78 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ave., 1902. 
whenever we seriously determine to attack this great question. Inasmuch as I desire, 
as far as I can, to present my remarks in such a form as to apply as much as possible 
to local conditions as regards irrigation, I will but briefly glance at the scheme of 
Beg an in vogue at Mildura, the premier irrigation colony of the Common- 
wealth. In the year 1894 I had the honour, with other delegates, to represent 
the Acclimatisation Society at the first Intercolonial Conference of Fruitgrowers 
held at Mildura in August of that year. The excellent reception accorded us and 
the valuable opportunities at our disposal to investigate cost, methods, and results 
stand to-day as among the most valued of my experiences. 
Tf one lesson gained was more pronounced than another it was the good one—to 
make haste slowly. All who know of the fascinating manner in which such men as 
Mr. Deakin, then in the full fervour of his enthusiasm—strengthened as it 
was by reason of his visit to the Oriental countries, where irrigation is 
a great factor in agricultural practice—can present his ideas and schemes, can 
readily conceive how easy it was to form too sanguine expectations. ‘Lheoreti- 
cally, perhaps, they were right in their expectations, but in the end_ things 
proved to many wofully wrong. Nevertheless, at the present time, Mildura 
as an irrigation colony, despite all its initiatory troubles, is, by virtue of 
assistance from the State and the pluck and perseverance of its fruitgrowers, more 
than holding its own. It is now giving comfortable incomes to those who in spite of 
difficulties have stood firm to the original idea. Many individual fruitgrowers now 
net profits of from £250 to £300 annually from 10-acre blocks. Equally good has 
been the fortune of the proprietors of the Ranfurly Estate, which is irrigated by a 
private scheme, who also adopt the pumping system from the River Murray. This 
estate has all along paid its proprietary consistent dividends of 10 per cent. interest 
annually—a gilt-edged investment in the eyes of the British owners. 
Renmark, a little lower down the Murray, in South Australian territory, is 
also a successful irrigation colony. I have personal knowledge of the value of the 
profits accruing from the production of dried raisins, apricots, and peaches from 
these settlements, which now have overcome those initial difficulties inseparable from 
new schemes in new countries. As instancing the value of raisin-curing, a friend 
of mine last season at Renmark realised a return of 74 tons of first-grade dried raisins 
from 3 acres of vines. This is itself a striking commentary on the value of irrigation 
in connection with fruit culture. 
Scarcely any further evidence is wavted to prove the value of systematic irriga- 
tion than the show in our metropolitan warehouses of Mildura fruit—such as raisins, 
peaches, apricots, and lemons; all articles of daily need, that we ourselves by well- 
directed effort can supply from our own resources. : 
As it is not my intention in this paper to touch on the technicalities of irrigation, 
I shall leave Mildura with its interesting lessons. Those who are in any sense con- 
cerned either in co-operative production and distribution, as practised by these wide- 
awake settlers, can learn much that is profitable to copy as well as much to avoid. 
To us Queenslanders there is much that we may take to heart in the story of either 
success or failure that is presented as the experience of the promoters of this settle- 
ment. Before leaving this part of my, subject I desire to mention that, in contra- 
distinction to other systems { will refer to, the irrigation scheme in force in Mildura, 
owing to the high cost of pumping, fuel, labour, pipes, flumes, channels, &c., has for 
years been a heavy burden on the settlers. The defective channels have, in some 
instances, caused, by seepage, &c., great loss in more ways than one—causing, even 
with the superabundant supply of water in the Murray, some difliculty at times in 
giving the crops the needed quantities of moisture. 
Comparing Mildura in this respect with the region adjacent to Mount Alexander, 
in the Harcourt district, we come to what is, perhaps, beyond question the best 
irrigated district in Victoria. 
The Malmesbury Reservoir, from which the Harcourt district in common with 
many others is supplied, is a State enterprise, and it is now some years since its initi- 
ation. Originally a storage area of a capacity of 3,300,000,009 gallons, the increased 
demand for water for domestic, mining, and irrigation needs has necessitated a further 
addition to the area by the construction of a new reservoir, the capacity of which is 
even larger than the original one. The new basin, which has butrecently been com- 
pleted at a cost of £65,000, has a capacity of 4,000,000,000 gallons, derived from a 
catchment area of 72 square miles. In this connection we may profitably note that, 
while the original reservoir cost the State a sum of £100,000, the newer scheme of 
a larger capacity of 4,000,000,000 gallons cost £3,5000 less to construct. From this 
we may gather that new cEpeniences and improyed methods of construction are 
factors of encouragement to those who contemplate starting these enterprises. The 
