28 Irrigation Farming 1 in Australia. 



THE FIRST YEARS. 



There is an obvious difference between the applicants from 

 oversea for these blocks in the closer settlement irrigation areas,, 

 and the applicants at home in Australia; the Australian has gene- 

 rally experience of the farming conditions obtaining, and the new- 

 comer from overseas has not. But this difference is considerably- 

 exaggerated, and in actual working fact does not amount to much. 



The immigrant farm settler wants to know how much the 

 venture will cost him before he begins to recoup himself from the 

 land, and how he should proceed to reach that desired state by the 

 shortest possible route. Now, much depends on the settler's 

 character. One man with $2400.00 may fail where another with 

 $480.00 would succeed. And this, of course, is true of all business 

 undertakings. Asked to decide such probabilities for an inquirer, 

 an adviser can only produce actual examples of what men have 

 done. But if the intending settler has grit and industry, and some 

 idea of business economy, he can begin with $1440.00 on these 

 Australian closer settlement irrigation areas to-day, and in six 

 years' time or so find his block returning to him $1440.00 or $1920.00 

 a year. This statement is made on the carefully-considered esti- 

 mates of the authorities in charge, whose careers depend on the 

 success of settlers. The first three or four years will be no light 

 work for the settler, but it is healthy, and he is his own master; 

 and when the first pioneering stage is over he can afford to sit 

 back and rest. 



At another page will be given the personal stories obtained on 

 the spot from new farmers themselves within the past few months. 

 They are the best possible means of explaining to the new-coming 

 settler what life and work is like. Meanwhile some general idea 

 of procedure can be given as a rough guide to the man who has 

 never been through it. 



The new settler, having visited various localities with special 

 railway facilities which the State authorities have made for him,, 

 selects his block of land. There are Government officers in each 

 district to help him over the first steps in preparing it. They will 

 advise him that during the first three years, at any rate, he can 

 expect no return from fruit trees, and therefore he should carry on 

 some other sort of farming while his fruit trees are coming into 

 bearing. They therefore advise the growing of lucerne (alfalfa) 

 and dairying. Lucerne seed costs about $0.36 a lb., and 10 to 12 Ibs. 

 are required for the acre. Some other fodder crop to go with the 

 lucerne millet or sorghum should also be planted.. Millet seed 

 costs about $0.48 a lb. Good cows can be bought for about $38.40 a 

 head. The Government will advance money on improvements with 

 which the settler can buy cows, or they will buy him cows on a 

 stock mortgage that is, he must pay back the cost of his cows by 

 instalments, and cannot sell the stock again till he has paid to the 

 Government the cost of them. Each cow properly fed should return 

 him $1.44 or $1.68 a week in cream ; and on an average a cow is in 

 milk ^ for seven months of the year that is to say, a cow ought to 

 pay its cost before the first year is out. The co-operative butter 



