358 Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



construction of works not directly remunerative in themselves. The 

 same will hold good here, as an increase in the purchasing power of 

 a large section of the community must benefit the rest of it. 



(j) Agriculture (and this includes irrigation) is the most per- 

 manent of all industries ; it is advantageous to the country as a whole 

 to foster it, especially while its revenue is increased by the profits 

 from mining which may eventually diminish. 



(k) Irrigation will, in favourable circumstances, permit of two 

 crops being grown annually ; that raised in the cold season will not 

 be liable to damage by floods, hailstorms and locusts, and will thus be 

 practically secure. 



(1) Irrigation works can be constructed almost entirely by local 

 labour, as but an insignificant part of them will have to be imported. 

 Their construction will therefore benefit the resident labouring 

 community. In this respect they compare most favourably with 

 railways. 



5. Alleged Non-Requirement of Irrigation. 



By some it has been stated that irrigation is not wanted, 

 because : — 



(a) The population is too small to require it. 



(b) It will be cheaper to import produce than to grow it. 



(c) Owing to the high price of labour, it will be impossible 

 to export surplus produce. 



Generally, it may be said that such objections are raised by 

 persons who have- not resided long in the country, or who have not 

 had experience of the success of irrigation in other countries. It 

 is surely more reasonable to attach greater importance to the opinions 

 of those who have been born and bred in the country, and of those 

 who have seen what irrigation has done elsewhere. Both of these 

 latter classes are greatly in favour of developing South Africa by 

 means of irrigation. (Vide " Agriculture Within the Empire," pp. 

 138-140). 



Theory is all very well, but it is not always reliable. A few 

 years ago it was said that plantations would not be successful near 

 Johannesburg. The Sachsenwald one is now' a proof of the fallacy 

 of this idea. It is far better to rely upon the results of experience, 

 even if that has been obtained in other countries. 



The following remarks are made as to the objections stated 

 above : — • 



(a) The total population of the Transvaal by the last census * 

 was 1,268,716, and the cultivated area in 1902-03 was estimated 

 at 391,000 t acres, or only 0.31 acre per head, which is quite 

 insufiicient for the support of the inhabitants. Of this area, bv far 

 the largest proportion is devoted to the growth of mealies — an 



* Transvaal Census Report, 1904. 



t Transvaal Administration Report for 1903. 



