees, besides Grevilleas^ of which G. robusta forms a splendid picture when in flower, and numerous other native trees and shrubs. Among other recent improvements, an extensive "fern gully" has been formed; large collections of palms and cycads have been planted, as well as . groups of the more hardy of the Queensland plants. In the lower portion of the grounds, near the river, is a large and beautiful lake, spanned in places by rustic bridges, and dotted with charming little islands which, planted with ornamental trees and shrubs picturesquely arranged, produce a splendid effect. A portion of the native vegetation, having been allowed to remain, adds to the interest of the scene. Upwards of £100,000 has been spent on the gardens and Domain during the last ten years, and the sums annually granted by Parliament for the 735097 A 100 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: purchase of plants have enabled such an increase in the collections to be made that the total number of plants catalogued exceeds 7,000 species, exclusive of varieties. The whole of the species are distinctly labelled with name, native country, and natural order. The condition of the gardens is in every way creditable to the city of Melbourne, and especially to its present director, Mr. W. R. Gnilfoyle, F.L.S. Adjoining the Botanic Garden is the Domain, 305 acres in extent, including the grounds of Government House of 157 acres in gardens. pleasure grounds, and extensive lawns, the whole in charge of the director of the Botanic Garden. The Domain is intersected by walks and drives leading to the city and various parts of the southern suburbs. A small part remains in its natural condition, but the greater portion has been planted with an immense number and variety of trees. These have attained a considerable size, and produce a fine effect on the landscape, the Domain extending within close proximity to and commanding one of the best views to be obtained of the city. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. Societies for the advancement of horticulture have been established in every city and town of any importance in the colony, while half-a-score exist in Melbourne and its immediate neighbourhood. They are supported by the subscriptions of members, supplemented by annual grants from Government. the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria, located in Melbourne, the oldest and most important, being the only one conducting an experimental garden. The number of members of this society is at present 500, 69 of whom are life members, for which the fee is 5 guineas; the annual subscriptions being one guinea for amateurs, and half-a-guinea for working gardeners; the Govern- ment subsidy is at the rate of £250 a year. The garden is situated in Richmond Park, about three miles from the city. It comprises an area of 28 acres, one-half of which is under cultivation as orchard, shrubbery, flower, and vegetable grounds, the remainder being planted with specimens of ornamental trees. The collection of fruit is very large, the varieties numbering—700 apples, 7 almonds, 48 apricots, 5 brambles, 18 crabs, 90 cherries, 4 chestnuts, 2 citrons, 28 currants, 56 figs, 120 gooseberries, 5 guavas, 2 limes, 5 lemons, 5 medlars, 7 mulberries, 27 nectarines, 21 filberts, 21 oranges, 10 olives, 400 pears, 102 peaches, 17 Japanese persimmons (Diospyros Kaki), 148 plums, 7 quinces, 18 raspberries, 4 shaddocks, 50 strawberries, 170 grapes, 2 walnuts. Of these, scions are available to members and Government institutions, and the number distributed has averaged 20,000 annually during the past ten years. Seeds and roots are also distributed to members. The fruit produced is exhibited at the monthly meetings of the society, at the great exhibitions, of which two or more are held annually; collections are also sent to country societies, and the surplus, amounting to about 3 tons a year, is distributed among the charitable institutions. New varieties of fruit are annually imported from Europe, America, Japan, and other centres of production. Communications and exchange of Handbook: Horticulture. 101 scions, Ac, are maintained with the neighbouring colonies, India, Japan, and other countries. The society has recently erected a show pavilion in the garden, at a cost of £1,200, of which a subsidy of £500 was granted by Government. The gardens are in charge of Mr. George Neilson, a gentleman who has devoted many years of his life to practical horticulture, and to whose unremitting care the present high state of perfection attained in the gardens is mainly due. The ornamental grounds are open daily to the public, and the other parts to members and visitors who desire to examine the fruits and other objects under experiment. Only one tree of each variety is grown for fruiting, but reserves are kept in stock to provide against accidents or decay in the permanent trees. MARKET GARDENING. The business of growing vegetables for market has attained a high degree of proficiency in the colony, more especially in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, where a large area of land is devoted to it, and whence supplies are sent to up-country towns, as well as to the neighbouring colonies, nearly 2,000 tons being yearly exported. In the country the principal supply of vegetables is grown by Chinese, who are located in the neighbourhood of the principal towns, and also in the suburbs of Melbourne. They are the chief hawkers of vegetables, and, besides growing a supply for that purpose, purchase largely from European cultivators. The Chinese cultivate their gardens in small patches by hand labour, but the Europeans employ horse labour wherever it can be applied. The bulk of the gardens are situated to the east and south-east of Melbourne, where the soil is almost pure sand, and easy to work. Some of the yields of vegetables obtained in such gardens as that possessed by Mr. W. Woodmason, of Malvern, about four miles from Melbourne, are simply marvellous. Cabbages averaging 26 lbs. weight, and parsnips 36 inches in length, are common; while mangel wurzel are grown turning the scale at 56 lbs. The land is highly manured, and heavy yields are obtained. The produce is also of excellent quality. Two crops a year, or three crops in two years, are generally grown. The produce not exported is disposed of in the metropolitan -markets, chiefly the Victoria Market, where an average of 300 carts attend twice a week during the summer season, each grower selling his own produce. PLANT NURSERIES. These have become numerous of late years, one or more being established in the neighbourhood of every large town, and several in country places where the propagation of fruit trees constitutes the principal business; the demand for these being very large both in Victoria, the neighbouring colonies, and New Zealand. In the neighbourhood of Melbourne, nurseries are numerous, some being of considerable extent, and kept in a style that would be creditable to similar establishments in any part of the world. The collections of plants are now very extensive and are being annually increased by importations. 102 Colonial ami Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Owing to the mildness of the climate in winter, a large number of species that require to be housed in Europe thrive out of doors the year round, stove plants alone requiring the protection of glass and artificial heat; but they are not much grown in nurseries owing to the smallness of the demand. Fuchsias, pelargoniums, cinerarias, cyclamens, and Chinese primroses are grown in unheated houses. In these nurseries the plants are mostly grown in pots, and except when being propagated are located in shelter sheds constructed of frames, covered with lattice-work or brushwood. There are also a large number of smaller nurseries in which flowers and market plants are grown. A large business is done in bouquets both in the markets and in shops in town, where excellent taste is displayed in their make-up. Flowers are plentiful both summer and winter. Nurserymen's catalogues have attained a size which, with the exception of orchids and other stove plants, will bear comparison with those of Britain. Numerous seed shops exist in the principal towns, some of them managed in conjunction with plant nurseries. The bulk of the seeds con- sumed is raised in the colonies and New Zealand, whence a large proportion of the grasses and clovers are obtained. Several improved varieties of vegetables have originated in Victoria, obtained by means of crossing and selection. The newer varieties of flowers and vegetables are annually imported from Europe and America by the principal seedsmen. Some business is also done in the exportation of cauliflower and other vegetable seeds to Britain. PRIVATE GARDENS. These are rapidly increasing in number, especially in the neighbourhood of the cities and towns. Villa gardens generally contain one or more glazed structures for the culture of greenhouse and stove plants, including orchids, of which some collections arc being formed. Among the estate owners in the country districts are some who have gardens of a few acres in extent, but in general they are no larger than is necessary to meet household requirements; though some have planted trees rather largely for shelter and ornament. Cottage gardens are numerous and generally well kept, the climate admitting of their being gay with flowers throughout the year. Scientific gardeners are not in great demand, but there are a few in the colony whose productions would pass with credit in any part of the world. Flower gardening is chiefly of the old-fashioned style, massing or any other form of bedding being rarely attempted. In shrubberies and other ornamental grounds a great variety of trees and shrubs are to be found, most of the best species and varieties procurable in Europe, America, and other parts of the world having been imported, the enterprise of nurserymen and some amateurs being great in that direction. Conifera? are in great request, nearly all the pines and cypresses procurable in California, besides many others, being cultivated. Of these Pinus insignis and Cupressus macrocarpa are in the greatest demand, many thousands being Handbook: Horticulture. 103 planted annually for shelter or ornament. Both of these grow with great rapidity in almost any kind of soil, and in a few years form large timber trees. European pines are also grown, as well as those of the Abies and the Picea sections, which, however, succeed best in the cooler districts. Of cedars, the Deodar is the favorite, being the quickest grower and the most graceful. The Wellingtonia (Sequoea) gigantea thrives fairly; handsome specimens of 30 feet or more in height being not uncommon. Of Araucarias, some six species are grown, forming specimens of perfect symmetry and great beauty. A. imbricata is the most suitable for the cooler districts, the others preferring a more genial climate. The bunya bunya, of Queensland (A. Bidwilli), grows very rapidly, and forms a handsome specimen, well furnished with a mass of polished green foliage. The golden arbor vitie (Biota aurea) is in great request. The native pines—Frenella—form handsome dwarf trees. The larch thrives in the cooler districts, where it competes for pre-eminence with Abies Douglasii. Taking a few of the more ornamental shrubs in alphabetical order, the acacias are amongst the most beautiful when in flower. The tree myrtles— Acmena— form very handsome, finely-shaped bushes, beautiful both in flower and fruit. The American aloe, agave, grows luxuriantly, and flowers at from twelve to twenty years of age. The species of arbutus succeed fairly well in the drier parts, and much better where the temperature is lower. Brugman- sias stand exposed the year round, and flower magnificently. Cacti of numerous kinds thrive admirably out of doors. Camellias require shade when grown in the open air, and then flower magnificently. The common and Portugal laurels thrive and attain the size of trees in the cooler districts. Eucalyptus ficifolia, which produces crimson flowers in abundance while quite young and small, forms an object of exceeding beauty. The laburnum prefers the cooler climates, and flowers freely. The native and New Zealand species of Dracaena form noble objects. Ficus australis and F. macrophylla form large dense bushes or low trees. Magnolias of all species form large bushes, and flower magnificently. Neriums thrive well, and flower freely. The plane—platanus—attains a large size in the cooler districts. Pittosporums are, of all evergreens, the best adapted to the climate, forming handsome specimens and fine ornamental hedges. Khododendrons require shade in the warmer parts of the colony, but flourish exposed in the cooler districts. Schinus molle is of great value as a shade tree. Besides those already men- tioned there are an immense number of dwarf shrubs that attain great perfection, such as the Indian azalea, daphne indica, boronia, bouvardia, cho- rizema, deutzia, eriostemon, erica, erythrina, escallonia, fuchsia, hydrangea, lantana, lasiandra, pomegranate, pelargonium, petunia, salvia, veronica, and weigela. Of roses, about 400 varieties are grown. Among climbers are bignonia, bougainvillea, clematis, lapageria, passion flowers, including Tac- sonia and Glycine sinensis. Among herbaceous plants, dahlias, chrysanthemums, phloxes, pentste- mons, carnations, columbines, cyclamens, iris, mesembryanthemnm—numer- ous species—and verbenas. Bulbous and similar plants flourish exceedingly, 104 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: including amaryllis, anemone, gladiolus—grown in every garden—hyacinth, ixia, lilium—magnificent, narcissus, ranunculus, tulip, sparaxis, Guernsey lilies, tuberoses, tritoma, tritonia, and several others. FRUIT. Fruit culture is practised throughout nearly the whole of the colony. In some of the more densely populated districts orchards of 100 to 150 acres have been planted, and their numbers are rapidly increasing. They are very numerous in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, where they generally exist in conjunction with market gardening; these range from 8 to 20 acres in extent. Owing to the variety of climatic conditions, all the fruits of temperate regions can be cultivated. A large number of varieties are grown, all the best to be obtained in Europe and America having been imported and propagated. Numerous varieties of fruit have been raised from seed, the parent blossoms being, in most cases, carefully intercrossed. In apples, varieties of great excellence, both dessert and cooking, some of the former almost equalling the best of the imported sorts. While in pears, some colonial varieties are unsurpassed by the best European sorts. Peaches, plums, cherries, and strawberries of excellent quality have been also raised. Owing to the large supply, fruit has become so cheap that all classes are able to obtain it. Ar-PLE.—This fruit is, of all others, the most esteemed; it thrives in all parts of the colony, succeeding best where the summer temperature is moderate. The trees grow with great luxuriance, come early into bearing, and yield a crop every year, unless the blossoms happen to be injured by insects or frosts, which, however, rarely occurs. They thrive in all kinds of soil, from a nearly pure sand to a strong loam. The fruit is large in size, fine in colour, and excellent in flavour. Canker in apple-trees is unknown in the colony. Apricot.—The apricot is highly esteemed, and is in great demand for dessert, cooking, and preserving. It thrives everywhere, but prefers the warmer regions, where its produce is both large and fine. The trees attain a large size, and rarely miss yielding a heavy crop. Almond.—The almond thrives everywhere; it is specially adapted to dry, stony soil, and requires very little attention. It is frequently used for shelter on the exposed sides of orchards, and bears abundantly. In the shrubbery it forms a splendid object when clothed with a mass of blossoms in early spring. Seedling almonds are frequently used as stocks for peaches. Cherry.—This fruit is very largely grown, the trees almost invariably bearing a heavy crop. It thrives in all climates, and is the best adapted of all fruit trees to the strong volcanic loams that exist in various parts of the colony. The fruit attains a large size, and is of excellent quality. The trees commence to bear at an early age, and occasion very little trouble in pruning; they are very rarely attacked by either disease or insects. Handbook: Horticulture. 105 Currant.—The different kinds of currants succeed well in the cooler districts, where they yield heavy crops of fine fruit. The black currant is in great request for jam-making and other culinary purposes. Fig.—The fig thrives in all, except the coldest, parts of the colony, and exceptionally well in the warmer northern districts, where it grows with great luxuriance, the trees attaining a large size, and fruiting heavily every year, the fruit being of large size and good quality. Fig-drying has been successfully practised, but has not yet become established as a business. Filbert.—Trees of the filbert and other nuts grow with remarkable luxuriance in the rich soil of valleys in the more temperate regions, where they bear enormously. Nuts are in great demand, and bring high prices in the market. Gooseberry.—This well-known fruit thrives in all parts of the colony except the warmest, but grows best where the summer temperature is low. In such situations the bushes attain a large size, and bear enormous crops. The fruit is much used for cooking and jam-making. Grape.—The grape and wine-making having been treated elsewhere, it is only necessary to remark that, as a dessert fruit, it thrives and ripens its fruit in all but the coldest climates, and in all varieties of soil or situation. It gTows as a bush in gardens, or trained to a fence or trellis; it rambles over the cottage verandah, and even in the heart of a city or town it continues to thrive, its roots extending dozens of yards beneath the pavement. It, how- ever, brings its fruit to the greatest perfection in the zones of highest tempe- rature, where bunches and berries of enormous size, fine colour, and excellent flavour are produced. Melon.—The melon thrives in the open ground in all the warmer and more temperate parts of the colony; the seed being sown in ordinary garden soil; little or no attention is required by the plants until the fruit is ready to gather. Both rock melons and water melons are in great demand in the markets, and also a cross-bred variety of sugar melon, which attains a large size and is much used for jam. Mulberry.—This is well adapted to the more moderate zones, where it rapidly forms a tree and produces abundance of fruit. The silk-worm mulberry also grows well, but is rarely utilized. Peach.—This fruit, one of the most delicious grown in the colony, ripens its fruit nearly everywhere. The trees require much attention in warding off the attacks of aphides in spring, and they are not long-lived. When in good soil the fruit attains a large size, and acquires an excellent flavour. . A number of colonial seedlings have been raised; these prove more robust than some of the imported varieties and are generally preferred by growers for market. Pear.—The pear is highly esteemed as a dessert fruit, many of the imported, as well as several seedling varieties being unsurpassed for flavour. The trees quickly attain a large size, and rarely fail to produce a full crop, the fruit attaining a large size. They thrive in nearly all parts of the colony. n 106 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886: Persimmon (Diospyros Kaki).—This fruit, introduced only a few years ago, is becoming popular on account of the rich flavour and fine colour of its fruit, which renders the trees highly ornamental; these are very precocious, trees of three or four feet in height producing several dozens of fruit. Young trees are annually imported from Japan. Plums.—Plums are in great request, and are largely grown in all districts. The trees are very prolific, rarely failing to produce a full crop, and when not overloaded the fruit is very large; it is much used for jam and other culinary purposes. On account of its abundance, the fruit can be obtained in the markets at a low rate. Quince.—This fruit is grown, though in small numbers, in nearly every garden. The trees crop well, and produce fruit of large size. Raspberry.—This fruit succeeds well in the moderately cool districts, where it bears abundantly, rarely missing a crop. The fruit is highly esteemed, and in great request by jam manufacturers as well as private persons. It is grown in several parts of the colony, chiefly for local supply. The metropolis obtains its principal supply from the rich valleys of the upper portions of the Yarra, and it is estimated that the value of this fruit forwarded to Mel- bourne exceeds £150,000 per annum; the average price in the market being 3d. to 6d. per pound. Strawberry.—The strawberry is very. prolific, and the plants continue to bear for a great number of years; two crops invariably, and sometimes a third, being borne in succession every year. The fruit attains a large size on properly-enriched soil. Walnut.—This tree thrives in all districts except the hottest, and pro- duces abundance of fruit at an early stage, but is not extensively grown. VEGETABLES. Vegetables of all the kinds commonly grown in temperate climates, and some that cannot be successfully grown in Britain, succeed well, and are extensively cultivated, hardly a family in the longer-settled districts being without a daily supply, cither purchased or grown by themselves, all the year round. A large quantity can be grown with a moderate amount of labour, where the soil is properly tilled and manured. Asparagus.—This esteemed vegetable grows luxuriantly in all parts of the colony, and attains a large size under liberal culture. It is in great request during a long season, and can be purchased at reasonable rates. Bean.—Broad beans can be grown in all climates, as the seed is sown in autumn, and the crop gathered in spring before the heats of summer arrive. Kidney beans, both dwarf and runner, are grown extensively; they bear abundantly, and are in season from the beginning of summer to the end of autumn. They are sold at such rates as bring them within the reach of all classes. Beet.—This root succeeds in all soils and all climates. It is in great request, being used in a fresh or pickled state. The roots, like others of Handbook: Horticulture. 107 similar nature, are allowed to remain in the gronnd until wanted for use, a supply being obtainable at all seasons. Brocoli.—This is rarely grown, as the plants require too great a length of time to attain maturity, and its place is filled by the cauliflower. Cabbage.—The cabbage is the most largely grown of all green vegetables. The plants come quickly into use, and attain a large size; cabbages can be had every day in the year, and with very little labour. Cauliflower.—The cauliflower is one of the most esteemed of vegetables; it may be obtained throughout the year in the cooler districts, and in others except during two or three of the hottest months. It grows luxuriantly, becomes rapidly fit for use, and attains a large size. Plants, including leaves, stem, and roots, have been grown to 42 lbs. weight, the head, dressed for market, weighing 36 lbs. Carrot.—This root, which thrives everywhere, is in great request, and very extensively grown. The roots are rarely troubled with any kind of insect. Celery.—Celery prefers the cooler districts, but may be had every- where during winter and spring. Its culture has greatly increased of recent years. Cucumber.—A few growers cultivate the cucumber in heated houses during the winter season, but the demand is not great at that time. Large quantities are grown in the open ground in summer. They are in considerable demand for pickling. Leek.—This attains an immense size under liberal culture; it is in use for nine months in the year. Lettuce.—This grows well, with little trouble, throughout the year. The summer crops are sown where they are to remain. Only the cabbage lettuce is used. Onion.—Onions are grown in large quantities both in the garden and the field, many tons being exported. In gardens the early crops are sown in autumn and transplanted; field crops are sown in spring. Pea.—Peas can be gathered throughout the year, except occasionally in summer, should the drought be severe; they are, of course, finest in spring and early summer. The plants are rarely supported in any way, as they do not attain a great length. Potato.—Potatoes are very largely grown in gardens and fields, a large proportion being exported. Young potatoes may be obtained in gardens at all seasons. Pumpkin.—This fruit attains a large size; it is grown to some extent for use in winter. Rhubarb.—This is in great request, and is largely grown by market gardeners, who are able to pull three or four crops a year from each plant. It is in use during eleven months out of the twelve. Tomato.—The demand for this fruit has largely increased within recent years, and immense quantities are now grown and sold very cheaply. For 108 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886. early crops the plants are raised in heat and planted against fences or walls, where they sometimes remain till the following season, fruiting all the while. Later crop plants are supported by stakes or trellises. The markets are supplied for about nine months in the year. Turnip.—Turnips are in season every day in the year. They become quickly fit for use, but do not succeed well in the drier districts except during the winter season. Vegetable Marrow.—There is a large consumption of this vegetable. The seed is sown in the open ground in spring, and where the soil is good heavy crops are yielded; very little attention beyond gathering the fruit being required. By Authority: John Feeees, Government Printer, Melbourne. VICTORIAN NATIONAL GALLERY AND PUBLIC LIBRARY. - . V' THE MELBOURNE HARBOUR TRUST Cutting the New Cana] across Fisherman's Bend. WORKS. on the Varra. L PUBLIC BUILDINGS. BEECHWORTH. THE GIANT TREE OF VICTORIA. Eucalyptut Amygdallna. -f1''- CITY BREWERY. M E L BOU RN E. * S" CO uj o § ° i m £ a 5 z „ < = S i iu - z I 0 3 1 TJ a. 2 ui SJ _i £ ui » ui I = I- « B U. g O « s J o 0 % f . 5 t & 1 i MELBOURNE AND RICHMOND CABLE TRAMWAY. ■ ^ t0UNDATI0«8| GUEST'S BISCUIT FACTORY, MELBOURNE. THE GOLD NUGGET Found near Dunolly In 1869. Weight, "WELCOME STRANGER." 2,24S ounces of pure gold; value, £9,634. THE ir.v: Vj. PUBLIC L!f; A: ASTOR. LEKOX «!' TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R L PuLi-lJ LIBRARY ASTOR. LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R L a3 ft