CHAPTER XXX. 



DAM-MAKIXG. 



The loss wliicL is annually sustained in the country 

 throuo-h the carryino; away of dams is enormous, and 

 yet nearly all this loss might be saved by a little know- 

 led ore and care in their construction. At all times dam- 

 making is expensive and anxious work, generally cost- 

 ing far more than the farmer originally expected ; and 

 in some cases, eyen where the dam stands and does not 

 leak, it proyes to be money wasted, from the drainage 

 area being insufficient, or the silt that comes down the 

 kloof quickly filling it up. 



It is not our intention to write about large reservoii's 

 intended for irrigation purposes, but about the small 

 ordinary dams for supplying stock with water. With 

 laro-e dams across rivers, or anywhere where the works 

 amount to a large undertaking intended for extensive 

 irrigation, the farmer should long consider oyer his 

 scheme, and give heed to the remarks of his neighbours 

 before commencino;. Many have been half ruined by 

 prematurely commencing on an ill-digested scheme. 

 The difficulties are great in a country like this, where 



