QO Australian Life 



the drought-stricken bushmen, and if the neces- 

 sity for storage works were not recognised as a 

 matter of national importance. Unfortunately 

 the capital required for the construction of the 

 necessary storage areas is not at present forth- 

 coming, and the work of irrigating Australia is 

 progressing but slowly. It is obvious, however, 

 that the conservation of water, even if carried out 

 on the most extensive scale, will not cause the 

 grass to grow in years when there is no rainfall. 

 The loss of stock is caused by want of food, and 

 no scheme of water conservation would be ade- 

 quate for the irrigation of the vast grazing areas 

 of Australia. Water conservation can only be 

 part of a system which will include the growth of 

 large crops of green fodder by means of irrigation, 

 and the preservation of this fodder in silo pits. 

 The many experiments made in this direction 

 have generally proved successful, the favourite 

 fodder plants being maize, lucerne, and varieties 

 of sorghum. I^ike most arid countries, Australia 

 possesses a soil capable of producing remarkable 

 crops when irrigated, and the growth of luxuriant 

 fodder plants is only a question of the proper 

 application of water. It may confidently be pre- 

 dicted that the next development of pastoral enter- 

 prise will be the storage of water, and of large 

 supplies of fodder, in both a green and dry state. 

 The most satisfactory advance in the direction 

 of providing water has been made by the utilisa- 

 tion of the stores of artesian water, which have 



