526 



THE AORICULTUHAL JOURNAL. 



sible. This will, no doubt, economise 

 water, and have the best effect on the 

 growth of the water. • 



There are several flats in the TTmko- 

 maas Valley that could easily be watered ; 

 there is one on the right bank, near the 

 bridge on the main road, and I am told 

 that many hundreds of acres of flats 

 further upstream are already under irri- 

 gation. There is one nearly opposite the 

 Inkunya Hill that can, apparently, be 

 easily commanded. 



In the neighbourhood of Greenvale, 

 near Polela, two spruits were shown to me 

 which have sufficient permanent supply 

 for 50 to 60 acres each, and I think chan- 

 nels will be taken out. The soil seems 

 fairly suitable, but some of it lies low and 

 its drainage must be attended to. 



Missed going to Underberg by not 

 getting letter in time. There appears to 

 be some outlook for irrigation here, and I 

 hope to visit in February. 



I had no appointments between Bulwer 

 and Maritzburg ; most of the land is 

 " Native Location." 



5. Riet Vlei — 1st to ith November, 

 1900. 



There is some irrigation in this neigh- 

 bourhood. There are some nice spruits, 

 and I should like to see it again after a 

 year of normal rainfall. 



5. Ladysmith, Dundee, Dannhauser — 

 26th November to 1st December, 1900. 



There are some flats near Modder Spruit 

 that can be partially irrigated ; the per- 

 manent supply is very small. It can be 

 supplemented by some diversion reser- 

 voirs. There are some flats in this Klip 

 River County which are deserving of 

 further examination ; among others the 

 Waschbank flats, which I visited in 1899. 



There is some land on the Ingagane 

 River, north-west of Dannhauser, which 

 the owner wishes to irrigate from the 

 river by pumping. Plant for doing this 

 *up to the level desired (GO to 70 feet) 

 would cost £500 to £600, but 30 or 40 

 acres of the lower land could be watered 

 by a plant of about half that cost. Some 

 few acres could probably be done from 

 the spruit. The pumping project should 

 wait till the value of irrigation here lias 

 been determined by the results of the 

 partial irrigation that can be obtained at 

 a small outlay. And it is possible that a 



gravitation supply may be obtained from 

 the river by combination of several land- 

 owners. 



6. Dronk Vlei.— With Surveyor-General. 



Found the Valley very dry and cultiva- 

 tion backward. It will not pay to take 

 water from the Um imkulu, either by 

 gravitation or pumping. Surveyor- 

 General unable to stay long. Will revisit 

 and examine means of irrigation formerly 

 proposed. The case is not promising. 



I have been several times to Greytown ; 

 there are fair facilities for irrigation in 

 parts of the district. Borings would be 

 useful in the " Thorns," to show whether 

 anything can be done with wells. Ap- 

 parently, some of the Umvoti Valley could 

 be irrigated by that river, but I have not 

 heard of anyone wishing to do this. More 

 water is required for the " Thorns ' land 

 on the " Tsegane," but the ground it is not 

 favourable for storage. An Artesian 

 spring was tapped by the coal-borer some 

 years ago at " Pompoo Nek," and it is still, 

 or was lately, running a fair volume I 

 understand it comes out near the bank of 

 a river, and does not command any arable 

 land. 



[Appendices III. and IV. are omitted ; 

 they are abstracts of cases indicated by 

 serial numbers only.— Ed., Agricultural 

 Journal.'] 



It is calculated by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture that for every 100 of the 

 population from twenty-three to twenty-seven 

 cows are required to keep the country supplied 

 with milk, butter, and cheese, and provide tor 

 the export of dairy produce. The export trade 

 has varied much, but has never exceeded the 

 produce of half a million cows, whereas at the 

 end of the nineteenth century the census showed 

 that there were about 17^ mill'ons m the btates. 



Sable sheep are not infrequently seen in this 

 country but ebony lambs are plentiful in the 

 Australian Commonwealth. A colonial flock- 

 master had quite a number of black lambs, 

 and lie folded them in a range by themselves. 

 He found that black lambs might not recur in 

 a flock in generations, and then recur sud- 

 denly. For example, wliere a black ram was 

 used in a llock of wliite ewes the product was 

 wliite lambs, witli few exceptions; and where 

 sire and dam were eibony-coloured tht lambs 

 were mostly white. And so the Australians 

 gave up tlie attempt to found a s;>ble flock. 

 Where wool >s dyed a deep colour, sable wool 

 absorbs less dye and makes a more durable 

 colour. Still, bkck fleece absorbs more sun- 

 rays tlian white, and black sheep are more 

 seriously afl'ected by lieat. 



