Lissington Holding, one with a flow of 4,000,000 gallons and the other with 3,000,000 gallons per day; one at Cuttabulla (Lila Springs), with a daily flow of 4,000,000 gallons; one at Toulby with 3,500,000 gallons per day; and one at Goondabluie with 3,000,000 gallons per day. From the private wells approximately 45,000,000 gallons are discharged daily. A better idea of the value of artesian wells to the community will be obtained when it is known that the aggregate daily flow of underground water in New South Wales is now approximately 78,000,000 gallons, and that, in addition, large supplies can be pumped from sub-artesian wells. The average depth of the 88 wells completed by the Government is 1,628 feet 4 inches, with a range from 165 to 4,086 feet, while the temperature of the water varies from 80 to 139 degrees Fahrenheit. The total cost of the wells (including actual boring, casing, carriage, and incidental expenses) was £252,759, or an average of £2,872 5s. 3d. per bore, or £1 15s. 3d. per foot.

In Queensland up to the 31st December, 1901, there were 907 completed bores, of which 65 were Government, 30 Local Government, and 812 private bores.

Of the Government bores, 24 were artesian, 14 sub-artesian, and 27 were abandoned as failures. The daily flow of water from the successful bores amounted to 10,365,600 gallons. The Local Government bores included 10 artesian and 18 sub-artesian, while 2 were abandoned. From the successful bores a daily flow of 6,007,100 gallons is obtained. Of the private bores, 499 were artesian, 174 were subartesian, and 107 were failures. It is estimated that the daily flow of water from private bores amounts to no less than 344,701,800 gallons. The large proportion of abandoned Government bores is due to the fact that many of them were sunk for experimental purposes in order to ascertain the prospects of obtaining artesian water. Others were put down by the old methods of boring, by which depths over 1,000 feet could not be penetrated in the swelling clays of Queensland. The total expenditure by the Government up to the 31st December, 1901, amounted to £345,943 on water conservation, and £138,060 on artesian bores. The deepest Government bore is at Winton, and reaches 4,010 feet, while the most copious supply, namely, 3,000,000 gallons per day, is obtained at the Charleville bore. The deepest private bore, and also the deepest bore in the State, is the Whitewood on the Bimerah run, and reaches 5,045 feet. The largest supplies are obtained from the Coongoola bore, which yields 6,000,000 gallons daily; Cunnamulla East, 4,500,000; Burrambilla and Cunnamulla West, 4,000,000; Boatman, 3,500,000; and Savannah Downs yielding 3,400,000 gallons daily. The total depth bored in search of artesian water up to 30th June, 1901, was 1,066,605 feet, the average depth per bore being 1,176 feet. At Helidon water of so low a temperature as 60 degrees Fahrenheit was flowing; while at Dagworth, the water had a temperature of 196 degrees. Large areas are served by the water from the bores for irrigation purposes, the total at the end of 1901, according

to the returns received being 6,526 acres, of which 4,490 acres were principally under sugar-cane; and in addition several stations, which made no returns, also used the water for purposes of irrigation. Some of the bore waters contain soda in various forms, and these it is impossible to use, except for a limited period, and in small quantities.

At the end of 1897, the latest date for which any information is available, the Water Conservation Department of South Australia had completed eighty-seven bores, of which, however, only thirty-three were successful. These are spread over widely-distant parts of the territory, successful bores existing at Nullarbor Plains, on the boundary of Western Australia; at Oodnadatta, the present terminus of the Northern Railway system; and at Tintinara, in the south-eastern extremity of the State. The bore at Tintinara has proved that the marine tertiary area is water-bearing. For purposes of water conservation, the State may be divided into four large areas, namely, the West Coast division, where 12 bores were attempted and 3 were successful; the Far North and North-west division, where 13 out of 32 bores were successful; the Central division, where 15 out of 39 bores were a success; and the South-east division, where 2 out of 4 bores were successful. Of the bores on the west coast, Robert's Well No. 1, on Nullarbor Plains, reaches a depth of 777 feet, and gives a daily supply of 68,000 gallons; the total supply from the three flowing wells being 133,000 gallons. Much greater depths have been reached in the far north; a well at Kopperamanna being the deepest in the State, viz., 3,000 feet. This well gives a daily supply of 800,000 gallons. A well at Strangways, and another at Coward, give daily supplies of 1,200,000 gallons eachthe maximum obtained in South Australia. The flowing bores in this division gave a daily yield of 3,928,200 gallons. The wells in the central area are much less important, the largest supply, viz., 108,000 gallons daily, being obtained from one in the vicinity of Gawler. The deepest well in this division is situated at Percyton, and reaches 930 feet. The total daily supply in the central area amounts to 354,400 gallons. The two successful wells in the south-east have a daily outflow of 34,000 gallons. The total daily supply for the whole State reaches, therefore, 4,449,600 gallons. According to a report by the engineer-in-chief, it would appear that the South Australian Government had expended £19,202 on machinery and £148,689 in boring operations, or a total of £167,291, at the end of the year 1897.

The Government of Western Australia, following the example set by theme of the eastern States has sunk 22 bores in various parts of the Plate, and 10 bores have been sunk by private owners. Of the Government bores, 12 have been successful, and yield a daily supply of 4,129,504 gallons, 9 were failures, and 1 is in progress. All the private Fyld supplies of water with the exception of one which is in

the daily flow being 1,543,000 gallons. The deepest bore is Perth, and reached a depth of 1,860 feet; while the largest btained from the municipal bore at Guildford, and amounts

to 1,120,000 gallons daily. Up to the 31st December, 1901, the Government had expended £39,283 on artesian boring, while £8,500 had been spent by private owners.

In Victoria the attempts to obtain water by means of artesian boring have not been successful. Up to the 31st December, 1901, 46 bores had been sunk, 16 of which were driven to bed rock, but none yielded artesian supplies. The expenditure on these bores amounted to £68,864, and the cost of water conservation, excluding Government expenditure on Melbourne Water Supply, was £8,570,603.

It is unfortunate that later information than that quoted in regard to South Australia cannot be given; but there seems to be a singular apathy on the part of the Departments concerned in all the States in publishing reports on this most important service. The statistics are presented for South Australia for the date referred to, although a large amount of work has been carried out during the last year or two in the direction of boring for artesian water.

630

PASTORAL RESOURCES AND DAIRY

INDUSTRY.

OTWITHSTANDING the fact that the soil, climate, and indigenous herbage of Australasia are admirably adapted to the sustenance of animal life, no attempt was made to test the capabilities of the land as a feeding-ground for flocks and herds on a large scale until the example of Captain Macarthur had demonstrated beyond doubt that Nature favoured the production in Australasia of a quality of wool which was unsurpassed by that grown in any part of the world. Then the settlers began to understand and utilise the natural resources of the country; and as the indomitable spirit of exploration gradually opened up the apparently boundless plains of the interior, pastoralists extended their domain, and sheep and cattle in increasing numbers spread over the face of eastern Australia. Now the expansion of the pastoral industry is gradually converting the central and western portions of the continent into holdings devoted to the production of the greatest element of the wealth of Australasia.

The beginnings of pastoral enterprise in Australia were very humble. The live stock of the community which accompanied Captain Phillip comprised only 1 bull, 4 cows, 1 calf, 1 stallion, 3 mares, 3 foals, 29 sheep, 12 pigs, and a few goats; and although the whole of the present flocks and herds of Australasia have not sprung from these animals alone, yet the figures show the small scale on which the business of stock-raising was first attempted. No systematic record of the arrival of stock seems to have been kept in the early days of settlement; but it would appear that during the period between Governor Phillip's landing and the year 1800 there were some slight importations, chiefly of sheep from India. In 1800 the stock in Australasia comprised 6,124 sheep, 1,044 cattle, 203 horses, and 4,017 swine; while at the end of the year 1901, there were no less than 92,358,824 sheep, 9,827,433 cattle, 1,905,172 horses, and 1,171,381 swine.

The following figures give the number of stock in Australasia at various dates up to 1851 :

--

The increase in the number of each kind of live stock since the year 1861 is illustrated in the following table :—

The average number of sheep, cattle, horses, and swine per head of the population of Australasia at the same periods was as follows :—

It will be seen that in 1861 there were 18-8 sheep for every person in Australasia, and that this number had increased to 318 in 1891. In 1901, however, in consequence of the continued dry seasons, and the demands made upon the flocks for the export trade, the average number had fallen to 20-2 per inhabitant. During the forty-one years the average number of cattle depastured diminished from 3.2 to 2.1 per head. The breeding of horses and swine has about kept pace with the

population.

SHEEP.

The suitability for pastoral pursuits of the land discovered in the early days was undoubtedly the means of inducing the infant colony of New South Wales to take its first step on the path of commercial progress, and, looking backward, it is not a little surprising to find how steadily some of the settlers, in the face of the almost insurmountable difficulty of transport which existed a century ago, availed themselves of the opportunities at their disposal. The importation of valuable specimens of sheep from England or the Cape of Good Hope prior to the introduction of steam was at all times attended with great risk, and it frequently happened that many of these costly animals died during the tedious voyage. These enterprises were, however, on the whole successful, and thus the flocks and herds of the colonists surely, if at first slowly, increased and multiplied.

By the year 1795, Captain Macarthur, one of the first promoters of sheep-breeding in New South Wales, had accumulated a flock of 1,000 sheep, which were held in great estimation, and gradually increased in value