Artesian Wells. 399 



water will run short; in fact, these are so large that what has been 

 done in tapping them, by comparison, appears only a small 

 beginning. 



FUTURE OPERATIONS. 



If this is so. the many advocates of this method of water supply 

 will naturally say that " ever}- farm should have its boreholes," to 

 which there would be no objection as far as the supply of water 

 available is concerned, as most farms have an extent of more than 

 a square mile — an area capable of yielding 100,000 gallons per diem. 

 It \s. however, on account of the number of farms in the Colony, 

 perhaps 100,000, that such a scheme can only serve as an ideal to 

 work up to in future years, but still, to make any appreciable differ- 

 ence in the productive power of the stock-farming and agricultural 

 industries, the water supply of at least 5,000 farms must be improved 

 in the immediate future. Already 1,000 farms are on the books to be 

 dealt with as soon as facilities become available, and there must be 

 added a number of villages where no wholesome water supply at 

 present exists, which cannot be neglected, and hundreds of insti- 

 tutions where the underground water is the only safe source of supply 

 available ; and as each farm requires two or three boreholes it can 

 be readily seen that it is necessary to undertake the sinking of a 

 minimum number of 10,000 boreholes at once if this Colony is to 

 keep abreast of the other Colonies of South Africa (which are about 

 to expend large sums on irrigation works) and develop her agricul- 

 tural and pastoral resources, while an era of great prosperity reigns 

 and high prices rule. These borings will average about ;^5o each, 

 so that, if the opportunity of establishing the industries on a sounder 

 basis is to be emliraced the expenditure of a sum, say, of ^500,000. 

 will ha\e to be faced for the carrying out of this work during the 

 next two or three years, but with a definite scheme for the refund of 

 a large part of the expenditure. 



STATE AID IN THE PAST. 



Hitherto, as is well known. State-aid has been granted in tapping 

 supplies of underground water to assist the stock-farming and agri- 

 cultural industries, as these have suffered from drought, disease, and 

 the disturbed state of the country more than any other industry, and 

 it has been appreciated, judging from the immense number of appli- 

 cations regi.'Jtered. The exact amount of this assistance has varied 

 in accordance with the circumstances and cost of the work, but is at 

 present practically regulated on the ^ for ^ principle. Later, how- 

 ever, when the farming industry recovers its prosperity, which it is 

 boimd to do with the finest market of the world in its midst, f^erhajjs 

 a larger contribution may be expected from it. The regulations now 

 in force have applied to comparatively shallow boreholes, but now, 

 as the Government is in a position to bore deeper, a differently pro- 

 portioned State-aid might be introduced, which would bear fairly on 

 the landowner benefited and the taxpayer. 



