80 HOLDINGS 



the country and to protect it against famine. Now 

 these canals are models of engineering skill and, from 

 a technical point of view, a standing monument to 

 the efficiency of the Irrigation Department ; and the 

 question will naturally arise, "how is it that these 

 canals cannot be made to pay ? ' The answer is 

 that they can be made to pay provided that capital 

 and skill are attracted to the canals, and the water is 

 used to anything like the best advantage. The soil 

 and climate are excellent, a large rural population 

 exists on the spot, and with the help of the water all 

 the ordinary food grains can be grown to perfection ; 

 fruit, vegetables and spices can be produced so far as 

 the limited demand for them will permit ; cotton can 

 be obtained to the extent of at least half a bale per 

 acre, and, above all, conditions are exceptionally 

 favourable for growing the very profitable crop of 

 sugar-cane. The only two things that are lacking for 

 really high-class production are capital and skill. 



It might be thought that when a canal is opened 

 in these arid regions the owners of the land under 

 command would lose no time in making use of the 

 water provided. But this is not the case. It is only 

 by slow degrees that the people begin to use the 

 water, and it requires twenty years of patient en- 

 deavour on the part of the canal authorities before 

 they can get the water fully taken up. For many 

 years a large part of the water is wasted. As an 

 example of this the case of the Godavari Canals in 

 1918 may be mentioned. It was clear in that year 



