194 
Italian Irrigation. 
distances, leaving these to be' determined in each case by the 
evidence of practical men, according to the peculiarities of the 
soil, depth of the springs, &c. 
By the law of Lombardy, dated 1804, it is forbidden to excavate 
or open springs, or heads of springs, water-courses, and channels, 
as also to deepen or increase the dimensions of excavations or 
springs actually existing in the vicinity of rivers and canals within 
the distances which, according to the judgment of practical men, 
would lead to injury to the rivers or canals, or to their banks. 
With this reservation it is permitted to every one to excavate 
springs on his own land, and to conduct the same, respect being 
always had to any rights which other parties may possess. 
XIV.— T/;e Price of Water* 
The area of land which a given quantity of water can fertilise 
depends both on the soil and the cropping, and likewise on the 
care with which the surplus waters are economised — this eco- 
nomy being intimately connected with the very varying price 
charged for Avater in each district, which is in itself a striking 
feature of this subject. If we begin our inquiries in the east of 
Sardinia with an important canal, such as that of Caluso, which 
has been wrested from its former proprietors by the State, we 
find that the charge for Avater is 11. to 8/. for a flow of 1 cubic 
foot per second ; that this suffices for 51 acres of land, and there- 
fore costs 35. per acre. But as we go westward, and especially 
when we meet with private canals, the water charge rises to from 
16Z. to 21Z., the charge per acre, to from 8s. to 16s., and the area 
irrigated, to from 45 to 56 acres. On the canal Roggia Sartirana 
the price for water is the highest in Sardinia, viz., 42Z. per cubic 
foot, or, as it is stated, 20s. (? 13s. bd.) per acre for 63 acres. 
This canal, constructed by Count Sartirana A.D. 1380, is still 
owned by his family, to Avhlch, in spite of many free grants, it 
brings in a net income of 3500Z., -besides irrigating the family 
property. The charge of 42Z. per cubic foot on the canal Lan- 
gosco, now belonging to a company, has led to its supplying 
77 acres at the rate of lis. per acre. On the Castellana the 
charge is 20Z., and the area irrigated 80 acres; on the Agogna 
the charge is 35Z., and the area as much as 90 acres. 
In Lombardy we find on the Naviglio Grande a low rate of 
charge, viz., 7Z. to 13Z., for an area of 60 to 70 acres, and this 
seems the customary rate for the Government canals in that 
country, with a curious exception on the Muezza Canal, where 
an old tariff has survived, limiting the charge to 16s. 6fi. pcr- 
* A flow of 1 cubic foot per second, the basis of these calculations, is taken to 
be equivalent to 28 3 litres, or G-22G English gallons. 
