April i, 1892.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
723 
au East Indian army man, why, lie goes out 
with his men and works like any of them.” 1 
asked what he thought if the Chafl'eys cleared 
out. “'Clear out t why they are dipjiod themselves 
too heavily to clear out. They couldn't clear out, 
if they wanted ; for one thing — there is the 10 
year instalment system. Every holder of an 
acre has a share, and they are all in ths same 
swim. Then as to the markets. 1 went over to 
California myself to get the real truth, and they 
have never been able to touch the markets there 
and it is not likely that we will do so here. 
The Chaffeys, or you, or I, for that matter, won’t 
see this thing out.” We had a look at the 
ploughs. I asked what he thought of them. 
“Grand work — opens the laud to let the water 
tlirough. The grading or levelling is only necessary 
if the land is uneven. For irrigation you must have 
a gentle slope. am delighted with the place.” 
We started about 2 and left the “Ellen” 
almost ready to start down the river. In a 
short time we reached Psyche Bend and, while 
I was looking at the men putting the machinery 
in its place, Mr. Chaffey turned up with two 
others and wished me “good-day.” He asked me 
how I likeil Lord Ranfurly's place. Ho called 
out to a settler who was going up in the boat : 
“This big chap will give you all the water you’ll 
ever want down there.” Away we went again, 
and as the evening closed and the sun sank low 
behind the dead ringeil gums we would pass a 
few horses, or huddled groups of sheep moving 
in towards the gloom of the gums, and always 
the white “scut” of the cursed rabbit. The 
harsh irritable scream of the cockatoo, and the 
silent rapid flight of the ducks, constantly diverted 
the attention. 
Lot me make a few more notes. A passenger 
travelling in the boat, having found business not 
prospering, has just purchased 12 acres for £1,000. 
They are just in bearing, and the place ready 
for residence. That is the short cut dodge, but 
it needs a lot of money. Another passenger has 
failed in mining and means now to put his block 
to some use and so settle in Mildura. A Captain 
Stokes, a retired officer, in a copy of a letter 
shown me by a lady on board the “Ophir,” 
writes: “There is not the least doubt but that 
the scheme will be successful far beyond the 
imagination of its founder.” He then quotes the 
success of Messrs. Isard, Hodge, and Skene. 
'Then: “As for myself I am hard at work either 
felling trees for fence posts, digging holes for 
these posts, or clearing the land of sticks after 
the plougli, this last work being the hardest of 
the lot. My health has so improved that 
notwithstanding no previous training or experience 
of any kind 1 have felled 62 (fifty-two) trees in 
a day (note : pine trees about the thickness of 
a man’s leg), and from those trunks made fence 
posts — not so bad for one nearly 52 years of 
ago, and who was in poor health when he left 
England in May last. I can safely say that 
any young fellow, or old fellow, for the matter 
of that, with any go in him, would do well here— 
should he in addition to his passage money be 
in possession of a little capital, say from £100 
to £200, and coming out shortly, he would in a 
few months be able to clear a ten acre block 
and have it ready for planting by next winter — 
June to September IHO’i — this too with very little 
expenses beyond his own labour.” 
Now what have Messrs. Chaffey done in Cali- 
fornia? “The Messrs. Chaffey are natives of 
Ontario, in Canada, and they have for the last 
10 years been carrying on irrigation enterprises 
in Bouthern California. Their first experience 
of Californian fruit-growing was at Riverside 
one of the most successful irrigation settlements 
in the State. They were net the founders of 
Riverside, but they gained sufficient local expe- 
rience there, ns well as confidence in the business, 
to induce them to make a large venture on their 
own account. The Colony of Etiwanda was 
accordingly established, and in addition to being 
a highly successful enterprise, it laid the founda- 
tion of the scientific system to be adopted in all 
subsequent operations. From the first the Messrs. 
Chaffey had given careful study to the science 
of irrigation, and at Etiwanda one of the principal 
objects kept in view was the carrying out of 
experiments calculated to solve the diffioulties 
connected with various branches of the subject. 
In due course, and with a rapidity unknown in 
Australia, the colony of Ontario was founded in 
San Bernardine County the new settlement being 
called after the native place of the founders. 
The model colony of Ontario has been described 
in Mr. Deakin’s report upon irrigation in America, 
and by the Special Commissioner of The Argue, 
who accompanied him on his mission. It was 
one of the boldest ventures of the kind ever made 
in America. It was conceived upon a scale, 
which, for liberality and wisely directed enterprise, 
has never been equalled before or since in 
California, and it has proved highly successful. 
An interesting feature of the Ontario enterprise 
was the establishment of the Chaffey Agricultural 
College. The College was endowed by the Firm 
with a gift of laud, valued at the time at 100,000 
dollars (£20,000). A sufficient area of land was 
sold to build the College, and the value of real 
estate had increased so much, that the remain- 
ing endowment was then worth as much as the 
original gift.” “ Begun no longer since than 1882, 
the settlement (Ontario) is at this moment in 
a remarkably advanced and prosperous condition. 
Upwards of 2,500 settlers and cultivators are 
already located upon it. Some idea of the speedily 
achieved results of whose capital and industry, 
combined with the irrigation works and other 
advantages and facilities created and furnished 
by the money, skill, and energy of Messrs. 
Chaffey may bo gathered from "the following 
interesting account by ,Tudge R. M. Widney of 
Los Angelos. ‘ Ontario cannot be fully pictured 
with the pen as it was, is, and will be, without 
first filling in the background with sketchings 
of California generally. The early mariners, who 
gazed upon the brown landscape of valleys, mesas, 
and mountains, saw nothing desirable, and sailed 
away to other lauds in search of gold and health 
and cereal riches. The rivers ran over golden 
sands. The mountains had built into their 
foundations the shining yellow ore. The gold- 
hunters came and climbed every mountain, pros- 
pected every ravine, river, creek, and hill, and 
camped on every plain on the Pacific Slope from 
the burning south to the cold north. They said 
the land was only fit for gold, that it was un- 
healthy, barren, and unproductive. When the 
gold was gone they disappeared from the fields 
that to them were void of further use. They 
saw not the transmutation of the products of the 
soil into gold. The rivers run golden sands, and 
over the golden sands run rivers of gold, into 
golden lands. The agriculturist and horticulturist 
came, and by handling the elements as nature 
intended that they should be handled, they 
attained results iu rapi<l growth, luxuriant pro- 
ducts, and prolific yield that were marvellous. 
The land that was supposed to be worthless was 
demonstrated to be of the most productive 
(pmlity. Gn to the dry plains and mesas man 
