The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-07-21

the rabbit fences You may see kansnroos
living here and there dead upon the plains,
and have been told that eYSu the birds
drop dead from the trees.
The Riverina country is one Of the best
sheepralsng districts Of Australia II pro-
duCes some Ot the huest wool. aud Is noted
tqr rs excellent grass. In the .dr9utb "
1893 n looked as though a hro had swept
over H. The most OF II was as clean as
a baseball ground IL could not have been
mtrc bare II II had been plowed. There
was not green sprout on aug sign or
vegetable life 10 he scen. Last year much
the same condition prevailed in parts Of
Queensland. There were tracts covered
With dead sheep. cattle and horses and
dead emus aud lpangaroos were lying here
and there over the country This and other
drouths have caused a reduction in one
district Of "a per cent Of the sheep and
other districts even more II Is said that
the droHth In 1895 ightcned the wool clip
almost IL per cent and Il decreased the
lamb crop In New South Wales about
100000 head.
Hundreds Of Artesisn Wells.
Within the past few years the govern
ments Of Australia have been preparing 10
resist these drouths They have been sink.
Ing arteslon wells. making dams ana put
ting mp water works. The drouths in
many parts Of the country are such that
for nine months the sheep can feed on
the dry grasses II they can only get water,
and OF late the water In many places has
come from arteslan wells The chlef dan
ger has been IN orerstocking 50 thar the
sheep eat an fhe grass and n0twithstand-
Ing the drinking wafer die Of starvation,
There are In Queensland alone $50 arte'
Sian wells and a number more are being
put down Already more than S2,0ODUDU
hnVc been spent upon them Ihe aggfef
gate depth Of the wells rs IN the neiShbni'
hood of 300 feet Some Of the wells are
very deep. There Is one AT Wlnfon which
was sunk 1000 feet before II struck water
and there are many down 1000 and more.
one well hows 5.Ovo,O0 gallons u day an
other 4.OOOOOO, and another 100000. IN
New South wales large number Of bores,
as they are called have been sunk, and
several OF them are flowing from one to
two millions a day.
A singular thing about the wells is that
the water that comes from them Is very
hot As one of the squatters says, 4 Is
hot enough 10 scald "A dog. and, Indeed Il
dog that fell into the stream Of one OF
them the other day WAS killed. The water
Is slightly salt. and II contains some soda,
hut the sheep drink and thrive upon IT, Il
cOols Of course. as Il runs of, being con.
Quoted In bitches and pipes over the pas.
lures.
The bitches are made with huge blows
The end is shod with iron, and a team Of
eight or ten oxen drags the pillow along
the course desired FOR the stream This
makes broad fulrow, forming The canal,
at which the stock can drink. There arc
many canals OF this kind from fifteen "a
twenty miles long and some even longer,
Where the Hens Lay Boiled Eggs.
Australia Is the hottest couGtry on rec
ord I have ridden for miles astride tho
equator, but | have never found heat IA
compare with this. Out IN the country In
the dry times there appears to be llt,ie
more than a sheet OF brown paper between
you and the lower regions. and the people
facetiOusly say that they have 10 feed
their hens cracked ice to keep them from
/ laying boiled eggs The dry lands are hot
4 ter than sahara. Much Of them is desert
and the sun beats vertically down upon tho
! continent during the hottest part OF tbs
| year, three hours every day, In travelling
/ across IL.
Australia Is as long from one side TO IN,
\ other as from New York 10 Salt Lake City
and the greater part OF 1t Is covered with
granite sand. II has no cooling winds 4
the beat ana glys-ie out again. captall