Irrigation 43 



as this results in a waste of time and labour; 

 secondly, that the economical use of water lessens 

 the danger from seepage ; and thirdly, that excessive 

 watering leaches out the most expensive plant foods 

 such as nitrates, contained in the soil, and carries 

 them down deep into the sub-soil out of the reach of 

 the roots of the plants. 



Provided that the land is kept well cultivated, 

 newly-planted trees and vines do not require more 

 than from 15 inches to 20 inches of irrigation water 

 the first season. When once established and before 

 they come into bearing, fruit trees and vines planted 

 on sandy land can be kept in vigorous health on 15 

 inches and under of irrigation water per annum. 

 One of the greatest mistakes often made by new- 

 comers on irrigation areas is in watering too 

 heavily. On most of the irrigation settlements the 

 regulations formulated by the governing authorities 

 permit the individual irrigationist to use up to 24 

 inches of water per acre ; but these regulations are 

 not always enforced, with the result that inexpe- 

 rienced irrigationists often put far more water on to 

 their land than is good for it. Seepage, the greatest 

 foe the irrigationist has to fear, is more often 

 brought about by excessive or careless watering 

 than by any other means. Experience has shown 

 that 24 acre inches per annum is amply sufficient for 

 vines and trees in full bearing, and that with good 

 cultivation it is possible to obtain the heaviest crops 

 with considerably less water than this. 



SOME EXPERIMENTS IN IRRIGATION. 



To give practical illustrations of the results that 

 may be obtained by an economical use of water 

 combined' with thorough cultivation, the writer 

 hopes that he may be pardoned by here introducing 

 the results of a few experiments made at his orchard, 

 which is situated on the uplands of Berri. 



