Nov. 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette oj N.S.W. 927 



Yanco Irrigation Farm. 



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W. J. ALLEN. 



The starting of this, the first iriigation 

 farm, by the Department of Agriculture, 

 under the Great Northern Murrumbidgee 

 Irrigation Scheme, is the beginning of the 

 utilisation of the surplus wateis of the State. 

 Ic is one of the most, if not the most impor- 

 tant work which the Government has yet 

 undertaken, as it is hard to estimate the 

 value which will be derived by the people of 

 Australia from the wedding of the water to 

 the land. As years go by and the population 

 increases, the conseivation of water and its 

 application to the land must of necessity 

 receive the attention which it deserves. 



In igation — what does it mean ? A method 

 of producing or increasing fertility in soils by 

 an artificial supply of water. Up to the 

 present its value has not been understood by 

 the people of Australia. We have the land, 

 which, with the aid of water, will produce 

 any crops that can be grown in a semi-tropical 

 ■country. We have the water, flowing on and 

 on to the ocean by the millions of cubic feet 

 annually in years of plenty and in years of 

 drought; yet we have always said "suthcient 

 unto the day is the evil thereof," and so far 

 have been entirely satisfied with ourselves 

 during years when the rainfall has been good, 

 congratulating ourselves with the fact that 

 with a fair rainfall Australia is one of the 

 best countries in the world, where cereals and 

 fruits will grow to perfection, and stock can 

 be seen fat all the year round, excepting — 

 yes, I am sorry to have to use that word — 

 excepting when the rainfall falls below our 

 requirements. In many parts of the State 

 a very little suffices to produce ample feed 

 for stock, and we have soil on which wheat 

 will mature and yield splendid crops on a 10 

 to 12 inch rainfall. Most of our wheats and 

 fruits, however, are grown where the rainfall 

 averages from 14 to 24 inches. 



When droughts occur, which they do with 

 unfailing regularity, they find us quite unpre- 

 pared to withstand their severity, with the 

 natural result that the loss of stock is enor- 

 mous during such years. In a large country 



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