The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-28

culture. In many places, in village:
| and on level tablelands, the LAND
might be suitable for cultivation ex
| cem it is too far from railroad IA.
| ciIities. Quite large area of the
western plateau consists of button
grass plains, and is inhabited chiefly
by venomous snakes, including the
little whip snake, the black snake and
the tiger snake. In the wooded dis
tricts, or BUSH as it is called, there
is much worthless scrub, and also a
great deal of very valuable timber
including the huon- pine. the black
wood. the myrtle and the blue gum
variety of eucalyptus. The eucalyp-
tus is the omnipresent tree of Austria
liza. It does not shed its leaves, but
it's bark The blue gum wood is very
useful for railroad sleepers, for piles,
and for bridge work. The Tasmanian
| blackwood makes beautiful furniture,
and is used a great deal for billiard
tables. 1t is a very valuable hard
| wood, yet in some parts it is so COM
mon that it is used for fences and
even for fuel.
| The islands in Bass Strait all be-
| long to Tasmania. To the northeast
is the Furneaux group, where mutton
| birding is the leading occupation, but
| there is also some sheep-raising and
Trimming. I met an old lady who
| owned one of these islands and raised
sheep-a Mrs. Robinson. When this
| old lady started in the sheep business
| some years ago, her island was sim
| ply alive with snakes. With her own
| hand, by actual count, she killed over
| 5000 snakes. Today not snake can
be found on her island. To the north
west are the Hunter group Of islands,
and King Island, noted in the past for
many dreadful shipwrecks on the
reefs off it's coast, but now more noted
for the melilot, which is a kind of
clover that has the happy faculty of
making apparently worthless land
fertile, and of Transforming a. practi-
cal desert into green meadows, on
which cattle quickly fatten and fine
quality of butter is produced. The
meIilot came to King Island, it is
supposed, through some shipwreck,
but from what country it is not
known. Probably it was the stuff1ng
of the sailors mattresses. The nell
lot has but a sparse, sickly growth
until attacked by bush fire. After
this fire it grew up again very strong
and luxurious, and it was found that
the more it was burned, the more it
would thrive. Moreover, in burning,
it would make fierce fire that would
destroy down to the roots all the
worthless scrub. The melilot intro
duces nitrogen into the sandy soil and
converts it into a rich loan, suitable
efor growing. lucerne and other valua
BILE vegetation that could not grow
before. At the present time, King Is
land is one of the richest districts of
Australia, and there has recently been
great rush of settlers there from
other parts of the commonwealth,
owing to the large profit in seattle
raising. The people almost worship
the melilot which has brought them
this sudden and great prosperity
King Island beef, King Island butter
and King Island horses are becoming
famous through Australia.
An important source of wealth to
Tasmania is its tourist business. The |
island is the great summer resort Of |
Australia, and during December. jan |
uary, February and March there is a |
great rush of visitors from Sydney !!
and Melbourne, eager to escape the |
intolerable heat of their own cities, |
and be refreshed by the cool antarctic
breezes which visit Hobart which, !
with the exception of several cities in |
New Zealand and Puenta Arenas, in |
South America, is the most southerIy |
city in the world. Not only the eli |
mate, but the scenery of Tasmania is /
delightful Mount Wellington. at the |
base of which Hobart lies, is about |
1000 feet high and easily assembled, |
and the view is most glorious. All |
through the island there is a success !
sion of mountains and valleys-some |
wild and rugged and forbidding; some |
more quiet and tempting I enjoy the |
island most in sprfngtime, in October |
or November. when the hills and val |
leys are clothed in covering OF |
green grass and bright yellow nettle |
blossoms. There are some great nat |
ural scenic wonders, like the Tas- /
mans Arch 1t is a giant natural !
arch spanning an indentation of the |
sea. Then there is the blowhole |
where a great rush of sea water |
comes through a tunnel that ends !
like the muZzle of a hose, and turns |
a small saltwater pond into seeth- |
ing cauldron of water that bubbles
and spouts to great heights. There |
are many places in Tasmania of his |
toric interest, on account of their re-
la,tion to the days when the island |
was d penal colony, and when bush |
rangers kept many of the honest peo- |
pie in terror. The convict system has |
now been abolished for many years, |
but some useful traces remain in mag |
nificent roads constructed by the |
chain gangs. The road from Hobart |
to I.aunceston, ITO miles, is very |
good instance. I have often made the |
run in motor car, the road being |
well-nigh perfect all the way. The |
east coast of Tasmania has some |
magnificent roads. which wind over |
and around mountains and traverse |
miles of Bush where a kangaroo is |
much more likely TO be seen than a |
human being,
AS regards this tourist business, it |
would seem as if there might we'll be |