October 1, 1908 
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THE F&RM. 
Irrigation in South 
Australia. 
' The p ssibilities of irrigation have ss 
yet scarcely been touched. It is true that 
we do not possess many large running 
streams which can be drawn.upon during 
the summer months, but against this 
there are large areas of country where 
underground supplies can be tapped at 
moderate depths, while many localities 
possess suitable sites where the winter 
floods can be conserved by means of 
reservoirs. 
On the plains between Adelaide and 
the sea there has of late years been much 
activity in connection with the raising of 
green crops for dairy cows and for horse 
stock in the city and suburbs. Inex- 
haustible supplies of water are obtain- 
able at comparatively shallow depths in 
wells and bores; usually the water is 
raised by oil engines 6 to 10 h.p., but for 
the irrigation of small areas windmills 
are used; usually the water is used by 
oil engines of 6 to 10 h,p., but for the 
irrigation of small areas windmills are 
used,and of these there are some hun- 
dreds in operation. 
The green crops grown under irrigation 
are mainly lucerne, maize and sorghum. 
‘A well tended lucerne field under irriga- 
tion can be cut every three or four weeks, 
depending upon the weather ; the hotter 
the weather the quicker the growth, pro- 
vided water is supplied. Usually five to 
seven cuts per season are obtained. 
Sorghum and maize produce heavy crops, 
the former up to 50 tons per acre in a 
single cutting. Crops of maize 12ft to 
14ft it in height are not uncommon. 
On the Adelaide plains and in the 
gullies in the hills the water supplies are 
also utilised for the irrigation of fruit 
trees, and for the growing of vegetables, 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. al 
the whole of our requirements of green _ 
vegetables for summer and autumn use 
being produced by the aid of irrigation. 
On the River Murray we have two 
distinct systems of irrigation, namely, 
the pnmping of water for the growth of 
fruit trees, vines, and fodder plants, as at 
Renmark, on the upper river, and the 
reclamation of the swamps on the lower 
reaches, the latter being irrigated by 
gravitation, the water being admitted by 
means of sluice gates in the reclaiming 
banks. 
At Renm rk there are about: 4.000 
acres under irrigation, the whole system 
of pumping and delivery of the water 
being under the control of a trust, or 
board of control elected by the land- 
a rate of £1 
levied to meet the cost of pumping, up- 
owners, per acre being 
keep of plant, ete Last season the value 
of the product at Re mark was in excess 
of £85,000 from a cultivated area of less 
than 4,000 acres, a good deal of which 
The chief 
sultanas, 
is as yet not in full bearing, 
products are currants, and 
raisins. A considerable quantity of 
apricots and peaches for drying are also 
grown, while the production of oranges 
for export and pears for canning and 
drying are likely in the near future to 
assume large dimensions. 
The swamps on the lower reaches of the 
river, which can be reclaimed by the erec- 
tion of comparatively low cheap embank- 
ments and watered by gravitation, are 
variously estimated at 10,000 to 20,000 
acres, this wide margin due to lack of 
definite surveys to separate the areas so 
available from those which require the 
water to be raised a few feet. These 
swamp lands are usually rich, and when 
sweetened produce heavy crops of lucerne, 
maize, sorghum, and other green crops, 
potatoes, etc. As mucno as 
nine tons per season of lucerne hay have 
onions, 
been cut on such lands, while yields of 
up to 30 tons of onions per acre and pro- 
portionate returns of potatoes have been 
recorded. Up to the present compara- 
tively limited areas of these swamp lands 
have been dealt with, but in the course of 
a few years several thousand more acres 
will be reclaimed. The valley of the 
Murray will, in the course of time, carry 
~ outlay, 
a large population engaged in the tillage 
of irrigated land. At present, owing to 
the lack of measures to conserve the 
flood waters which for months at a time 
run into the sea, the possibilities of irri- 
gation are limited by the amount of 
water available in seasons of low river. 
Proposals to lock the river to improve 
navigation and conserve water for irriga- 
tion will, when carried into effect, render 
possible the utilisation of many thousands 
of acres of rich land. 
In deaiing with irrigation, the Sewage 
Farm, four miles north of Adelaide, must 
be mentioned. The area of the farm 
is 628 acres, of which 424 acres are irri- 
gated with the sewage from Adelaide and 
suburbs, The sewage is strained before 
being applied to the land, the average 
daily flow being 2,000galls per minute, 
which in wet weather is greatly exceeded, 
owing to the impossibility of totally ex- 
cluding storm waters from the sewers. 
The irrigated land, which is properly 
graded, and where necessary under- 
drained, is divided into paddocks of 
from eight acres to 25 acres, and over 
one mile of concrete channel and 26 miles 
of wooden fluming have been erected to 
convey the sewage over the land. For 
grazing purposes prairie grass, rye grass, 
and ¢ Panicum crusgalli’ (banyard grass) 
have doue best. For cutting, lucerne, 
maize, sorghum, etc., are grown largely, 
and the crops obtained are exceptionally 
heavy. The chief sources of revenue 
are the leasing of irrigated land, de- 
pasturing of stock for private owners | 
and the fattening of stock for the city 
market. For cows 2s 6d per head per 
week is charged; and for horses, 3s to 48 ; 
the total grazing receipts amounting last 
year to £1,645. The Sewage Farm was 
started in 1881, and has proved a great 
success, not only from the point of view 
cf the effective disposal of the city 
Sewage on approved methods, but from a 
financial point of view as an irrigated 
farm. After payment of rent of 12s per 
acre, 5 per cent interest on the capital 
and, maintaing all buildings, 
flumes, fences, implements, flumes, fences, 
implements, etc., in good order, the 
annual profit for the past 10 years 
has averaged £281, 
