Read Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

Great Britain Dominions Royal Commission

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Description:Excerpt from Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 3. Would you, then, please make a statement as to irrigation? - Yes. The general policy of the Government as regards irrigation is not so much to undertake large State schemes, but rather to foster private enterprise and co-operative enterprise. At the present time it must be realised that our policy is the best, considering the conditions here. We have a very small population in relation to the size of the country, and market conditions arc abnormal. We have no home market at all. and it takes very little to glut such market as we have. Unless produce is produced which can be exported, the people cannot get rid of it. At present I think there can be no question that this country, as a whole, must be considered mainly as a pastoral one, and its future, I think, largely lies in that direction, so that irrigation is to a very large extent an adjunct to stock farming, and in that sense we are only at the fringe of our development. Vast areas of the country are being stocked, at present, on the basis of a condition of drought. Large areas will only carry one sheep to about ten acres, whereas with a very little extension of irrigation on the farms by means of small dams or boreholes it is possible to grow fodder, lucerne, or winter feed, and immediately double the stock-carrying capacity of the farms. Then. again, it must be remembered that, owing to the peculiar geological conditions, we have comparatively little soil in the country which is alluvial. Most of the country is composed of very ancient formations - thin soil with narrow ribbons of intensely rich alluvial valleys; but they form a very small proportion of the entire area of the country. Naturally, all these valleys have attracted the best people, and they will always form areas on which closer settlement can be encouraged. Theu, again, it must also be remembered that, unfortunately, the greater part of South Africa was practically partitioned among a comparatively few white people in days gone by, and the only land which is left.in the hands of the Government is either unhealthy country or desert like the Kalahari, Bushman Land, and parts like that, where from an irrigation point of view nothing could be done. There is 110 water to irrigate with, and as far as development of underground supplies is coucemed, experiments so far made go to show that it is both precarious and sometimes bad in quality. 4>. (Sir Rider Haggard.) Brackish, like Australia? -It varies greatly. It varies from district to district, but there are some parts of the country where the underground water is very l>ad, suitable for neither man nor beast. 5. Does it kill vegetation?-Yes; vegetation is, of course, more sensitive than animal life. As far as irrigation is concerned we arc, therefore, generally confined to these comparatively small parts in the alluvial valleys, the whole of which laud is already parcelled out, and to purchase that land is u very costly matter. The laud which is capable of being put under irrigation where there are any possibilities at all, mostly in the Cape Province, is now selling at from hi. to 10/. a morgen-this is an all-round price for a farm, and includes veld as well as arable laud - and then it must be remembered that it will generally take anything from 20/. to 50/. a morgen to place it under irrigation. People do not like spending money on unimproved land which will require a very large amount of capital to develop. The Cape Province, I may mention, is much ahead of the other Provinces as regards irrigation. To begin with, the country is more arid, and. in many cases, in order to make a living at all, the people have been forced to irrigate, and it has made them generally more enterprising. The result has boon that, although the early efforts in co-operation and irrigation were slow, and one had a lot of disappointment to meet, the position ut pres...We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint). To get started finding Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint), you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Description: Excerpt from Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 3. Would you, then, please make a statement as to irrigation? - Yes. The general policy of the Government as regards irrigation is not so much to undertake large State schemes, but rather to foster private enterprise and co-operative enterprise. At the present time it must be realised that our policy is the best, considering the conditions here. We have a very small population in relation to the size of the country, and market conditions arc abnormal. We have no home market at all. and it takes very little to glut such market as we have. Unless produce is produced which can be exported, the people cannot get rid of it. At present I think there can be no question that this country, as a whole, must be considered mainly as a pastoral one, and its future, I think, largely lies in that direction, so that irrigation is to a very large extent an adjunct to stock farming, and in that sense we are only at the fringe of our development. Vast areas of the country are being stocked, at present, on the basis of a condition of drought. Large areas will only carry one sheep to about ten acres, whereas with a very little extension of irrigation on the farms by means of small dams or boreholes it is possible to grow fodder, lucerne, or winter feed, and immediately double the stock-carrying capacity of the farms. Then. again, it must be remembered that, owing to the peculiar geological conditions, we have comparatively little soil in the country which is alluvial. Most of the country is composed of very ancient formations - thin soil with narrow ribbons of intensely rich alluvial valleys; but they form a very small proportion of the entire area of the country. Naturally, all these valleys have attracted the best people, and they will always form areas on which closer settlement can be encouraged. Theu, again, it must also be remembered that, unfortunately, the greater part of South Africa was practically partitioned among a comparatively few white people in days gone by, and the only land which is left.in the hands of the Government is either unhealthy country or desert like the Kalahari, Bushman Land, and parts like that, where from an irrigation point of view nothing could be done. There is 110 water to irrigate with, and as far as development of underground supplies is coucemed, experiments so far made go to show that it is both precarious and sometimes bad in quality. 4>. (Sir Rider Haggard.) Brackish, like Australia? -It varies greatly. It varies from district to district, but there are some parts of the country where the underground water is very l>ad, suitable for neither man nor beast. 5. Does it kill vegetation?-Yes; vegetation is, of course, more sensitive than animal life. As far as irrigation is concerned we arc, therefore, generally confined to these comparatively small parts in the alluvial valleys, the whole of which laud is already parcelled out, and to purchase that land is u very costly matter. The laud which is capable of being put under irrigation where there are any possibilities at all, mostly in the Cape Province, is now selling at from hi. to 10/. a morgen-this is an all-round price for a farm, and includes veld as well as arable laud - and then it must be remembered that it will generally take anything from 20/. to 50/. a morgen to place it under irrigation. People do not like spending money on unimproved land which will require a very large amount of capital to develop. The Cape Province, I may mention, is much ahead of the other Provinces as regards irrigation. To begin with, the country is more arid, and. in many cases, in order to make a living at all, the people have been forced to irrigate, and it has made them generally more enterprising. The result has boon that, although the early efforts in co-operation and irrigation were slow, and one had a lot of disappointment to meet, the position ut pres...We have made it easy for you to find a PDF Ebooks without any digging. And by having access to our ebooks online or by storing it on your computer, you have convenient answers with Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint). To get started finding Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint), you are right to find our website which has a comprehensive collection of manuals listed.
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Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Union of South Africa in 1914, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint)

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