disagreeably. This is especially noticeable in the buildings and houses,
few of which date back more than ten years. In the growth of towns, as
well as in the progress of individuals and institutions, there are three
periods to be gone through. Here the first stage is that of the log-hut.
This is succeeded by the weather-board cottage, which in turn gives place
to brick and stucco. Finally comes the stone building with its two or
three stories. The log-hut stage is of course far past. The weather-board
cottage still lingers in the poorer outskirts of Melbourne, but is
extinct in Adelaide, and fast becoming extinct in Melbourne. The choice
now is between brick and stone. In Sydney the abundance of stone on the
spot, gives it the preference; Adelaide, with less stone, builds chiefly
in brick; Melbourne, which has to get its stone from a distance, uses
hardly anything else but brick. This, of course, for private houses.
There are plenty of admirable stone buildings in Melbourne, as I have
already mentioned.

Now that the brick and stone age is firmly established the style of your
house becomes a mere matter of pounds, shillings, and pence. With wages
at from nine to twelve shillings a day, and with money so much dearer
than at home, the Australian has necessarily to pay a much higher rent
for his house. Excluding, of course, ground-rents, which make London
houses so expensive, I think one may fairly say that rents here are about
double the rate they are at home, and yet, _except for the rise in the
value of land_ in the cities and their suburbs, house-property is by no
means a remunerative investment. Nevertheless, there is always a great
demand for it. The colonist is very fond of living in his own house and
on his own bit of ground, and building societies and the extensive
mortgage system which prevails enable him easily to gratify this desire.
I believe that at least ninety out of every hundred house-properties in
Australia are mortgaged up to at least two-thirds of their value. Out in