Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

DOMINIONS TRADE COMMISSION
future of irrigation farming
suggestion for attracting
settlers.
dwindling supply of native
timbers.
The Domonions-Trade Commission again
took evidence at the Federal Parliament;
House on Saturday. The members present
were Sir Edgar Vincent (chairman), Sir
Alfred Rateinan, Sir Rider Haggard and
Mr. W. Lorimer, representatives of Great
Britain; and Messrs. D. Campbell (Austra
lia), G. E, Foster (Cnnada), J. R. Sinclair
(New Zealand), and E. R. Bowring (New
foundland).
Mr. Elwood Mead, chairman of the Water
Commission, said Victoria had a larger area
of irrigated land, more miles of irrigation
channels end more money invested in irri-
gaton works than all the -other Australian
States combined. The State irrigation
works completed or in process of construc
tion were capable, without additional stor-
age, of- irrigating 400,000 acres, of which
215,000 acres was irrigated, last year. The
construction of reservoirs, for which plans
and estimates were prepared, or well ad
vanced, would .provide water for irrigating
about 700,000 acres. The works for providing
domestic and stock water to farms supplied
over 10,000,000 acre3, and the total invest-
smcnt in State works for irrigation, domes
tic and stock supplies for farms aggregated
i £7,750,000. With irrigation there was no
dead season in the year, and there was
scarcely a month when crops could not be
reeded or harvested. With irrigation two
farm crops could be grown in the year— a
wheat crop in tlio winter, and a maize
seeded or harvested. With irrigation two
to six cuttings of lucerne could he harvest
ed in the year, and the dairyman could
; navo green feed through the summer
a. ,.a continuous milking season.
v\ith irrigation the orchards would pro
duce everything, from olives to apples;
oranges, pears and peaches grew on the
i same acre, all to perfection, and gave an
acreage return that enabled men to make
j a comfortable living off 10 to 20 acres of
land. At Jlilclum, the oldest of the fruit
settlements, 0000 .people were being main
tained by products from 12,000 acres, and
there were many other largo areas which
) would, in the neat- futre,- support -one per
son to every two acres. Last year the'
: (.(products of the Mildura district were
worth nearly £400,000.
i; A ten-acre orange grove, witness said.
|: would bring a larger return than a-SDO-aore
i; wheat held, and one aero of lucerne would
h fatten mora sheep than 20 acres of native
grass. Irrigation would, therefore, multi-
, Ply tlio population which could otherwise
; he supported on 'the land from 10 to 100
i times, and give a corresponding inercilse in
I the value of products. Furthermore, an
I: irrigated district was freed from the vicis-
> situdes anil losses that came with recurring
I years of drought, and a donsuly peopled
I area had hotter home conditions ami more
I: attractive social life than sparsely settled
I ones fawned, by the aid of tile scanty rain-
I; fall. of the north.
I: The Stale had also established 'two small
I' ,7 settlements on timbered Crown
I- rnXJi One of these hud an area of about
I GOOD acres, the other 3000 acres. Nearly all
1; the land in both districts was now tnid«r
l cuMiyntion, and on one holding of 34 acres,
| i which four years ago was aim llcc scrub, a
I jrnp worth £1700 was harvested this year
| iho lands now being subdivided would nro-
|: vide for all settlers for at least two years,
I and this enabled the State to offer oppov-
I tumties lor colony settlement of a most at-
I tractive character. It was confidently be-
I. lieved that there was 110 place in any couu-
I fry where settlers could acquire homes
I with less hardship, less risk, or where tliuy
I; would have better prospects of good re-
l< turns, or live under better physical or
I- social conditions. The capital needeil by
|( irngationists depended largely on the nmbi-
- tion, energy nud'rcHourectuIness of tlio set-
tier, homo men who four years ago bor-
I rowed the money to puy the 3 per cent.
|; deposit required had their blocks planted
; with vines and fruit trees, and as well cul-
tiyated and giving its largo returns as
i others .who started with a capital of £500
or £000.
I The settlements, taken as a whole, made
a good hnaneial showing, which would im-
each year. There were of course in-
i dividual failures. No scheme could make
R a success of every settler, or wholly avert
mistakes or misfortunes, especially when
to so muny the couditiohs were strange
and new.
HI The chief difficulties encountered were
| duo to lack of experience und skill on the
: part of the settlers. Irrigated agriculture
B required thorough cultivation. Only a few
B ot our settlore had been skilled irrigators,
and only a small porccutagc, whether Vic
torian or from oversea, had any previous
experience in intensive cultivation.
It would greatly assist the movement if
there were a few settlers from Great Bri-
: tam who were well known ut home; men
: like Sir Horace Phmkett, Mr. Horton
: lwewen. Lord Ogilvi'e, tlio Earl of Dim-
j raven, and the Moncrieffs from Scotland,
wno were among tlio pioneers in tlio de
velopment of irrigation in the United
States, or like the Earl of Aberdeen in
the development of fruit growing in
British Columbia. The reports of theso
men, and the opportunities of the now
country they were helping to develop,
brought many recruits with capital ami
capacity, who helped to extend a know
ledge of the new field nmong a wide circle
of friends in the mother country. In the
absence of 'these there were needed some
means of bringing Victorian ppportunitics
before those who could make the best use
.of them, like the graduates of the agricul
tural schools in England and Scotland.
If a committee of well-known men in
Great Britain were formed to. work in con
cert with the Agent-General in doing this,
it would result in many settlers' coming
here fitted to utilise these opportunities,
ana hasten the bringing of the State's irrig
able laud into full production. The large
urea which the State now owned gave an
opportunity for colony settlement which
had not before been presented, and enabled
settlers before leaving Great "Britain, to
make arrangements tor the blocks they
were to occupy on arrival.
It wns too early to mnkc any prediction
as to the ultimate extent of irrigated agri
culture, in this State. The rivers of the
otato flowing through lands suited to irri
gation had nil aggregate discharge of some
thing over 12,000,000 acre-feet a vcar, or
enough to irrigate 4,000,000 acres if all the
water could be conserved and used. Such a
result could not be anticipated, because it
would menn the storage of fully one-half of
this volume, and on some streams reser
voirs to permit of such storage could not
be obtained cxcept ut prohibitive cost. It
was-certain, however, that enough of the
water would be utilised to make irrigated
agriculture in Victoria an important meter
in the peopling, production and trade of
this continent.
In reply to the chairman, witness said it
was notified that a settler required £300
mpital, but the condition was not insisted
an when the qualifications of the applicant
were such that be was likely to succeed
with lera capital.
Questioned by Sir Rider Haggard, wit
ness said there would bo no glut in fruit
if adequate provision were made for over-
era marlrets. Victoria was the most profit
able country for orchardists be had seen,
and in view of the time of tho year when
the fruit matured, had an advantage over
California in the world's markets. The
opening of the Panama Canal would pro
vide new markets for Victorian ordbard-
ista.
Mr, If. Mackay, Conservator of Forests,
gave information as to the administration
the net. He said that most forest fires
were mused maliciously by cattle owners
who wanted to promote the growth of
srass. The penalty here was much lower
than m the United States, where offenders
were liable to. a fine of £200 and four or
hve years' imprisonment. One of the most
valuable trees introduced here was the
Montcry pine, climatic conditions improv
ing the timber. The value of native woods
rat had reached as much as £400 per here
strong pressure to get valuable timber land
reserved was resisted in all the States, and
great scarcity would result unless more was
done in the way of afforestation and re-
aqorcstation. A Federal act was required
to regulate the exportation of timber, such
w Wihvay Bleepers, which should be de
scribed by its true name. In 25 years the
export trade would dwindle almost to noth
ing it the replenishment of forests was not
Branerly taken in band.
lj;1 W®.85 hffreed that the destruction of
beautiful Queensland timbers, such as silky
mihi' - -vellow wood and maple, was n"
Mb c enmo. It was difficult to raise the
Pueiie conscience so as to prevent such dc-
Sai ' or SCCUI'e in Australia the irre-
np forest land. The
vm S' T)1' VOr'' r w.nk- There
in to 1 underfill supply of furniture wood
for i b'eli made good substitutes
vis N'M, timbers. The value of timber
by Cl,fcbing down the trees at
rau wrong season.
the n,,ra' Becl)ervai«c, in amplification of
rion nn TMC ? Bivo before the eommis-
advised1 'raroda.y, points out that he is
ai a consignment ot n.mles sold at
v oiu ,? 7> to'\8/ f01' vvhile the pro-
case ttL i3 at Hull realised 0/(3 per
Hi(t' states that Manchester, as a nort.
to to m '7 ,t0 '7 ''ability of the canal
crrni- T !' Through a typographical
irss ! '"iningjiam, to which lie referred,
3?, Riven as Birmingham."
tion 7C0l?,mi3sln will rcsumo tho cxainina-
1100 of witnesses to-morrow..
$