490 



THE AGBIGULTUBAL JOURNAL. 



Governmeut. It is a question whether it 

 would not be better to lease the land 

 instead of selling it ; by this means Govern- 

 ment would be more certain to obtain 

 ultimately the full value of the water, and 

 could raise rents so high that the lots 

 could only be held by men who farmed 

 highly and made the most both of land 

 and water. On the other hand, the sale of 

 the lots at the outset relieves the Govern- 

 ment at once of all financial burden. 



6. I must take this opportunity of point- 

 ing out that the construction of the " upper 

 furrow" will be a very different job to 

 that of the existing channel, on which the 

 natural conditions were specially favour- 

 able. Very complete surveys and working 

 drawings are required before an estimate 

 can be prepared, and this estimate, with 

 the drawings of every work, must be 

 examined and passed by a competent and 

 responsible Engineer before any lots are 

 sold or leased, or any expenditure in- 

 curred, except for survey and estimate. 



7. In some similar cases in the Cape 

 Colony the land has been sold at prices 

 varying from £10 to £53 per acre, and a 

 charge of Id. per 1,000 gallons made for 

 all water supplied. This comes to over 

 30s. per acre per annum for watei, and is 

 probably more than should be charged in 

 Natal. But I have great doubts whether 

 it is right to supply water without a 

 charge. In the case of the old furrow, a 

 large unearned increment has accrued to 

 purchasers of lots, and though this will 

 run up rates at the next auction, it is not 

 likely that the real value will be realised. 



8. Before the new furrow is completed, 

 some bye-laws must be introduced to pro- 

 vide for the division of the available 

 supply between the two channels, as well 

 as for distribution between the several 

 irrigators on both. Outlets must be of 

 fixed sizes, and times must be laid down 

 for opening and closing each outlet. The 

 " roster " for opening and closing would 

 not be always in force, but would be 

 brought in when the supply in the river 

 gets low. 



CoLBNSO Flats— Proposed Tugbla 

 Canal. 



P. A portion of the so-called " flats " in 

 the neighbourhood of Colenso, on the 

 right bank of the Tugela, might, no doubt, 

 be irrigated from the Little Tugela, and 



some water from the main river might 

 possibly be brought into the Little Tugela 

 above the head of the canal. The latter, 

 even if possible, would be expensive. The 

 Little Tugela may, I think, be generally 

 depended on for 100 cubic feet per second 

 below the junction of the Sterk Spruit in 

 the winter, though this year (1900) it was 

 considerably Ijelow that. The head of the 

 canal would probably be a little above 

 the bridge, at the site shown to me by Mr. 

 G. C. Williams, in 1899. 



10. Before attempting a survey for such 

 a canal, it is necessary to fix upon an 

 approved means of financing tho scheme. 

 It is not safe for Government to make a 

 canal and seek to recoup itself by merely 

 charging a water-rate per acre irrigated, or 

 per unit of water used ; there are few 

 countries where this can be done. In the 

 Hartz River Valley Scheme, in the Cape 

 Colony, it is proposed to acquire by pur- 

 chase a considerable area of land, to sell it, 

 after making the canal, at an enhanced 

 rate, and to charge a rate of Id. per 1,000 

 gallons for water used for irrigation. In 

 this scheme it was assumed that 400,000 

 gallons would be consumed for the irriga- 

 tion of one acre ; this makes the rate 

 33s. 4d. per acre, which is probably too 

 high for Natal, but a lower rate might be 

 charged. I can think of no more suitable 

 plan for financing the Colenso Flats 

 Scheme. 



11. Probably about 5,000 acres could be 

 irrigated. The canal would be something 

 like 20 miles long, with perhaps five to 

 eight miles of minor channels, possibly 

 more. It is impossible to guess the cost, 

 but it would probably be between £35,000 

 and £50,000. Taking 5,000 acres and 

 £50,000 cost of construction, we get a rate 

 of £10 per acre, which is about the same 

 as that of the Hartz River Valley Scheme. 



12. Everyone says that wheat can be 

 grown in this soil ; in any case, one or 

 more grist-mills might be constructed on 

 the canal. Drainage wdl cross the line 

 throughout the whole of its length, but 

 this is unavoidable, and if the main cross- 

 ings are provided for by strong works of 

 ample waterway, the annual maintenance 

 charges should not be very heavy. I fear 

 there is little chance of economically 

 storing any of these cross drainages with 

 a view to increasing the supply. 



