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290 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Sepr., 1901. 
manured and watered them, till at last there was a lovely garden of a couple 
of acres round the house of each family. Then they ploughed up fields and 
irrigated them, and got large crops. Afterwards, as they got richer, they built 
by degrees the beautiful city called Salt Lake City. And all this was done by 
the help of water and drainage. 
Do you know that all over Western Queensland, where there is little 
surface water, holes called “bores” have been sunk to reach water. These 
bores are holes drilled by machinery, and they are usually very deep. Some 
are 3,000 or 4,000 feet deep, and they cost a great deal of money. In the 
State of New South Wales there are bores which have cost £10,000 for a single 
one. They are sunk until the drill reaches what is called “artesian” water, 
and they are called “artesian” wells because such wells were first made in 
France in the province of Artois. 
The water is contained in certain rocks lying underneath other rocks, 
through which it cannot pass. But the moment the hole is bored through these 
upper rocks, the water is released and rushes up the hole with great violence. 
Some of these bores pour out over 2,000,000 gallons, and even 3,000,000 gallons, 
of water in a day. 
Just think what a glorious discovery it was when wise men found out 
that deep underneath the driest parts of Australia there were immense 
quantities of water only waiting for a narrow hole to be bored through the 
rocks above to rush up and form running creeks, which have saved the lives of 
thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep. At a few of these bores farms have 
been laid out, and beautiful crops are grown where before the bore was made it 
was hard even for poor grass to grow. But al) bore waters are not good for 
plants. Some are so full of magnesia, and iron, and a number of other things 
with long names, which you need not trouble about now, that it would never 
do to water plants with them. This water would freshen up the crops, but 
gradually the magnesia and lime and salt would accumulate in the soils and 
then nothing would grow in them. So the farmer has to be very careful about 
the water he supplies to his farm and orchard. In a future lesson I will 
explain to you the various ways in which water is supplied to the land, and I 
will also give you illustrations of the different methods of draining land. I 
shall have a great deal more to say about these things, so will leave the subject 
now, and ask you to answer these nine questions on irrigation :— 
Questions on Lesson 8. 
. What is a drought ? 
What would happen if farmers ceased to grow crops ? 
What do you understand by irrigation ? 
Give five reasons why land is irrigated ? 
. Name a plant which requires a quantity of water ? 
In what countries is irrigation largely carried out ? 
. What are artesian bores? Why called artesian ? 
. When does the water rush up the artesian bore? Why is this ? 
. Are all bore waters good for crops ? 
. Name two substances contained in some bore waters ? 
DONTE AkwWNH 
ry 
So 
FIRST STAGE. 
91H Lesson. 
I have already shown you that plants require for their proper growth 
light, air, and a certain regular supply of water; and you learned how the 
farmer supplies the first two by good cultivation. In a future lesson, you will 
be taught how moisture can be supplied also by diligent tillage of the soil. 
But these are not all the requirements of plants. You now know that all soils 
es 
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