IRRIGATION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1912, 21 November 1913, Page 10

IRRIGATION.

GREAT TRANSFORMATIONS. Jlr. W. M- C.arae, an officer of the New South Wales, Agricultural Department, who lias just returned from a Six .months' toilr of America.., was greatly impressed with the irrigation ■ works in tile United States. , "Imperial Valley, which is part 1 of ■tiro portion o£ the Colorado Desert," lie said, "was an, absolute waste six years .ago, and to-.aay it is a veritable garden, all effected by \vater. Pefore being irrigated the land was quite, arid, and carried nothing but a few shrttbs iuici. eacti. It- affords an excellent illustration of tlio possibilities ahead of our own dry belts if they could only bo supplied with water. Irrigated land is bringing fiknfcS prices. At Iledlands proltab'y as mneh as 250Q dollars per aero would be aslced for the citrus .groves.. "In Southern California it pays an orange grower to pmiip water at a cost of 15 dollars a.nd_ more per acre foot of water, and it .is interesting to compare this with the rate at Yanco, which is only one dollar per aero foot. Dategrowing is a new industry in Southern California and Southern _ Arizona. I made a visit to the districts where tho palms are being grown, and it seems to mo'that there are portions of Australia where they would thrive. There ought always to be a good demand for the fresh dates, which are .a different variety of fruit" altogether from those that are grown fordryinc. The growing of Smyrna figs is also becoming an important industry in Southern California.