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Show Irrigation Stressed As Continent Down Under E-Sarnsss fiftsdeap Kivetr The recently inaugurated scheme to harness the Snowy river is causing agronomists and engineers to re-study the potentialities po-tentialities of Australia, the island is-land continent with a land mass almost as great as the United States, but a population less tuan that of New York Cily. Australia's Snowy river project pro-ject will provide both large-scale large-scale irrigation "to promote greater and better primary production," pro-duction," and hydro - electric plants "to supply power for secondary sec-ondary production," according to a Commonwealth government bulletin. Prime Minister Chii'ley states he expects it to encourage population settlement in the irrigated ir-rigated areas. Describing the Snowy river, the bulletin states: "It is Australia's Aus-tralia's madcap river and yet her most reliable. Nourished and fed by the snows of our highest mountain (Mt. Kosciusko) the Snowy starts east, turns south, then west, then south again in a carefree rush to the sea. And on its short 300 miles dash, it falls 7,000 feet, Always is the Snowy full, always virile, and is thus unique in a land where rivers lose themselves and the soil is ever thirsty." The initial over-all phase of the scheme is a complete shifting shift-ing of the direction of the river, causing the bulk of the Snowy's water to flow west to irrigate parched lands. The water will : descend en route through con-jt; con-jt; oiled dams for the production of hydro - electric power i'or thousands of farms and rural community dwellings, a well as for the industries of the coastal region. The first dams of the system, ' upon which work has already I begun is Adaminaby dam, de-s.Aned de-s.Aned to hold 20 per cent more water than Sydney harbor. |