1 Nov., 1902.1} QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 339 
during floods, the latter being prevented by the construction of a suitable bye- 
wash to carry off all surplus water. Another source of supply is by means of 
wells, and this in many of our river flats is a cheap and. satisfactory manner of 
obtaining water that is not taken advantage of to anything like the extent that 
it should be. Good supplies of water are also obtained from wells in many 
parts of the Downs and other districts, and this source of supply is also greatly 
neglected. , 
There is also the supply available from our running creeks, lagoons, and 
permanent waterholes, and the supply from these sources could be largely 
increased by a proper scheme of water conservation. 
There are very few places in coastal Queensland suitable for fruit and 
vegetable culture where it would not be possible to conserve surplus water, 
either by means of dams or tanks, or on which a supply could not be obtained 
from wells; so that it is to the interest of the fruit-grower and vegetable 
gardener to conserve or obtain such supply, as it will not only prove a profit 
to the individual but to the State generally. 
The «question of utilising the water from our bores, other than the 
shallow ones of the Downs, is outside of this paper, as so much depends on 
the quality of the water—some being very suitable and others distinctly 
detrimental to all plant life. 
Means or Rarstng WATER. 
The means to be employed for raising water will depend entirely on the 
quantity of water available, asit is no use to erect pumping machinery in excess 
of your supply ; but, given a satisfactory supply, they will be governed—first, 
by the quantity of water required; and, secondly, by the height the water has to 
be raised. There are many methods of raising water, and, as few growers or 
gardeners know which is best adapted to their particular requirements, I will 
give a brief description of the most suitable. 
In the first place, I will deal with the question of raising water to a small 
height, say from a dam, creek, waterhole, lagoon, or shallow well; the water to 
be delivered at or slightly above the level of the ground from which it can be © 
distributed by gravitation. For this purpose the following will be found most 
suitable :— 
Warer Lrrts. 
Several simple mechanical contrivances, such as the California pump, 
bucket pump, and chain pumps, are suitable for this purpose. They are 
exceedingly simple in their construction, and not liable to get out of order. 
They can be worked by hand, horse, steam, or wind power, and raise a large 
quantity of water to a small height for a small expenditure of power. 
They are largely used by Chinese gardeners on account of their simplicity, 
and are usually worked by means of a whim or horse-gear. They will pump 
water containing sand or silt without choking, and can also be used for semi- 
fluids such as liquid manure. 
They are of most value when the total lift does not exceed 25 feet, but 
above this height the loss, especially in the case of chain pumps, is too great to. 
render them a profitable means of lifting water. 
There is one other simple means of raising water under similar conditions 
—namely, by means of a whip worked by a horse: a simple arrangement that 
can be fixed up by any farmer for a small cost. The writer has recently seen a 
water lift of this type being used by a Chinese gardener in the neighbourhood of 
Brisbane, the total cost of which, including the digging and slabbing of a large 
well, amounted to only £25, and which was raising about 5,000 gallons of water 
per hour a height of 20 feet, one horse being used to do the work. 
Different kinds of water lifts are obtainable from our.amplement sellers at 
reasonable rates, but as in the case of a whip they can often be economically 
constructed in the orchard or garden, as there are no mechanical difficulties in 
their construction or fitting up that cannot be carmed out by any handy man. 
