ARTESIAN WATER IN N. S. WALES. 93 



about 1,100,000 dollars, making in all 1,600,000 dollars, or a 

 fraction over, for the whole 12,000 acres embraced in the settle- 

 ment, of 100 dollars per acre. The maintenance of the system 

 appears to be but a comparatively small item. It may be seen by 

 these statements, which are rather above than below the mark, as 

 to the cost of land and works, that two years' production at River- 

 side would return a profit of fifteen per cent., at least on the 

 average totality of outlay. Of course the present value of land 

 to the later purchasers and occupants give an entirely different 

 balance sheet. Even with these high figures a large return is 

 secured, as for example, a purchase was made in 1890 of a ten 

 acre orange orchard, all of which was in bearing : the cost of the 

 land and trees to the purchaser was 1000 dollars per acre: the 

 crops sold divided into two grades of oranges, one for 1750 dollars 

 and the other for 1250 dollars, making a return of 300 dollars per 

 acre. Under this percentage of returns the purchasers would 

 in less than four years receive 2,000 dollars more than their original 

 outlay. During the past year the returns from Citrus trees at 

 Riverside ranged from 100 dollars to 261 '80 dollars per acre. 

 These figures cover the net, not the gross profits. 



As further illustrating the value of, and the preference for the 

 small holding in America, the same authority instances a sale 

 recently held of 8,000 acres by an irrigation company, at which 

 the land brought an average of 66 dollars per acre; 2,000 acres 

 of which were sold in ten acre blocks, the balance being in twenty, 

 forty, fifty, sixty, seventy and eighty acre blocks. 



Besides Riverside there are other settlements wholly dependent 

 for their water supply upon artesian wells, the most important of 

 which is the Lake View Colony in Riverside County. The original 

 value of these dry lands did not exceed ten dollars per acre ; many 

 thousands of acres have been sold with water rights attached for 

 100 dollars per acre, and are still rising in value. This colony is 

 served by a group of wells, yielding one and a half cubic feet per 

 second (say 800,000 gallons per twenty-four hours), the estimated 

 capital value of which is £10,000 per cubic foot per second, it 



