WESTERN

AUSTRALIA owes its phenomenal advance in quite recent times to the very rich deposits of gold found in and round Coolgardic. Like the rest of Australia, it is a land of oddities. For instance, amongst its characteristic vegetation, flowers have no scent, ferns grow as tall as telegraph posts, trees throw no shadow, and cherries have their pips ou - side. Among its characteristic animals, the platypus lays eggs and the kangaroo walks on two legs. Among its characteristic birds, the emu runs instead of flying, eagles are white and swans are black, and small birds do not sing. The country contains, naturally, no milk-giving animal and no flour-giving gra es, which helps to account for the very backward * civilization ’ of the natives—the savagest in the world.