the grazing farmer, pursuing the same industry on a smaller scale, contents himself with a flock of ten or twenty thousand. Apart from tick, the only enemy has been drought; and this has been overcome by the discovery, denounced as a physical impossibility by all the geologists until it became an accomplished fact, that the whole of these uplands, occupying the bed of an old sea which joined the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Australian Bight and separated the continent into two islands, form a great artesian area, whose inexhaustible subterranean reservoirs are supplied from sources as yet unknown, but which are held by many to be the great mountain heights of New Guinea. Over three hundred successful bores have been put down to tap these stores, five of which were down two years ago below the 4000 ft. level, and one below 5000 ft.; four or five of which have an output of 4,000,000 gallons a piece daily; and the total flow from which is approximately 200,000,000 gallons in the twenty-four hours; so that country which a few years since it was dangerous to occupy, is now traversed for miles by the lines of rushes which follow the overflowing waters as they meander for miles over the downs, led in channels formed by huge ploughs made for the purpose. The water issues from the bores under great pressure, and usually at a temperature of from 100 to 140 degrees. The last season when disaster from drought overtook the stockmasters was in the year 1883-4, when many wealthy squatters were ruined. The sugar industry, which was originally opened up, many years ago, by Melbourne enterprise and capital, has had its vicissitudes, connected with the Kanaka, or "black-birding" trade, upon which it chiefly depends for labour. At present about £5,000,000 is invested in the business, which has been found extremely pro-
