The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-05-05

other English islands It occupies two 0fths
OF the British domnions.
II Is a country OF magnificent distances,
1T Is 50 far away from every where else
that you have to make "a special trip to get
10 II, The shortest distance To England is
ll,uuU miles II Is 1900 miles from Africa,
$500 Miles from South America aud 1850
miles away from the continent Of Asia,
Even New Zealand, which looks 50 close
on the map, Is about as far from II as from
! New York 10 Omaha. and n thkes from
/ -four 60 i've days 10 make tile voyage from
one to- the other
The continent ltsen Is longer from east
10 west than from New York to Salt Lake,
aud wldr from north 10 south than from
New York to Chicago. The Gulf Of Chr
pchtarla az the north Is about 5OO miles
lorg and 200 miles Wide, ami the great
Australian Right at the south is much
wider.
Some Australian PeouIiarties.
The country has at QUE side a great coral
reef thousand miles long, wollng Off an
ocean waterway betwcon it and the coast,
II has deserts like sahara, so dry that
your finger nails become us brittle as glass,
SO Try that screws come out ~ the boxes
hni that the lead IL loose In Your pencils
I lt Is a land Of hg things. as wen rs queer
! things. II has trees almost rs II not quite
nr large ms those Of California. One was
recently trilcd near Melbourne which was
I over 900 feet high and which NJ 200 feet
| from the ground was six feet In diameter.
/ Australia has lilies which grow Ia the
| height of three story house. 1t has trees
that grow grass and other trees that bulge
,ut Hike CLINT bottles.
A Continent Of Gold and Silver.
Australia Is rich continent SO rich
that no orc Knows how rich it u.s. 1t is now
one Of the great gold producers of the
world. II produced more last Year than
/ the United States, and the surface has not
heen scratched. The greater part of the
country has never hcen prospectcd. Vast
areas have never been explored, aud new
mines are being discovered every day. Lat.
~ on | shall give letter about Mount
/ Morgan, In Queensland, the richest gold
/ mine Of the world, ana shall ton 81 my
visit to Ballarut. whore Nuggets of gold
as big rs foot balls were found Here In
Victoria was the first gold excitement and
today SOeOOo ounces aud more of gold arc
still annually produced Gold Is found an
over the country in the mouutalns. on tho
farms and In the sands Of the deserts.
have to be used 20 carry the gold oUt
and from. there come most of the gold
exports of today.
Australia has vast quantities OF iron and
tin. II has stream tin; that Is. tin In the
shape OF sands which arc SO tine that YOU
can hold them M and they Will run through
your fingers Just like the dust of the do
SORT save that every grain Is pure tin. II
has copper mines and coal mines. Its silver
mines have produced sl6O,O00OO0 worth OF
that metal aud 1t has also diamonds rubles
emeralds, opais and pearls
The Farms and Flooks.
mort lHIioIluhN tnlN tue minerals, now
ever. is te pastoral and agricultural wealth
of the continent Much OF the desert can
be irrigated, and In addition there are vast
tracts Of well-watered lands. Some 90 Tho
biggest sheep farms of the world are, With
In short railroad ride OF Melbourne Svd
hey ana Brisbane, | have travelled over
country where n thousand acres are a gar
den patch, and know several mon who
own hundreds of thousands Of sheep. | mel
one man who owns a million aud among
his stock he Inns single sheep worth 5000
head. Australia exports annually over
6OWn.W0 pounds of WOOL and II prn
duces some OF the best wool Of the world
II has about hundred million sheep. 'rhs
pastoral Industry Is the grea, industry, and
the nristocrat Is the squatter
OF late the people have taken to dalry
ing, They now have MS fine creamerlcs and
cheese factories as any part af the world
| rLey ship hniter from Melbourne TO III,
philippines, ana they hope some time Ia
supply the trade OF East Asia.
i Many Rich Men.
The new Australia has many rich men.
The LIZ cities have as many millionaires