IRRIGATING THE PLAINS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1445, 15 January 1887, Page 4

IRRIGATING THE PLAINS.

■Wt ate very pleased to see that the * County Council has not lost sight of the irrigation question, than which we «re persuaded that there is none of , greater importance to which it can turn ftfcattentiqni The chairman's remarks oni&e^ijbject coincide very much with « tM Tfews'expressed by ourselves m a f©cent leading, article, m which we advocated that experiments should be conducted fry the Council itself, with a view to demonstrating beyond all doubt tfclt irrigation will pay, and so securing t|p^upport of the ratepayers for a complete system applicable to the whole county. Mr Walker agrees with ub a$ to this point, and says—" Without a practical test of the results attainable,, tnd the actual cost to the farmer, no system of •"irrigation is likely to be adopted involving a loan." He then goes on to suggest that either the Council-should adopt the plan we have »dYO&tqd,vi£-, that of making experiments on a small scale itself, or that it •hould ask the authorities of the AgriCultural College and the County Council ot Selwyn to unite with it m ttakjng experiments conjointly. Either of (nese plans would meet the - case^ — though for ourselves we prefer the former. It is still more satisfactory to find that the Council showed a willingness to respond to the Chairman's suggestions, and the reference of the question to a Committee to report on the matter is, we hope, but the prelude to its being heartily taken up, vigorously., . proceeded with and thoroughly carried out. For we are persuaded that the benefits which #buidi result can scarcely , be overestimated, indeed the results we verity believe would more than fulfil the expectations pf the most sanguine. For the experience of other countries shows that an ample supply of water m such a climate and with such soil as that of this county is the one thing needful to render the land wonderfully productive, And no better instance m proof need be cited than that of the results Attained by a complete system of irrijAtiqn on the plains of Lombardy. We referred to this when previously Addressing ourselves to this subject, and we have now before us as we write a letter addressed to Mr C. J. Harper by a gentleman well-known m Canterbury — Mr George Buckley, and which has been kindly placed at our disposal, some extracts from which will, no doubt, be perused with much interest. Writing m August last, Mr Buckley, referring to a visit which he paid to Italy some years ago, says — '• I closely examined the Lombaidy plains and rivers, which are much like those of Canterbury. .... The tract of country between the Po and Milan ie much like that between the Ashburton and Si&3v all heavily irrigated, producinggimmense crops, chiefly grass, four, aod five cuttings m the year, supjMfhirfe large herds of milch cows, which fte; all Stall-fed. The railway stations m that' part are quite a sight with the quantity of butter and cheese awaiting transit. The country lower down, |offfafds Verona, is patchy, m many parts poor, nothing but pure shingle, still ieith-an-ample supplyof water ibexget heavy -crops, irrespective of a dry season. The head waters of the Po, and Jhe larger rivers, are all tapped wher? they emerge from the mountains, leading the water on to the plains, and, from personal observation, there should be no difficulty m treating the Kakaia-and the Rangitata m the same way. Almost worthless country m Italy gives heavy crops, chiefly of grass, and the Canterbury Plains, with an ample supply of water m summer, would, ; so ;-, increase the value of the land that -T- am -sure the owners would find they could well afford to meet the interest and sinking fund required to obtain a loan necessary to carrj out faHfwoiks for the purpose. At present |M Surplus water all runs to waste, and after your experience of the benefits already obtained from your temporary w*6rks^ you should now, if possible, go m for complete works. There is no want of water m the two large rivers, the Rakaia and Rangitata, and the dams and intakes could be made at little more expense to give an almost unlimited supply. . . . In Lomb«dy they irrigate both m the summer ana winter, m some places completely covering the paddocks for a short ttmei and it was astonishing to see the after results. In Spain also, particularly Valencia, they, m the summer, take nearly the whole of the mountain streams, and land otherwise almost worthless, is more than trebled m value." The facts adduced m the ajbove (extracts are just now particuj&f^ opportune, and it is pleasing to find that Mr Buckley, who m his place m the Legislative Council took charge of the measure introduced by Mr Wright, has not forgotten the interests r o/ , this part of New Zealand. $f&- are Obliged to Mr Harper for the opportunity of presenting these facts to our readers, and we think they should go far to induce the ratepayers of the county to join heartily with the County Coifncil m devising and carrying out an extensive and complete system of Irrigation. '