Up 



constituted under this Act, the extent of land under their control 

 being 848,620 acres. In addition, 1 9 applications for the formation 

 of Irrigation Trusts were under consideration at the date mentioned, 

 the gross area affected by them being 1,401,780 acres, of which it 

 was estimated that 1,122,849 acres could be irrigated. A numher 

 of these Trusts have since then been authorised. 



Principal Irrigable Areas in New South Wales. 

 In the accompanying map of New South Wales I have marked 

 the areas in which irrigation can be carried on under advantageous 

 circumstances. The boundaries of these areas are in most cases 

 necessarily approximate only ; but they may, on the whole, be 

 accepted as substantially correct. It is to be understood that 

 only a small portion of these areas could be irrigated in any one 

 year ; but even with this reservation inspection of them will at 

 once show how discreditable to local enterprise are the famine 

 prices frequently paid for hay, and the importation of Victorian 

 hay and chaff as far as to the Murrumbidgee and occasionally 

 even to the Lachlan. On this subject I may again quote the 

 opinion of Mr. Mair, of Groongal, as given by him to the Water 

 Commission in 1885. Mr. Mair stated that the conclusion he 

 had arrived at as a result of experiments made in the irrigation 

 of a number of different crops was " that irrigation might be 

 profitably used for producing hay, which is bulky, and consequently 

 expensive of carriage ; or for raising potatoes or roots which are 

 perishable, or green stuff to feed valuable stock on in time of 

 drought." 



In the light of the facts and opinions referred to, it is abun- 

 dantly evident that by a judicious use of the means at hand we 

 could, within a few years, enormously increase the productiveness 

 of the whole of .the Western part of the colony. On this subject 

 the following conclusions were arrived at by the Water Commission 

 after a very extended inspection of the country and an exhaustive 

 inquiry into its capabilities :— " 1. That on water conservation 

 mainly depend the prosperity and the development of the whole 

 extent of the Central and Western Divisions of this colony, and 

 tliat though less required in the Eastern Division, it will add in 

 many places there also in an important degree to the productive- 

 ness, and tlierefore to the value of the land. 2. That as the 

 laiidholders, as a general rule, are quite equal to the task of pro- 

 viding sufficient water for the stock which the land can carry 

 under present conditions, Government works for supplying water 

 to stock are required only on a limited scale, and generally only 

 on travelling stock routes. 3. That the great object of water 



