8io 
THE TROPICAL AORIOULTURIST 
[Mai 2, 1892. 
odI; tend lo confirm the greater pert of what Mr. 
Ueakin bee said. He wrote for a epecial purpose and 
touched upon eome puinta which the Indian critic i.s 
content to take for granted, liut the reporta now 
puhliahed on the working of the Irrigation Depart- 
inentH in India during lh90-91, strengthen ns in thn 
belief that that country ia fortunate indeed, which can 
truthfully say that it has nothing to leant from India 
in regard to icrigation. What ia being done here is 
the outcome of centuries of native experience, followed 
np by iduropean aoieuce. Iriigation must have keen 
practised by Indiana in very remote ages, and even 
the perennial canal of today appears to date hack 
from the thirteenth or fourticulh century. But now, 
outside the Government sohemea, the rain-filled tanka 
and tbo little wella are the chief auuroe of nntivo 
sappiiea. It ia to tbeae and not to the canals, or the 
tanks built by Mahomedan munarebs, that the 
people bavetruatod for oenturiea j it ia to these tint 
wo chiefly look now for proteotion against a threatened 
water-famine. 
In regard to irrigation we do rot propose to dwell 
at great length on the usual test of a system, its 
fininoial results. These, if studied narrowly, wonhi 
lead us to wrong couelnsions; while to make clear 
the broad deduotioua that may ba drawn from the 
aunual retnrus, would occupy more apaoe than we 
can spare. Suffice it for tlie present 10 refer to some- 
what old flgurea which enable us oocveuieutly to cuui- 
pato the cost of irrigation in various parts of lutlis 
so far aa couoerna worka which may be regarded as 
comparatively new. Here ore the figures : — 
Expeudilure. Acres Irrigated 
Ajmere ... 
Bombay ... 
Biud 
Bengal ... 
North-west 
Madras ... 
Punjab 
£ 
100,000 
2.500.000 
1.180.000 
6 . 000,000 
8,000,000 
6.300.000 
6.500.000 
annually. 
30.000 
85.000 
160,000 
560,000 
2,000,000 
2,400,000 
8,000,000 
Madras, it will bo seou, shows up well here. It baa 
made large use of Native works, and has thus been 
able to reduce the average of cotta. But il we add 
to the aOore Native canals used iu Goveriimeut 
schemes, the table given would be increased by many 
acres; — Burma, 200,000 j Sind, 1,000,000 and Madras 
2,600,000, making about 13,000,000, lor £33,000,000, 
yielding 4 per cent net revenue. To this total must be 
added the immense extent of runutry every where but 
especially in the North-West and iu Madras, supplied 
from wells and tauks by the people tfaeiueelver, and 
also the totals of Independent Status. That all the 
outlay thus incuired is highly profitable, cau hardly 
bs shown in actual figures ; though we have ever 
before us the fact that without irrigation millioDs of 
people could not live and some millions would be 
decimated by famincevery few years. Speaking broadly 
however, of (ho financial reanlts shown in official 
accounts, Madras, the North-West, the Punjab and 
Sind show haudsomu profits in regard to irrigation ; 
Bombay figures are healthy ; while in Bengal irrigation 
has been fouud to be tbs cheapest and beit moans of 
Sgbtiug famine, and saving the public Treasury from 
ruinous drafts in bad seasons. 
Turning now to portions of the reports for 1890 91, 
we find that in Bombay 221,404 acres were irrigated, 
as against 230,753 in 1880-9t), The decrease is ex- 
plained aa due to the exceptionally gco.l rainfall 
during the late seaiun, which led to a rednoed de- 
mand for water. The aggregate estimated value of the 
crops irrigated was 40 lakhs, aud the working expenses 
per acre irrigated are returned at Rl'35, In the 
Deccan aud Gnjsrat the net irrigable srea under 
command was increased from 633,313 to 636,762 
aorea. The area irrigated by all the works taken 
together was 76,901 acres, which showed a falling oil 
of 10,698 acios, due to favourable rainfall. The total 
revenne realised was 114,60,813 ; while tbo working 
expenseBBmonnted to R2,39,616. Bengal reports allude 
to returns for Major Works as less favonrable than 
in the prooeding year. The large Canal Works are 
speoially commented npon by the Government of India, 
which mentions incidentally that there ia now no reason 
fur further d lay iu completing the Orissa project so far 
aa regards detailed Baoctioned estimates, but progress 
ooutiiiues slow owing to the want ol labour. As re- 
gards Major Works the net resu.t of the year was a loss 
of 1192,995 ; w bile when Major and Minor are coinbiiied, 
the net rosultB are sboon to be, lleceipte h21,70,960 ; 
Working Expenso li20.28,288 ; Interest payable to the 
Giiverumeut of Indio K23, 87, 119; Net charge on Pro- 
vincial revenues K22,44,4U. Tbe total outlay in Aladraa 
was 1168,45,381 ; tbe total area charged as irri- 
gated both for first aud seouiid crops 5,514,184 acres, 
aud the total irrigaliou (iudirect) revenues, exclusive 
of deductions uud remissions amounted to R 1,38,20,536. 
The net revenue it ia observed, ainouuie I to 6'96 per 
cent in tbe capital outlay of tho woika in operatiou ; 
and this perccutsgo would have been 11'80 were it not 
(or the Knruool-Cuddapab oaual. Taken all in all, the 
above figures era satisractory ; and they give but a 
faint clue to tbo heuefita derived from tbe works to 
which they reler. Aiihough at the present moment 
we have to say that the shadow of Distress is cast 
over India, we may also safely assert that that shadow 
would bo much darker and much more to ha dreaded 
were it not for the steady care that has been bestowed 
upon irrigation, and the great advances that have 
teen made . — Madras 2'imes, March 11. 
• 
SUVA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 
The Aunual General Meetii g of the Suva Cham- 
ber of Uuuimerce was held at the Suva Club Hotel 
lu,t Friday evening, tbe Chairman, Henry Marks, Baq., 
J. P. presidiug. 
TIIR CnAIBMAK’s BEPOBT. 
» a a 
Tlie total imports for 1890 amounted to £206,757 
as against £189,363 for tlio preceding year; being 
an iuorease of 8 4 per cent. 
Under the heading of exports, tho value for 
1890 is set down in tbe official return as £364,633 
as agaii.st £364,282 be ug only an increase of £251, 
the smallness of which may he accounted for liy the 
fall to price of one of the staple articlea of export 
namely sugar, tbo diminution tn value averaging £4 
per tun ; but as there was a total inoreaso in value, 
despite the fall iu p ice of one of the principal com- 
modities, it is evident that the exports of the colony 
aro considerably on tbe incrcaas. As regards navi- 
gation I might mention that tbe total foreign 
tonnage for 1890 exceeded that of tbe previous year 
by 26,456 tons. 
1 w II now make a few commeuts on some of tbe 
products of our colony. 
Tea — This is finding favour in all quarters snd it 
is greatly to be deplored that the supply ia in no 
way adequate to tbe demand. In fact for some 
muntba past a considerable quantity of foreign tea 
has had to be imported by lucal merobants ; this 
matkud increase in appreciation sbonid prove an en- 
conragiug (actor to producers, aud it is to be hoped 
will lead to more widely extended oaltivation. 
Bananas. —Tbe export of this fruit ia still increasing 
and from the large amount of fresh land being 
brought into use for the growth of bananas, it is to 
bo concluded that the prueucets find the industry a 
profitable one, notwithstauding the mauy drawbacks 
they have to contend with, 
OoPEA. — 1891 having been a very favourable year 
for the growth of coconnta aud as new areas are 
coming into bearing, there is every reaaoa to believe 
that tbe export of oopra will be considerably in ad- 
vance of former years. 
Desiccated Ooco.nut.— It is satisfactory to note tlia 
various kiuda mauufaoturej by tbe local companies 
ate coming into larger and rapidly increasing demand, 
BO as to neosaitate a considerable itiorease of plant 
from time to time. 
Tobacco. — Although so far there has been no export 
of high dais tobacoj from Fiji, there ia some reason 
to hope that the year 1893 will show superior tobacco 
both fur wrapping and filling cigars, eutering into 
