. A complete geography . areas of tropicalforest. Southwestern Australia and Tasmania are reached by theprevailing westerlies, with their cyclonic storms, which bring variable weather and rainfall, as in eastern UnitedStates. These rainy sections are also clothedwith forests. It is therefore only along portions of thecoast that there is enough rainfall for agri-culture, while the interior, and much thegreater part of the continent, is either aridor actual desert. Much of the interior isadapted- to ranching, though some parts areeven too arid for that; but the southeasterncoast, whose equable c
. A complete geography . areas of tropicalforest. Southwestern Australia and Tasmania are reached by theprevailing westerlies, with their cyclonic storms, which bring variable weather and rainfall, as in eastern UnitedStates. These rainy sections are also clothedwith forests. It is therefore only along portions of thecoast that there is enough rainfall for agri-culture, while the interior, and much thegreater part of the continent, is either aridor actual desert. Much of the interior isadapted- to ranching, though some parts areeven too arid for that; but the southeasterncoast, whose equable climate reminds us ofthe Mediterranean, will support a densepopulation. Plants. — Australian vegetation is notonly peculiar, but also strikingly adaptedto the climate of the country. In the in-terior, as in other desert regions, grass and flowering plants havegained the power to make rapid growth and to mature their seedsquickly, so that a few days after a rain the barren sands becomecarpeted with green as if by Fig. 542. Undergrowth in the Austral ian forest. Among the desert grasses, one of the most remarkable is the porcupinegrass which grows on the sandy plains of the northwest interior, and isso hard, wiry, and spiny as to prevent passage through it. Plants withleaves which taste of salt also thrive here, being fitted for growth onplains that are too dry and alkaline for grass. These salt bushes areso valuable as forage for sheep and cattle that they are now introducedinto the arid section of southwestern United States. The scrub trees that flourish in the arid interior have developed afoliage able to resist evaporation. For example, the gum trees (Eucalyp-tus) hold their narrow leaf blades vertically with only the edges towardthe suns rays ; the leaves of wattles (Acacia) and other plants haveshrunk to thorns: and some trees secrete odorous oils which check PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT 531 evaporation. The leaves are too tough and leathery to wilt, and theirdull greens
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectgeograp, bookyear1902
