of them were built by private corporations,
but on account of financial difficulties and poor service they were
acquired by the government. The policy proved a wise one.

Great Britain encourages the trade of her colonies, and gets about
three-fourths of the traffic of the commonwealth, the imports being
manufactured goods. Of the foreign trade the United States has about
half, nearly all of which is landed at San Francisco and Puget
Sound. Wool, cattle products, and coal are exported to the United
States, and the latter sends to Australia structural steel--mainly
rails--printing-paper, and coal-oil.

_Melbourne_ is the largest city. _Sydney_ is the port at which most of
the ocean trade is landed. _Brisbane_, mainly a coal and a wool market,
is connected with British Columbia by an ocean cable. Steamships by way
of the Suez Canal generally call at _Perth_ and _Adelaide_. _Hobart_ and
_Launcestown_ are the markets of Tasmania.

=New Zealand.=--This colony is one of the most prosperous and best
administered states in existence. The cultivable lands produce enough
wheat for home use, and an excess for export. Cattle and sheep are the
chief resource, however, and pretty nearly everything--meat, hides,
wool, horn, and bones--is exported. Dairy products are not forgotten,
and under the management of an association, these are of the best
quality.

New Zealand flax (_Phormium tenax_), a kind of marsh hemp, yields a
fibre used in making cordage. The kauri pine furnishes the chief supply
of lumber. A fossil kauri gum is collected for export; it makes a
varnish almost equal to Japanese lacquer. Gold is mined, and there being
no mint, all the bullion is exported. The only manufactures are those
which are connected with the meat export and the dairy industry. The
exports noted more than pay for the manufactured goods. Most of the
trade is carried on with Great Britain. _Wellington_, the capital, and
_Auckland_ are the centres of trade.

=New Guinea.=--This island, one of the largest in the world, is somewhat
larger than the State of Texas, or about one-third larger than Germany
or France. The gold-mines first led to the exploration and settlement of
the island, but it was soon apparent that the agricultural resources
were even more valuable, and it was divided among the British, Germans,
and Dutch.

The western part of the island is distinctly Asian in character; the
eastern and southern parts resemble Australia. Coffee, rice