Aug. 3, 1908.] Agrlmiltural Gazette of N.S.W. 623 



have been made in America to utilise the artesian water in the arid parts 

 of the Western States, and ought to be carefully studied if the 83,000 square 

 miles of the artesian basin in this State are to be properly utilised. y - 1 



" In America, great stress is laid on the analysis of the soil, not merely 

 of the surface, but to a depth of 4 or 5 feet, and in one respect it appears 

 that we have a great advantage over the Western States of America, in 

 that the land in this State is almost free from the presence of alkalies, 

 whereas in America the land is to a considerable extent charged with alkaUes 

 in its natural state. i-T] 



" I think the Government ought to have the w^ater in each bore periodi- 

 cally tested to ascertain whether the flow increases or diminishes, and whether 

 it is affected by drought or flood, or by the proximity of other bores, and 

 whether the alkaline constituents in the water increase or diminish with the 

 continued flow of the water. 



" In America, elaborate tests have been made to determine to what extent 

 various cereals, fodder plants, and fruit-trees are tolerant of alkalies; and 

 I think a very useful experiment might be made of a Government farm in 

 some arid district watered by bore-water in order to see what cereals, fodder 

 plants, (fee, do best when so watered, and to determine scientifically what 

 the effect of bore-water in agriculture is, and how far the injurious effect 

 of the alkalies can be counteracted. 



" Such a farm ought to set at rest many of the vexed questions as to the 

 effects of bore-water on agriculture, and would be an object lesson to settlers 

 as to how bore-water ought to be aj)plied, in what quantities and times, 

 and to what soils, and the kinds of cereals, fodder plants, &c., ought to be 



grown. 



" So far as the evidence before me goes, the soil in the arid districts is 

 unquestionably rich when suppUed with sufficient water ; indeed. Professor 

 Hilgard, the great authority on the subject in America, lays it down that — 

 ' Arid countries are always rich countries when irrigated ' — principally on 

 the ground that — ' Where the rainfall is insufficient to carry the soluble 

 compounds formed in the weathering of the soil mass into the country 

 drainage, these compounds must of necessity remain and accumulate in 

 the soil.' " 



A glance at Mr. Pittman's Map of Australia, which shows the extent, 

 as far as known, of the great artesian basin, impresses one with the importance 

 of producing the nitric acid on the spot, and as the power derivable from 

 some of the bores would not be sufficient for that purpose, the suction gas 

 plant could be economically and successfully applied. 



Suction gas engines are in general use in Australia, and well known as 

 " the cheapest power on earth." With charcoal or coke at £1 per ton, a 28- 

 B.H.P. plant can be run for a day of nine hours, at a cost of Is. 6d. for fuel. 



Mr. F. Howies, M.Sc, has dealt at considerable length with this question 

 in a paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry. The following 

 has been copied from his paper : — '' With regard to resources nearer at hand. 



