white men is more or less precarious. Even when it is abundant there, a large portion falls in violent storms, of which the resulting flow rapidly runs off the ground and goes to waste, while frequently another large portion falls at unseasonable periods, and is evaporated or descends deep into the absorbent soil.

The only certainty the farmer has is that during four months of the year a very small amount of rain falls, which is speedily evaporated or absorbed, and for another four months practically none is precipitated. The general conditions are that when water is most wanted it is least available, and that the most valuable crops cannot be grown without artificial watering. During the period of good rainfall the cultivator has, moreover, to contend with special difficulties, such as hailstorms and locusts, which are absent during the rest of the year. So much is he handicapped by these conditions that in the south-western and central divisions of the Transvaal a fair crop is expected only once in five years; in its south-western division many experienced farmers have given up ploughing as a waste of money. It is the opinion of practically all farmers long resident in the Colony that without irrigation they cannot be successful with their crops. This is not a newly-formed

idea, for, from the time of the earliest settlements, the riparian farms were always considered the most valuable, and were occupied first, the non-riparian farms being taken up merely as subsidiary to them for cattle grazing, etc. As evidence that the same value is still attached to water may be quoted the facts that its availability is always brought forward prominently at all sales of lands possessing it, and that irrigators are most tenacious of their rights to water. As cultivation increases, the existing natural sources of supply will not suffice for it, and this has already proved to be the case on streams where irrigation has been developed to a considerable extent.

3. IRRIGATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

The following figures will give some idea of the extent of irrigation in other countries :

In India, it is comparatively of recent date since the British. Government undertook irrigation on a large scale. By 1902-03 Government had expended about £28,500,000 on works for which capital accounts are kept, and were spending at the rate of about

(1). “ Egyptian Irrigation," by Sir W. Willcocks (Spon, London, 1899). (2). "Irrigation Engineering," by H. M. Wilson (Wiley, New York, 1903).

£2,000,000 a year on all classes of irrigation. That year the net revenue return on the first-named works was nearly 7 per cent., and the value of the crops matured by their means was estimated at about 88 per cent. of their total cost. The Government of India in 1901 appointed an influential Irrigation Commission to tour all over the empire to ascertain how irrigation could be developed, and this Commission recommended a further capital expenditure of not less than £29,000,000 on new works for the irrigation of 6,500,000 acres. The private works in India consist of wells and small channels and reservoirs.

In Egypt, practically the entire financial position depends upon irrigation. The British engineers employed in its development have raised that country in a comparatively short time from poverty to affluence. It is common knowledge that large works have been constructed there within the last few years. Here, again, investigations have recently been carried out for greatly increased irrigation development, both in Egypt and in the Soudan, upon which it is estimated £22,000,000 can be spent. * The gross yield of the produce from irrigated land in Egypt is estimated at £7 an acre.

In America, irrigation is being extensively developed, principally in the Western States, which, like many parts of South Africa, are arid. This subject there engages the attention of a highly scientific staff, and the result of its work has been to enable the country to export agricultural produce in large amount, despite the high cost of labour.

Mr. Hitchcock says:--† "There is no one question now before the people of the United States of greater importance than the conservation of the water supply and the reclamation of the arid lands of the West, and their settlement by men who will actually build homes and create communities."

In Canada, with a climate much more rigorous than that of South Africa, irrigation is successfully practised, and, recently, the Canadian Pacific Railway Authorities have been furthering new schemes which will bring about 1,000,000 acres under water. Government has given that Railway a large block of land for this purpose, one-quarter of which will be irrigated; already 500,000 acres of this block have been sold.

In the dry parts of old countries of Europe, such as Italy, Spain, and France, which all have colder climates than South Africa, irrigation has been found a necessity for agricultural development, and many fine works have recently been constructed.

Coming to South Africa itself, Cape Colony is inaugurating a more scientific and extensive irrigation policy, Natal has just constructed the Winterton irrigation scheme, the Transvaal has established an irrigation department, and the Orange River Colony, with its limited means, has been starting irrigation schemes as relief works.

* Sir William Garstin's Report on the Upper Nile, Cairo, 1904.
+"Irrigation in the United States," by F. H. Newell.

From the above short account, it may be seen that, although irrigation has attained its greatest development in tropical countries, the white man, in arid countries like parts of South Africa, has found it a necessity, and is rapidly increasing the irrigated area. It would be remarkable if in South Africa alone, where water is badly wanted, where the price of agricultural produce is probably higher than it is anywhere else, and where so great a proportion of it is imported, that irrigation should not be a success.

In some countries irrigation is a vital necessity; in others, it is eminently desirable; while in others it is not wanted. The Colonies of South Africa fall under the second description, and in them irrigation is much appreciated. They can accept with confidence as a guide the experience of similarly situated countries, such as the Western States of America, where irrigation has been a great success and is rapidly extending. It is not necessary that the similitude should be exact; the underlying general principles can be followed, the general results intelligently applied, and development more quickly obtained by avoiding the mistakes which have elsewhere been committed through inexperience.

4. ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION.

The following may be stated as some of the advantages of irrigation :

(a) Without it the success of agriculture cannot be assured in the arid parts of South Africa.

(b) It will permit more stock to be raised, as by it fodder (such as oat hay) can be produced at a cheaper rate than it can be imported, owing to its bulky nature; moreover, green fodder, such as lucerne, cannot be imported in a succulent state. In its turn, stock raising will help irrigation by the manure produced by it.

(c) It will cheapen the cost of living by reducing the amount of imported produce.

(d) It will afford congenial employment to the rural population, which has never taken to mining.

(e) Intense cultivation will mitigate the effects of the present law of inheritance, by which estates are being gradually subdivided into otherwise unremunerative small holdings. It will thus tend to prevent the formation of a poor white population.

(f) It will permit of the formation of settlements with common aims and objects, which will lead to the fusion of the white

races.

(g) Irrigation in India and Egypt brings in to the State a large return on the expenditure incurred upon it. It should, at least, be self-supporting in this country, and will probably be directly remunerative.

(h) In India and Egypt it is recognised that the indirect advantages of irrigation in increasing the wealth of agriculturists conduce greatly to the advantage of the State, and thus justify the

construction of works not directly remunerative in themselves. The same will hold good here, as an increase in the purchasing power of a large section of the community must benefit the rest of it.

(j) Agriculture (and this includes irrigation) is the most permanent of all industries; it is advantageous to the country as a whole to foster it, especially while its revenue is increased by the profits from mining which may eventually diminish.

(k) Irrigation will, in favourable circumstances, permit of two crops being grown annually; that raised in the cold season will not be liable to damage by floods, hailstorms and locusts, and will thus be practically secure.

(1) Irrigation works can be constructed almost entirely by local labour, as but an insignificant part of them will have to be imported. Their construction will therefore benefit the resident labouring community. In this respect they compare most favourably with railways.

5. ALLEGED NON-REQUIREMENT OF IRRIGATION.

By some it has been stated that irrigation is not wanted, because :

(a) The population is too small to require it.

(b) It will be cheaper to import produce than to grow it.

(c) Owing to the high price of labour, it will be impossible to export surplus produce.

Generally, it may be said that such objections are raised by persons who have not resided long in the country, or who have not had experience of the success of irrigation in other countries. It is surely more reasonable to attach greater importance to the opinions of those who have been born and bred in the country, and of those who have seen what irrigation has done elsewhere. Both of these latter classes are greatly in favour of developing South Africa by means of irrigation. (Vide "Agriculture Within the Empire," pp. 138-140).

Theory is all very well, but it is not always reliable. A few years ago it was said that plantations would not be successful near Johannesburg. The Sachsenwald one is now a proof of the fallacy of this idea. It is far better to rely upon the results of experience, even if that has been obtained in other countries.

The following remarks are made as to the objections stated above :

*

(a) The total population of the Transvaal by the last census was 1,268,716, and the cultivated area in 1902-03 was estimated at 391,000 acres, or only 0.31 acre per head, which is quite insufficient for the support of the inhabitants. Of this area, by far the largest proportion is devoted to the growth of mealies-an

*

unirrigated crop. In addition, it is estimated that there are 6,667,000 acres available for cultivation. Everyone anticipates that mining and other industries will rapidly expand, immigration is taking place, and it is well known that the Dutch and Native inhabitants are prolific; from all these causes the population should largely increase. Naturally, the best lands have been put under cultivation first, and it is uncertain if agriculture, unaided by irrigation, will be able to keep pace with the increase of the population.

(b) The customs returns for the year ending 30th June, 1905 † (Vide Appendix 1), show that over £2,000,000 of agricultural produce, which could be grown under irrigation, was imported. This is evidence that much lee-way has to be made up, and the increase of population will for long be in advance of the increase of irrigation.

(c) It is doubtful if agricultural labour in the Transvaal, after conditions have become more settled, will be as high-priced as it is in purely white Colonies, for here cheap native labour is procurable, and will probably be then available for agriculture. It is the experience of other Colonies and of America that, even with their high rates of labour, they are able, owing to the favourable natural conditions of climate and soil, to export agricultural produce to other countries with cheaper labour.

Irrigation in South Africa will permit of the growth of lucerne, oat hay, wheat and other crops, which can be consumed locally, and of fruit, tobacco and semi-tropical produce, which can be exported at a profit. It is well known that America, by greatly developing its iron industry, has been able to compete with English trade by exporting its surplus production at cheaper rates than are obtained in its own market, and South Africa should be able to adopt the same principle in regard to its agricultural products.

6. POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS.

Politics are not in the province of the engineer, but as in this country they pervade everything, so they affect the question of irrigation. In all countries there is a conflict of interests between town and country. Here this is intensified by the fact that the former is associated with the British and with capital, and the latter with the Dutch and with poverty. All prominent politicians state their earnest desire to fuse the two races into one; in no better way can this be done than by developing agriculture (and with it irrigation), so as to convince the rural population that their interests are not being sacrificed to the requirements of the urban portion of the community.

The Dutch population has not taken, and probably will not take, to mining, whereas the pursuit of agriculture is peculiarly

* Transvaal Administration Report for 1903.

+ Report of the Transvaal Agricultural Department, 1904-5.