It Won't Happen in Our Time.

Evening Star, Issue 8530, 1 June 1891, Page 3

It Won't Happen in Our Time.

Disoussing the subject of future population and food supply, from a geograpbioal point of view, Mr E. G. Ravenstein, in a paper read to the British Association, estimated that the amount of available fertile or comparatively fertile land in the world was over 28 000,000 square miles. The poor land or steppes amounted to 14,000,000 square mileß, and the bare deserts 4,180,000 \ square miles. Of all Africa we knew very j little. Even of China, an ancient empire, we were not at all certain; and in these cases we could only go by analogy. But he estimated that tbe total population of the earth was 1,468 millions, while his estimate, so far as Africa was concerned, was a low one. Fiom the most recent information available he could not conscientiously give Africa more than 127,000,000, instead of the two, three, or four hundred millions that some had been disposed to allow, and even 127,000,000 was a high estimate, as it meant 11 persons to the square mile, and. that was a high number. In North America it was only 14, and in South America five. Herein Europe it was 101. Suppose this earth could sustain 5,993,000,000, the question was how long it would be before the earth would be full. He estimated that it would take exactly 182 years, or until 2072, to fill it, and in ten years which preceded that year there would have been added to the population 435,000,000 This sounds very pretty, but we do not think there need be a tremendous fuss made about this matter, as; it is not likely we shall i see the day when there is no room on this earth,