IRRIGATION.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 296, 21 August 1860, Page 3

IRRIGATION.

!The tenacity with which an Englishman adheres to the modes pt thought, life, costume, diet, and occupation to which he has been accustomed, and the repugnance which he evinces to adapt them to the climate and circumstances of any .other country; ml which he may. happen to take up his abode, is a favorite theme for comment among strangers, and ajustj occasion of satire • among ourselves. This rigorous obedience to precedent, and zealous fidelity to .immemorial custom, are exhibited in all the acts of life; iniioyatiorig being reluctantly admitted and variations from venerable rules regarded with extreme suspicion. A. British agriculturist conducts his ,operations in Victoria much upon the same system which he pursued in J^orfolkj in Somersetshire* or the Lothians, and like causes are expected; to bring about like results, in spite of the wide difference which exists between the co-efficients there and here.

It seems to be forgotten in all hot countries, ; and from the earliest times of which we possess any records, the success of agricultural operations has been mainly dependent upon artificial irrigation. When speaking of Babylonia, Herodotus describes it as the most fruitful of all the countries he had, visited, and he attributes its fertility to artificial irrigation. Referring to the same comtry, five hundred years later, the elder Pliny observes:—" There is not a territory in all the east comparable to it in point of fertility," the cause assigned by the naturalist being indentical with that given by the historian. Virgil alludes to the beneficial practice in the Gorgics; and there were portions of ancient Mauritania, which although destitute of streams or rivers,

were enabled to support a large . population by the cereal pioducts of a soil watered by means of wells. The Moors introduced' artificial irrigation into Spain, and when, after their expulsion, the admirable works which they had constructed for. raising, receiving, and distributing Water were suffered to fall to decay, the productiveness of the soil was materially diminished, and the Peninsula'lost much of the garden-like aspect which had distinguished it during its occupation by the Arabs. Valentia was the only province which continued to avail itself of the lessons in agriculture it had received from the [sagacious and,, scientific Moors, and to this day the artificial canalization of that province excites the admiration and eulogy of the tourist. "Thus 4rrigated,''writes Mr. Ford, "the rich alluvial plains, which bask in the never-failing irritating sun, know no agricultural repose; man is never weary of sowing, nor the sun of calling, into life. The produce, even where the land is poor, is almost incredible under this combined influence,1 of heat and moisture; and the Valentia, with all his faults, is hard-working and industrious and, like his soil and climate;'Ml of vitality^ Thus, in one year, four, nay five"; crops are raised in succession." , .'\ >v Probably the climate and soil of Victoria bear as close a resemblance to those of any part of Europe, some portions of Italy excepted, with this advantage in our favor, that the winters are less austere in this colony than in either of the countries named. In the northern and midland districts of Italy, artificial irrigation has been practised for centuries, and by it the valleys of Piedmont and the plains of Lombardy are enabled to maintain so considerable a population, and to exliibit a degree of productiveness analogous to that which has been just referred to as characterising Valentia, And although the fluvial resources of this colony are less copious than those of Northern Italy, yet there is no reason to doubt that, if these were properly husbanded and the annual rainfall collected and retained in such natural basins as might be found capable of conversion into reservoirs, supply would be abundant for all purposes of artificial'irrigation, and that the productive powers of the soil might be enormously augmented, and the risks which the farmer now encounters diminished to such an extent as to take agriculture out of the category of hazardous and speculative occupations. In the valuable " Report on the Agricultural Canals ofrPiedmont and Lombardy," prepared for the East India Company by Captain Baird Smith, he gives, us the result of his inquiries, a statement showing that the yield per acre of average meadow lands subjected to artificial irrigation is nearly 24 tons of grass, while in the vicinity of Milan the ordinary yield is estimated at from 45 to 50 tons, with half as much more in remarkable instances.. The net returns from lancl of this description are about £11 2s. 6d. per acre, of which;from £5 to £6 would go to the proprietor "as rent. A comparative statement of expenses and returns from irrigated and unirrigated land in Piedmontjhows the value of the net annual produce derived from the former to be about 65 per cent, in excess of that which is yielded by the latter. Of course, the sewage water from populous cities is most in request for irrigating purposes, and the annual value of that which flows into the Yarra from our own streets, or saturates the subsoil of Melbourne, and impregnates it with the seeds of future epidemics, is probably equivalent to the interest of the money expended in constructing the reservoir at YanYean. The irrigation system of Northern Italy is not wholly dependent upon the rivers and artificial canals of the country, as many of the channels derive their supplies from subterranean waters; and the discovery of a spring emitting from fwe to ten cubic feet per second, which are the ordinary limits, is considered to increase the value of ths property on which it is found by from £1400 to £2800; The|fountainrseeker appears to.be a member of a regular profesr sion in Lombardy, and the traditional signs by which he is guided in his search, it may be of service to quote for the benefit of some of our country readers:—" Where in the spring time, the vendure of a meadow is of a deeper green than the general mass, or the soil of a field has a darker or damper appearance than 4he rest, there he considers it desirable to try his fortune- "'. When, in the summer, the gnats are seen hovering in masses over a particular spot, and resting very close to the soil, he suspects that* aqueous vapour is ascending from below, and that a spring must be near the surface. \ At all seasons of theyear, light vapours&fre»|uently rest over the, hidden springs at night and morning, and to these the searcher gives attention with the sort of practical instinct in recognizing their indications which long observation creates." Experiments in artificial irrigation have already been made in the neighbourhood of this city, and attended with a sufficient amount of success to justify operations of greater magnitude,; and we .cannot doubt that the art will eventually assume that importance in the estimation of the Australian agriculturists which it does in that of the farmers of Italy, China and India.—Melbourne Age.. ' ■ ■ .