Page:The three colonies of Australia.djvu/337

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STATISTICS OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
315

(197,168) is as follows:—To every individual 37 sheep, six and a half horned cattle, two-thirds of a horse, and one third of a pig.

It is probable that the community of New South Wales is, in proportion to the number of its population, the largest meat-consuming one in the world; certainly it is the largest consuming community of beef and mutton, as there is little fish, and scarcely any game.

The pastoral pursuits of the colony afford an export very nearly amounting to £6 per head for every man, woman, or child in the colony.

AGRICULTURE.

Let us first compare the operations of the last two years:—

LAND IN CULTIVATION.
1850  1851 
Wheat, acres   70,720   82,110   11,390 Inc.
Maize, {{{1}}} 23,170 25,017 1,847 {{{1}}}
Barley, {{{1}}} 7,576 6,725 851 Dec.
Oats, {{{1}}} 2,717 2,470 247 {{{1}}}
Rye, {{{1}}} 293 245 48 {{{1}}}
Millet, {{{1}}} 42 54 12 Inc.
Potatoes, {{{1}}} 4,236 4,079 157 Dec.
Tobacco, {{{1}}} 510 731 221 Inc.
Sown for hay 35,383 30,626 4,757 Dec.
Totals 144,647 152,057 7,410 Inc.

Notwithstanding the gold-excitement year, agricultural operations in the main staples of subsistence considerably increased on the previous year. The breadth of land under cultivation for wheat shows an increase exceeding sixteen per cent.; for maize, about eight per cent.; for tobacco, more than forty-three per cent.; while the total under cultivation shows an increase of more than five per cent.

We have next to compare the quantities of

PRODUCE.
1850  1851 
Wheat, bush.   921,582   1,407,465   485,883 Inc.
Maize, {{{1}}} 457,102 717,053 259,951 {{{1}}}
Barley, {{{1}}} 124,625 133,944 9,319 {{{1}}}
Oats, {{{1}}} 53,313 49,069 4,244 Dec.
Potatoes, tons 9,400 13,644 4,244 Inc.
Tobacco, cwts. 4,923 12,530 7,607 {{{1}}}
Hay, tons 44,762 36,605 8,157 Dec.

Of wheat an increase approaching 500,000 bushels, or upwards of fifty per cent.; of maize, nearly 260,000 bushels, or about fifty-seven per cent.; of barley, more than 9,000 bushels, or upwards of seven per cent.; of potatoes, more than 4,000 tons, or forty-five per cent.; and