Amador ledger., 1900-05-11
The Great Possibilities of the
Country.
UNCERTAINTY OF RAINFALL IS DISC0URAGMG
A Systematic Method of Irrigating
Would Make the Land Very
Productive.

the past week, though ir no manner
connected with politics, has been 'Col. "
Joab L. Meacher, who has just re-
turned to the United States from South
Africa, where he has been looking into
the present possibilities stock-rais-
ing. Col. Meacher is an adopted west
erner, being originally from the hills
and rocks of Vermont, but he has for
some years been connected with one of
the large irrigation systems of Colo
RADIO. He is a big, raw-boned typical
American OF the style which is recog-
nized the world over as yankee" "
upon my arrival at Cape Town,
this being my third visit" he said in
talking of his trip, 81 was treated with
much good-fellowship, the residents
vying with each other in an endeavor
to show feeling of friendship growing
out of the conditions arising from our
Spanish war.
Cape Town has in the last few years
grown to be a large AMI prosperous
city, thrifty and neat. The Parlia-
ment buildings would be credit to
any city. The suburban villas, sur
rounded by gardens, rich in variety,
and of luxurious growth, form pleas
ing landscape. The colony is now
largely engaged in stock raising
While the lower coast regions having
sufficient moisture, produce green crops
in great abundance. the arid character
of the vastly largest portion of the
colony, renders it at present unfit for
any purpose other than grazing.
Nearly two-thirds of the surface of the
Cape consists of a barren plain. After
the periodical rains this plain is COW
cred with grass but the summer heat
soon changes its aspect. Sheets of
shallow water termed vleis are formed
at many places in the fiat lands of the
interior by the rains, and these spots,
during the dry season are covered with
rich grasses atfording excellent grazing.
"The first act requisite for settle
ment is the construction of dam or
reservoir for the collection aud saving
of water supply. AS such dams have
always been built by individuals the
water saved is only sufficient to supply
what is required for stock and domestic
purposes. There are great opportuni-
ties for irrigation on large scale in a
number of sections of South Africa,
but with the exception of unimportant
attempts to water small patches, but
little has been done in the direction of
systematic irrigation for agriculture.
The soil is fertile as shown by the rich
growth of grasses during the rainy
season, and if irrigation works on a
large scale were established as they
have been in India and our own West,
and the waste water of the rainy sea-
son saved, millions of acres could be
devoted profitably to agriculture.
"In the valleys of the Oliphaut river
and its tributaries, emptying into the
Atlantic, the Breede river which flows
into the Indian Ocean and the Zak and
Hartebeeste, tributary to the Orange
river, many farms have been establish
ed. The crops of these sections depend
entirely upon the annual overflow
caused by rains in the mountains where
these streams rise. The Dutch farmers
who cultivate most of this land, prefer
to depend entirely upon nature. If
urged to take steps to irrigate in
periods of long drouth, they invariably
say, 'Oh, it will rain again! Such un-
certain and loose methods must nee
essarily give way before modern ideas
and improved farming; much of the
land will eventually be reclaimed
through the use of the vast volume of
water now running to waste and a
dense and progressive population will
build up the country.
"The lands of the Transvaal Republic
are of the same character as those of
the tableland of Cape Colony. On
previous trips I have been all through
the Transvaal. Generally during the
rainy season, farmers can produce a
crop of maize. But this is by no
means sure, owing to the uncertainty
of the rainfall. The Transvaal strik-
ingly recalls to me our western plains.
The monotony is relieved by occa-
sional table-shaped and conical noun
tains. During the dry months the
Boer farmer migrates with his cattle
and his family to the lowlands along
the rivere or coolies. He spends his
time hunting, while the children and
Kaffir servants herd the cattle and
sheep. Under the existing conditions
the grazing development of this part OF
the world is limited. Transportation
is too costly as yet to insure a profitable
marketing. But with the stimulus to
home markets, incident to the con-
tinued development of the mining in
dustry, with it's immense army oi
laborers, the agricultural and pastoral
industries will be put on a different
footing. Eventually they cannot be oi
mere Importance than the mines them.
selves.
II could not but think" concluded
Col. Meacher, "while travelling over
some of the great stretches of unoccu
pied land of South Africa, through
which flow large rivers, how much
land there is yet in the world which