No part of the world is better suited to sheep raising than Australia. In the interior are grassy plains much like our western plains, and here great droves of sheep roam at will living on the natural pasturage. Notice the high weeds among which the sheep are standing. Even the forests or bush (as they call them in Australia) furnish good pasture lands, for instead of being covered with decaying leaves the forest floor is carpeted with grass. In many cases leaves are so placed that the sun strikes the edge instead of the broad surface, and the shade is never very dense. The winters are so mild that animals can graze all the year round. The sheep on the ranges of Australia are of the breed known as merino. They have very fine wool, but they do not make the best grade of mutton. Formerly Australians raised them for the wool only, as they were too far from the markets of Europe to ship meat. The discovery of methods of cold storage transportation has changed this, and now Australian mutton can be sent all over the world. A great improvement in the sheep has taken place; they have been bred to produce both better wool and mutton. Today Australia and the adjacent islands produce more wool than any other continent. It is mostly sent to England to be made into cloth. In the early days sheep ran at large on government land. Now most of the land belongs to private owners, is fenced off with wire, and each sheep station has its own run or ranch. This scene was photographed in the winter, for there is a light covering of snow on the hillsides. The winter, however, is very short and mild; the summers are long and very hot. In what months does Australia have winter? Keystone ID: 15986 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.