t less than $50,000,000 per
annum. The present output of gold in Victoria, however, is only
$10,000,000 per annum. Richer, however, than the gold-mines of
Victoria is the fertility of its soil. A large part of the soil is
exceedingly fertile--with irrigation one of the finest fruit-bearing
soils in the world. The arboreal vegetation of the country is
magnificent. Trees thirty feet in diameter rise to the height of 200
feet without a single lateral branch, and then 100 feet to 200 feet
higher still. Pear-trees grow to the height of eighty feet, with
trunks three feet in diameter. But as yet wool-growing, wheat-raising,
and vine-growing are the principal agricultural occupations of the
people. The principal agricultural export is WOOL--$25,000,000 worth
per annum. But a considerable portion of this comes from New South
Wales. The SHEEP kept number 15,000,000, the cattle 2,000,000. But the
colony still remains principally a mining community. Five ninths of
the population live in towns. Yet there are few towns, and two fifths
of the whole population live in Melbourne--a city almost exactly as
large as Boston.

MELBOURNE

MELBOURNE (451,110; with suburbs, 500,000), the capital city of Victoria
and the chief city in Australia, is also one of the most beautiful
cities in the world. Its parliament buildings, town hall, post-office,
treasury, mint, law courts, public libraries, picture galleries,
theatres, churches, and clubs are all edifices of architectural
magnificence and beauty, while its boulevards, parks and gardens are
equally splendid. At one time money flowed freely and great commercial
recklessness prevailed. But though Melbourne has sustained several
severe depressions its present condition is prosperous and its future is
assured. It is, however, a pleasure-loving city, and it is as much on
this account as on account of its great beauty that it is called "the
Paris of the southern hemisphere." Nowhere else in the world, perhaps,
are indoor amusements--the theatre, concerts, etc.--or outdoor
amusements--cricket, football, horse-racing, etc.--more devotedly
patronised than in Melbourne. Other important places in Victoria are
BALLARAT (40,000) and SANDHURST (37,000), both mining towns, and
GEELONG (25,000) locally noted for its manufacture of "tweeds."

NEW SOUTH WALES

[Illustration: Australia. Shaded portions show where the rainfall is
sufficiently abundant.]

New South Wales (population 1,311,440) is the oldes