of Australasia. In addition to the tin and precious metals, there
are great beds of excellent coal--enough for all the smelteries and
manufactories in the island.

Next to the mines the sheep and cattle ranches bring the chief profits
to Tasmania. But another industry is growing and bids fair to become
more profitable than either mining or cattle-growing. The fruit of
Tasmania is of the very finest quality. Moreover, when the fruit is
ripening in an Australasian spring and summer, all England is shivering
in midwinter storms. What better business could there be than to ship
apples and pears fresh from the Tasmanian orchards? Those same apples
can be shipped half-way round the world and sold in England for a lower
price than the apples shipped from Buffalo to New York City!

Then there are the peaches, cherries, and strawberries. They find a
ready market in Australia, a matter of only a few miles away. So in time
Tasmania is bound to be one of the great fruit-growing countries in the
world.

Where once the first convict colony made its camp the beautiful city of
Hobart stands. It is every bit an English town. The business part of the
city consists of fine, substantial buildings; most of the residences are
low-built and half hidden in gardens of roses. The school-houses are as
good as those in any American city of the same size, and the schools
themselves are equal to the best anywhere. Kindergarten, grammar school,
high school, and university are within the reach of all who desire.

It is said that an enterprising man can go to Tasmania, make his fortune
in fifteen years, and return to England rich, to spend the rest of his
days. But why should any one desire to leave such a beautiful island to
spend the rest of his life in London smoke and fog?

CHAPTER XXVII

NEW ZEALAND

By digging at London right through the centre of the earth one would
emerge about a day's ride, in an automobile car, from the capital of New
Zealand--if only the automobile could ride on the water. That is to say,
England and New Zealand are almost exactly opposite each other on the
earth. That is the short way, however, and the trip would be eight
thousand miles. As a matter of fact, the trip by the only available
route is not far from sixteen thousand miles; for, go either east or
west as one may choose, the route from London to New Zealand is a very
roundabout way, and New Zealand is Great Britain's most remote colony.

When Tasma