NEW SOUTH WALES.

East of Australia. Discovered by Captain Cook in 1770. Used as a convict settlement in 1788. Area, 323,437 square miles; population, 519,182. The country is rich in farming produce and stock, sheep alone numbering 16,500,000. 450,000 gallons of wine are manufactured yearly, but the staple produce is wool. It also produces silver, gold (richest in the world), coal, iron, copper, tin, kerosene oil, cotton, and tobacco. Value of exports and imports in 1871 was nearly £16,000,000. Capital, Sydney; population, with suburbs, 134,544.

QUEENSLAND.

Largest of the Australian colonies, in North Australia; area, 678,600 square miles; population, 109,897. Produces cotton, sugar, tobacco, and wool. Minerals: gold, copper, and coal mines. Timber, chiefly pine The broad plains, called "Downs," are well adapted for sheep-walks. Cattle and sheep are frequently boiled down for the sake of their fat. Capital, Brisbane.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Area, 750,000 square miles, with a population of 183,797. First peopled in 1836 by the British. Celebrated for wheat, the finest in the world. Objects of culture, wheat and vines. Minerals: Gold, copper (richest in the world at Burra-Burra). Immense quantities of wool sent to the British Isles. Value of exports and imports in 1871 was nearly £6,000,000. Capital, Adelaide.

VICTORIA.

Formerly part of New South Wales; area, 86,831 square miles; population in 1871 was 731,528. Climate well suited for Europeans. Exports and imports worth in 1871 nearly £19,000,000. The produce of the gold fields from 1851-71 was valued at £162,999,392, or more than £8,000,000 per annum. Capital, Melbourne; 220,000, with suburbs.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Area, 978,000 square miles; population, 24,785 in 1871. First settled in 1829. Has made the least progress of the colonies of Australia.

Minerals:

Iron ore, lead, copper, zinc, and coal. Objects of culture: Vine, sandalwood, and excellent wheat. Imports: Sugar, tea, tobacco, spirits, beer, soap, ironmongery, and clothing. Exports: Wool, timber, copper ore, whale-oil, pearls, and sandalwood. Perth is the capital.

NEW ZEALAND.

In the South Pacific Ocean, consisting of three islands, Northern, Southern, and Stewart's Island. Divided into eight provinces. Discovered by Tasman in 1642, and visited by Captain Cook in 1777. Colonized in 1839 by England. Separated from New South Wales in 1840, and made a separate colony. Area, 106,260 square miles. Population in 1871 of whites was 256,393; and natives, 38,540 (Maories); total, 294,933. A company styled the New Zealand Company made a pretended purchase of one-third of the colony. This led to frightful wars between the Maories and English in 1843-7, and 1861. Objects of culture: pine, for ship-building; gum-trees, flax, and European fruits and vegetables. Wellington, the seat of government. Auckland, largest town. Otago, gold fields. In 1871 there were 9,700,000 sheep, beside pigs and cattle. Exports and imports valued at £8,000,000.

TASMAN, OR VAN DIEMAN'S ISLAND.

South of Australia, from which it is separated by Bass's Strait. Area, 26,215 square miles; population, 101,785. Discovered by Tasman in 1642, and named Van Dieman's land, from the governor of the Dutch possessions in India. From 1803-13 used as a convict settlement. Produces wheat, oats, and European vegetables. Forest trees: Blue gum, from 35 to 300 feet high; myrtle, and ornamental trees.

Minerals: Coal, gold, and copper.
Town, 25,000 people.

Capital, Hobart

IN AFRICA AND OCEANIA.

CAPE COLONY.

South Africa, area, 200,160 square miles; population, 566,158, consisting of Europeans, Kaffirs, and Hottentots. Discovered by Bartholomew Diaz in 1486. Taken by the English in 1806. People employed in breeding horses, sheep, cattle, culture of wheat, barley, and oats. Great quantities of wool exported to England. Chief towns: Cape Town, near Table Bay; and Graham's Town, in the east. The discovery of diamonds lately has caused thousands to emigrate to the Cape. Value of exports and imports in 1871 was £6,300,000.

NATAL.

Near the Cape. Discovered by the Portuguese navigator 1497, on Christmas Day; hence its name. Area, 16,150 square miles; population, 193,103. Formed into a separate colony in 1856. Produces sugar, coffee, indigo, arrow-root, ginger, tobacco, cotton, and European wheats. Coal, copper, and iron have been found. Capital, Pieter Maritzburg. D'Urban, the port of the colony.

GOLD COAST. Along the coast of Guinea. Area, 6,000 square miles; population, 252,000. Climate, hot. Gold obtained from the streams. Exports gold-dust, monkey-skins, ivory, gum, and ostrich feathers. Imports British goods, hardware, fire-arms, and clothing. Capital, Cape Coast Castle.

SIERRA LEONE.

West Africa. Area, 468 square miles; population, 37,089. Ceded to England in 1787. Climate, deadly to Europeans. Exports: Cocoa nuts, ginger, ground nuts, hides, and palm oil. Imports: Ale, porter, clothes, flour, biscuits, cotton and woollen goods. cutlery, rum, tobacco, wine, &c. Capital, Freetown.

LAGOS.

On the coast of Guinea, near the Niger. Population, 61,021. Used for the suppression of slavery. Ceded to England 1861. Lead-ore and indigo are abundant. Cotton and palm-oil exported.

GAMBIA.

On banks of river of same name. Area, 21 square miles; population, 14,190. Capital, Bathurst. Climate, unhealthy to Europeans for five months. Exports: Wax, hides, ivory, gold-dust, rice, palm-oil, timber, and ground nuts. Formerly the slave trade was carried on in this colony.

ELMINA.

Coast of Guinea; now forms part of Gold Coast. Ceded by the Dutch in 1872. Population, with Gold Coast, 400,000; and area of two colonies, 14,000 square miles. Exports gold-dust.

ASCENSION.

An isolated island in the South Atlantic. Discovered by the Portuguese on Ascension Day, 1508; hence its name. Taken by the English in 1815. Area, 35 square miles; population, 500.

FALKLAND ISLANDS.

Three hundred miles north-east of the Straits of Magellan. Area, 7,600 square miles; population, 812. Discovered by Davis in 1592. Belonged to Spain and France, and England in 1771. Climate very healthy. Visited by whalers. Exports oil, hides, horns, hoofs, bones, tallow, and wool.

ST. HELENA.

Eight hundred miles from Ascension, and 1200 miles from Africa. Area, 47 square miles; popula tion, 6,444. Discovered by Portuguese, under Castella, on 21st May, 1501 (St. Helena's Day). Taken by the Dutch and English. Napoleon Bonaparte died here in 1821. James Town, the capital.

FIJI ISLANDS.

Ceded to England by the King in 1874. A group of 225 islands, population from 150,000 to 250,000. Produces bread-fruit tree, cocoa, plaintain, sugar-cane, arrow-root, nutmeg, and tea plant.

or 30 to a square mile, and about one-fifth of the

people in the world.

*The above does not include the area and population of Scotch Islands.