1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 181 



lay, and there is no money that you can expend, but the 

 interest would be more than it would cost you to pump this 

 water at twelve cents a thousand gallons. 



Professor Stockbridge. I understand, where Indian corn, 

 wheat, etc., are irrigated, it only costs sixty cents an acre 

 for the water for a year. Can you pump it up and put it 

 on for sixty cents an acre ? 



Mr. Eawson. I am talking about Massachusetts, not 

 California. 



Professor Stockbridge. I would like to ask another 

 question. If we have no legal rights to the water of Con- 

 necticut River, or any of its branches, for irrigating purposes, 

 I want to know if we have not an undoubted right to take 

 sewage waters of our inland cities, iind use those waters for 

 irrigating purposes ? 



Mr. Rawson. I think we ought to have. 



Professor Stockbridge. Then had we better not do it? 

 Take the sewage water of the city of Worcester, that is 

 troubling all the valley of the Blackstone from there to 

 Long Island Sound, and which is a great volume of water. 

 Could not that be used for irrigating purposes to great 

 advantage, and would it not be infinitely better water to use 

 than your well water? 



Mr. Rawson. Yes, I think it would be better to use ; but 

 of course until we get some act through the Legislature in 

 relation to it, it would be pretty difficult for us to get it, 

 and I am not much of a lawyer myself, and I hope the gentle- 

 man will not ask me too many legal questions. But I hope 

 the time will come before long when we shall get some such 

 right ; w^hen the farmers of Massachusetts will place men 

 enough in the Legislature to obtain such rights. And I 

 hope that those young men that are now being educated in 

 our Agricultural College will have such instructions, not 

 only in agriculture, but in elocution, parliamentary practice 

 an(i those points which will bring them before the public, so 

 that they will take their place where they should be, and 

 place the agricultural interests of the State in the position 

 they ought to occupy. [Loud applause.] 



I think the gentlemen are wandering somewhat from the 

 subject, and I hope you will excuse me, also, for departing 



