and the Storage of Water. 
53 
crops, are said to remain in a barren state. It is asserted that 
the districts where famine is constantly occurring are those where 
irrigation has been neglected. It is stated on competent autho- 
rity that if canals had been constructed in place of railways, 
means of communication ample for the wants of an agricultural 
population would have been provided ; and at the same time and 
at less expense, the resources of the country would have been 
developed to an enormous extent, and the calamities arising from 
the starvation and misery of thousands probably averted. 
In Italy and Spain the conservation of water for the purpose 
of irrigation has long received its due attention, and instead ot 
treating it as an enemy to be got rid of as quickly as possible, 
its force is subdued and made to become not only a valuable^ 
mercantile commodity, but one of the greatest blessings which 
can be bestowed. So highly is water esteemed in Italy for the 
purposes of irrigation, that 16Z. a year is not thought too much 
to pay for a cubic foot per second. 
The soil of parts of the south and east of Spain consists of a 
rich alluvial deposit, from 3 to 10 feet in depth, and the climate 
is such that crops of almost any description can be grown. Wheat, 
barley, maize, olives, oranges, apples, rice, pepper, and numerous 
similar crops flourish, well where the land is irrigated. Where 
water is wanting the soil is barren. The average price of irri- 
gated land in Murcia in 1859 was 500/. The price of dry ground 
in the same neighbourhood was from 25Z. to 30/. Irrigated land 
near Madrid lets for 5/. an acre. The same class of land, but dry, 
can be purchased in fee for the same sum. The average price 
paid for the water is about 205. a day for a cubic foot a minute, 
this being the price charged by the Government along the 
Henares Canal.* 
Deiv Ponds. — Sheep and cattle feeding on high table-lands and 
chalk downs require a plentiful supply of water for drinking in 
summer. This is provided by what are termed " Dew Ponds." 
The source from which these ponds are replenished has long been 
a matter of wonder. Situated on the very top of the highest land 
of a watershed, it is impossible they can derive their supply from 
springs, and the prevalent idea has hitherto been that, having 
been filled by the rains of winter, they are fed in summer by the 
condensation of the dew, risingfrom the surrounding land at night, 
by the cool surface of the water in the pond — hence their name. 
This popular idea has, however, lately been controverted by Mr. 
H. P. Slade, who has made a thorough investigation into the 
subject, and published the results of his observations in a very 
interesting pamphlet.f A description of the pond Mr. Slade 
* " Irrigation in Spain," ' Trans. Instit. Civil Engineers,' vol. xxvii. ' Irriga- 
tion in Spain.' By Eoberts. Spon and Co., 1867. 
t ' Dew Ponds.' By H. P. Slade. Spon and Co., 1877. 
