understood by the great majority of our landliolders, this is a 

 matter of much importance. 



An important point to be aimed at in a general system of irriga- 

 tion for pastoral purposes is to have the country so dotted over 

 with what have been termed protected areas that at least all the 

 more valuable of the stock can be saved in time of drought without 

 removing them to distant pastures. Throughout the whole of the 

 plain country between the Murrumbidgee and i' " 



a distanc 



:e of about 30 miles ] 



north anc 



Iwest from the former riv. 



uot only 



• should there be n 



necessity for mo' 



ving stock in a: 



season h< 



)wever dry, but on tl 





,ry that di: 



strict should ha 



a surplus 



; of grass and fodde 



r ava"illl 



>le for sto 





adjacent 



districts, In the 



Westerr 



I Division 



"everyTacUeas 



brings fa 

 places in 



mine prices and caus 



es serious 



5 losses in 



stock. There a 



which losses in stoc 



:k in dry 







pected to 



. some extent, but 



such loss 



;es may be greatly 'reducf 



while fai. 



.ine prices for hay c 



;an be er 



itirely put 



an end to. 





Production of 



Fodder 



BY Ihrig^ 



.TION. 



in the foregoing, I have shown that under favouraljie circum- 

 stances irrigation of pasture land can be carried out with satis- 

 factory results, not only by gravitation, but also by pumping. One 

 of tlie conditions necessary for the prohtal)le irrigation of pasture 

 land IS the presence of an abundant supply of water. This and 

 other nuportant conditions are frequently wanting, and the result 

 IS that the irrigation of small areas of lucerne or other crop for 

 lodder will, in many cases, be the best course to adopt towards 

 providing for bad seasons. This also is a matter which has passed 

 oeyond the experimental stage. As already mentioned, it lias 

 been proved by actual experiment that the produce of one acre of 

 irrigated lucerne will feed over 20 sheep. In other words, if we 

 take the case of a Westeri " ' 



acres, it has been proved that 5,000 acres of irrigai 

 support the same number of sheep as 500,000 acres of tlie land m 

 Its natural state. The practical lesson to be drawn from this is 

 that the irrigation of comparatively small areas in suitable places 

 ^I'lU provide the means of saving large numbers of sheep when 

 glass IS scarce and of preventing deterioration in the quality of 

 the wool. 

 ^^That the production of hay by irrigation for the use of stock iu 



o the more enterprising of our station managers. The quantity 



^ nay required to keep a sheep in fair condition where water is 



undant is variously estimated by ditierent competent authorities 



some placing it as low as 6oz. per day, but the majority tixing it 



irom lOoz. to lib per day. On this subject there is probably 



