MURRAY RIVER SCHEME. 
and citrus trees. The high degree of prosperity which the older-estab- 
lishments have enjoyed during recent years is largely responsible for 
the keen demand now being made for land. But while all doubt has 
been removed as to the quality and quantity of the products of vine- 
yards and orchards grown in this favoured territory, there is no certainty 
that the prices obtainable for dried fruits at the present time will be 
maintained indefinitely, or even for a long period. In anticipation 
of a greater and more reliable water supply direct from the Murray, 
enormous areas are being prepared by the Victorian and South Aus- 
tralian Governments for settlement; and, within the course of four or 
five years, the acreage under vines will possibly be doubled. This 
enormous’ increase must seriously affect the economie position of the 
industry and bring it into closer relationship with the competition of 
foreign countries. Such a possibility does not by any means argue the 
destruction of the industry, but it does call for a closer study of scientific 
problems affecting production, irrigation, and the transport of perish- 
able products, so that Australia may' utilize to the full the. exceptional 
advantages which her combination of water, soil, and climate gives her 
over many of her rivals. 
The engineering side of this important developmental project has 
received the most careful consideration; and, whatever the area may be - 
that can be eventually watered, there is every reason to believe that 
it will be the full extent of the River Murray’s capabilities. The maxi- 
mum amount of water that can be conserved will be made available by 
the Commission for the development of industry; but there is now a 
further duty imposed upon Australia, viz., to see that the water is used 
to the best advantage, and that the products of the land are marketed to 
the best advantage. It has been the development of the science of 
irrigation which has made California the rich country she now is, and 
not merely the provision of water for the use of her settlers. The 
University of California and various State departmental institutions 
have solved many fundamental and vital problems in the interests of the 
producers. Very many millions of pounds have already been spent 
in water conservation in Australia, and many more millions remain 
to be expended. The full return from that outlay cannot be hoped for 
“until Australia’s own peculiar problems of irrigation cultivation have 
been studied. In co-operation with associations of irrigationists in 
New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, and with the Vic- 
torian Government, some experimental work has been initiated at 
Mildura, and while some of the problems that are being investigated 
are of general importance, others are of relatively local interest. If 
irrigation farming is to develop along sound and enduring lines, as in 
California, a comprehensive scheme of experimentation needs to accom- 
pany the conservation of the waters of the Murray. NS 
355 
