WATER CONSERVATIOX, ETC. 253 



Laclilan, wliicli had failed to sustain 4,000 sheep in the season before 

 the fioodino: comnu'uced, successfully sujijxirtcd 1:2, ()(»() sheen, 120 

 cattle, and 200 horses in the first season during Avhicli the flooding 

 was in operation. The rivers which can best be utilised in jjlaces for 

 this class of irrigation at a moderate expense are the >rurruiiil.i(lL''tH', 

 the Lachlan, and the Macqiuirie. 



Pumping from the rivers or creeks is, however, the c<.uiiii()nest 

 method of supplying water for irrigation. Although no great area 

 has been irrigated in any one instance, there are steam ])uniiis used f<ir 

 thispui'pose on almost every river west of the Dividing Kange, and on 

 some of the more important creeks. As the river or creek bank is 

 frequently the highest ground in its neighbourhood, and the land slopes 

 away gradually from the bank, the natural facilities for distributing 

 water raised by pumping are excellent. The crop most commonly 

 grown by irrigation in this manner is lucerne, but wheat for liav, 

 cereals, and root crops have all been grown successfully, while an irri- 

 gated orchard and vegetable garden is now looked on as a ])ro]K'r, if 

 not a necessary adjunct to every homestead possessed of water frontage. 



The artesian bores which have already been referred to as ])roviding 

 supplies of water for stock in the dry districts of the north-west ])art of 

 the Colony, have another most important function to fulfil, namely, 

 providing for the means of adding to the food supply. In some cases 

 the artesian bores have even noAv become the centre of little oases of 

 cultivation, but the question of the proper utilisation of the artesian 

 water is still in its infancy. The great value of reserves of fodder and 

 other crops to assist in tiding over droughts is beginning to be more 

 widely understood, especially in such dry districts as those in which the 

 artesian water is obtained. The altered conditions which may be looked 

 forward to when this part of the colony will be dotted over with 

 artesian bores, each of them the centre of an irrigated farm, will anij)ly 

 justify the statement that the discovery of the extensive su])plies of 

 artesian water was equivalent to the addition of a new province. As 

 this water has a high temperature, is frequently well-suited for wool- 

 scouring, and sometimes rises with such force as to be capable of 

 working powei'ful machinery, the field for its usefulness is wide and 

 varied. 



The classes of irrigation already referred to are all. such as have 

 been carried out by enterprising landholders for the improvement of 

 their own properties. But there is a wide field for works of an exten- 

 sive character which will benefit large areas, and provide the means 

 for high-class cultivation and closer settlement. This is no mere theory 

 or opinion, as the practicability of such works has been established 

 beyond question by comprehensive surveys carried out at the exj)ense 

 of the Government. The Murray and the :\[urruuibi<lgee are by far the 

 best sources of supply for irrigation canals, and the country betwei'u 

 these rivers is singularly adapted for irrigation on a large scale. ^^ est- 

 ward from Albury on the Murray and from Narrandera on the Murrum- 

 bidgee, this district may be described as a great alluvial i)lain in which 

 the ground falls in a north-westerly direction from the Murray and m a 

 south-westerly direction from the Mnrrumbidgee. Sehenu's have been 

 prepared for irrigation on an extensive scale from both rivers, and the 

 conditions in both cases arc highly favourable. It is estimated that 



