(Etfg lubltr library This Volume is for REFERENCE USE ONLY From the collection of the San Francisco, California 2006 SETTLING THE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY. t- irvz. I ^** ^^^W _ .HHBI (BPIIipE & HEADGATES OF THE GREAT WESTERN CANAL. to be the greatest of American States for the farmer in the future. They base their confidence first, on the well known advantages of irrigation, second, on the marvelous qualities of the soil, and, third, on the enormous water supply furnished by the^nake river. No portion of the arid region is better watered than this part of Idaho and there are few places where the supply is anywhere near as great. In the neighborhood of Idaho Falls is one of the largest systems of canals in the West, and one of the best of these is that belonging to the Great Western Canal and Improvement Company, which serves the 40,000 acres now being placed upon the market by the company of gentlemen referred to. This canal was built by the private means of its owners and is entirely out of debt. Its works are of a substantial character and its ability to supply water is beyond all question. Idaho Compared With the Old jstorthwest. The present remarkable movement of settlers to the Snake River val- ley, especially in view of the fact that many of them are leaving the best parts of the older States, requires an explanation. There is but one fact that could justify it, and that, is that the average family can make more money in Idaho than in the Central Western States. Nowhere can there be absolute assurance of crops, year in and year out, without irrigation. So the first advantage which the farmer will gain by going to Idaho is the certainty of his crop when insured by irrigation. In the best portions of Central West the average crop of wheat is eleven bushels per acre. In the Snake river valley of Idaho on irrigated land forty bushels per acre is a m m ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT. HARVESTING APPLES IN AN IDAHO ORCHARD. low average. In other words, an acre in Idaho zvill produce four times as much wheat as an acre in the Central West. Here is the second tremendous advantage of the new country over the old. The third advantage will be found by a study of land values. The Central West can hardly expect to grow much in the next ten years. Land values will not rise appreciably, but Idaho is a very new State. Its growth must be certain and large. Lands that can be bought to-day for $15 per acre will be worth four times as much as they become improved and as the country grows. This is an element always very influential with settlers. It is true that in Idaho the settler must pay for water, but this cost is more than equalized by the fact that he loses no time on account of rainy days, nor is his crop injured by untimely storms. In the matter of climate Idaho has another advantage, for statistics prove it to be the healthiest climate in the United States. The undeveloped resources of Idaho are rich and varied and the home market offered by growing towns, mining camps and other industrial cen- ters is a very important point to be taken into consideration. pettier in the gnal^e Galley. The new farms in the Snake River valley range from 40 to $o acres in size. The prices at present for land, including perpetual water right, are from $15 to $20 per acre. The man who buys So acres pays $2 per acre down, or$i6o, and pays the balance in seven annual payments, bearing in- terest at 7 per cent. The Great Western Land and Irrigation Company has f\V^ 1 I SETTLING THE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY. i i 1 w i made a careful study of how an eighty-acre farm can be handled. It is their habit to go over every detail of the matter carefully with the intend- ing purchaser, showing just what the expense and income would be over a series of years and planning the best disposition of his lands. The com- pany's estimates are based on the following figures: Irrigated land in Snake River valley produces 40 bushels of wheat per acre, selling at 50 cents per bushel; 250 bushels of potatoes per acre, selling at 30 cents per bushel; five tons of alfalfa per acre, selling at $6 per ton; 70 bushels of oats per acre, selling at 20 cents per bushel; one and a quarter tons of timothy per acre, selling at $13 per ton. They have numerous testimonials from actual farmers now living in the locality to demonstrate that these are conservative estimates. Reckoning on this basis they easily show that farmers can net from $1,000 to $2,000 above all expenses on an eighty-acre farm. Qreat Western Land and Irrigation Gonipaiiy, The character of the company which has had such wonderful success in the sale of these lands in the Snake River valley can be readily judged from what has been said elsewhere in this article about the five prominent gentlemen connected with it. Their reputation is of the highest. It goes without saying that the public confidence which they have won by so many years of successful work in directing settlers they certainly do not intend to forfeit now in their new enterprise. Settlers going to a new country are obliged to depend to a considerable degree upon parties selling them the lands. There is every reason to believe that the confidence which. Scandi- navians generally feel in the Great Western Land and Irrigation Company is richly deserved. 'It has been impossible within the limits of this article to discuss every- thing that it would be interesting to discuss from the standpoint of the set- tler. Attractive literature giving fuller particulars about the character of the climate, soil and products, the educational, social and religious advan- tages offered by the promising city of Idaho Falls, etc., can be had by ap- plying to the Great Western Land and Irrigation Company, 97 Washington street, Chicago. The officers of the company are as follows: President, G.Wallenberg; Vice-President, N. E. Wenstrand; Secretary, C. A. Petterson; General Man- ager, E. Tyden; Office Manager, A. Osterholm. A GLIMPSE OF IDAHO FALLS. IRRIGATION ENGINEERS. DONALD W. CAMPBELL. GEO. G. ANDERSON, Member Institute of Civil Enginms. CM7VYPBEL-L- & ANDERSON, ...Consulting Hydraulic Engineers... Rooms 833, 834 and 835 EQUITABLE BUILDING, Cable Address, "IRRIGATION." ~^i -^DENVE B COLORADO • Quil 70FLOODI^?ra°nci8co, Cal. Plans, estimates and reports on Irrigation and Water Supply Work and Structures. Consultation service with managers and engineers In charge. Examination and report on projects In cases wherein it is proposed to sell bonds, stocks or properties, a specialty. New York and London connections and references. Steam and canal capacities measured and rated. Litigation cases exported. Manufacturer and Dealer in ... ALVA J. GROVER, Mathematical and Surveying Instruments, Tracing papers and Vellum Cloths, prepared and unprepared Blue Process papers. ENGINEERS' AND ARCHITECTS' SUPPLIES. 318 S. 15th St., OMAHA, NEB.' Prompt attention to orders by Mail. WALTER H. GRAVES, C. E=. RECORD— Eighteen years1 experience in Engineering work, mostly in the Rocky Mountain region ; twelve years exclusively in irrigation work, having built over 2,000 miles of irrigating canals. SUPT. IRRIGATION, ETC. , D. C. I2TDT.A.2T JAMES T. TAYLOR, C. E. Specialty, Hydraulics. Expert examinations, plans, estimates and reports for Ir- rigation, Sewerage and Water Supply. Topographical Maps and all classes of Surveying. Member American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Irrigation Engineers, California Association of Civil Engineers, Technical fcociety of the Pacific Coast. MAIN OFFICE, EVANS BLOCK, Telephone No. 40. _ RIVERSIDE, CAL. E. C. ICINNEV, Member American Society of Civil Engineers. CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER. Dams, Power, Plants, Pumping Plants, Bed Rock Tunnels, Reservoirs and General Irrigation Schemes. PHOENIX, ARIZONA. P. M. \oitltOK. Irrigation Engineer. Member Cal. Aii'n Civil Engineer*. Mcnber Am. Soc. Irrigation Englneen. Twelve years' experience in the Irrigation systems of the San Joaquin Valley, Cal. Irrigation systems planned, estimates made, construction superintended, cases in litigation exported. Office, 6 Flood Building, San Francisco, Cal.; temporary P. O. address, Lake Greeno, Lassen Co., Cal. THE A. LIETZ COMPANY, INSTRUMENTS or ALL KINDS FOR CIVIL iNaiN.i*., 2To. -4ii2& ••korai.X33.e33.-to mtr«»t, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. F. C. FINKLE, C. E. CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER. Irrigation, Consulting and Expert Work a Specialty. Office, Boom 9 Farmers' Exchange Bank Bldg., San Bernardino, Cal. DAKOTA IRRIGATION. SS Artesian Wells in the world. Practical Irrigation Engineering, locating of wells, reservoirs and ditches. Distribution of water a specialty. «F. T. !!<• *i I I.I. I A M *» , Late from Pacific Slope. Aberdeen, M. Dak. H. CLAY KELLOGG, CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC Member of the Techn ical Society ENGINEER. of the Pacific Coast. AW AH RIM. CAIi. Twelve years' experience on irrigation systems, having planned and built some of the most improved systems in Southern California. Surveys, maps, plans and estimates and reports made of irriga- tion works, town sites and methods of irrigation. Expert examina- tion In cases of litigation. Temporary address, GILA BEND, A. T W. P. HARDESTY, Member American Society Irrigation Engineers. CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER, Surveys, Maps, Plans, Estimates and Reports for Irrigation and Water Power Projects. Construction Superintended. ROOMS 612 AND 613 PROGRESS BUILDING, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. PAINTER & MURPHY, ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS-AT-LAW. Corporation and Irrigation Law a Specialty. Eastern and Western Collections Promptly Made. Legitimate Enterprises of all kinds Promoted, Briefs and arguments prepared on any subject. Practices in all State and Federal Courts. Companies organi?.ed in any State or Territory. OFFICES: OGDEN CITY, UTAH; 59 Dearborn St., CHICAGO. CHARLES HENRY TOMPKINS, JK., ANDREW J. WILEY, M. Am. Soc. Irr. Engrs. M. Am. Soc. Irr. Engrs. 15 Cortland St., New York., P. O. Box, 1442. Boise City, Idaho. TOMPKINS & WILEY Surveys, examinations and reports. CIVIL ENGINEERS. Plans and estimates. IRRIGATION Construction superintended. A SPECIALTY. A. P. KITTELL, C E. Member American Society Irrigation Engiteers. Surveys and Estimates on Irrigation Work. .... GERING, NEBRASKA. MENTION THE AGE. THE IRRIGATION AGE, Illustrated, Edited by Wm. E. Smythe. THE IRRIGATION AGE is a Journal of Western America, recognized throughout the World as the exponent of irrigation and its kindred industries. It is the pioneer journal in its field and has no rival in half a continent. L. R. BRITTON, Business Manager. CONTENTS FOR JULY, 1894. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. The Nation arid the Arid Lands 1 Another Groundless Charge 6 Western Colorado Petition 1 Character of Land Enterprise 7 Irrigation Scrip Proposed 2 The Division of Inter-State Waters 7 What, Then, Shall We Propose 2 The Republic of Irrigation 9 Its Effect on Private Enterprise 3 What Albert Shaw Says 9 The Ownership of Water 3 Projects on the Rio Grande 9 Georgia's Splendid Commission 5 California and "The Age'' 9 Three Aspects of Texas 5 Mr. Greene's Open Letter 9 Personal Politics in Wyoming 6 INTERESTING CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES. Official Call for Third National Irrigation Congress .10 An Unsolved Western Problem— The Division of Inter-State Streams 12 By Elwood Mead. The Public Domain in Its Social Aspect 15 By Arthur P. Davis. The Law of Water Ownership 18 By W. A Hancock. The Catastrophe at Lima, Montana 20 By J M. Goodwin. Irrigation in the Canadian Northwest 22 By Charles W. Peterson. Grand Valley, Colorado 23 By A. J. McCune. Bear Valley Matters 40 Open Letter by Ex-President Greene. Irrigation Progress in Australia 24 FEATURES FOR FARMERS AND FRUIT GROWERS: Does Farming Pay 24 Relative Value of Fresh and Dried Fruits 29 Machinery Versus Man and Horse Power 25 Turkish Vineyards 30 Save the Manure 25 Remedy against Cutworms 30 The "Woolly West" 25 Thin Your Fruits 30 Hop Growing 26 Packing- Fruit for Long Shipment 31 Hawaiian Islands' Resource? 26 Insect Enemies 31 Japanese Farming 26 Kerosene for Pear Leaf Blister 32 Nitrate of Soda 27 Do Bees Injure Orchards 32 Wheat Outlook in India 27 Phosphate as a Fertilizer 32 Argentine Wheat Crop 27 Feed the Fruit Trees 32 Keep a "Garden Patch" 27 Hillside Orchards 33 Wheat Area in Russia Reduced 28 New Mexico Experiment Station 33 Detasselling Corn 28 Black Rot in Grape 33 The Cotton Crop 28 Raspberry Rust 33 How to Irrigate Trees : 28 More Windmill 35 Greeley Potatoes 28 Northern New Mexico 36 Potato Scab , 28 Electricity and Water Power 35 The Pulse of the Irrigation Industry, With News Notes from all over the Field 36 Canals 38 New Companies 39 TERMS:— $2.00 a year in advance; 20 cents a number. Foreign postage $1.00 a year additional. Subscribers may remit to us by postoffice or express money orders or by bank checks, drafts or registered letters. Money in letters is at sender's risk. Renew as early as possible in order to avoid a break in the receipt of the numbers. Bookdealers, Postmasters and Newsdealers receive subscriptions. THE IRRIGATION AGE, 511 Masonic Temple, Chicago. CALIFORNIA. not foi? fame, But in perfection rest. AND THE CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE, SOIL AND PRODUCT IN Kern Valley COME NEARER PERFECTION THAN MOST PLACES IN THE WORLD. A 20-RCHE Planted in alfalfa, corn and orchard, will support any industrious, practical family in comfort. You have your own home, your own horses, your own cows, hogs and poultry, your own vegetables, and you are your own landlord and your own master. All who possess moderate means who wish to better their condition, should address KERN COUNTY LAND CO. (INCORPORATED) CAPITAL, $10,000,000. S. W. FERGUSSON, Manager, BAKERSFIELD, CAL. BRANCH OFFICES: 918 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CHICAGO. A11 Prlces quoted are for 812 BENNETT BUILDING, NEW YORK. unimproved lands only. 44-46 LEADENHALL, E. C , LONDON. THE IRRIGATION AGE. VOL. VII. CHICAGO, JULY, 1894. No. i THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. • The time is near at hand when the peo- and the pie of the United States must deal with Arid Lands. ^ prODiem of reclaiming the arid lands. The problem does not assert itself; the press- ure is from without. All our eras of colonization have taken their impulse from men who sought homes rather than from localities that sought settlers. The Puritans were persecuted in England and dis- satisfied in Holland, and so New England was born Finally the desirable lands of the Atlantic coast were occupied, and then the Ohio Valley was invaded. Generations afterward the armies of the Union were suddenly dissolved and then the broad valley of the Mississippi was overflowed with homeseekers. The summer of 1894 finds another era of colonization at hand. Again the pressure is from without ; again the resources of the West must be drawn upon to furnish •outlets for surplus population. Conditions that have been swelling the ranks of the semi-idle and wholly idle for some years are culminating in widespread unrest, in well-defined want and at last, in the loud •and startling demand for more land for the landless. We publish elsewhere in this number a striking ar- ticle entitled " The Public Domain in its Social As- rpect.'' This article was not written by an agitator ;and delivered before a club of anarchists. It was writ- ten by one of the conservative young men in the In- terior Department and delivered before the National •Geographic Society, at Washington. When we hear ;a note of alarm from these circles it is high time to be :giving serious thought to our social and industrial problems. And the article of Mr. Arthur P. Davis is nothing less than a note of alarm. It is true that the article referred to points out the disease rather than the remedy, but a knowledge of the disease is a ne- cessary prerequisite to the prescription of the cure. If the men of the East will awaken the country to a lively appreciation of the fact that something must be done, the men of the West will undertake to show the country how to do it. COL. GEORGE W. HARRISON, Of Atlanta, Member of the Georgia Irrigation Commission. Already public thought in the West is Western ,. ,. Colorado's studiously bent upon this subject ot Petition, transcendent importance. Recently some of the citizens of the western counties of Colo- rado sent a striking petition to their senators and representatives at Washington. They called atten- tion to the fact that a splendid tract of land, com- prising one million acres in western Colorado and eastern Utah, is susceptible of irrigation by the waters of the Grand river, and that it would cost about $5 per acre to make this fit for settlement. They urged the Government to immediately undertake the re- THE IRRIGATION AGE. clamation of this immense tract, thus giving employ- ment to a large number of idle men, and making homes for tens and tens of thousands of now landless and homeless families. They pointed out that the Government would quickly receive its money back from the settlers, and would thus only temporarily advance the capital required for the work. Here are a million acres, now desolate and worthless; here is a great river, pouring uselessly to the tropic sea. Marry that water to that land and lo ! the voiceless desert will blossom with the homes of men ! The desert of to-day will be the garden of to-morrow, for that soil is rich beyond comparison, and the climate is favorable to an extraordinary degree. How sensi- ble and feasible the idea advanced in that petition looks upon its face, and yet with what well-nigh in- superable obstacles it is surrounded, as a measure of immediate relief! Congress is slow to act even upon matters referred to it for instant revision or repeal by the overwhelming mandate of the people. How slow, then, can it be on anew issue, and especially upon an issue presented by the people of the dis- respected West? Moreover, Colorado is but one part of the West, and the petitioners represent but one part of Colorado. Can they expect to induce Con- gress to act for their benefit alone in a matter which requires the readjustment, or rather the creation, of a national policy of mighty import? And, worse than all, will the East ever consent to appropriate millions for western internal improvements, and especially at a time when its incomes must be taxed to make up a deficit? No; we can expect nothing save the provo- cation of thought in the right direction to come from such petitions as these. The people of many States are revolving Irrigation . r. Scrip m their minds the problem of how to /Proposed. open thg afid purjiic domain to labor and subsequently to settlement. Here comes the Seattle Telegraph with a new plan. It says, and very truly, too, that "relief must be provided by the government when emergencies occur by reason of a vast number of people being unemployed is the lesson of history." It cites the policy of the Pharaohs, who put the idle Israelites at work on pyramids, canals, temples and palaces; of the Roman emperors, who employed their subjects upon great roads; of the ancient Danish kings, who built a wall across their kingdom; of the Peruvians, who also built roads. And then the Telegraph presents its plan for the present crisis as follows: Let the United States government begin immediately a gigan- tic system of irrigation, the payment for the work to be in paper money receivable by the government in payment for the irrigated land. In connection with the irrigation let a complete system of highways be built through the irrigated districts. Assuming that the irrigable area is 100,000,000 acres, the total outlay would be approximately $25 an acre, or altogether «2,500,000,000. We do not propose the issue of any such amount of irrigation scrip at any one time. If such a system of irrigation were begun within a year the demand for the irrigated lands would begin and the irrigation scrip would begin to find its way back into the national treasury in payment for land, when it might be either re-issued or canceled as might be thought most convenient. We assume that it would take ten years to complete the work. This would mean an average scrip issue of $250,000,000 a year, and the probability is that after the first year the redemption of the scrip would begin and would continue with increasing rapidity. That there is merit in this plan everybody will ad- mit, but that it would involve national discussion and arouse the bitterest opposition no one will deny. A currency redeemable in irrigated land would be based on good security ; those who held it ten years and then presented it for redemption would realize four times its face value. But we should have to fight those very potent influences in this country who do not want the circulation increased, and who re- gard gold as the only measure of value. The West and the South will meet those gentlemen on the field of battle in November, 1896. But let us keep irriga- tion out of politics if we can. Let us try to frame a plan that will avoid every known danger, if possible, and present it in the light of a business and non- political question. In that way alone can we hope to induce Congress to act quickly. The irrigation scrip plan would involve at least ten years of acrimo- nious conflict with our well-fed and therefore con- servative fellow-citizens of the East. That would be interesting, but unprofitable. It would reclaim no deserts and build no homes. The reader may reflect that it is easier What, then, Shall we to object to a plan than to propose one Propose? reasonably free of objection. So it is. But it seems to us that the course which the men of the West should pursue is as clear as sunlight. The last Irrigation Congress provided each arid State and Territory with a commission of five competent and experienced men charged with the duty of ascertain- ing the extent of the irrigable public land and avail- able water supply, together with the opinions of their people on national and State laws, these commissions to report fully at the next Irrigation Congress. Every citizen who has a plan to suggest should immediately put it before his State commission. The next Irri- gation Congress will assemble at Denver in Septem- ber, and remain in session until it has reached con- clusions. There is no hope of congressional action before that time. The congress at Denver will be the constitutional convention which will frame the fundamental laws on which institutions may hereafter be built. That congress should contain a large and even representation of all the States and Territories interested. Having before it the reports of the sev- enteen commissions, it can certainly approach con- clusions with a degree of authority never enjoyed by THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. MAJOR G. M. RYALS, Of Savannah, Member of the Georgia Irrigation Commission. any previous body of the kind. That is the time and place to formulate policies on which we can unite. This can only be done by compromises and mutual concessions. If the outcome is a measure which will command the practically unanimous support of west- ern men and newspapers, and which does not unnec- essarily antagonize the political principles of any party or section, we can certainly anticipate its speedy enactment into law. We believe such a measure can be framed, and we have not yet lost faith in the broad-minded patriotism of the American people to such an extent as to harbor the fear that they will reject it upon the ground that it will enhance the prosperity and power of the West. The tendency of the times is unmistak- Its Effect on ... ,. Private ably in the direction of public irrigation Enterprise. wor]penrL,etter. °Pen letter addressed to the editor of THE AGE by Mr. Charles W. Greene, formerly financial agent, president and manager of the Bear Valley Irrigation Company. It is written in reply to the article published last month, in which Bear Valley was treated as a type of irrigation invest- ment. That article did not aim to ventilate the his- tory of the famous California enterprise, and certainly not to praise or blame individuals. Mr. Greene's name was not mentioned in it. We attempt no answer to the open letter. We have admitted it rather than do even an unintentional injustice to Mr. Greene, whom we highly esteem as a man of brains and conscience. Just at this time the public is not deeply concerned with the personal aspect of the Bear Valley affair, however. Official Call for Third National Irriga= tion Congress. Y the authority of the National Executive Committee, the Third National Irrigation Congress is hereby called to meet in the city of Denver, Colorado, for the seven days beginning September 3d, 1894. To the people of the western half of the United States this congress presents both an urgent duty and a supreme opportunity. In this moment of extraordinary political, social and industrial unrest, the nation may well recall Macaulay's prediction, that the real test of our institutions would come with the exhaustion of our public domain. The nation faces that situation to-day, with all its perilous possibilities, unless the arid public lands are to be made fit for the homes of men. To suggest the means whereby this may be done, so that idle energies shall find em- ployment and landless citizens find homes and industrial independence, is the duty and the opportunity of western men. Irrigation Commissions in seventeen States and Territories, created by the last Irrigation Congress, will render reports to the convention at Den- ver. Upon these studies of existing conditions and future needs in all parts of the arid region it is proposed to construct a national policy and code of local laws to be submitted to the federal Congress and the legisla- tures of western States. BASIS OF REPRESENTATION. In accordance with a resolution adopted by the International Irriga- tion Congress at Los Angeles, California, October J4th, 1893, the Third National Irrigation Congress will be composed as follows. 1. All members of the National Executive Committee. 2. All members of State and Territorial Irrigation Commissions. 3. Two delegates at large and as many additional delegates as they have Congress districts, to be appointed by their respective governors for the following States and Territories: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Okla- homa, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 4. Two delegates at large for each State and Territory not heretofore enumerated to be appointed by the governors of said States or Territories. 5. Duly accredited representatives of any foreign nation or colony, each member of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, each governor of a State or Territory, one member each from different societies of irrigation, of irrigation engineers, of agriculture, of horticult- ure, of chambers of commerce, of boards of trade, together with a delegate appointed by the mayor of each incorporated city of the seventeen States and Territories named as being directly interested in irrigation, will be ad- mitted as honorary members. By order of THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, FRED L. ALLES, Secretary. WILLIAM E. SMYTHE, Chairman. Shall We Make History at Denver? the people of the Far West capable of rising to a great opportunity? Have they the genius and courage to grasp, at an opportune moment, the results of a generation by the work of a few hours, days or weeks? This question will only be answered when the results of the Third National Irrigation Congress are known. They can only be answered affirmatively by the pres- ence of a large convention, of a convention properly representative of all the States and Territories, of a convention capable of realizing the impor- tance of the work committed to it and willing to devote time, labor and thought in order to effect a great result. THE NATURE OF THE OPPORTUNITY. As indicated in the official call printed on the opposite page, the moment is opportune because the American people can no longer furnish homes unless the arid lands are reclaimed. We are living in the midst of critical times. Labor must be found for thousands of idle hands. Only five per cent, of our people own land. Some solution must be found for those social and industrial ills which are seeking loud and dangerous expression by various forms of political unrest. But the very situation which seems full of danger to the Republic offers to the arid Western States and Territories a phenomenal opportu- nity. If they will come forward now with a comprehensive and practi- cable plan for the making of homes for millions in the West, they will lay the foundation for expansion and prosperity. COMPLETING THE WORK BEGUN AT LOS ANGELES. The Los Angeles Congress, in its five days' session last October, enunciated the fundamental principles of an irrigation philosophy. It then created the Irrigation Commissions, charging them to study the needs and ascertain the opinions of their various localities. It remains for the Con- gress at Denver to formulate a national policy and a code of local laws to be based upon the principles declared at Los Angeles and upon the reports of these State Commissions. Thus we have the material for good results. Whether we get them or not will depend upon the amount of brains, courage and devotion to duty represented at Denver. WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS. If every western reader of THE IRRIGATION AGE, every newspaper in the arid region, every member of National, Inter-State, State and County Organizations will unite in a supreme effort, the Congress at Denver will be a memorable success. In that case we shall make history as surely as it was made at Philadelphia in 1776. No popular convention in the annals of the American people has done more for human liberty and our country's material greatness than the Congress at Denver will do under these circumstances. Let us highly resolve to make the most of the great opportunity ! AN UNSOLVED WESTERN PROBLEM. THE DIVISION OF THE WATERS OF INTER-STATE STREAMS. BY ELWOOD MEAD. PWO reasons influenced the selection -of this topic. J The first was the belief that the opinion of the irrigator at the head of the stream is always of inter- est to the user of water below. The second was the conviction that the division of water across State lines is destined to be a live question in the near fut- ure. As population increases and the area of land reclaimed is extended, the demands on some streams will exceed the supply, and parties living below the invisible barrier which the boundaries of a common- wealth interposes will seek some method of setting it aside. Already parties having investments on the lower levels of inter-state streams look with extreme and anxious disfavor on continued diversions across the border above them. A few controversies have already arisen in which the aid of the courts has been invoked, and the subject will inevitably become a dis- astrous source of litigation unless satisfactory methods of division can be secured. The settlement of inter- state rights in the courts would be enormously expen- sive, and could not but prove unsatisfactory because the relief would be wholly inadequate. The division of water is not accomplished by a court decree. There must be in addition some administrative authority and action. When the floods come all users must be permitted to reap the benefit, and when they subside those entitled to the water must be protected in their rights. Nor are the courts the proper tribunal for the determination of the questions involved. The im- portant problems, or rather the difficult ones, are not legal but physical. Any economical or satisfactory distribution of water must take into account the character of the discharge under original conditions and the modifications produced by use in irrigation. The duty of water, the losses from percolation and evaporation, must all be studied. Courts have no personal familiarity with this subject, and it will be little less than a calamity to intrust the important in- terest involved to the hazard of their decision. It is important, therefore, that those interested in this question give it early and careful consideration in order that when relief becomes imperative the method of procedure may be prepared. It is the aim of this paper to present some problems which con- front the attempt to provide a system of supervision for inter-state streams. These problems are both physical and political. They will be considered in the order of their state- ment. In the first place the conditions of each stream should be carefully studied in order that the effect of diversions above on the volume below may be de- termined. A blind adherence to priority numbers is not the rule in state supervision and should not be in inter-state. The use of water in high level canals does not necessarily mean a loss to the users of water below. On the contrary it is, within certain limits, a marked advantage. It may, and unquestion- ably does, diminish the total discharge, but it at the same time increases the available supply. It holds back the spring floods when there is a surplus and augments, through percolation, the supply in seasons of scarcity. The fluctuations in the discharge of the streams leaving the Rocky mountains do not coincide with the variations in the use of water for irrigation. There is a surplus early in the season and a short- age at the close. The area of land which these streams will serve is not determined by the discharge at flood time in June, but by the supply for July and August. This is fully appreciated in irrigated dis- tricts, but is not generally understood elsewhere. An examination of the gauging records of a number of inter-state streams shows that the average discharge for August is only from one-seventh to one-tenth that of June, while from one-third to one-fourth as much water is required for irrigation in the latter month as in the former. What is needed, therefore, is some provision for holding back the surplus of May and June for the period of scarcity later on. So long, therefore, as diversions above do not result in diminishing the discharge in the season of scarcity below what it would have been under original condi- tions, appropriators below cannot be considered as being injured, and this holds good under all condi- tions as regards priority of appropriation. This fact is taken into account in the division of water within state lines. Subsequent appropriators living at the head of streams are encouraged to use all the water possible in the early part of the season, and in no case are the head gates of the upper ditches closed until the rights of prior claims below AN UNSOLVED WESTERN PROBLEM. make it an imperative necessity. The same policy should be pursued with inter-state rights, and when this is done it will be found, in many instances, that the evils which are anticipated have no existence in fact. From careful study, and I believe a thorough understanding of the situation, I am able to cite one instance: The North Platte river which flows from Colorado into Wyoming, and from Wyoming entirely across Nebraska. Here are three separate jurisdic- tions and each interested in making the greatest pos- sible use of the common supply. Notwithstanding this, I am confident that no controversies will result. The limited opportunities for its diversion in Colo- rado and Wyoming will only result, if every diver- sion which natural conditions will permit is made, in both Wyoming and Colorado, in an increase rather than a loss to the available water supply below. There are many such streams. Indeed, it holds true of all the principal rivers leaving Wyoming, but there are numerous instances where it is not the case. On minor water courses, and on streams where the irrigable lands exceed the water supply, controver- sies are inevitable. The Arkansas in Colorado and Kansas, the Bear river in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, are illustrations of streams that already are, or soon will be, over appropriated. Some provision for the registry and adjudication of all the rights to the water and for such measure of supervision across state lines as may be possible should be provided. This brings up the political problems to be faced, and the first of these is the fact that in a consider- able portion of the arid region such a thing as inter- state rights has no legal existence. There are no laws recognizing or defining such rights. There is no tribunal provided for their registry or adjudica- tion, nor is there any body of executive officers to supervise the streams. Not only is there an entire absence of machinery for the proper registry and en- forcement of such rights, but there is a further obstacle in the fact that the majority of the states of the arid region have expressly abrogated the doc- trine of riparian rights, and in two of the states at least the ownership of the waters has been conferred by a specific grant of the National Assembly. There is a further complication in the fact that there is no common basis in the laws of the different states by which the respective rights could be de- termined. In one respect only is there a uniformity as to the basis of rights to water. The doctrine that priority of appropriation gives the better right is very generally accepted, but the laws and practices of the states in construing the word "appropriation '' vary so widely that it would be difficult, if not impos- sible, for two states to settle their respective claims by any mutual agreement. Wyoming, with its rigid restrictions over grants of water, would not recog- nize as valid some of the liberal grants of neighbor- ing states. Then, too, some states recognize what are known as preferred priorities. In Colorado and Idaho, for example, appropriations for domestic u?es take precedence over those for irrigation, thus doing away with priority of use as a basis for the better right. In Utah there are primary and secondary ap- propriations, while in Wyoming and a number of other states, the doctrine that priority of time gives priority of right is subject to no conditions whatever, appropriations for all uses standing on an equal footing. To harmonize these diverse customs and secure the acquiescence of these conflicting interests is a matter of no small moment. They are the general problems. There is one special one. The States of Wyoming and Colorado are the sources of the principal water supply of the Rocky mountain region. Both these States have in their constitutions an explicit declara- tion that the waters of the State are the property of the State. This declaration has been ratified and the grant confirmed by Congress. The national authori- ties have thus withdrawn their jurisdiction over this matter so far as those two states are concerned. It is now a question whether such jurisdiction can again be asserted. The citizens of those states have made large investments and appropriated the water under the secure conditions of the national grant, and it be- comes an interesting question as to whether or not they can now be divested of its use and control. An extensive and complete system of supervision and control of these waters has been inaugurated as a part of the state government of each of these two states. Rights having great present and enormous prospective value have been established and con- firmed under the laws and regulations of these two states and are rapidly acquiring that stability and se- curity which only a lapse of time and the force of custom could give. It must not be expected that the people of these states will voluntarily surrender the control now exercised, or the advantages which their laws give them by virtue of their location. There is only one way in which this matter can be harmoni- ously adjusted, which is through a voluntary surren- der of present privileges through the securing of compensating advantages in other directions. In stating this I do not wish to be understood as re- garding the present condition of affairs as in many respects desirable. Indeed, I regard the whole sys- tem of unlimited and uncontrolled appropriations a system in which the appropriators of Kansas have no means of knowing what is taking place in Colorado, or the appropriators of Nebraska of the work of their neighbors in Wyoming, is a grievous blunder. It is certain to lead to the construction of ditches for THE IRRIGATION AGE. which there is no water, and to the financial injury and personal hardship of many an honest toiler. If there is to be any change, however, it must be wrought quickly because each year intensifies the in- sular feeling of each state and the rivalry felt towards its neighbor. It also renders the people of each state more contented with their local laws and customs, and less likely to accept any innovations or radical changes. In stating that there exists a sectional feel- ing and prejudice on the question of water I express what is either known to exist or which any attempt to introduce natural control will be sure to provoke. Indeed, the people of Wyoming believe that we have recently witnessed a very striking illustration of this feeling on the part of our eastern brethern. It will, I think, be admitted that the subject of irrigation is of greater consequence to Wyoming than to Kansas. The latter is a great agricultural state at present and will always be so should not an acre of its arid land be reclaimed. Wyoming is not at present self-supporting so far as agriculture is concerned, and there is no hope of her becoming so within the near future so long as the oppressive conditions of our present land laws remain in force. In Wyoming better agricult- ural conditions are an absolute necessity. Until we have them progress in other lines will be retarded. Less than one-tenth of the public land of this state is in the hands of private owners or contributes any- thing to the state's support in the way of taxation. Of the public lands by far the larger part are grazing lands. The value of these lands depends almost en- tirely on their being protected from being over- stocked. Because of such overstocking large areas have already been seriously damaged, and in some sections the native pasturage has been practically ruined. The haste for present gain takes no heed of future consequences. The state suffers from a con- dition in which self-interest prompts the spoliation rather than the preservation of its resources. The opportunity to occupy the open range free of cost is also a sufficient incentive to secure abundant aid from outside sources. Flocks of sheep come from Oregon and herds of cattle from Texas to participate and hasten the destruction of one of the chief sources of the state's wealth and future prosperity. It is little better with our irrigable lands and with the water supply which is to reclaim them. Those who have studied the possibilities of the state know that what is needed is large, low, level canals, which can only be constructed through state aid, or through a land system which will permit of concerted action. At the present time the only development possible is that wrought by the individual settler, and the individual settler can only utilize opportunities which are within his means rather than those most to be desired. The state, having no control over the lands, can practi- cally exercise no control over the construction of irrigation works. It has nothing to say as to how or where ditches are to be built. As the individual set- tler cannot divert the river, he goes up into the mountain until the rivulet is reached. Instead of one large canal there are hundreds of individual ditches. The water is wasted and lost in this multi- tude of channels by evaporation and percolation, and when used does not secure the best results because of the unfavorable climatic conditions. That we are building up such a system of works is not due to lack of appreciation of what we should have, or lack of knowledge of the best possibilities of the state, but it is simply a makeshift due to unreasonable and op- pressive conditions fixed upon the state by the na- tional land laws. The people of this state, conscious of these evils and seeing no hope of securing national aid, insti- tuted a movement for a cession of these lands to the state in trust in order that the state might control the construction of ditches, conserve the public water supplies, and in order that the gradual destruction of the vast areas of grazing lands might cease. The reception which this movement met with in remote sections of the country illustrates the force of the statement that no man can understand conditions he has not seen. Our friends in Kansas apparently saw nothing in this movement but an effort to absorb the entire water supply and thus work them an injury. We suddenly awoke to the fact that we were land grabbers and water monopolists. In fact, I cannot recall an opprobrious epithet which has not been vis- ited upon the heads of the leaders in this movement. It has been useless for us to attempt to explain that monopoly of water was the farthest from our thought, or to endeavor to have it understood that so far as the water supply is concerned no movement could be more in the interest of the states below us. I am not saying in this that the cession of the lands is the best solution that can be devised, but I am saying what I know to be true, that the movement was insti- gated by a desire to relieve this section of evils which are not only retarding its progress but are working a direct injury to the other states interested in our water supplies; -and to say further that the movement for our own relief carried with it no direct or indirect injury to other sections of this country. The hostility which it aroused was entirely due to a lack of knowledge of our conditions and of the evils which the movement was designed to remove. As a result we are going on in the old way. Parties are taking out ditches, without let or hindrance, wher- ever there is any water left in the streams, and as an illustration of how the interests of the states below us are being affected by this haphazard develop- ment I will give one incident of my official experi- AN UNSOLVED WESTERN PROBLEM. ence. A little over a year ago I made an examination of an important stream in a remote section of this state. Nothing had then been done to ^utilize its waters. Near its mouth is a great plain of about one hundred and fifty thousand acres. Three canals would have sufficed for its reclamation and would have practically absorbed the water of the entire stream. If the water had been thus used a large percentage of it would have returned as seepage and passed on to irrigators below. Under present con- ditions there was no means by which three large canals could be constructed. The work of develop- ment is a work for the individual settler. This form of development has since been rapid. There are now over forty individual ditches out ot that stream, and before another season closes there will be more than double that number. I wish anyone who knows any- thing of irrigation to consider what that means, to consider the enormous loss from evaporation in that multitude of minor channels, the expense to which the state will be subjected in the division of water, and the condition in which it leaves the interests of the people living in states below. More than one- half the water of this stream will be lost in passage through those individual ditches, while under a sys- tem of development which would have been pursued if this state had been in possession of its resources an equal percentage of the water would have passed on to the ^ates below. If we are to have a system of water laws for the arid region worthy of this country it must come through the exercise of mutual concessions and a disinterested recognition of the rights and possibili- ties of the respective commonwealths interested. It cannot succeed with imputations of bad faith and bad motives as a beginning. The thing that is most needed is a more general exchange of opinions and views and a more thorough understanding of the conditions and necessities of each section. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN ITS SOCIAL ASPECT. BY ARTHUR P. DAVIS. THE public domain, as an outlet for our home-seek- ing millions, is practically exhausted, and has been for several years. It may appear^that this state- ment is inconsistent with the fact that about 24,000 orig- inal homestead entries were made in the year 1893. Many of these entries were made on newly-opened Indian reservations, not previously subject to entry. A large number of them are by dummies acting for cattle and sheep grazers, desiring to extend control over their ranges. Another large number of entries has come under my observation, which are made. on lands totally unfit for cultivation or for homes, where water for domestic use may [be hauled many miles, and where no crop can be raised, on account of the rocky soil or arid climate. These lands are sparsely timbered with juniper or other scrubby growths, suit- able for fire-woqd, and it is to obtain this that the entries are made, and when cleared they are aban- doned. Other tracts, too cold for farming, are taken for hay purposes, or for timber. There are other mo- tives, both well and ill-considered, for filing on bar- ren lands, but the fact remains that some entries are still made with the bona fide intention of establishing homes. The character of lands selected by those whose interest is to obtain the best there is, consti- tutes the surest criterion of the character of the remaining portion of the public domain. The traveler in the mountains and deserts of the West is struck with the fact that every nook and corner that affords a few acres of arable land, and is accessible to domestic water supply, has been seized by the enterprising settler, who has gone resolutely to work to wrest a subsistence from the inhospitable soil and climate. It is very common to meet with the melancholy evidences of failure of these pathetic struggles for existence and independence on the part of some unfortunate family. The deserted cabin, the abandoned barley or potato patch, the decayed brush fences, are mute but eloquent deponents to the hopes, the privations, and the final disappoint- ment of some who have returned to swell the ranks of those seeking employment in the towns and cities In the years 1886 and 1887 a large number of peo- ple, yielding to the pressure for land, and led on by one or two unusually rainy seasons and the glowing representations of land boomers, settled in the arid belt of the great plains, west of the 98th meridian. They built houses, barns and fences, and planted crops. One failure did not discourage them, but with a determination worthy of a better fate, most of them managed to pull through somehow, and to procure seed for another crop. A second failure discouraged many, and some of those with least faith, and who had the means, returned to more i6 THE IRRIGATION AGE. promising vineyards. An occasional meager crop has sufficed to keep some still pegging hopefully away, many of them assisted by sympathizing friends, and by state or national charity. Some of the abandoned claims have been actually re-located, perhaps to be again deserted. The process of de- population has continued ever since 1888, with very little interruption. A comparison of the State census of 1887 with the national census of 1890 shows an increase of popu- lation in twenty-five counties, mostly in the eastern part of the state, and in all the other counties of the state, about eighty in number, a decrease is shown. In the western and especially the southwestern coun- ties, this decrease is very great, amounting, in sixteen of the counties, to more than fifty per cent. In those counties showing a decrease, the total loss of popula- tion in the three years, was over 130,000, most of which took place between the census of 1888 and that of 1890. This illustrates for Kansas what took place on a similar scale in eastern Colorado, in Texas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Whole districts have been depopulated; the frame buildings and fences have been removed or burned, but the sod houses and the abandoned roads showing evidences of hav- ing once been heavily traveled, still remain as wit- nesses to a departed civilization. This information closes with the year 1890, though the process of de- population has been going on ever since. A letter to a professional man of Washington from Marena, Kansas, dated April 6, 1894, says: * I would ask your valuable opinion as to the probability of our obtaining artesian water for the purposes of irrigation; for certain it is, that unless something occurs to assist the ordinary farmer, homes will continue to be abandoned, as many are already." * * * * We see, therefore, that the census furnishes merely a partial indication of the depopulation of western Kansas. The same influence that caused so many people to attempt to make homes in this region when it could not be done have caused, and are still caus- ing the taking of lands in all parts of the arid region, on which a subsistence cannot be or can hardly be obtained, and this, as before remarked, is the best, possible evidence of the exhaustion of the once abundant supply of free homes. Large tracts of the arid region can be made habitable and productive by means of irrigation, but this costs money, and will not add to the area of free land. The pressure for land was graphically illustrated by the scenes enacted on the opening of the Cherokee strip, where the applicants outnumbered the available tracts, five or six to one; where a vacant prairie at noon became before sundown a town of ten thou- sand inhabitants, and a hundred thousand home-seek- ers were turned away unrequited for their expendi- ture of money and effort. This subject is one ot great moment ; for the ex- haustion of the public domain marks a very important epoch in our national history, if not in the history of the world. Macaulay, the historian, writing to an American friend many years ago, said: " Your fate I believe to be certain, though it is deferred by a physical cause. As long as you have a boundless extent of fer- tile and unoccupied land, your laboring population will be far more at ease than the laboring population of the Old World. But the time will come when New England will be as thickly pop- ulated as the crowded districts of the Old World. Wages will be as low, and will fluctuate as much with you as with us. You will have your Birminghams and Manchesters and in these Birming- hams and Manchesters, hundreds of thousands of artisans will assuredly be sometimes out of work. Then your institutions will be fairly brought to the test." Garfield said of that letter, " It startled me like an alarm bell at night." An examination of the history of this country, will, I think, vindicate the truth, not only of Macaulay's words, but of their prophetic implifica- tion. Ever since its birth, the United States has been periodically visited by financial panics of varying or- igin and severity, those of 1819, 1837 and 1857 being notable cases in point. As in all such cases, thousands of persons were thrown out of employment, but the abundant and fertile public domain so completely absorbed the surplus labor that the " problem of the unemployed " did not force itself on the attention of the country as it has done since, and business quickly resumed the even tenor of its way. The panic of 1873, however, demonstrated that the spell was broken. Though the tide of immigration again took up its hopeful way westward toward free land, and many new homes were established, the public domain was no longer able to meet the requirements, and the labor market was never entirely relieved. Within a few years after that date, nearly every state in the Union had passed a tramp law — an exotic that had no place upon American statute books, as near as I have been able to learn, prior to the year 1874, but which had long been in force in the Old World. The labor riots of 1877, and later, the constantly recurring strikes and business failures, bear testimony to the persist- ence of savage competition for existence which is tersely set forth in the following paragraph from the New York Sun, in 1888: " The new Kings county elevated railroad wanted thirty en- gineers last week; but the applicants numbered over five hundred. It wanted thirty firemen; but the applicants numbered over one thousand. It wanted three hundred conductors, gatemen, ticket choppers, and other employes; but the applicants crowded the company's quarters for ten days. For many other branches of industry there are like reports. It is obvious that there is a large amount of surplus labor on the market. — Nciv York Sun, April 23, 1888. According to the census statistics for 1890, about five per cent, of the people of this country are land owners. With their families and personal dependents these comprise about one-fourth of our population, THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN ITS SOCIAL ASPECT. leaving three-fourths entirely landless. Nature's edict to man is that he shall earn his bread by his labor. Since man is a land animal, it is only on land that his labor can be exerted, and a denial of access to land is equivalent to a sentence of death. We have, therefore, nearly fifty millions of people in the United States who have no legal right to existence, and can remain here only on sufferance of the rest. The interests of land owners as a class dictate that permission shall be granted to the landless to labor at the lowest rates at which, under the pressure of necessity, they will consent to do it. But the power to make them "get off the earth" remains unimpaired, and that this power is often exercised is attested by the fact that starvation does cut an important figure in statistics of mortality. The following paragraph is from the Associated Press dispatches of less than a month ago: NEW ORLEANS, March 28.— A dispatch from Sierra Blanca, describing the condition of the industrial army, states that when the army arrived there some of the men were so faint from hunger and exposure that they dropped in their tracks, and were picked up and carried to camp by theircomrades. A beef and 400 pounds of flour were at once procured by the citizens of. Sierra Blanca, which made one good meal. The men were so famished that their stomachs would not retain the food. Gen, Frye endeavored to get the men to leave on foot, but they could not walk owing to weakness. The dispatch further says that the men were gentle- manly, and that there are ministers, lawyers, merchants and mechanics among them. Adjutant-General Allen, of California, with the consent of Governor Markham, issued last fall the following circular to the various regiments of the state: "What is the condition of the arms of your regiment? How much ammunition is on hand? State the number of rounds. What is the cost of S. R. cartridges, 45 calibre? What are the standard weights powder ball and rifle cartridges? Has your regiment reloading tools? How many men are qualified for immediate service? What is needed? Reply promptly. The trouble will not come until January, after the fruit, hay and grain have been gathered, when an army of men will be out ot employ- ment." It will be noticed that the men against whom these warlike preparations were made were not idlers, for he says there would be no danger as long as there was work to be had. They were industrious Ameri- can citizens, who could become dangerous only after work had been denied them, and starvation gnawed at their vitals. They were men who loved law and order, but perhaps loved an emaciated wife or hunger-pinched child more than enthroned power. Verily, Macaulay was right, and our institutions are undergoing their test. So severe a test has never before been applied to the institutions of any country. The land systems of Europe developed with the people so slowly that the speculative element was very small, and there- fore the incentive to hold land idle was small. More- over, the people are less intelligent than ours, and in the belief that it is the divine will, are contented with a lower standard of living, and to eke out a mere animal existence upon donations from charity or to starve in silence— something the mass of Americans will never consent to do. Yet in spite of their ignor- ance, superstition and patience, the starving Euro- peans have sometimes brought the orgies of their oppressors to a sanguinary halt. The French revolu- tion of 1789 is a ghastly and conspicuous example. There is no possible way of keeping men long out of employment, except by denying them access to the natural opportunities for employment. And there is no conceivable method of permanently relieving the unemployed, except by allowing them access to land. We have here a vast empire, more productive than any similar area on the globe, which we have scracely begun to scratch. A continent capable of supporting in ease and opulence at least twenty times its present population We allow an insignificant fraction of our number, or of foreigners, to hold umtsed enough of the bounties of nature to furnish employment to the entire population of the globe, in order that they may reap the value imparted to the land by the growth and industry of the com- munity. To what purpose do we discuss the public land policy, if we are not to point out the effects flowing from it? If these effects are bad, is it not equally pertinent to suggest remedies? The diagnosis of a disease avails nothing, if we are to apply neither prevention nor cure. The optimistic fatalism so fashionable to-day is apt to reply that the impending social cataclysm is certain to be averted by the good sense of the American people. That in their own good time, and before it is too late, they will discover and apply the remedy. I fully believe this myself, but not in the fatalistic sense. We are a part of the American peo- ple, and if such intelligent and patriotic persons as I see before me to-night do not propose to bestir themselves to studiously discover and industriously seek to apply the true remedy, how can we expect those less intelligent, who are harrassed with poverty, tormented with hunger, and pinched with cold to be more scientific and patriotic than we? THE LAW OF WATER OWNERSHIP. BY W. A. HANCOCK. COR the purposes of this article, it will be admitted 1 that it is an elementary principle of law that air, light and water are the common property of man- kind. And, further, it will be admitted that the only method by which any private interest can be secured in water in the arid region of the United States is by prescription or by enactments— national, State or Territorial. If any rights for irrigating purposes in the arid region have been acquired by prescription, it is the result of appropriations made prior to the organization of the Territorial or State government. In Arizona Territory the first legislature that was convened after the organization of the Territorial government declared that all rights in acequias and canals heretofore established should remain undis- turbed; and further declared that the water of all lakes, ponds and streams of running water was pub- lic, and subject to appropriation for irrigation and other beneficial uses.1 All, or nearly all, other Territories in the arid re- gion enacted similar statutes. The States which have been organized from those Territories have, by their constitutions, declared that existing appropri- ations of water should be respected and maintained, and have further declared the unappropriated water of all lakes, ponds and running streams within their dominion to be the property of the public or the people, which are synonymous terms, and that it was subject to the use of the people. That the right to appropriate it for beneficial pur- poses should never be denied. These statutes have generally, if not in all cases, provided that the appropriator should have the ex- clusive control of whatever amount was appropri- ated, with the right to use, consume, lease, loan, sell and convey, subject always to the condition that it was for a beneficial use. Whether the use was for a public or private ben- efit was not a material condition, nor was the right to be acquired by the appropriation, diversion and use of the water dependent, in any degree, upon such condition. When once appropriated (and, in using this word, I mean legally in its fullest sense— by diversion and beneficial use), it remains within the control of the appropriator, his successors or assigns, so long as the beneficial use continues.'-1 He controls it, holds it as against all the world, is entitled to the use of it, and to all that may be made or realized from the use of it. It is a commodity or possession that he may loan or sell, transfer and convey.3 His dominion over it is as complete and absolute as any other property, real or personal, of which the fee simple title is in him, so long as the beneficial use continues. It is property in every legal aspect,4 and he will be protected in it by the courts in the same manner as in any other property. The constitution of every State in the arid region declares that the title to the water already appropri- ated is in the appropriator, and that the title to the unappropriated water is in the State, the public, the people, and that this may be appropriated in the same manner, and when it is so appropriated the public lose all control of it; in other words, by appro- priation the State is divested of it.5 Blackstone says that to "appropriate is to alienate". Webster says, to set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use in exclusion to all others. The statutes say, not that the right to the use of the water may be appropriated, but that the water may be appropriated. The legislatures must have so interpreted the con- stitutions, because they have not enacted any laws for the control and management of different classes of water appropriations. The title of him who ap- propriated prior to the organization of the State, not- withstanding his rights and ownership are recognized by the State, is in no sense better, more complete or comprehensive than that of the subsequent appropri- ator. The hair-splitting question is, what does this ownership, this proprietary interest, this property right embrace? Is it the water or the right to the use of the water? If the appropriator owns the right to divert, carry, apply, consume and sell the water; if it is a property right that can pass by sale and transfer so as to give the purchaser the right to use, divert at a different place, convey in a different channel, and use in a different place so that it does not interfere with the rights of others, it must be a matter of indif- ference to him who owns the water. There can be on the part of the original owner no assertion of any right or attribute pertaining to own- ership after the legal appropriation has been accom- plished, whether it be the State or all mankind. The later decisions are recognizing the fact that the statutes confer on the appropriator of water an ownership in it, which, if it does not include the legal title, is equivalent to it, and it has been asserted by the supreme court of at least one State that the dis- tinction (born of the elementary principle that water THE LAW OF WATER OWNERSHIP. is the common property of all mankind)6 attempted to be drawn between the title to water and the right to its use, js purely mythical and imaginary, and the sooner it is dropped and the two treated as identical, the better, and less confusion will exist." The right to appropriate water is not conferred on individuals alone, but upon corporations and associa- tions, and what is said heretofore or hereafter in re- gard to the rights of individuals will also apply to corporations, and vice versa, for I hold that the per- son or the canal company that diverts the water is the appropriator. The canal companies, whether associations or cor- porations, are not common carriers in any sense what- ever, as claimed by some writers, and in some decis- ions of the courts. The common carrier is one who for hire or reward undertakes to transport the goods of such as choose to employ him, from place to place. The canal company that constructs its canals and diverts the water from the natural stream, intending to convey it to the consumer, cannot, from the very nature of the business, be a common carrier. The water to be diverted is not the property of the con- sumer until it is delivered 10 him. The water is not delivered by the consumer to the canal company for transportation. The contrary must be the case to constitute the canal company a common carrier in any sense whatever.8 The consumer does not divert the water from the natural streams and has no interest in the diversion or the means of diversion as an individual, and con- sequently he has no proprietary interest in the di- version. The water can only be appropriated from the nat- ural streams. The person or company that makes the diversion for the beneficial use is the appropria- ator, and if the water is so diverted in order to be supplied to the consumers, it is for a beneficial pur- pose.9 Under the pr. sent statutes of the United States,10 and the States, dams may be constructed, and the water impounded and held for future use. In other words, it may be hoarded from the general public for the benefit of the company and delivered to its patrons, when it can be done advantageously to the company and the consumers. Under the benefi- cent provisions of the law, the company may ex- pend a large amount of money in constructing its dams and canals, with the hope of large gains. Having acquired the right to hold and transport the water to the consumers to the extent that it finds consumers for a bene'ficial use, it may sell or lease it to the consumers at such rates as the company and the consumer may agree upon. The rates are subject to legislative control, but rarely, if ever, have the rates been so unreasonable as to invoke such inter- ference. To fix extortionate rates would be to defeat the ob- jects of the company. The success of an irrigation enterprise must depend upon the success of the con- sumers of the water. To impose upon the farmers under the canal water rates so excessive as to make farming unprofitable would result in dismal failure to the supplying company as well as the consumer. No general standard of fair and reasonable rates can be es- tablished. What would be equitable and reasonable for the consumer in one locality would be extortionate in another. So what would be equitable and reason- able for one company would not pay a reasonable in- terest on the investment of another company. The method of doing its business is, of course, at the op- tion of the company. It may loan or sell its water rights or privileges and it may lease or sell the water it supplies. The practice of selling floating water rights adopted by some companies as an expedient for rais- ing money is open to criticism and should be dis- couraged. It opens the door (and there should be none) to speculation in privileges. If a company de- sires to keep itself free from harrassing litigation, its methods of business should be such that all consum- ers shall enjoy the same privileges at the same price. As before stated, the consumer taking water from the canal of another cannot make an appropriation.11 Consumers have only such rights as they have ac- quired by contract, purchase or lease from the com- pany that appropriates and supplies the water.12 Hence there exists no priority of right to the water from the canal between the consumers. Could any other construction be placed upon the statutes it would very seriously affect the value of property invested in canals and reservoirs, and would lead to much confusion and possibly t'o annoying litigation. NOTES. 1. Revised Statutes of Arizona, page 558, Sees. 1, 2, 3, 25 and 27. 2. The appropriator becomes the proprietor of the water, or the use of the water (it is immaterial which term is used, they are in effect the same), and he remains the owner of the use so long as the beneficial use to which it was appropriated is con- tinued. Wyatt v. Larimer & Wild Irrigation Co., 27 Pac. Rep. page 906. 3. He has property in a commodity, that he can deal with, transfer and deliver to the consumer or user. I. D. pages 911 and 913. The right to water acquired by appropriation may be trans- ferred like other property. McDonald v. Bear R. Co. ,13 Gala 220. The owner of the ditch has the exclusive power to control, and right of enjoyment of the water diverted by and flowing in his ditch; but whether such water be his private property it is not necessary to decide. Kidd v. Laird, 15 Gala. 162. 20 THE IRRIGATION AGE. Water when collected in reservoirs and pipes, and thus separ- ated from the original source of supply, is personal property, and is as much the subject of sale, an article of commerce as other goods and merchandise. 29 Pac. Rep., pages 911 and 913. 4. While it so remains the subject of exclusive ownership and control, it is the property of the appropriator in every legal aspect. Id. page 910. 26 Pac. Rep. .page 313. 5. By such appropriation and by reason of the diversion and separation of the water from the volume of the stream, the title of the public or the people was divested, and the appropriator became the owner. Cleared of all embarrassment by reason of the supposed double ownership, we find the rights declared in the constitution to be the same that were recognized before its adoption. 29 Pac. Rep., page 911. 6. Wyatt ?'. Larrimer & Weld Irrigation Company, 29 Pac. Rep., pages 912 and 913. 7. Id., page 913. 8. These definitions are so elementary that they would not be stated, except for purposes of illustration, to show that in the case presented the corporation is not brought within the defini- tion, in any respect, of either a "common" or "private" carrier, coming nearer the definition of " private " than " common " car- rier, but lacking several indispensable elements of either. In order to constitute a carrier of either class, (1) the goods to be carried must be the property of the bailor. (2) The thing must be delivered by the bailor to the carrier to be transported. (3) The carrier must transport and deliver to the consignee the identical goods delivered to him for transportation. (4) A person who contracts to transport and deliver to another at a given place a certain portion of a common lot of material, to be separated from it at the place of the consumer, to which the consumer had no title prior to the transportation and delivery, is in no sense a carrier, but a vendor of the commodity. Wyatt 7'. Larrimer & Weld Irrigation Company, 29 Pac. Rep., page 909. 9. The canal company, the appropriator, has a proprietary right to the water diverted. Id., page 911. 10. Act of Congress entitled, An Act to repeal Timber Culture laws, and for other purposes. Approved March 3, 1891. 11. The constitution recognizes priorities only among those taking water from natural streams. Reservoir Co. v. Southworth. 21 Pac. Rep., page 1028. 29 Pac. Rep., page 912. 12. That the rights of the complainants to equitable relief must depend solely upon the contracts made by them with the company. 29 Pac. Rep., 913. THE CATASTROPHE AT LIMA, MONTANA. BY J. M. GOODWIN. THE sudden emptyings of reservoirs in Idaho and Montana lately should teach some very important lessons if the facts and conditions are properly studied and heeded. It has been shown that the flood in Idaho, in March last, by the breaking of the dam came from inferior construction with unfit materials and in which case the dam was washed out. In early May a very different problem was presented in the case of the emptying of the reservoir belonging to the Lima, Montana, company where the dam was left in- tact. While the flood was quite disastrous in cover- ing lands with debris, washing away of soil from fields and flooding lands and buildings, the losses from these causes alone were not very great. The valleys of Red Rock and Beaverhead were wide enough to permit the water to spread out and hold back the tor- rents to such an extent as to make the progress of the flood downstream very slow. It is1 doubtful if there is a more enticing place in all the country for throw- ing a dam across a stream to secure a great storage reservoir than was the one selected by the company that put in the dam twelve miles above Lima. It was in a deep, narrow canyon, requiring a short dam and which was easily constructed with material on each side. On -the left hand side the hill rose abruptly from the water and it was a solid* mass of conglomer- ate held by nature's own and best cement. On the opposite side the hill was made up of gravel, boul- ders, sand, etc., much stratified, being all secondary deposit, or " wash,'' and of ample strength to hold back the water in the reservoir had it not been un- wisely cut. While that was really the weak point in structure it would have stood more than the pressure alone, and which did not cause its destruction, as will be shown later. These hill sides hedging in the stream were covered with brush, all of which was rooted out and burned, leaving the surfaces in good condition for putting in the earth and stone work of the dam. At the bottom of the stream the space between walls was only fifty feet, while forty feet up it was 110 feet. A trench fourteen feet wide and fourteen feet deep was sunk clear across this space of fifty feet and masonry of stone and Portland ce- ment put in having sixteen feet base and tapering to six feet at the top, a point ten feet below the top of the dam. This wall was bounded with the hill on each side and formed the core of the dam, the main structure being earthwork. Transversely the dam had a base 300 feet wide while the center on top was forty feet wide, the two slopes having a rise of one foot in THE CATASTROPHE AT LIMA, MONTANA. 21 two and a half feet horizontally. These slopes were well-protected by a covering of stone eighteen inches thick. The discharge into the canal system to be inaugu- rated hereafter was through a tunnel 7x7 feet and 176 feet long cut through very hard conglomerate, making the cutting of it very difficult and expensive. This conglomerate had fissures in it, and these in connec- tion with a body of dolomite, which swelled badly in getting wet, caused a little caving inside of the tun- nel and throwing down some obstructions to the free flow of water. The tunnel should have been lined inside to make it secure and give free flow of water. This tunnel had a capacity of 1,500 cubic feet of water per minute under the proposed pressure in the reservoir. The company selected the right hand side, some distance from the dam, for a spillway to carry off surplus water to keep it down to a safe level. That appears to have been simply an open cut in the ground, all of which was secondary deposit, and to have been an insecure affair should any great body of water run through. Citizens in the valleys below became afraid the dam would wash out and serious losses follow. Such a hubbub was raised over the dam and what they deemed impending dangers, which were so thoroughly talked over as to excite citizens, that an agreement was finally entered into by which a few citizens and the county of Beaverhead were to contribute enough to put in a new and larger spillway. Only two of the board of directors were residents of the state, and they for their part agreed for the work to be done and to waive all claims for damages they might sustain. This new spillway was to be some distance farther in the hill, and to be cut to a certain depth, 30 feet wide at the bottom, and with a grade of one per cent., and it requires a cutting about 350 feet long. The work was done by a con- tractor under the guidance of J. H. Haines, sheriff of Madison county, the dam being in that county. Mr. Haines was not an interested party further than to carry out the wishes of the people. He was not a civil engineer, and pleaded ignorance of hydraulics, but he did the best he knew how, and no one blames him in the least for what afterwards happened. I* is safe to say no good hydraulic engineer would ever have constructed a waste weir as this one was. The earth to be cut through was made up entirely with secondary deposit, and this was in layers in succes- sion of hardpan or cemented gravel, sand, boulders, etc. These layers had a dip up stream of seven to te/i degrees, while the cut was to have its bottom pitch the other way one per cent. Necessarily with this grade and the head high up made a fall of 30 to 40 feet at its lower end or discharge, enough to rapidly tear away the earth and make the plunge work up stream at a greater or less speed. Had some of the streaks of hardpan pitched the other way and been used for the bottom of this spillway it might have carried a stream indefinitely. But its weak point was in having the underlying stratas dissolved and washed away, leaving the streaks of hardpan to fall from pressure and lack of support below section after section until it had washed clear back to the water, and thus emptied the reservoir with a great rush of waters. Nature has recorded in its history of rocks the fact that Niagara Falls has gone up stream many miles through the waters in the big plunge, softening and washing out the softer materials be- neath the rocks, leaving them to gradually split off and fall from their own weight and that of the water running over them, then to be pulped by the " mills of the gods " and carried away. In the Lima dam we have the spectacle of that structure as firm as ever, while off to the right is a chasm 150 feet wide, 50 feet deep and 500 or 600 feet long, from which the floods carried out from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 cubic feet of earth, the boulders, gravel and heavier portions finding lodgment below, while all there has been greatly changed in appearance. The beautiful grassy bottom of a few hundred acres a few weeks ago is now ruined, while the creek flows in two streams, one each side, instead of in the old channel now filled up. If, in construction, a good headgate of masonry had been put in, and a solid flume for the surplus water to run through clear down to the creek level, there would have been no washout and no flood, and the company would not now have a chasm more diffi- cult to dam than was the one now standing firm. This dam was intended to hold back and reservoir the rainfall of a drainage basin 100 miles long by 80 miles wide. The reservoir was filled to within eight feet of the top of the dam when the waters broke loose, and it extended up stream about 15 miles, averaging one mile wide. What the plans of the company are for the future is not known. Where the responsibility for this flood and resulting dam- ages rests is likely to be determined in the courts. Certainly there are rights in equity which will be contested for, and which the writer does not care to discuss. If it results in a failure of the irrigation enterprise to cover the beautiful valleys below, it will be bad. But the lesson it has given should prompt such State laws as will forever prevent as far as pos- sible the recurrence of any similar future catastrophe. This company capitalized at $500,000, incorporated under the laws of Montana, and it is time there should be laws governing and controlling such enter- prises to at least the point of safety to the people, as well as defining rights in equity for both the people and companies, and such laws should embrace the services for the State of one or more competent hy- draulic engineers. IRRIGATION IN THE CANADIAN NORTHWEST. BY CHAS. W. PETERSON. THE question of irrigation in the Canadian North- west is one which is at present engaging the atten- tion of all thinking men interested in the agricul- tural or pastoral industries in the semi-arid portion of these Territories. Numerous applications for irri- gation charters have already been presented to the Dominion Parliament, and two companies have actu- ally commenced work, viz., the " Calgary Irrigation Company " an'i the " Calgary Hydraulic Company." Until a comparatively recent period the scheme of rendering the semi-arid district of the Northwest Territories productive by means of artificial water- ing was practically unknown, and great praise is due Mr. William Pearce, superintendent of Domin- ion mines, for his untiring efforts during the last few years in bringing the subject to the attention of the ranching population and others interested, as well as the Department of the Interior, which is entrusted with the administration of the public lands in the Territories and consequently the most extensive land owner. Valuable aid in this cause has also been in- directly given by the members of the Mormon set- tlement in Southern Alberta. These people, being the pioneer irrigators of the Northwest, have clearly demonstrated the capabilities of our soil under the influence of irrigation, and the results of artificial watering have proved so complete a revelation to those unacquainted with this method of agriculture, which unfortunately constitutes the large majority in this as in most other communities, that any prejudice they may previously have entertained against the same has been easily removed, and many of them are now the most enthusiastic believers in utilizing the great body of water emanating from the east slope of the Rocky mountains for the artificial water- ing of our extensive plains. Roughly speaking, the area which could be profit- ably irrigated wherever the natural conditions allow of the same, may be computed at 67,000 square miles, being the district between the Rocky mount- ains and the eastern limit of the Missouri Couteau, the international boundary on the south, and town- ship 30 on the north. Although this district could hardly be designated " arid " in the true sense of the word, as considerable farming is at present being done within its boundaries, it cannot be denied that agricultural operations can only be carried on with results extremely problematical, and would in most years, if not invariably, be infinitely more advan- tageous if a sufficient water supply was insured, thus affording protection against the only formidable drawback that is likely to interfere with the success- ful results of the settler's labor. The hay meadows where the large ranchers obtained their winter feed are also to a large extent either drying up or being appropriated by settlers under the homestead reg- ulations, and the result is that the ranchers are be- ginning to realize that artificial means will have to be resorted to in order to keep up their necessary hay supply. Add to this the fact that the natural dip of the surface and other most favorable condi- tions, such as an abundant water supply, rendering it possible to irrigate the irrigable lands within the district mentioned, at an extremely low cost com- pared to other countries, it is hardly to be wondered at that so much enthusiasm should be displayed by everybody interested, and who is not interested, that has his home here, in the development of the country. There are at present numerous private schemes at work and several under construction and contempla- tion and with such object lessons as these will afford continually before them, the education of the com- munity to the utilization of the large volume of water contained in our rivers and streams and at present running to waste, promises to be the work of a com- paratively short time, as one could hardly fail to realize the immense advantages which could be de- rived from the judicious application of these waters upon the meadows and cultivated fields. The Calgary Irrigation Company draws its water supply from a point on the Elbow river some twelve miles west of Calgary; the main ditch follows the course of that river some shoit distance to the south of it in an easterly direction and enters the city of Calgary. Mr. Wm. Pearce is the president of the company. It is anticipated that some 50,000, and by making very few extensions 100,000 acres could be brought under water from this ditch. The head works and part of the ditch have already been con- structed, and it is the intention to complete the con- struction of the same this season if possible. The head works of the Calgary Hydraulic Com- pany are situated near Keith Station on the Bow river; the ditch follows the main line of the Canadian Pacific railway, crosses the Bow river and approaches Calgary on the north side. Mr. George Alexander is the president of this company. Both these companies being under the most ener- getic and experienced management will doubtless IRRIGATION IN THE CANADIAN NORTHWEST. attract the attention of ample capital to carry their ventures to a successful issue, as one can hardly con- ceive of a more secure and profitable investment for private capital. In the Draft Irrigation Act to be laid before Parlia- ment at Ottawa during the present session, the first important step has been taken towards facilitating irrigation operations in the Northwest Territories, and, judging from the interest which has been ex- hibited by the settlers in the semi-arid district of these Territories in the matter, it is evident that they are keenly alive to the importance of legislation be- ing provided while this vast district is as yet in its infancy; the preparation of this act has been en- trusted to the most able men available, and expres- sions of opinion and criticisms have been invited and freely given on the subject of alterations and addi- tions to the proposed act by a number of parties di- rectly interested; valuable material has, of course, also been gathered from the experience of similar enactments in the United States. Several irrigation conventions have also been held recently throughout the Territories, chiefly with a view to discussing the proposed act, and it is to be hoped that in the inter- est of irrigation, the same will become law in the near future. A delegation composed of representatives from the various irrigation leagues established in this district are at present on their way to Ottawa to press the passage of the act and also to make repre- sentations to the Dominion Government as to the ne- cessity of having a reconnoissance survey made of the semi-arid district, with a view to the reservation of reservoir sites, etc., at the earliest possible date in order that these reservations may be made before vested interests have to be considered in giving effect to the same. It is impossible to estimate the advantages of ex- tensive irrigation schemes in this part of the North- west Territories, so bountifully favored by nature in every other way, both as a means of attracting a de- sirable class of settlers to take up their abodes on our fertile lands and of improving the condition of those already settled here. Experience has shown what transformation has taken place in the arid regions of the United States since the general adoption of irri- gation in localities subject to drought, and it is to be hoped that the enterprising settlers of the Canadian Northwest, or at least those parts where irrigation might be advantageously introduced, will profit thereby and "go and do likewise". GRAND VALLEY, COLORADO. THE total amount of land lying in Grand Valley immediately surrounding Grand Junction that is capable of being irrigated is about 120,000 acres. Of this amount 35,000 acres are watered by the Grand Valley Irrigation Company's system of canals, the head of which taps the Grand river twelve miles east of the city and extends through the valley to a point about fifteen miles " northwesterly from the city. This canal was built in 1883-4, and it is under this system that most of the farming and fruit growing is done at present. This system consists of seventy-six miles of canals and laterals and has a capacity of about 600 second feet. The south bank of Grand river for some distance above and below Grand Junc- tion is a perpendicular bluff from 75 to 150 feet high. On this bluff lies some of the choicest fruit and garden land of the valley. It has been found cheaper to water this land with pumps run bv the power obtained from the falls or rapids in the river than by gravity ditches. There are at present four of these plants in successful operation ; the Oasis fruit farm plant owned by Geo. P. & Jas. H. Smith, watering 480 acres. Over 100 acres of their orchard will bear fruit this year. The Grand Junction Orchard Mesa Land Company's plant watering about 800 acres. About 300 acres of their orchards will bear this year. This plant was built by Charles N. Cox, who is the present manager. The plant built by A. B. & W. R. John- son & Silas Wilson, watering about 1,000 acres. These three plants are on what is known as Orchard Mesa. The fourth is the Mt. Lincoln Land and Water Company's plant, situated at the mouth of the canyon 14 miles east of the city. It has a capacity at present of about 1,500 acres. Surveys have been made for a high line canal to take water from the Grand river in the canyon east of the city and skirt- ing the foot hills and covering about 75,000 acres above the present Grand Valley canal. The Western Colorado Development Company have secured about 6,000 acres of choice land on Orchard Mesa which they propose to water by means of water (living and snow water) stored in reservoirs on Grand Mesa, and by means of a pumping plant placed near the mouth of the canyon at the upper end of the val- ley. This company has one or the most favorable sites for a power plant on the river. Considerable construction work has already been-done on this sys- tem. Surveys have been made and some construc- tion work done upon another pumping plant to water about 3,500 acres of land on Red Mesa across the river from Grand Junction and below the mouth of the Gunnison. The power for this plant is to be ob- tained by means of a canal from the Gunnison river opposite the city extending to a point about one and one-half miles west of the city when ahead of twenty- one feet is obtained. In view of the rapid advance- ment of the application of electricity to domestic uses (heating, lighting and cooking) and for the trans- mission of power, it is easy to foresee the important part this immense water power, stored at these various plants, will play in the development of our city and valley. All of the plants mentioned can be increased to a capacity many times greater than what is re- quired for their present purpose, pumping water for irrigation. Our valley is rapidly being cut into small farms from ten to eighty acres; the average will per- haps be forty acres. With this thickly settled com- munity electric railroads will be run up and down the valley, and many of our country homes will be using electricity for light and for cooking. These features, together with what has already been dem- onstrated— our fruit growing possibilities, our excel- lent climate, etc.- should make this valley a very attractive field for the homeseeker and the investor. TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. IRRIGATION PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA. A FORMIDABLE competitor to the American farmer and orchardist is rapidly developing in Australia. On the foundation stone of irrigation the Australians are rearing a gigantic industrial fabric, destined to make a deep impression upon the world. Already they are producing large quantities of choice fruit and placing some of it in the British markets in competition with the best efforts thus far made by the successful orchardists of California and New England. Tasmanian apples stand high in the London markets, and the dried apricots of the Murray river region are reported to excel in quality, so far as the British mar- kets may be allowed to judge, the best sent over there from the United States. But all this is being devel- oped from a region in almost every way similar to the arid region of the United States; and those who doubt the ability of irrigation to work the same won- ders here as there may possibly imbibe some degree of inspiration from the following citation from a late number of the Australian Agriculturist : " Step by step the great Australian interior is being invaded, and he would be a bold man who would say where the movement is to stop. The old idea of the land was a coast and a river-side strip of habitable territory and beyond it the great Australian desert. All this is being changed, however. Every successful artesian well marks the site of an advanced post into the forbidden land." Irrigation by means of artesian wells, or "bores" as they are called in Australia, is rapidly on the in- crease in that country as well as in various parts of the United States. They have even gone so far as to bore wells for the purpose of irrigating the sheep pastures in Australia, and it is hoped and expected to very greatly increase the wool clip of the colony by this means. Enormous as the sheep interests now are in that far-off corner of the world, (the number of sheep being given at 130,000,000) it is expected soon to vastly augment the product of both wool and mut- ton by securing better pasturage through systems of irrigation so generally felt to be desirable and neces- sary. So sanguine are some of the best informed men of the countless benefits to flow with the waters of irrigation that they allege the time is not far away when, through the numerous systems of irrigation sooner or later to be established in the interior of the continent, many hundreds of bales of wool will be grown then where one is now produced. But not only is the wool interest and the mutton interest to be thus developed, but the fruit industries will receive a phenomenal development also, as well as all the col- lateral activities dependent thereon. The fact is that the modern world is just awakening to the possibili- ties of irrigation, and a new agriculture and horticul- ture are building up around us. In India, in Egypt, in Argentina, in Australia and Mexico, as well as in the United States, the spirit of progress in irrigation is abroad; and we Americans are quite likely to be distanced in this race unless we take hold of the great problem as presented by the arid belt of West- ern America, and work it out upon its merits, along the lines of a broad and comprehensive statesman- ship, unhampered by local jealousies and unchecked by sectional or partisan rancor. The opportunity of the century is now before us to lay the foundations broad and deep, of the mightiest and fairest structure of modern times — the great fabric of irrigation as ex- emplified upon millions of small, intensely cultivated farms, the homes of millions upon millions of happy and contented citizens. All this is no figment of the imagination merely, but an easy possibility within the grasp of the present younger generation of American voters. Shall it be realized ? An affirmative answer must depend upon the enterprise, persistence, honesty of purpose and untiring perseverance of the men of Arid America. DOES FARMING PAY? Does farming pay? is a question always on the lips of the men hunting for facts to sustain their theories, or of others seeking theories to account for facts. It is very hard to arrive at a comprehensive and truthful answer to the general question. It depends upon so many conditions that, as a matter of fact, in its present stage of development, agriculture has come to be regarded by many as the least profitable , of the great occupations of men. Markets are un- certain and prices low; but were producers better able to control the conditions of production, as re- gards the supply of moisture, the whole phase of American agriculture would be changed in one sea- son. Irrigation farming does pay, and will continue to pay good profits when dry land husbandry will have been driven to the wall. TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS, MACHINERY VERSUS MAN AND HORSE POWER. Mr. Carrol D. Wright, the eminent government statistician, has made an exhaustive compilation showing the amount of steam and water power by which the mechanical industries of this country are carried on. His figures prove conclusively that, even if machinery of one kind or another has displaced a great deal of hand labor, it would be wholly impossi- ble for the mechanical industries to go on without the power derived otherwise than from men and ani- mals. He says: " The mechanical industries of the United States are carried on by steam and water power representing, in round numbers, 3,500,000 horse power, each horse power equaling the muscular labor of six men; that is to say, if men were employed to furnish the power to carry on the industries of this country, it would re- quire 21,000,000 men, and 21,000,000 men represent a population, according to the ratio of the census of 1880, of 105,000,000. The industries are now carried on by 4,000,000 persons, in round num- bers, representing a population of 20,000,000 only. There are in the United States 28,600 locomotives. To do the work of these locomotives upon the existing common roads of the country and the equivalent of that which has been done upon the railroads the past year would require in round numbers 54,000,000 horses and 13,500,000 men. The work is now done, so far as men are concerned, by 250,000, representing a population of 1,250,000, while the population required for the number of men necessary to do the work with horses would be 67,500,000. To do the work now accomplished by power and power machinery in our mechan- ical industries and upon our railroads would require men rep- resenting a population of 172,500,000, in addition to the present population of the country of 65,000,000, or a total population, with hand processes and with horse power, of 227,500,000, which popu- lation would be obliged to subsist on present means. In an eco- nomic view the cost to the country would be enormous. The present cost of operating the railroads of the country with steam power is, in round numbers, $502,600,000 per annum; but to carry on the same amount of work with men and horses would cost the country 311,308,500,000. " SAVE THE MANURE. Good farmers everywhere are careful to preserve their stable manures, and allow as little waste as possible. One of the most valuable ingredients of all stable manures is ammonia, and special care should be taken lest this substance be lost by volutilization. Ordinarily, it must be confessed, a large part of the value of farm yard manures is lost through lack of care in this respect. Some farmers mix lime with their stable manures, believing that it will fix the ammonia in the manure, and thus prevent the loss of nitrogen. This is largely an error. While lime acts well as deodorizer, its value in preventing the escape of ammonia is really small. The most valuable and easily procured substance to use for this purpose is land plaster or gypsum. Its cost is often but $4 or $5 per ton, and if it be freely mixed with stable man- ure by being thrown into the stalls and upon heaps of refuse, the effect will always be found salutary and profitable. It should be remembered, too, that the urine of animals is especially rich in essentials of plant food, and that the nitrogenous ingredients are best preserved by the use of gypsum in absorbing •the urine in the stalls. Gypsum is of the greatest advantage, too, if used freely in reclaiming alkali soils so often found throughout the arid regions. It should not be understood that gypsum is valuable only as a fixer of ammonia in animal excreta, for if applied to almost any crop on any kind of soil the effect is good. Particularly, however, is it valuable on sandy soils; and corn or wheat fields which have received a dressing or two of gypsum may be easily distinguished by their stronger growth from fields to which no plaster was applied. There are immense deposits of gypsum in a number of places in the arid belt, and doubtless others will in time be discovered and developed. All such deposits which are avail- able should be worked, and they will be found a source of great revenue to any section of the country making full use of them. A dressing of gypsum in early spring is highly recommended to stock pastures, especially of clover. Many good farmers also apply it later in the season, and believe it assists very greatly in carrying pastures through seasons of prolonged drouth. A handful of gypsum is often thrown about a hill of corn soon after the young shoots appear above ground. The effect is to stim- ulate the growth and to give the leaves a dark, rich color. THE "WOOLLY" WEST. From a volume of facts and figures regarding wool and its manufacture sent out by the Bureau of Sta- tistics of the Treasury Department, we learn that about one-fourth of all the wool produced in the world comes from Australasia. The London Board of Trade gives the world's product of wool in 1860 at 955,000,000 pounds ; 1870, 1,295,000,000 pounds; 1880, 1,- 626,000,000 pounds; and in 1889, 1,950,000,000 pounds. The following table shows the production of the vari- ous countries contributing to the world's output: Pounds. United Kingdom 134,000,000 Continent of Europe 450,000,000 North America 330,000,000 Australasia 450,000,000 Cape of Good Hope 70,000,000 River Plata, S. A 360,000,000 Other Countries 156,000,000 Total 1,950,000,000 In 1890 the wool clip of the United States amounted to 276,000,000 pounds, of which 85,605,617 pounds were produced east of the Mississippi river, and 190,- 394,388 pounds west of that line. It is interesting in 26 THE IRRIGATION AGE. this connection to note the westward march of the sheep industry since 1840. In that year the States east of the Mississippi held 97.4 per cent, of the total number of sheep in the United States, and produced 98 per cent, of all the wool. But in 1890 only 38.3 per cent, of the sheep were found east of the Missis- sippi, and but 31 per cent, of the wool clip. Thus in 1840 the number of sheep in the East was 18,807,779, and those in the West numbered but 503,595, while in 1890 the conditions were reversed, and we find 27,347,631 sheep west of the Mississippi, and but 16,- 988,441 to the eastward of that stream. A large pro- portion of the sheep in the West are grazed on the - arid lands, and some flock masters have been so short-sighted as to oppose irrigation enterp'rises for the reason that when the land is rendered arable by irrigation, the free range for sheep would be cur- tailed. But it must be entirely clear to every intelli- gent man that one acre of land properly watered and cultivated will produce more forage for sheep or other stock than a hundred acres in its present arid condition. But even if it be possible, in the interest of a certain class of flock or herd owners to continue free grazing on public lands in the arid belt, it is clearly to the advantage of small owners to graze upon their own land under irrigation, when a civil- ized form of pastoral life may be enjoyed. HOP GROWING. Hop growers are confronted nearly everywhere by the same general conditions as fruit growers with regard to the need of fighting insect enemies. In England, the hop aphis is an annual visitant, whereas a few years ago their visits were periodical. Profes- sor Whitehead, of Maidstone, states that spraying is now a recognized part of hop culture in England, and without due attention to treatment for aphis good crops of first-class hops would be impossible. The same is true in the United States, though many of our hop growers have the matter of fighting the pest so well in hand, and their appliances for admin- istering remedial agents are so effective, that the old- time terrors of "hop louse" are not so keenly felt. One of the most extensive hop growers in the United States, Mr. E. Meeker, of Puyallup, Washington, in speaking of remedies for hop vermin, says: "As to the remedy for damage by vermin, all are now agreed that the whale oil soap and quassia emul- sion is the best. It is the most thorough and withal harmless as regards injury to the foliage or even the hops after they are formed." Formula — Whale oil soap, 6 to 8 Ibs. ; quassia chips, 7 to 9 Ibs. ; water, 100 gallons. Soak the quassia chips in 30 gallons of cold water for five hours, then add the soap, and after it is fully dissolved strain the liquid thoroughly. Mr. Meeker estimates the cost of spraying per acre, where 225 gallons of the emulsion were used on each acre, at $3.77, or for eight sprayings say $30 per acre. His figures of cost, however, are based upon the prices prevailing in the Pacific Northwest, which are somewhat higher than obtain in the hop growing dis- tricts east of the Pacific states. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS' RESOURCES. The sugar crop of the Hawaiian Islands for 1890 is given by the press of Honolulu at 146,000 tons; 1892, 122,000; 1893, 152,000. It is believed that with in- creased irrigation facilities the annual crop may be brought up to 200,000 tons. It is also alleged that some 30,000,000 pounds of rice are annually produced in the islands, of which about two-thirds is consumed by the Chinese and Japanese residents. Good oppor- tunities for engaging in coffee culture are-alleged by those who publish the surprising resources of that region. It is claimed that the quality of Hawaiian coffee is equal to any that is grown in other parts of the world, and that its cultivation may be profitably engaged in on a large scale. Of course, all tropical fruits flourish in Hawaii, and it is also asserted that apples, peaches, plums, grapes and berries do well in selected locations. The Chinese gardener monop- olizes as yet the cultivation of vegetables there as on our own Pacific coast. Potatoes, cabbage, peas, beans, melons, squashes and tomatoes are said to thrive remarkably in most of the islands and to bring good prices in the home markets. JAPANESE FARMING. It may interest readers of THE IRRIGATION AGE to learn something about farming in Japan. Our Department of Agriculture has lately collected sta- tistics relating to the cereal crops of Japan for 1893, from which we find that the area of wheat harvested was 1,042,948 acres, and the total yield 16,477,373 bushels, or at the rate of 15.80 bushels per acre. This is a considerable larger yield per acre than we are accustomed to harvest in the United States as a whole, although in some individual states the yield has often exceeded that given for Japan. The acre- age in barley last year in that country was 1,601,393 acres, and the product 36,841,391 bushels — 23.01 bushels per acre. What is termed " naked barley " was also produced to the amount of 31,834,853 bushels, grown on 1,629,704 acres of ground, and yielding 19.53 bushels per acre. The manufacture of toys and other articles of straw, which industries have been carried on in Japan for centuries, enables barley farmers to TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 27 use their straw with good advantage. Large amounts of straw plaited goods have been shipped to many countries, and the export of this class of manufactures to the United States is rapidly increasing. This affords a brisk and increasing market for barley straw. NITRATE OF SODA. Nitrate of soda (Chile saltpeter) is regarded as one of the very best and cheapest of all fertilizers applied for their nitrogenous contents. In fact, it is about the cheapest source from which nitrogen in large supply may be easily obtained. Especially is nitrate of soda valuable for cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, spinach .and beets. It has many advantages over most other nitrogenous fertilizers in that it is clean, easily ap- plied, comparatively cheap and takes effect almost immediately. Of course, those farmers who have enough good stable manure need not necessarily use other forms of nitrate, but unless the supply is abun- dant and has been well prepared, it may'Jbe often necessary to supplement it by using commercial nitrates in addition. Ni.trate of soda may be applied to crops either by sowing broadcast or by special application of small amounts about the roots of the plant. A tablespoonful scattered about the roots of cabbages and other plants will soon give good account of itself, and the application may be profitably re- peated once or more during the season. When sown broadcast, 150 to 300 pounds to the acre may be applied with advantage. The main sources of this valuable substance are the nitrate beds in Chile, South America, although recent discoveries of it have been reported in the United States. WHEAT OUTLOOK IN INDIA. Word comes from India that, due to excessive rainfall during the present season, the wheat crop is suffering from an attack of rust, thus materially les- .sening the yield. While American farmers cannot but deplore a calamity to their fellow men in any part of the world, yet it is not improbable that rust in India, damage to the harvested grain by excessive rain lately reported in Argentina, and the diminished acreage sown to spring wheat in Russia, all taken together, may redound to the advantage of wheat growers in this country by stimulating to some extent the price for wheat in the foreign markets. But American farmers cannot and should not rely upon calamities to befall wheat culture elsewhere to make living prices for their product. Wheat plant- ing is rapidly extending in other countries, and the output is destined to increase from year to year with almost absolute certainty, especially in those countries where the cost of production has been brought to a point below possible competition by the farmers of the United States. More diversified agriculture and lesser acreage in wheat should be the industrial policy of American farmers ; at least, until conditions change to a more hopeful outlook in this direction, which event does not at this time appear imminent. ARGENTINE WHEAT CROP. The wheat crop of Argentina is rapidly increasing year by year. In 1893 the exports are reported at one million tons, or, say 33,000,000 bushels. The present season's crop is expected to be much larger than the last, due to a wider area sown and to an in- creased yield per acre. Should good weather prevail during the harvesting and threshing period, which is not yet assured, no doubt the surplus for export would be considerably increased. An almost unlim- ited area of virgin wheat land remains untouched in that country, and with the cheap labor obtainable there and the low cost of transportation to all great markets, Argentina will soon be found one of our strongest competitors in the wheat markets of the world. As a matter of fact, wheat can be produced on the plains of South America at a much less cost than is possible to our farmers in the United States. To meet such formidable competition our farmers must change entirely their methods of wheat culture if indeed it is possible to successfully meet it at all. KEEP A GARDEN PATCH.' Every farmstead should have a good " garden patch '' as a source of family supply. It need not be large, but should be well cultivated and properly watered. A little plat 40 feet square, well irrigated, will often produce more and better supplies for the family table than an acre promiscuously planted, un- watered and poorly tended. Perhaps the cheapest piece of farm machinery, and most useful in propor- tion to its cost, is a good wind mill. Every farmer or gardener should make use of the power of the wind in pumping- water, grinding grain and in various other ways known to every tiller of the. soil. If no other use be made of the wind mill than to pump water for stock and for the family garden, its price may often be saved in a single year. A good garden, even if small, is not only valuable in saving cash out- lays for needed vegetables and fruits, but it is a good physician as well as a civilizer. Its effect upon chil- dren alone is worth more than its cost. The ideas of order, neatness and thrift, which a well-kept vege- table, fruit or flower garden inculcates are valuable in shaping character and destiny, to say nothing of its economic value as a source of table supplies for the family. 28 THE IRRIGATION AGE. WHEAT AREA IN RUSSIA REDUCED. GREELEY POTATOES Reports from Russia are to the effect that the spring wheat area has been cut down this year from 30 to 40 per cent, owing to the low prices and to the lack of capital among the small farmers. It is believed that the result will be to cut down the large production of Russian wheat this year by many millions of bushels, which may have some slight influence on prices. DETASSELLING CORN. v Experiments made at the Cornell, N Y., Experi- ment Station show the beneficial effects of detassel- ling corn. During four seasons the experiments were conducted, and the results are announced as follows: In 1890, the detasselling resulted in a gain over corn not so treated of 50.6 per cent. ; in 1891, the gain was very slight; in 1892, the gain was 21 per cent, and in 1893, the net gain was 19.3 per cent. THE COTTON CROP. The most valuable cotton crop ever produced in the United States was that of 1890. The plantation value of that year's crop given by the Department of Agriculture was, in round numbers, three hundred and fifty million dollars. Until 1890, the crop had never reached four billion pounds of cotton in any one season, but the output that year was 4,316,043,982 pounds, while that of 1891 was 4,506,575,984 pounds, and that of 1892 was 3,352,658,458 pounds, worth at the plantations $268,000,000. The area in cotton is estimated at about 24,000,000 acres. The increase of the cotton crop since 1870 may be seen by the fact that the yield for that year was 2,020,693,736 pounds, but its value at the plantation was $286,000,000, or $18,000,000 more than the crop of 1892. HOW TO IRRIGATE TREES. The old Mexican method was to set the trees in a ditch and run in water until the land was water- logged, then when the sun baked it hard it opened in wide cracks through which the moisture evaporated from the roots, leaving them dry and sun-scorched. The New Mexico Experimental College at Las Cru- ces has been pursuing the plan usually followed in California. This method is to open furrows and cross furrows between the rows of trees thus sur- rounding the trees on all sides by water furrows, into which a small head of water is run slowly, so as to give it time to sink to the roots, leaving the ground directly around the tree dry and easy to keep free of weeds. When the soil is dry enough, a cultivator is run between and across the rows. Unless all signs fail Greeley farmers will this year eclipse all former records of potato shipments. They are just closing the biggest shipments ever made in the history of the district, and are preparing to put in a greater acreage than ever. From the Greeley dis- trict, which includes Greeley, Evans, Windsor, Eaton, Lucerne, Orr and Hotchkiss, 5,000 cars have been sent. This report is noteworthy as not only does it repre- sent the large volume of business done, but the quality of the potatoes grown. For the first time since Colo- rado potatoes have been shipped outside the state, they have gone this year to Ohio. This is like carry- ing coal to Newcastle, as Ohio potatoes used to be as standard as No. 1 wheat. Greeley potatoes reach the market early in August, and begin shipping out late in the same month. Greeley growers say that it was hard times that made the reputation of their potatoes abroad. Two years ago they raised a large crop, so large that they were unable to find buyers at home, and so made attempt to dispose of them elsewhere. This year has seen them sold in Ohio, a surprise to Denver commission men as it is to Greeley farmers. POTATO SCAB. A weak solution of corrosive sublimate (two and one-fourth ounces dissolved in fifteen gallons of water) will prevent potato scab if the seed potatoes are immersed in it before planting. Do not plant them in ground which has produced a scabby crop. Corrosive sublimate, being a poison, should be han- dled carefully, and care taken to plant all the pota- toes treated. Use a wooden vessel, as metal is quickly corroded. The Italian agriculturists demand a protective duty. They especially desire a heavier duty on im- ported wheat. After Russia, the United States and Canada are the countries that import the greatest amount of wheat into Italy. Sugar cane is mentioned by Strabo as known in India as early as 325 B. C. It was then used in its raw state, no method being known for extraction of the sugar. The sweet potato is one of the most valuable crops grown either for market or home consumption. They are a cheap milk producer, and cattle are very fond of them. The farmers of the Arkansas valley who have grown sweet potatoes have no reason to complain. An average yield under irrigation is 250 bushels to the acre. HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION RELATIVE VALUES OF FRESH AND DRIED FRUITS. FOR the present, at least, the whole country must turn to California for some of the most impor- tant and conclusive experience relating to various features of the fruit industry. In many of its forms, the fruit business is carried on so extensively in that State, and by so business-like methods, that results have been formulated more exactly than in most other sections; hence a practical value attaches to in the Santa Clara valley is known as the West Side Fruit Growers' Association. During the past three or four years this organization has been a highly suc- cessful operation, and its methods have met the approval of the best business men in the community. From, the books of this association the following table was compiled, showing the relative values of fresh and dried fruits of various kinds. While some of the fruits named are not grown in most parts of the United States, yet they are all grown extensively in some parts outside of California; hence the table RELATIVE VALUES OF FRESH AND DRIED FRUITS. FRUIT. Pounds fresh, to make one of dry. Cost of drying per drying pound. Equivalent net prices per 100 Ibs. of dried, compared with prices per green ton, on basis of shrinkage of 1891. 0 H: <* "* m P 3 o- H-I < •-" 8 a «"*.'• 8 -g a- a B. ' y "? o- T* S FRESH FRUIT PER TON. $20.00 $25.00 $30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $45.00 $50.00 1891 1892 DRIED FRUIT PER 100 LBS. 1891 1892 Moor Park Apricots... Other Apricots $0.05 K .06^ .05% .05 2.54 $0.05% •05M .05^ .04% 1.92 2cts. 1% cts. 1% cts. K-et. $7.25 8.25 7.00 6.50 3.25 $8.56 9.81 8.37% 7.75 3.87% $ 9.87% 11.37 9.75 9.00 4.56 $11.18 12.94 11.12 10.25 5.19 $12.50 14.50 12.50 11.50 5.83 $13.81 16.06 13.87 12.75 6.46 $15.12 17.62 15.25 14.00 7.10 $7.25 6.50 None ) Dri'd 5 5.36 $15.00 13.13 11.00 None ) Dri'd ) 8.87% Early Peaches Late Peaches French Prunes t. the figures showing the results of operations on a large scale by well-conducted establishments in that State. Santa Clara county, of which the principal city is San Jose, is to the deciduous fruit industry of California what Los Angeles or Riverside county is to the citrus fruit industry. The curing of various fruits is probably done more scientifically on a large scale in Santa Clara county than in any other county in the United States. Its annual output of prunes surpasses by far all other parts of the United States together, and its product of peaches, apricots, ber- ries and other fruits is enormous. One of the best evidences of the advanced condition of the fruit industry in that county is the number and strength of the various organizations of fruit producers. Co- operation is the watchword of that part of California, and the good results which have been achieved there have stimulated organization of growers in every part of the State. One of the most progressive and successful of the local associations of fruit growers will prove of great value to all growers in the mount- ain and Pacific States, .and of much interest to all fruit growers everywhere. In California, as elsewhere, the shrinkage in weight due to drying fruits varies with the seasons. In a wet year, or when orchards are unduly irrigated, the shrinkage is naturally more than in drier seasons. In 1893, careful attention to all necessary details brought out the fact that the fruits of another drying association in the same county shrank in the follow- ing ratios : Apricots, all varieties 5 . 56 to 1 Peaches " 6.04 " 1 Pears " 7.11 " 1 Nectarines " 8.00"! French Prunes 2.66 " 1 Silver " 3.18 " 1 German " 2.86"! Egg Plums .4.98 " 1 THE IRRIGATION AGE. Readers of THE AGE should compare prices paid by them for California dried fruits in 1891-2 with those for which the fruits sold, as shown by the table first above presented. The prices given in the table are of course average prices for the whole amount of fruit dried by the association, and neces- sarily represented different grades. It may be here said, however, that the fruits prepared by these co- operative drying associations are put up in the most cleanly manner, and that throughout all the opera- tions the greatest care and cleanliness are observed, thus adding not only to their value as staple articles of food, but very properly to their market value also. TURKISH VINEYARDS. La Nature, a French publication, states that about Constantinople, Turkey, the vineyards have been attacked by phylloxera, but that the disease makes only slow progress from the fact that the vines are those planted at a depth of one meter — over three feet. It is alleged that the roots of the vines planted at that depth attain large dimensions under ground, and thus offer greater resistance to the disease. This mode of planting is in striking contrast with that of planting orange trees in P'lorida on little mounds with no hole at all, except that made by pushing the hoe handle down into the loose, sandy soil to contain the tap root. It is alleged by many who thus plant orange trees that the nearer the sur- face they can keep the roots of the tree the better. They claim that the influence of the sun is better utilized in that way, resulting in sweeter and better fruit and healthier trees than in cases where they are planted deeper, and have to push out their first rootlets in a colder and less inviting environment. The two cases cited, however, would seem to indicate extremes in fruit planting, between which a happy mean may be generally found. REMEDY AGAINST CUTWORMS. In many sections of the country cutworms are one of the most persistent pests with which farmers and fruit growers have to contend. Every spring they present themselves with unfailing regularity and in great numbers. In almost every state corn, melons and other spring crops are annually subjected to the ravages of cutworms. It is often necessary for farmers to replant most of their spring crops, and in many instances two or more replantings are necessary. In California and some other sections of the country cutworms have worked on vineyards and fruit orchards with disastrous effect. Hundreds of acres of the finest raisin vineyards in that state have been com- pletely stripped of their leaves and the first crop of grapes entirely destroyed. In many orchards of deciduous fruits the trees have been attacked and completely defoliated, practically destroying the crop. Many remedies have been tried, some of them effect- ive and many of them not so. Among the successful remedies used for the cutworm pest, probably the most efficient and least expensive is the following: Mix three pounds of Paris green with a grain sack- ful of dry wheat bran, stirring well in order to thor- oughly distribute the poison throughout the mass of bran; moisten sufficiently to make the mixture ad- here, then with pails or other vessels carry it along the rows of vines or trees and deposit a handful or two on the ground close around the base of the tree or vine. The worms work mostly at night, avoiding the hot sun, hence if the poisonous mixture be deposited just before nightfall, it will be likely to nearly complete the work of extermination the first night. Should the bran blow away after having become dry, it should be renewed until the worms are destroyed. It has been found in practice in Southern California that ten pounds of Paris green and a few sacks of bran will suffice for thirty acres of raisin vineyard, and for orchards the quantity would be less owing to the greater distance between trees. It is found that the worms eat this poisoned bran with avidity, and that they are thus destroyed before doing any dam- age to the leaves of tree or vine. For this reason it is far preferable to the method of spraying the leaves with Paris green or other poison, since, in the latter case, the leaves must be eaten by the worm in order that it may take the poison. The same treatment has been found effective with corn, melons, cabbage and tomato plants. THIN YOUR FRUITS. Fruit growers especially should remember that the great effort of nature in the production of a crop of fruit is largely expended in her struggle to mature the seeds. The concern of mother nature for hei off- spring relates mainly to their ability to propagate their kind, and not to the gustatory pleasures they may afford to the destroyer— man. But the strength and vitality are, for a given time, a fixed quantity, and if a great number of fruits are left upon the tree, that strength which the tree possesses and is able to main- tain from the soil will be expended to the best of its ability in maturing the seeds of the fruit. This may be and often is accomplished at the expense of size and flavor in the edible parts of the fruit itself. Herein lies the philosophy of thinning fruits on the tree. By reducing the number of seeds to be ma- tured, the life forces of the tree are thrown into a lesser number, with the almost certain result that the HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. fruit will be larger in size, better matured and far more valuable in market. It is an entirely safe assertion that 100 peaches, each weighing one pound, would sell in any market for four times as much money as 1,000 peaches, each weighing one-tenth of a pound. And while this is true, it is also true that the trees bearing the fruit would have parted with their strength and vitality in inverse ratio of the value of the fruit produced. Among the most careful and successful fruit growers in all parts of the country the thinning of fruit on the trees is as much a part of staple orchard work as the final harvesting of the crop. In some fruit-growing regions it is alleged that it is profitable to thin all fruits, though in most places there are exceptions to this rule, at least in practice. It requires careful labor to thin fruit judiciously, and such labor should and does command an advanced wage. But probably no labor applied to the orchard is really more profitable than that devoted to thinning the fruit. Sometimes, to be sure, frost or wind does a large part of the work of thinning, but as a rule it is badly done if left to such agencies, and they cannot be relied upon. The well-known Connecticut peach grower, Mr. J. H. Hale, alleges that he has produced good crops of peaches after 90 per cent, of the blos- soms had been killed by frost. This fact merely em- phasizes the paramount duty of all orchardists to thin their fruit. The proper time, as has been heretofore stated in THE AGE, is just as the pits begin to harden, and before the drain upon the vitality of the tree has become heavy. To all growers of deciduous fruits we therefore say : Thin your fruits with vigorous hand ; it will put money in your purse. PACKING FRUIT FOR LONG SHIPMENT. Nothing better illustrates the value of painstaking care in the shipment of fruit to distant markets than the experience of Mr. Frank Ailing, of Tacoma, Washington. Mr. Ailing conceived the idea of ship- ping the fine fruits of the Sound region to the Orient, and made a number of shipments of both apples and pears to Japan with very satisfactory results. The distance shipped covered somewhat over 5,000 miles, and the time nearly twenty days; and yet so care- fuHy was the fruit selected, prepared and handled, that it arrived in excellent order and sold at good prices. In view 6f the complete success of these shipments, it is of interest to note the manner in which the fruit was packed. The boxes in which the apples were shipped held about 30 pounds each, the top and bottom being made each of a single board, and were as nearly airtight as possible. Each apple was carefully wrapped in four thicknesses of tissue paper, and gently placed in the box, which had been well lined with bright colored paper. Between the layers of fruit six sheets of tissue paper were placed, the whole being made tight in the box before the cover was nailed down. Pears were handled just as carefully, and the boxes contained only two layers of fruit, the number aver- aging forty-eight to the box. Each fruit was care- fully wrapped, as in the case of apples, and the boxes are prepared in a similar manner. On arrival at Yokohama the fruit was placed in cold storage for subsequent distribution to the markets of Japan as well as China. Mr. Ailing has also sent other fruits to these faraway markets, and in all cases he has met with success. What is of especial interest in this con- nection is that this fruit was always shipped in tight boxes, without the possibility of a free circulation of air, whereas it is stoutly alleged by many shippers that all fruit should have good ventilation, and should not be closely boxed for long shipment. These suc- cessful experiments of Mr. Ailing are instructive at least, and show that a free circulation of air among such fruit is not necessary when shipped in the man- ner adopted by the Tacoma dealer. But the ques- tion of more or less ventilation of fruits en route to market is one of fact rather than theory. If repeated experiments show that fruit packed and shipped in a certain way reaches the market in good condition and sells at satisfactory prices, that is all that should be required, whether or not the experience accords with a preconceived theory. INSECT ENEMIES. It is announced that the praying mantis, well known to be a formidable enemy of caterpillars, is being prop- agated under the direction of the Oregon State Hor- ticultural Society, for distribution among the orchard- ists of that State. As a general statement it may be said that no better service to horticulture can be ren- dered than the introduction of natural enemies of the insect pests that afflict the fruit grower at every turn. If friendly parasites can be naturalized in our orch- ards and vineyards, they will be found by far the best and cheapest remedies against the ravages of most insect pests. The eggs hatched in Oregon came from Japan, and a full line of experiments is to be tried in order to test most carefully the efficacy of this friendly parasite. The insect receives its name from its peculiar attitude while attacking its prey. It is due to the intelligent horticultural societies in the various States of the Union, and to the invaluable labors of the Experiment Stations of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, that very many if not indeed most of the formidable enemies of the fruit growers are at last made controllable, if reasonable diligence be exercised. Whatever may be said by old-fash- ioned horticulturists against the value of book farm- THE IRRIGATION AGE. ing, it is unquestionable that no man may, in these days, successfully manage a farm or orchard without the aid of books or periodicals treating of the business. KEROSENE FOR PEAR LEAF BLISTER. Kerosene 'oil diluted with not more than eight parts of water is found to be effective with pear leaf blister caused by the Phytoptus pyri, a microscopic insect believed to have been imported from Europe on nurs- ery stock. Professor Alexander Craw, entomologist of the California State Board of Horticulture, also recommends dusting the trees with powdered sulphur, the same as for red spider. From the high authori- ties quoted, it would appear to be merely a matter of expense or convenience as to the method each grower should adopt. In any event, however, careful watch should be kept upon the pear trees, and whenever blisters appear upon the leaves the remedy should be applied without delay. DO BEES INJURE ORCHARDS? In many sections of the country there exists a cer- tain degree of hostility between orchardists and bee- keepers. Fruit growers allege that bees, when kept in great number near their orchards, work much damage to fruit by puncturing the skin and extract- ing the juices. Especially is this alleged with refer- ence to certain varieties of grapes, though nearly all deciduous fruits are said to be affected injuriously in the same manner. On the other hand, the most reli- able and skillful apiarists stoutly assert that the bees are unjustly accused, and that the damage they are said to bring to fruit crops is really due to other agencies. Birds, wasps and sometimes other animals or insects first break the skins of fruit and thus allow the juices to exude ; the bees in search of honey then visit such fruit, and the casual observer takes it for granted that they wrought the mischief in the first place. Professor Cook, late of the University of Michigan, now of Southern California, has given much atten- tion to this subject, and his conclusion is that the bees only visit the fruit after its juices are brought out from other causes, hence do primarily no dam- age whatever to fruit. Moreover, Professor Cook maintains that bees are the best friends of the fruit- growers, and that most varieties of fruit bear much more surely and abundantly if bees have access to the trees during the period of their blooming. PHOSPHATE AS A FERTILIZER. To mature the seeds of nearly all fruits or plants requires a due proportion of phosphate in the soil. This must exist naturally or must be applied arti- ficially. Continued cropping will, of course, eventu- ally exhaust any natural supply of phosphate in the soil, hence artificial application must finally be re- sorted to in any case. Whenever, in the evolution of fruits, for example, we shall have eliminated the seeds, as in the banana, the navel orange and many other fruits, the needed supply of phosphates for the maturity of a fruit crop will be greatly lessened. But in order to properly develop and mature a crop of fruit containing seeds, as nearly all fruits do, it is necessary that due attention be paid to supplying a fair proportion of phosphate in the fertilizers used. Pure ground bone, as finely pulverized as possible, is probably as good a form as any in which to apply the needed phosphates to crops of any kind. In this form, however, the action of the fertilizer is not ob- served so soon, perhaps, as when applied in some other form, but the good effects are certain to appear without long delay. Still, for most crops there are special fertilizers prepared, and when they may be bought with reasonable surety of having been hon- estly prepared and sold, there is little risk in secur- ing them, at least as a supplement to the staple manures of the farmyard, which should always be carefully preserved and applied. FEED THE FRUIT TREES. As horticulturists the Germans have few equals, and possibly no superiors. Von Mocke once said : " Feed your fruit trees as well and regularly as you feed your pigs and calves." The German chemist for the German Horticultural Society in Munich makes the following suggestions : The fruit tree requires the same food stuffs neces- sary to all other plants. Of this large number, how- ever, three — nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid — are to be specially considered, and under certain circumstances, also lime. The complete absence of any one of these food materials prevents the growth of the tree. For a prevention of soil exhaustion a change in the sorts of fruit trees is often to be recommended. For example, flat rooted stone fruits may still find food where deep going stone fruits no longer thrive; but through such means the condition of the soil is not improved, and complete soil exhaustion or weakening of the trees is sure to come. Such a soil exhaustion in which the feed materials become deficient cannot be compensated by supplies of the best soil; but it must be supplied in rich food stuffs in easily accessible forms. Now the potash and phosphoric acid of the top soil will be unavailable, so that as much as possible a deep application of both these food stuffs should be looked to so that the roots in the deeper strata shall not suffer from any deficiency. HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 33 Defective nourishment influences the wood growth and also especially the fruit crop. An excess of nitro- gen with a rich supply of potash increases the tend- ency of wood growth but decreases fruitfulness. The latter influence is least with young trees. Potash and phosphoric acid alone can make a large fruit crop, the wood growth on the contrary remaining weak ; but the fruit cannot reach full development in case of continued nitrogen hunger. Under all these con- ditions, however, much depends on the condition of the soil and the water supply. NEW MEXICO EXPERIMENT STATION. HILLSIDE ORCHARDS. Other things being equal orchards should be planted upon gently sloping hillsides, and always upon land that is well drained. Few if any varieties of fruit trees will thrive with " wet feet," and standing water in an orchard should never be allowed. It has been often found that a north slope is best for peaches and some other of the less hardy fruits, by preventing the too early blooming of the trees and consequent injury by late spring frosts. "Another advantage of having the orchard on the higher lands is that it is much less liable to damage by frost than when located in the lower valley lands. " Frost drainage '' is well understood by many orch- ardists. That is, frost, like water, follows the lower channels and also like water, cold air may be drained away from the higher to the lower levels leaving the high land orchards entact while often destroying those on low, level land. Except as limited by the convenience of cultivation or irrigation, an orchard may be successfully grown upon steep hillsides whose fertility has not been washed away, leaving the rock too near the surface. California has the largest prune orchards in the world. A new one, taking three thousand acres, will be started next spring. There is room for a greatly increased supply of prunes, as they are not an article of common consumption in the average family, and the possibilities of this fruit in the cookery line have not been half learned yet. Prunes are healthful and cheap, these being two attributes desirable for articles to be common in the family. The prune orchards have a chance to increase the supply, and the demand will come up to it, even if that is a reversal of the old way of putting the saying. The Alessandro Orange Grove Company are plan- ning to plant about 200 acres of their Moreno prop- . erty to oranges. The following note on insect pests is taken from the New Mexico Entomologist: A new pest of apple was discovered at Mesilla lately. It is a small beetle boring in the bark; likely to be decidedly troublesome should it become numer- ous. It is hoped to make it the subject of a special investigation hereafter. Some peach orchards in Kern county are said to be damaged considerably by late frosts while most of the apricots have fallen off the trees. Pears are not hurt. RASPBERRY RUST. Raspberry rust is a great drawback to the pro- duction of that toothsome berry, and growers should look well to the spraying of the canes with the Bordeaux mixture at the first appearance of rust. It is alleged that in some parts of the country certain varieties have proven to be rust proof; among these may be mentioned the " Kansas " berry. BLACK ROT IN GRAPE. This disease is caused by the growth of a very small plant, which can only be seen with a microscope, belonging to the group of plants classed as fungi. Its growth starts from a spore, corresponding to seed in higher plants, germinating early in the spring and usually makes its first appearance on the leaves, in small brownish spots afterward upon the fruit. It can be prevented by spraying early with the Bordeaux mixture. A full discussion of the life history of black rot in the grape, methods of preparing and applying the Bordeaux mixture are given in illustrated bulletin No. 23 of the Texas Experiment Station. Judge Virden, of Mono county, California, has de- cided that sheep may not be watered in a creek which had been used for irrigating purposes by a rancher near Bridgeport. His decision was sustained by the Supreme Court. The injunction against the sheep men was made perpetual. — Rural Press. Dr. N. G. Blalock lately received an order for ten thousand fruit trees to be transplanted on lands reclaimed from the desert in the Yakima valley by irrigation. Two-thirds of the fruit of the world is grown on irrigated land. COLONY BUILDING IN ARID AMERICA. THE MARCH OF THE COLONIST. THE past winter has witnessed a notable growth in the movement of people to the irrigated lands. California is, of course, the principal field for winter operations, and we believe there were more homeseekers in California this past winter than ever before, except in boom times. Furthermore, it may be confidently predicted that next year's emigration to California will exceed this year's very largely. The number of practicable enterprises in the field has largely increased. The machinery they have erected in the East will begin to grind out its grist in earnest at the beginning of the next season. But other States than California are getting well under way with colonization plans. Extraordinary efforts are being put forth in behalf of the San Luis valley of Colorado. Plans for large operations are on foot in Utah. Several unique and interesting colonies are being worked up in connection with irri- gated lands in Idaho. Washington is also pushing rapidly to the front in this direction. A newspaper item reports the departure of a party consisting of more than 100 families from Kansas, bound for the Canadian Northwest. It is added that several other large parties will soon follow. Many of these people are well-to-do. They are leaving Kan- sas because they have become disgusted with the condition prevailing there. "The reader of such news must be impressed with the thought that it is a shame for those people to be permitted to go off into the far Northwest when there is a better field here for them to occupy," says the Boise (Idaho) Statesman. "They go there because that country has been adver- tised— because agents have been sent among them to portray its advantages to them. They do not come here because they have not been made acquainted with Idaho's superior attractions." Large clubs are being organized in Minnesota for the purpose of taking of lands in Florida. The South is showing much activity in this matter. A strong company has been incorporated at Baltimore to pro- mote colonization in the South. A despatch from Douglas, Wyoming, says : " J. M. Brockway, Alexander Brockway, James A. Brockway, David S. Brockway, Willard Virden, G. W. Dickson. Mrs. Matilda Foggett and Miss Maggie E. Brock, way of Douglas have just located 2,000 acres of the choicest land on the Fort Fetterman reservation near Douglas. It is the intention to at once begin the construction of an irrigating canal from the Platte river to irrigate the lands. The survey for the ditch has already been completed. It will require a large sum of money to complete the ditch, and it. is only through the combined efforts of the colony that it will be possible to carry the enterprise to a successful completion. The selection comprises some of the finest agricultural land in the State and the develop- ment of the tract will mean a great deal to the city of Douglas." A wave of emigration from eastern and central states seems to be flowing in the direction of South Dakota. They are settling up the artesian well belt and the tract opened by the Government in 1889. The artesian well belt comprises the James river val- ley and extends from Aberdeen south to Springfield. It has a large number of wells which supply on the average about seven thousand gallons of water per minute. These wells not only furnish water for irri- gation but motive power for the cities and towns. The settlers are not all farmers, some of them estab- lishing tanneries, fiber mills, dairies and fruiteries and other industries. Nevada is not behind her sister states in seeking settlers. The State Board of Immigration has issued a pamphlet for gratuitous distribution giving the re- sources of the State and illustrated with photogra- vures. The announcement is made by the Land of Sun- shine Company that Cosmopolis is only one of many colonies now being organized to settle on their lands in the vicinity of Merced, California. Wyoming reports that an Omaha colonization com- pany expects to locate on the Big Horn river during the summer, and will dig a canal to irrigate the land. Spokane, Washington, is making an attempt to se- cure settlers, and has organized a Bureau of Immi- gration to take charge of the work. Colorado expects to have a number of families of farmers and home-seekers settle on the irrigated lands within her borders this year. f t#^x>- ELECTRICITY AND WATER POWER. 1 A POWER plant on the upper waters of the San Gabriel river, California, is shortly to be con- structed for the purpose of furnishing electricity for power and other purposes for use in the Azusa val- ley. There will be 30,000 feet of six-foot cement tunnel through a mountain cliff, from which the water will fall 400 feet into the canyon below. The work is estimated to cost $250,000, besides the power and the electrical machinery. It is expected that the machinery will be in operation within a year. The above shows what is being done, and such ex- amples as Great Falls, Montana, and Wiliamette Falls, Portland, Oregon, where the current is trans- mitted fifteen miles from the falls to the city, shows what has and can be done. Electricity is the coming power, and in its relation to irrigation it has unbounded possibilities. The vast water power throughout the arid region in the majority of cases is absolutely going to waste, when at a comparatively small expense it could be utilized to run machinery for all purposes and pumps, which will pour the water on the thirsty land. And who can calculate the benefits when the touch of living water shall have made the desert blossom as the rose? Harness the water-fall and make it obey man's bidding in this, the great subject of the coming future — irrigation. Practical tests of an electric plow are being made by Siemens and Halske on a German estate. It is believed that such a plow would prove especially successful in Java, where the cattle plague has de- stroyed the draught animals, and large tracts of fertile land are being permitted to lie uncultivated in consequence. And if successful in Java, why not in Arid America, provided the cost of operating can be reduced to an economical basis. Prof. Alexander Graham Bell is working on a con- trivance which he claims will enable us to see by electricity. The vibrations of light being so much more rapid than those of sound, the difficulty hereto- fore has been to discover a diaphragm sufficiently sensitive to receive the vibrations and produce the effect necessary to convey the proper impressions to the human vision. Prof. Bell is confident that this can be done and is hopeful that he will soon be able to do it. And what a prospect! With the long distance tel- ephone one can now transmit messages from New York to Chicago, and the future promises still more wonderful things in that direction. With the pro- posed new instaument in connection one could see the party with whom he converses, and if it can be accomplished for that distance, why not for greater distances. Prof. Bell insists that the fact has been already demonstrated and that it only remains to construct the necessary apparatus to bring the discovery into actual and practical use. An arrangement for heating water by an incandes- cent electric lamp in the lighting circuit has been devised by M. Leon Pitot, of Paris, by which he util- izes 85 per cent, of the heat given out by the lamp. He claims that an eight-candle lamp will maintain the water at a temperature of 40 degrees centigrade, while a 16-candle lamp will maintain it at boiling point. The receptacle, holding about a pint, affords, with the larger lamp, boiling water in 10 minutes. — Iron and Industries. The San Antonio Electric Light and Power Com- pany of Pomona have a force of men at work in Mill Creek canyon, about ten miles above the Redlands Electric Light Company power-house, develop- ing water for electric purposes. When work is completed they will erect the necessary machinery and compete with our home company in furnishing Redlands electricity, as well as outside towns. — Red- lands Leader. This is a progressive age. The king of Korea has purchased an electric light plant in this country, which will have 3,000 incandescent lamps, and will illuminate the king's palace and grounds. The people of this far-off country can no longer be spoken of as " sitting in darkness." A movement is on foot to build an electric line from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek, Col., and to also connect Victor and Altman. A party of eastern capitalists is said to be behind the scheme. The council of Andrus, South Dakota, has the question of a municipal electric light plant under consideration. The new electric light plant at Hooper, Neb., will be in operation in a few days. 35 PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. CENTER OF POPULATION. A REMARKABLE feature of the spread of popula- tion to all parts of the United States is that the cen- ter of population has moved almost directly westward for the past 100' years. The following table, taken from the compendium of the eleventh census, recently issued by the Census Bureau, will present more com- pletely this interesting phase of American develop- ment: POSITION OF CENTER OF POPULATION, 1790-1890. "a £ oi •a >.S-o T3 3 ° i- rt s 2 'So Approximate Location Near «5 0 hi a a o Important Towns. «J| a Eri •« "£ 1J o CJ g ^ fe f • *• 1790 39° 16.5' 76° 11.2' 23 miles east of Baltimore, Md 1800 39° 16.1' 76° 56.5' 18 miles west of Baltimore, Md 41 1810 39° 11.5' 77° 37.2' 40 miles northwest by west of Washington, B.C.... 36 1820 39° 5.7' 78° 33.0' 16 miles north of Wood- 50 1830 38° 57.9' 79° 16.9' 19 miles southwest Moore- field, W. Va 39 1840 39° 2.0' 80° 18.0' 16 miles south of Clarks- burg, W Va 55 1850 38° 59.0' 81° 19.0' 23 miles southeast Parkers- burg, W. Va 55 1860 39° .4' 82° 48.8' 20 miles south Chillicothe, Ohio 81 1870 89° 12.0' 83° 35.7' 48 miles east by north of Cincinnati, Ohio — 42 1880 39° 4.1' 84° 89.7' 8 miles west by south Cin- cinnati, Ohio . . . 58 1890 39° 11.9' 85° 32.9' 20 miles east of Columbus, Ind 48 MORE WIND MILLS. Farmers in the vicinity of Garden City, Kansas, have'very generally equipped their places with irri- gating pumps and nearly every farmer around the city has now one of these pumps. Some calculate to irrigate only five or six acres but most of them with a capacity sufficient for twenty acres. It sounds rather strange, to say that one eight inch pump run by a four- 'teen^foot wind mill will successfully irrigate twenty acres in the dryest season, but such is the fact demon- strated by from one to four years' experience. An eight inch pump will pump six thousand gallons an hour with an ordinary wind, and one can readily figure the amount of surface it will irrigate. It easily fills a pond four feet deep and one hundred and fifty square in two days. This will run thirty-six inches of its water out on the level and will irrigate to a depth of two inches rather more than four acres at a time allowing for a percentage of loss by seepage and other waste. By starting early in the spring before the moisture is used for growing crops, and getting the ground thoroughly soaked they are able to keep twenty acres well watered the season through. This is not an experiment and is not theoretical. It is prac- tical and is done by a score of farmers around Garden City. Twenty acres well irrigated and divided up prop- erly will do what? Ten acres in alfalfa well watered will net $500 in cash every year and give at least sixty tons of good feed besides. This has been dem- onstrated over and over again. The other ten acres in orchard, small fruit and vegetables, together with half a dozen cows and some hens will nearly keep an average family. In other words, that twenty acres will run the average family without another dollar from any other source, and you are, with this outfit, independent of the season. Let us look at it from another point of view. Sup- pose every farmer had such a pump with a pond 150 feet square and twenty acres thoroughly irrigated each year. What would be the effect both on hot winds and the rainfall? Would it not rob the hot wind of its danger and increase the rainfall? No practical man can doubt that it would. NORTHERN NEW MEXICO. " Some people might think, what good can come out of Northern New Mexico?'1 writes a subscriber. " Well, I will tell you; we have the San Juan river, a stream of water sufficient to irrigate 100,000 acres of land, and we have the land to go with it. We have also the climate to go with the land and water. Now, what do we lack? We lack capital and enterprise. Make a visit to Durango, Colo., in the early fall and inquire as to where their fruit comes from and apples, peaches, pears, grapes, plums, strawberries, etc. vAsk to see and taste their honey, all of which comes from San Juan county, N. M. Take a trip down the Annimas river to Farmington, then up the Laplatta and see the ricks of alfalfa and the vegetables. Then you can have some idea as to what can be done on the San Juan river."' PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 37 The reclamation of our semi-arid lands by irriga- tion is a live subject that is stirring not only the dwellers upon the great plains, but men who are look- ing about now for homes. Kansas, Nebraska and Col- orado have a vast area of semi-arid lands, and just how to irrigate these lands in the most economic method is something very essential to know. The first step is a step to be taken by the government, not that the goverment is asked to construct the actual realities of irrigation, but that it should go to the cost of ascertaining the economic facts necessary to induce capital to enter upon the work on an intel- ligent basis. This is being done to a limited extent, but it is not being pushed in the manner in which it should be. Let it once be shown that a reasonable reward awaits the investment of capital in the recla- mation of arid lands and capital will be eager to for- ward such enterprises. Late reports indicate that work is being pushed on the Arrowhead system of irrigation in Southern Cali- fornia. Some 8,000 feet of tunnel will soon be com- pleted, and the necessary steps for impounding a vast quantity of water among the San Bernardino mountains are being taken. The management of the Pecos Irrigation and Im- provement Company, of New Mexico, is going to un- dertake to dispose of the alfalfa crop this year in eastern and European markets, to get the largest possible profit for producers. This course should be appreciated by the people. There seems to be a disposition on the part of large land owners to subdivide their immense holdings and sell them to actual settlers at a reasonable price. The coming time of small farms irrigated and inten- sively cultivated means the opening of a new era of prosperity. Wyoming has 30,000 square miles of coal deposits. There are 6,000 miles of irrigating canals, watering 2,000,000 acres. The canal cost over $10,000,000. The live stock interests exceed $100,000,000 in value. King county, Arizona, claims to have more wind- mills than any town of its size in the State and the supply of water seems practically unlimited. The Colorado desert will soon, with the application of water from the big river, become one of the love- liest gardens of the world. The Crow Creek Land Company, Colorado, owns 3,500 acres of good arable soil. Owning the Ogilvy ditch they are well provided with water, an average of 2,000 inches running in it daily.* This is a seepage ditch and is well supplied with water when neighbor- ing ditches are running scant. The land owned by this company is along the Platte river, the ranch house of Manager Ewing being situated about 10 miles east of Greeley. The company is dividing the land into small farms of 40 acres and upward and renting it to practical farmers. Last year the cultivated land produced per acre from 30 to 35 bushels of wheat, 40 to 45 bushels of oats and 125 sacks of potatoes. Congress lately assigned the space of twenty min- utes for discussion of the important topic of irrigation and after wasting an hour or two in filibustering against a motion to extend the time to sixty minutes compromised on thirty. The need of irrigation as a* method by which seventeen States and Territories could be practically added to the public domain and by which the agricultural and horticultural products could be multiplied and improved immeasurably, not to mention the sociological feature, was to be discussed in half an hour. It is to be hoped the congressmen will soon see the error of their ways. To find the horse-power required to elevate water to a given height, multiply the number of gallons raised per minute by 8%, and this by the height in feet, and divide the product by 33,000, which gives theoretical horse-power. In ordinary practice 50 to 100 per cent, should be added to provide for friction of pumps and water in pipes. Secretary Morton takes a conservative view of the irrigation question. The $10,000 appropriated by Congress are being used to gather available informa- tion that will enable the people to secure irrigation at the least expense. Texas farmers and stockmen are rejoicing over the break in the terrible drouth. They are going ahead with various irrigation enterprises, however, and some time will not dread the drouth as they do now. A newspaper item says the drouth in Southern California will result in a boom for irrigation. A local irrigation association has been formed at Indianola, Red Willow county, Neb. The canaigre tannin plant will soon be one of Ari- zona's most valued growths. A gallon of fresh water weighs 8.34 pounds, and contains 231 cubic inches. THE IRRIGATION AGE. CANALS. Arizona.— THE WILLIAMS DAM.— Twenty additional men have been added to the large force employed on the addition to the dam since the arrival of Lantry & Son's foreman, and work on the structure has commenced in earnest. Forty men are now employed on the work, and aside from the excavation being made a large force of men are busily engaged erecting the necessary derricks and putting the hoisting machinery in place Foreman Kennedy says that in all probability everything will be in readi- ness for the masons within a short time, when an additional force will be employed. With the completion of this work the capacity of the reservoir will be more than doubled, something like 41,000- 000 gallons, as estimated by Chief Engineer Burns. This will make the dam the largest in the southwest, and there need be no fear that it will ever give way, for in its construction nothing but the very best material will be used, concrete being the principal. The water in the Santa Cruz is lower than ever before, a fact which materially aids the work of development of water for the Canoa canal from the underground flow of that stream. More water is being developed daily, and there is an abundance for all crops The reorganization of the canal company is viewed with a great deal of satisfaction the entire length of the Casa Grande Valley, and it is anticipated that the new corporation will meet all the requirements of its franchise. With the water service reliable this valley will soon become a veritable paradise. Sunday there was a break in the canal, two or three miles above Arizola, through which a large quantity of water went to waste. At this season, when the pressure on the banks of the canal is normal only, such occurrences should not transpire, and could be prevented by a little watchfulness Trouble is likely to result to the Florence Canal Company and to the consumers because of shortage of water on the Pima and Maricopa reserva- tion. The yield of wheat in past years from these Indians has been from six to eight millions pounds annually. Last year, because of insufficient water, it was one million and three-quarters pounds, and this year it will be less. Their crops are suffering now, and in a short time will be without water. The lateral from the Florence canal, which was to convey water to the Gila river at a point just above the Montezuma ranch, where the first reserva- tion ditch is taken out, has never been completed, and the water guaranteed to these Indians by the company has never been fur- nished. New Mexico.— The seepage at the new Eddy dam has nearly ceased, though more earth is being thrown on the upper slope. The first rise that brings sediment will leave a cemented surface on the dam that will make it waterproof. California. — Representative Maguire has endorsed the idea of putting the various industrial armies to work at building irri- gation canals. He believes that the government should establish a national system of irrigation for arid lands, and give the labor- ers employed in building the canals an opportunity to find homes on the land reclaimed. The tracks served by the ditches would be allotted to the users on unlimited leases, but not sold. Un- doubtedly there are many men in these aggregations who honestly want to work. Undoubtedly there are many others who would be scattered by the offer of a job as effectively as by a gatling gun. It would be unnecessary to begin the construction of irrigation works on an enormous and unmanageable scale. One system of moderate extent in a single drainage area would provide for all the men who would be likely to take advantage of the offer of work, without straining the resources of the government. The men could be paid wages a little below the market rates, and part of this could be given them in scrip, receivable for rent of irri- gated lands. If the undertaking were in charge of army engineers and carried out with military discipline, there would be no danger of much annoyance from tramps. The construction of national irrigation works would be a benefit well worth attaining at any time, regardless of the needs of labor. The fact that it would also serve just now to relieve distress should not unduly prejudice conservative minds against it In the San Jacinto and Pleas- ant Valley Irrigation district there are now 1,000 inches of water flowing in the pipes, and but 2,000 acres of land under cultivation. The water taken from Santiago creek by the owners of the Sanjoaquin ranch is reducing the flow to such an extent that ranches below dependent upon it are suffering. Many of the alfalfa fields have been abandoned, the trees requiring all the water available. The San Joaquin people are taking fully one-half of the water. Legal proceedings will be instituted at an early date to restrain the owners of the big ranch from taking the water. It is now announced that the bonds of the Escondido Irri- gation district have been sold to Mr. Putnam, of New York, and that construction of the system will begin in a short time. As soon as work on that begins the extension of the Pacific Beach railway from La Jolla to Escondido is expected to be begun. Oregon.— The Three-mile Falls Irrigation Company's enter- prise near Umatilla is now nearing completion. The water is taken from the Umatilla river at Three-mile Falls. The ditch is five miles long, and will carry about twenty cubic feet of water per second, sufficient to irrigate 1,500 acres of the sandy soil in that locality. An orchard of 8,000 or 9,000 trees, mainly prunes, is already set out. Nebraska.— NORTH PLATTE. — Lincoln county is just now reaching out after a fair division of surface water. President I. A. Fort, of the State Irrigation Association, is indefatigable in pushing the work of organization. In this county ditches aggre- gating nearly 150 miles in length are already in process of con- struction The proprietors of the Meeker irrigation ditch offer to furnish water free for the purpose of watering trees that are planted along the highway under their ditch All the irri- gation ditches in the vicinity of Benkelman are now running in full blast with plenty of water, and are doing good service to their owners A contemplated improvement in the Minatare canal which is receiving a good deal of discussion down that way is the building of a new headgate this fall, and it is also urged that it be moved a half mile up the river in order to get more fall. This work, if done, will not be until fall, and it is expected that some enlarging will also be done The Holland ditch is now fur- nishing plenty of water with which to irrigate gardens, lawns and trees. Care should be taken not to use too much water The irrigating ditch begun at Rushville is mapped out for a distance of 200 miles, and will cost nearly $2,000,000 Work on theTor- rington ditch is progressing rapidly, and they had the luck to have two breaks in the ditch the first week through the gopher while testing the water to see if was fit to produce a few ears of corn for them next fall The North Platte Irrigating and Ditch Company held their annual meeting this week, and elected a new board of directors: Augustine Mason, president; William B. Coy, secretary, and William G. Curtis, treasurer. It is ex- pected that the ditch will be placed in excellent running order before another year sets in Work is shut down on the Nine- mile canal just now, the interested fanners being engaged in farm work. They are getting considerable water to use from seepage, although the headgate is not in yet. Before construct- ing the headgate the officers of the company will make a pilgrim- age in a body up the river and inspect the various gates, in order to get the benefit of others' experience in this line — KEARNEY.— The $60,000 bonds voted at last election for the widening and deepening of the canal to 9,000 horse power are now in the hands of the printer, and will be signed up and ready for the auditor to register the last of this week. The fact that this money will soon be put in circulation and that the canal will be so enlarged has inspired the citizens of Kearney with the old-time " gait," and already there is talk of building a handsome pavilion on the shores of Lake Kearney. Colorado.— The High Line Reservoir Company at a late meeting of the board of directors agreed to amend the articles of incorporation increasing the capital stock to $300,000. A new PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 39 rule was adopted, whereby stock in the company will be sold to anyone desiring to secure water from the canal The late heavy rains burst the banks of the Eaton ditch near Dry creek, northwest of Fort Collins, carrying away about forty feet of the bank. A large gang of men was set to work on the break and the necessary repairs were completed, and water is again running in the ditch DENVER. — Receiver for a Denver Water Com- pany— Austin G. Gorham has been appointed receiver of the Denver Land and Water Storage Company, on application of the State Trust Company, of New York. It has defaulted on interest. The franchise is estimated to be worth $1,000.000, the dam and ditches cost $489,000, and the company own 17,000 acres of land. Manager Alexander says the company will come out all right. Washington. — The prospects for the immediate construction of the Middle ditch were never more hopeful than at the present time. As the time draws near for the opening of the bids for the purchase of the $200,000 issue of bonds, correspondence is pouring in from every direction relative thereto. The attitude of capital is favorable to the enterprise and the directors are encouraged to believe that when they meet in June something definite will be known, if indeed the bonds are not sold at that time. The building of this ditcli means the opening up of 20,000 acres of choice farm land, more than doubling the present area now in cultivation in the valley. Irrigation has been practiced here just enough to prove it a grand success. It has served to bring barren sage brush land to the highest state of production, in fruit, cereals and everything known to agriculture. It has proven a success as an investment for capital, and has made farming successful wherever water is used WENATCHEE.— There are a number of parties expected who contemplate building a large irrigation ditch. It is believed that the enterprise will be carried forward, which will be a great benefit to the country around about Wenatchee, and will add many thousands of dollars to the trade of the business men of the town. Idaho.-— A. J. Crook says work will be commenced shortly on the extension of the Last Chance ditch in the Payette valley. The promoters of the enterprise are now considering the esti- mates, the lowest of which is $40,000. Utah.— A report from Rock Springs says the capitalists of the flourishing towns of Rock Springs and Lander will construct an irrigating canal in the immediate vicinity of the latter town. The canal will issue from Popoagie river, will cover 12,000 acres, and will be completed during the present year. NEW COMPANIES. New Mexico.— Certificate of the Northwestern Colonization and Improvement Company, of Chihuahua, filed, designating the principal office of the company at Cleveland, O., and the princi- pal place of business, Deming, N. M., and naming Gustav Wormser, of Deming, as agent, upon whom process may be served. Utah. — The Beaver Valley Land and Irrigation Company has filed articles of incorporation. The object of the corporation is to conduct the business of supplying water for domestic, muni- cipal and manufacturing purposes, and for the irrigation of land; also to construct and maintain reservoirs, canals, ditches, etc., together with necessary dams; also for the colonization, develop- ment, purchase and sale of real estate, and of water and water rights; also the building hotels and bath houses. Nebraska.— Carl E. Elving, Claes A, Elmen, G. Albert Bran- delle, Marten Noyd, Victor E. Johnson, Charles Ortmnd and E. B. Rood have corporated " The Swedish-American Coloniza- tion Company," of Omaha, Nebraska, to transact a general real estate business; to act as a bureau of information to home- seekers, induce immigration, and to secure manufacturing and business enterprises for towns and cities. Capital stock, $25,000. California.— Pasadena — Pasadena Highland Fruit Associ- ation, dealing in fruit, incorporated. Capital stock, $50,000 San Francisco— The Consumers Water Co., incorporated by A. G. Wheeler, C. E. Grosjean and Chas. Orpen, of San Francisco. E. L. Fitzgerald, of Berkley, and F. L. Van Meter, of Alameda. Capital stock, $1,000,000 Hanford, King's County— Upper Limeburger Slough Co., incorporated by Timothy Page, of San Francisco, John McAdani, Charles Latham and W. A. Long, King's County, Don Ray, of Gait, H.I. Rider, of Kingston, and C. W. Henderson, of Fresno County. Capital Stock, $10,000. Pasadena — Pasadena Highland Fruit Association, incor- porated by C. C. Thompson, C. E. Tebbetts, L. S. Porter, Byron Lisk, J. R. Clark, R. Cooley and Joseph A. Smyth. Capital stock, $50,000. Washington.— Spokane — Cascade Development Co., incor- porated. Capital stock, $500,000 Tacoma— Western Bay- Land Co., reported as having received deeds for $59,386 Vaugn Bay, Pierce County — Vaugn Bay Fruit Growers' Co., in- corporated by Geo. H. Bassett. G. W. Bradley, G. W. Pater, N. N. Davidson, for the maintenance of a horticultural library. Capital stock, $5,000, in 1,000 shares of $5 each. Kansas. — Cherryvale— The Cherryvale Water Co., incorpor- ated by J. C. McMurray, Worcester, Mass.; J. C. Mclntosh, Springfield, Mass., and others. Capital stock, $30,000 Salina — The Kouns Manufacturing Co., incorporated by Wesley Kouns, E. S. Fitzpatrick and others, to manufacture windmills and pumps. Capital stock, $50,000. Texas. — The Kitchen Irrigation and Manufacturing Co., of Menard county, has been chartered. Its capital stock is $2,000, and the directors are F. M. Kitchen, J. L. Alexander and William Menzie, all of Menard county Hillsboro — Sporger & McLeod awarded contract at $7,700 to put down an artesian well 2,000 feet. A company is being organized to own and control the well San Saba — San Saba River Irrigation Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $250,000 Atlanta— Atlanta Immigration Bureau, incor- porated. Capital stock, $2,500 Hempstead — The Hempstead Water Works Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $20,000. Colorado. — The Glenwood Orchard and Irrigation Co. has been incorporated to colonize the fruit lands lying under the Hallett canal. These embrace about 7,000 acres of the finest lands along the Grand river, between Rifle and De Beque, for thirty miles. They are to be divided into tracts of ten acres each, and are eminently adapted to the growth of all varieties of fruit. Denver — Farmers' High Line Canal and Reservoir Co. filed amendments to the articles of incorporation. Capital stock increased to $75,000, and made assessment Denver— New York Breenlow Land Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $10,000. Elias P. Collins, S. J. Collins and Frank Collins have incor- porated the Collins^ Reservoir, Drain and Irrigation Co. to oper- ate in Larimer county with $600 capital Denver— Cheyenne Land and Canal Co., incorporated by John M. Patterson, Eliz- abeth P. Slattery, Geo. B. Slattery and Orland J. Greer, of Kit Carson. Capital stock, $10,000 Denver— The Cross Cut Ditch Co., incorporated by U. M. Henderson, F. F. DeRush and O. J. White, with a capital stock of $5,000 Denver— The Utica and Colorado Land Co., incorporated by Chas. E. Cooper, Ed- ward P. Pawin and Charles M. Kendall, with a capital stock of $36,000 Denver — The Badger Engineering Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $100,000 Crystal— The Crystal Mountain Min- ing and Drainage Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $2,000,000. Fort Lupton— The Lupton Bottom Ditch Co. .incorporated, operating irrigating canal. Capital stock, $8,300 Colorado Springs — The Beaver Creek, Altman and Victor Reservoir and Pipe Line Co. .incorporated. Capital stock, $100,000 Delta — The Delta Orchard Co., incorporated, planting orchards, etc. Capital stock, $25,000. Washington, D. C.— The Bureau of the American Republics is informed that the plans of the North Peru Company, South America, for the irrigation of the valley of Piura have been approved The scheme involves about $5,000,000 of American capital. BEAR VALLEY MATTERS. EX-PRESIDENT GREENE WRITES AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF "THE AGE." CHICAGO, June 13, 1894. Wm. E. Smythe, Esq., Editor of THE IRRIGATION AGE, Chicago, lit. : DEAR SIR: I have before me the June number of your journal, containing an article which I understand to be a semi-official announcement of a plan for reorganization of the Bear Valley Irrigation Company, which has been in the hands of receivers since December of last year. You seem to have carefully ignored any statement of the causes which led to this great disaster, thereby denying to shareholders any consideration of the reasons which have led to the adoption of the plan as presented. The time occupied in reaching your conclusions, and for carrying on the negotiations, has, I think, been ample to have permitted the promulgation of something more satisfactory. It is quite true that the Bear Valley Company won the confi- dence of the investing public. How widely that confidence was disseminated will appear from an analysis of the stock list as given bejow. You make, as a statement of fact, that " Bear Val- ley obtained for its own and dependent companies something like $3,000,000. This came in part from New York and the New England States, and in part from foreign countries, principally from England, Scotland and Switzerland." It will interest shareholders, perhaps, to know just where it did come from, and I submit an analysis of the lists of shareholders of the several classes, as of date, May 3, 1883, since which time there have been comparatively few transfers. There are 20,000 shares held en bloc by the Bear Valley and Alessandro Development Company, as the equivalent of an equal number of shares issued by that company. Besides these there are 10,000 shares outstanding of the common stock, and about half as many of preferred. ANALYSIS OF THE TABLE.— Represented by percentages, there are held of the total in the United States, 74 per cent.; in Eng- land, 6Ji per cent.; in Scotland, 13 per cent.; in Switzerland, 5J£ per cent.; less than 2 per cent, being held in British provinces. The number of the shareholders of common stock ($1.000,000) is 387; of the preferred stock, 193; of the Development stock, 149. Total number of shareholders, 729. Of these, 71 hold but a single share each; 58 hold 2 shares; 216 hold 5 shares or less; a little more than half of all, 369 individuals hold less than 10 shares; 133 hold from 10 to 19, inclusive; 104 held from 20 to 49, inclusive; 37 hold from 50 to 99, inclusive; 58 hold from 100 to 499, inclusive; 6 individuals and 4 companies hold above 500 shares each. On page 226 of THE AGE you speak of the Company as being floated on the " still-hunt plan, and about which investors made TABLE, SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF SHAREHOLDINGS IN THE BEAR VALLEY IRRIGATION COMPANY. WHERE HELD. COMMON. PREFERRED. DEVELOPMENT. TOTAL. Holders. Shares. Holders. Shares. Holders. Shares. California 24 .109 102 36 13 708 840 1,163 710 138 8 108 21 7 2 451 1,424 127 143 7 57 62 14 10 13,241 3,425 1.839 888 14,460 5,689 3,129 1,746 145 30 149 1 125 18 40 2 5 8 5 10 40 100 254 1,947 2,189 4,593 Connecticut ; Massachusetts Rhode Island Ohio 1 2 30 49 New Jersey . 6 60 3 1 1 40 1 100 Vermont Illinois 1 25 1 18 Nebraska 1 40 1 2 Wyoming 1 5 Arizona 1 8 Minnesota 1 5 Maine 1 10 1 3 2 1 29 57 35 100 253 1,058 1,441 3,501 1 5 Malta 1 1 13 25 1 889 748 997 England 1 100 Totals 387 10,142 193 4,945 149 19,603 34,690 NOTE.— There is an. apparent excess above the 10,000 common, but it is clearly an error, as the exact number as issued is regis- tered by the Registrar. There are also 397 shares of the Development stock unaccounted for in this list, of which a part is held in Switzerland. While all of the Swiss holdings stand above as'in the one name, they are in fact distributed among a number of holders. BEAR VALLEY MATTERS. no inquiry from disinterested sources."* Nothing could be more unjust or further from the truth. From the first offering to the last there was the most thorough publicity. More than a half million publications were distributed; the public press of New England, and wherever else the stock was offered, was largely used, and the most thorough investigation was invited, every- where and always. A large party of agents and investors was taken to Redlands, and spent a week looking over the entire works and over all the territory to be reclaimed. Examinations were made by experts, and, at the instance of investors, often and over again, and the sales were made to many of the most careful and experienced investors and financiers of this and other countries. In fact, your own admission that the Bear Valley enter- prise was so constantly quoted, and exerted so great an influence in attracting the attention of investors to this class of securities, is a flat contradiction of the statement and innuen- does referred to. The result of each and every examination, with the one notable exception by Mr. Crouch, was the same, and now the united opinion of all who have previously examined it is confirmed by your announcement that a jury composed of " keen European minds, representing the most conservative element of foreign investors; men of ripe judgment from Eastern States, accus- tomed to rigid standards in the estimation of values and earning capacities; men of large affairs from Chicago, who are in the habit of penetrating financial propositions to the core; Califor- nians thoroughly familiar with all the local conditions related to the value of land and water; lawyers specially skilled in the legal questions involved in the complicated affairs of the Company and the plans proposed for its reorganization; still other parties brought to its councils broad knowledge of irrigation in its world- wide aspects, and were able to compare this typical enterprise with all others of prominence in various Western States and Ter- ritories. This was the character of the jury which passed upon the merits of Bear Valley, and weighed in its scales the various elements which enter into the problem of irrigation investments. The examination ivas thorough, rigid and merciless. The re- sult, as will be seen, was the triumphant vindication of irrigation securities as a class." Then, to make the application more direct, you go on to com- mend the special features of the Bear Valley Company's works— its "bold and successful engineering," "the character of the irrigation methods it has introduced— the most perfect in the world," " the character of the communities which have been built up under these beautiful canals." Then you prove the high value of its water supply— conclusively, I think— and estimate the value of the lands which the Company owns with a view to their reclamation, putting upon it a higher valuation in the assets than I have ever represented. Your statement of the earning capacity of the Company fully confirms my judgment and representations. It is gratifying, indeed, to me, to see Messrs. Allen and David- son directly committed to estimates which were controverted by Expert Crouch, upon whose report the action was taken which precipitated this catastrophe. Naturally, no one will find a deeper interest in your discussion of these statements than myself. The original plan of the Bear Valley organization, as published in the Redlands Orange Belt for December, 1890, and published by authority of the directors of the Company, was mine, and I am proud to claim it. It was not the fulfillment of but the departure from its contract promises, and the utter disregard of the obligations the direc- tory assumed which is responsible for the unfortunate collapse. The principle enunciated is a very simple one— that construc- tion shall be provided for from the sales of the capital stock alone; that earnings from all sources shall be subject to the *THE AGE stated precisely the contrary. Bear Valley was publicly placed on the market, of course.— EDITOR. charges for maintenance, and any surplus shall be divided among the shareholders, subject to reinvestment at their pleas- ure. And it is a correct principle which has been affirmed and approved by the opinions and acts of leading financiers in this country and Europe. Upon the representations then made to me by the leading directors and officers of the Company, the capital provided for was considered ample for all construction necessary to fulfill its contracts with the districts and individuals, and for a consider- able additional water supply. It was clearly stated that the capital of $4,000,000 would provide for the purchase of the property as it then stood, with $2,400,000 of the common stock. The property as transferred to the new Company scheduled at a cost valuation as much as the total of the stock, and, if valued on such a basis as you now adopt, would have amounted to more than double the amount paid for it. The balance of the stock, $600,000 of the common and $1,000,000 of preferred, was to be sold to realize the funds for construction. I was employed to make the sale because of my experience and previous success and standing. My contract was in BO sense a secret one. The commission allowed — 15 per cent. — was pub- licly known; it was not excessive, because I paid from it all advertising and traveling expenses as well as sub-commissions. The latter were uniformly 5 per cent, to local agents, and 2 per cent, additional to general agents, all advertising for their benefit being paid for by myself, in addition to the cash commissions named. How successful I was in selling the stock is attested by the above analysis of the shareholdings. That I believed in what I was selling is also attested by the same facts; had it been other- wise, the sales would not and could not have been made. Again I remark, it is exceedingly gratifying to find my judgment so fully confirmed by the verdict of so competent a jury. It may not matter to you, or to the parties who are managing this scheme of reorganization, what the causes were which led to this disaster, but it is a matter of vital importance for those who see this valuable property slipping out of their grasp just when its value is shown to be so great. It appears to me that you can hardly escape the responsibility which your relation to the great industry which THE IRRIGATION AGE represents imposes on you by such an avoidance of a dis- agreeable duty. No one knows better than you what those causes are and where the blame should lie. You say "there is no difference of opinion concerning the causes of the failure among the disinterested minds who have patiently and conscientiously studied its methods and its his- tory, its value and its prospects. The Bear Valley Irrigation Company -was -wrecked by the under-development of its indus- trial opportunities and the over-development of its stock-jobbing Possibilities" Here is the kernel of a very serious charge. Who did it? Who was responsible for it? Why do you avoid the statement and discussion of such facts? Everything done is matter of record. You can place the blame if you choose. You decline to appor- tion " the credit and discredit which was accumulated in a few brief years of extraordinary financiering, engineering and promotion," while you admit that " in the midst of much adven- turous speculation and unscrupulous manipulation, there was a good deal of creditable achievement." You choose to make the parties entitled to the credit share in the odium of this outrage- ous failure. This is not an injustice to me alone; it is especially a wrong to Mr. Hall, whose engineering accomplishments there are in advance of any hitherto achieved in this country, and which have received high enconiums from foreign engineers of large experience and highest professional standing. You say on page 227: "Its managers capitalized the future and clipped coupons from their imagination." If they did these things there were liable to punishment under the law, and had you examined as to the facts you must have found the statement tb be untrue. You have evidently overlooked the fact that such a THE IRRIGATION AGE. charge was made in a vicious suit in the Superior Court, prosecuted with all the venom which malice and self-interest could prompt, and yet the Company was fully exonerated. An injunction was sought at the same time to restrain the payment of the last dividend which was declared, and, after a most exhaustive ex- amination, the court decided there was no ground for such an injunction. I assert unhesitatingly that no dividend was paid except from realized earnings and net profits. The property was not over- capitalized in any sense of the term. The offerings of the capital stock were to provide for construction, and the purpose was clearly and honestly stated. The business was conducted on the lines laid down in the original proposition. It was the departure from that representation and contract with me and with the shareholders which has made all the trouble. Whatever difference of opinion there may be as to the policy of paying dividends after the money raised for construction had been diverted to other purposes than that for which it was speci- fically obtained, and when the dividend fund was needed or could be used for construction, it could not have been so used without a violation of the contract with the purchasers of the stock— a contract as valid and binding as any other which the Company ever did or ever can make. The ignoring of all profits as legitimate from the sale of land — net above all cost and expenses— and to insist that the Com- pany had no other source of profit except from annual water rentals is in no sense fair or just, and is contradicted by the present proposition and showing. The realization of profit from such sales was just as much a part of the business for which the Company was organized and empowered by its charter as the delivery of water and its sale directly. In January you published in THE IRRIGATION AGE an open letter from the former managing director, with comments in- spired by him that were peculiarly unjust, and when I responded to them you published my communication, but announced that no more should be said through your columns, although you then added to it comments calculated to discredit my statements and distinctly accrediting Mr. Brown. While admitting he had sold all of his stock, you proceed to say that he had evaded no respon- sibility, " moral or financial." The one he never recognized, and as to the other you will hardly claim now that under Cali- fornia law he did not evade financial responsibility by disposing of his stock. You said further, upon his authority, that I removed my profits further east, while he had been engaged in a philanthropic effort to protect the people of Redlands, wholly oblivious of the fact that I had purchased the last 200 shares from Brown to help in ridding the Company of him, and the further fact that I had ex- pended more than $40,000 within the year in the cultivation of the Alessandro lands, at my own risk, and that by reason of the panic, although we harvested a good crop, I suffered a direct loss of more than $80,000 by it, and the further fact that I had bought 400 shares of the Alessandro Land Company stock, and 820,000 of the Town Company stock, paying the same net price as paid by all others. All of these stocks I have been compelled to pledge as security, as well as most of my other property, on account of losses incurred through this wrecking disaster— one as deliberately planned and mercilessly carried out as ever dis. graced the annals of corporate management in California or any other state. It has been frequently stated that I " unloaded," or sold, my stocks in time to save myself. I take the opportunity to say here that such was not the case. I made no sales after the trouble begun for my own account and protection, but, on the other hand, was a constant buyer, and shall be loser to the full amount of my investments in common with other share- holders. You have admitted in conversation that you are better advised now than you were then. Why do you not admit it through your columns as an act of justice due? Why do you permit yourself to be party to placing the odium for others' mismanagement, or worse, on my shoulders, and for their protection? There have been many illegal acts done — many of them. Why do the perpetrators escape punishment? Your own statement gives grounds enough for an investigation. Now, let us examine the proposed plan for reorganization. You do not state it fully — only generalize. You say the capital- ization of the new Company is to be $4,000,000, and, by your own showing, sustained by that of your very expert jury, it will not be over capitalized. But will it not be pertinent for me to ask, " Why if the future was capitalized before it will not be now?" You announce it will require 51,250,000 to pay the indebtedness. Shareholders will probably ask: "How is the liability so much increased above the amount said to be due when the Company went to the receiver? " Who will have the benefit of this increase when the payment is provided for, and what does it represent as returned to the Company, if anything? It is quite likely that I am not regarding my own interest in asking these questions no more than I regarded it in giving a year of faithful and onerous service in hopes of protecting the shareholders who had trusted me. You say that from the beginning of the negotiations it was the purpose and effort to formulate a plan which would enable those who had made a genuine investment in the old Company to pro- tect themselves and share in the benefits and profits of the new enterprise. You do not state the terms on which they can share, but from Mr. Cragin I learn that the $2,500,000 of bonds to be issued— one-half to pay the debts and the balance for construc- tion— are to be offered to the old shareholders at par, with a bonus of an equivalent amount of shares in the new Company. Evidently there is no protection in this for those who are unable to double their investment. You say, "It is probable that nearly all the old stockholders, American and foreign alike, will become stockholders in the new company." As there is outstanding $3,500,000 of old stock, and only $2,500,000 of bonds to be issued, the query suggests itself, how can it be done? Then, again, it is proposed to issue $4,000,- 000 of the new stock. If only the equivalent amount of that is given to the bond purchaser, what becomes of the excess ($1,500,- 000)? How is it to be divided? Who will get it, and on what account? Is it possible that the parties who have criticised my commission of 15 per cent, as excessive (which included all expenses) share in this large profit of this reorganization deal — almost 40 per cent. ? These queries are propounded on the supposition that it is the honest purpose to protect the old shareholders, as you announce. If not so, if it is simply a consummation of the original wreck- ing scheme with the syndicate parties to derive its advantages and profit by the opportunities, then there may be nothing said. They will have the legal right, undoubtedly, to buy it for as little as they can at the auction block and divide it as they choose. There ought to be no pretense of philanthropy under such conditions. The announcement is a clear admission that when the Com- pany went into the hands of the receivers it had a vast abund- ance of assets. The statements bearing my signature as president of the Company, and by authority of its directors, have not been attacked or controverted. Except as to the increased indebted- ness before referred to, there is no material difference in your showing and mine. Of the $850,000 then due, nearly or quite one- half would not mature in a year, and $300,000 not until Novem- ber, 1895. Your estimate as to requirements for the completion of the plant is pratically the same as mine. Your valuations of the property are higher than mine, especially when we con- sider the embarrassments to follow the discredit of the bank- ruptcy proceedings. In a word, there was no misrepresentation on my part as to the condition and the intrinsic value of the property from first to last. BEAR VALLEY MATTERS. 43 The trouble was that the acts and methods of the directors of the Company— before I took the executive management— de- stroyed public confidence. And here I wish to note it was not the directors who staid by it to the end who should carry all the blame. I have really less respect for those who permitted their influential names to be used to secure these investments, all of them profiting either directly or indirectly from the proceeds, who, when they dis- covered the mismanagement of the Company affairs, hastened to dispose of their holdings to escape responsibility, moral and financial, and to throw upon others the burden of disgrace for which in equity they were equally responsible. But what can be done about it? It is clear that the property is too valuable to be sacrificed or abandoned, and it is too large for a single individual or for a few to save. My judgment was and is that the better course would have been for the receivers, under authority of the court, to have made assessment for enough to pay the indebtedness upon all shareholdings. Thirty per cent, would have been enough at that time; now it will require forty per cent, on the outstanding stock. It would be a hardship, but would afford better opportunity for all parties to save their holdings. They can easier raise forty than one hundred per cent., and they would have a far better value in their holdings. With the in- debtedness paid in full the property would belong to the share- holders who were able to pay, and to others who might purchase the forfeited shares. It would then be a far better security for such bonds as it might be desirable to issue for the completion of the canals, etc. Under such circumstances, 51,000,000 of bonds, with what could be realized from the sale of real and personal property held by the company, would be an ample amount. The stock would be far more valuable, then, with the smaller amount of bonded indebtedness. It would be necessary, if such a course should be adopted, to make a distribution of the 20,000 shares held en bloc by the Development Company to its shareholders, so they would be put on equal footing with other common shareholders as individuals. I do not believe that the plan as announced can be carried out. It ought to fail; it is unjust. In their extended negotiations with the representatives of the syndicate the receivers appear to have overlooked the general shareholders, failing to inform them of the results of their ex- amination as made officially. I think they have made a report to the court, but if it has been sent to the shareholders I have not been advised. Evidently a leader is needed to represent the shareholders at large, and without good leadership there is not much hope that any effective work can be done. Is it impossible that such a leader can be found? My personal effort in that direction was unsuccessful, the combinations against me being too powerful. Perhaps another who would excite less personal animosity and antagonism from the parties who have been really responsible for this disaster by their criminal or weak management can be found. He ought to be discovered quickly or it will be of no avail. Respectfully, CHAS. W. GREENE. New settlers on public lands, in the arid regions, especially, should heed a later decision of the Secre- tary of the Interior. He approves the draft of a cir- cular to be issued soon governing applications for the right of way over public land for canals, ditches and reservoirs. The right is held to extend only to the construction and no public timber or material is allowed to be taken up or used for repairs or irn- provements. The department ruling of March 21, 1892, holding that natural lakes, already sources of water supply, shall not be used for reservoir pur- poses, nor shall rivers be dammed so as to cause an overflow into the adjacent country is overruled. All persons settling on public lands to which a right of way has been attached for a canal, ditch or reservoir are required to take them subject to this right. Interest in electricity in its application to horticul- ture is increasing in Boston and throughout Massa- chusetts. The people are anxious to know more upon this interesting subject, and to enlighten them upon these matters, Mr. Bailey, Professor of Horti- culture, Cornell University, gave a lecture on electri- city and its latest application to horticulture, Satur- day afternoon, in the Horticultural Hall, which was attended by a large and deeply interested audience. The lecture proved to be a rich intellectual and sci- entific treat. — Exchange. INFORMATION WORTH KEEPING. " Water Supply for Irrigation," by Frederick H. Newell, has been received from the Department of the Interior — Geologi- cal Survey. It is replete with maps and diagrams. It discusses in detail the Missouri, Yellowstone and Platte river basins. It is a valuable publication for all irrigation organizations. A miner's inch of water is equal to 9 gallons per minute. Doubling the diameter of pipe increases its capac- ity 4 times. A cubic foot per second is equal to 50 miner's inches, or 450 gallons per minute. Theoretically, water can be raised by suction 33 feet, but practically only 25 to 28 feet. A cubic foot of fresh water weighs 62.5 pounds, and contains 1,728 cubic inches, or 7.5 gallons. Twenty-seven thousand one hundred and fifty-four gallons of water will cover 1 acre 1 inch deep. Two hundred and twenty-five gallons per minute or 25 miner's inches will be sufficient to cover 1 acre 1 inch deep in 2 hours, 1 minute. PUBLISHER'S DEPARTMENT. THE HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRIES OF THE KERN DELTA. THEY are having a thrifty season in the Kern Delta colonies, California, this summer. The serious drouth in many parts of the State creates an immense demand for alfalfa at high prices. Kern county is an enormous producer of alfalfa, and those of her citizens who have land in this crop will enjoy a splendid prosperity. Every new settler in Kern Delta should put some of his land into the marvelous forage plant. While this year's demand and prices are phenomenal, alfalfa is always a profitable crop here. Let us look for a moment at other Kern county industries : THE APRICOT. Kern county is the apricot's home, and it may be depended upon for a good yield with each returning season. The tree matures early and produces fruit when very young. The fourth year from planting a fair crop will be produced. From that time on the crop increases yearly, and not infrequently the yield is fabulous. The returns from this fruit will average better than from the peach, the annual net, based upon years of experience, being $ 100 to $150 an acre. The product may be sold in its fresh state, but it is a better practice to dry it, which may be done at home. The dried fruit, with proper management, should not cost the producer over two cents per pound, and sells at from six to fifteen cents. THE PEACH. For the production of the perfect peach Kern county reigns supreme. The trees of all varieties grow with unusual thrift, are remarkably free from disease. They are long lived, bear early and produce large, high-colored, luscious fruit. A fair yield is often forthcoming at three years from planting in the orchard; at four years good crops are the rule where proper methods of cultiva- tion are pursued. From that time on until the trees are fully matured (eight to ten years) the product in- creases almost beyond belief. Ten tons per acre is not an unusual harvest from a full-grown orchard. The profits of peach-growing depend upon condi- tions that vary more or less each year; $400 per acre has been realized, and even more, but usually less. Past experience, however, warrants an expectation of a net average of f 100 per acre per annum. The number of trees to the acre varies with different growers from 75 to 108. Young trees cost 8 to 15 cents each. THE PRUNE Has not been so extensively grown in Kern county as either the apricot or peach. There are numerous old trees, however, and thousands of young ones have been set in orchard form. The amount of fresh fruit which is born by mature trees would be phenomenal but for its frequency; 1,300 pounds have been taken from a single tree ; 300 to 500 pounds is common to trees eight to ten years old. A desirable quality of the prune additional to its prolific yield is that it is so easily and inexpensively prepared for market. Experts claim that three- fourths of a cent per pound will cover everything. The curing can be done entirely in the open air. GRAPES. There is a fine field for profit in growing the vari- ous kinds of table grapes for the eastern market. The favored varieties are the Flaming Tokay, Rose of Peru, Black Morocco, Cornichon and Ferrara. SaWOOL*WOOL*WOOL+WOOI.*WOOI.*WOOL*WOOL COMMISSION OOL SILBERMAN FOR 28 YEARS ?L!^2M!?S$8. BUSINESS and have maintained confidence and successful relations with wool growers and the trade. Our reliability la vouched for by Chi- cago banks and mercantile houses. Established 1866. 2 ' ?-2 ' 4 Michigan Street Chicago, Illinois. 44 THE HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRIES OF THE KERN DELTA, 45 The first named is very popular. Its bright red color, large size, generally handsome appearance and shipping qualities, which serve to carry it to the market in fine condition, render it popular in the East and enable it to command the highest prices. It is easily grown and produces large crops. A number of the choicest varieties of foreign grapes are under successful cultivation in the Kern Delta. They thrive in every part of the valley and foothills, and are easily cared for and bring quick returns. Quite a crop is harvested the second year from planting, increasing annually until 15 to 20 tons to the acre are sometimes gathered. THE RAISIN. California is the only one of the United States which produces raisins, and no part of the Golden State excels Kern county. Thousands of acres are now planted to the raisin vine, and the quantity and quality of the product are the best. Raisins are chiefly made from the Muscat raisin grape, but the seedless varieties are extensively grown, produce abundantly, and have paid well. The process of raisin making is extremely simple. It consists simply of spreading the ripened fruit upon wooden trays and exposing it to the sun in the open air, where it is cured to perfection. When cured, the raisins are put into " sweat boxes " and sold to the packers. One pound of raisins is made from 3 to 3J^ pounds of fresh fruit, and the grower who realizes S% to 4 cents per pound for raisins gets a good return upon his capital and labor, while prices in the eastern market warrant him in expecting a much better figure. OLIVES. That the olive gives good results in Kern county has been proven by long experience. There are a number of aged trees which have produced heavy crops regularly for years. The many orchards plant- ed later are more than justifying the expectation which induced their planting. Olive culture is one of the industries of California, and a more promising one no country need desire. The bearing orchards of to-day are bringing uni- formly good returns to the orchardist, and the field for production and the market for the product are unlimited. The trees are easily grown and cared for, are very tenacious of life, withstand much neglect, and will grow upon soil of inferior quality, but better, of course, upon the rich soil which is so abundant here. THE PEAR. The popular pear in the Kern Delta, as elsewhere in California, is the far-famed Bartlett. It has a wide range throughout the state, but nowhere does it more nearly approach perfection than here. The equable climate during the ripening season, which is exceptional to this locality, frequently brings the entire product of the orchard to maturity with scarce a discernible blemish. The skin is uniform, smooth and waxy, the blush is beautifully tinted, the texture all that may be desired, the flavor superb. To properly ripen the pear, here as elsewhere, it must be gathered when apparently green and allowed to mellow in the dark. This fact admits of it being packed when in condition to withstand a long ship- ment, and enables it to reach its destination in prime condition and flavor, and substantially without loss. In the orchard the trees are set 20 to 24 feet apart, or say from 75 to 100 to the acre. They come into bearing four years after planting, and the product increases year by year thereafter. A mature pear orchard of 20 acres is a competence to a man who gives it deserved attention. For further particulars about Kern county lands, address S. W. Fergusson, manager, Bakersfield, Cal. W. W. MONTAGUE & GO. MANUFAOTUBEHS OF ALL SIZES Irrigating, Mining, Power Plants, Artesian Wells, Water Works, Town and Farm Supply. SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIVETED. WATER PIPE Made in Sections of any Length Desired 13 to 28 Feet. The Cut on the left shows a Section of Five joints of pipe. DOUBLE RIVETED IN LATERAL SEAMS. Particular attention given to Coating Pipe with our "EUREKA." Composition, a Special Mixture Containing Wo Coal Tar. Iron Coated with this Composition is Rust-Proof and Rendered Imper- vious to the Alkalies of the Earth, is Practically Indestructible. iron Cut, Funded and formed for Making Pipe on tie Gronnd Wnere Repired. 309-317 Market St., San Francisco, Cal. THE IRRIGATION AGE. SPECIAL OFFER. 3 Months for IO cents and a Cook Book FREE. THE HOUSEWIFE A bright, chatty and newsy illustrated paper, published for and in the interest of woman every- where. Its columns are filled to overflowing with Fashions and Descriptions, Literature, Home Decorations, Science, Art, Practical Hints on Housekeeping, Etc. Serials by Prominent Authors. Short and interesting stories for old and young, by well-known contributors; and, in fact, everything that makes a household paper desirable. At all times the paper is a welcome guest. %V K \\.VXT VO I TO *KK OUR PAPER, and to that end, make you this grand special offer. To introduce our popular paper into new homes where It is not already taken, we -will send the HOUSEWIFE for three months for 10 cents In postage stamps or silver; also a Cook Book Free. Send for this Queen of the Household, Address, THE HOUSEWIFE, 81 Warren St., N.Y. City. IRRIGATION HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO. The Pecos Valley Irrigation and Improvement Com- pany of Eddy, New Mexico, have opened a suite of offices, Nos. 417-420, in the Chicago Stock Exchange, corner Washington and La Salle streets, Chicago, and will have on exhibition a fine display of irrigated fruits and cereals from the valley of the Pecos. This is a move in the right direction, and will be an accommo- dation to the public, as anyone desiring information can there obtain it, accompanied by a practical demon- stration and proof of the fertility and success of an irrigated farm. The company will be represented in Chicago by Mr. J. P. Massie and a corps of assistants, who will be pleased at any and all times to furnish reliable and accurate information, data, etc. Mr. J. P. Massie is an old resident of that section of the country, and has made irrigation a study and is com- petent to inform the public, and is at any time ready to receive parties who are or desire to become inter- ested. The Pecos Valley Irrigation and Improve- ment Company is one of the strongest and most successful irrigation projects in the United States, and has a record that is enviable. We predict that this move will be of benefit to irrigation interests in general. A cordial invitation is given to all irriga- tionists to make this office headquarters while in Chicago. BICYCLES $2SBicyrlefor$12.6O $16 " 9S7.50 $126 " fC2.50 , Send for large'illustr'ated Catalogue Pree ION, 1C2 W.Van Bnrcn BC,B 18, Chicago,!!!. Any where to anyo '11 styles and prices. ADVERTISER WANTS POSITION OF TRUST with Irrigation company which requires a competent superintendent with long experience in handling water, also in vine and tree growing and general irri- gation farming. Experience gained in California and New Mexico. Best references as to capability and character. Address, IRRIGATION AGE. PATENTS Promptly secured. Trade-Marks, Copyrights and Labels, registered. Twenty-five years ex- perience. We report whether patent can be secured or not, free of charge. Our fee not due until patent is allowed. 3'£ page Book Free. A new method of mining-, milling, roasting- and smelting- different kinds of ores has been successfully demonstrated in Germany and is now being- introduced with unprecedented suc- cess. The slow and cumbersome methods heretofore employed, will be discarded, and the cost of various ores in treatment or conversion into metal, especially L.ead. Zinc and Silver Ores, Nickel, Cobalt and Copper, greatly reduced. All the matte of the latter, which was heretofore sent to Germany, is now being- refined in the United States. THE HARTSFKLD GERMAN MINING SYNDICATE, of NEWPORT, KY., invite* corre- spondence. (See their advertisement.) I Will Get You Settlers, If your irrigation enterprise is not doing well for the want of settlers, and can pay a salary of $1,000.00 and 3 per cent, commission on water sales and 1% per cent, on land sales, try me. I make a business of colonizing and am very successful. Settled 75,000 acres of Government land during 1893. Am thor- oughly posted on the U. S. land laws and irrigation of all kinds. I work on a different basis from any one else — one that brings in the settlers. References: present employers. Also refer, by permission, to THE AGE. Can begin work on 30 days' notice. ADDRESS, PRACTICAL IRRIGATOR, Care of THE AGE, Chicago. EXAMINER OF LANDS. We make a specialty of examining lands. Intending Purchasers and Colonists will find it to their special benefit to have an expert's opinion before they buy land in California. Correspondence solicited. E. E. OWENS, Los Angeles, Cal. At T Price nirrtlcn, Watches, Gnns, Bugeles, Harness, Sowing machine*, Organ*, Pianos, Safe*, Tools Srslvs of nil Varieties and KMM) other Articles. Lists Free. CHICAGO SCALE CO., Chicago, lit MINERAL ORE DEPOSITS now Idle for want of funds to develop, can find practical and financial as- sistance by corresponding with IIAKTSKKM» ttEKMAN JII\l-\'«; SfJNDHJATE, NEW- PORT, KIT. '£fHfH?^t^Hf£^^^^?J^ T^ * * * ii Pag io S a rule, it does; it is easy to see that the men who advertise extensively almost invariably succeed in building up a large business. But the ques- tion is Does it pay in The Irrigation Age? The advertisers who use these columns testify quite unanimously in the affirmative. Consider for a moment why it must pay to advertise in THE IRRIGATION AGE. 1. It is the distinctive journal in half a continent, and in that half which must necessarily enjoy the largest and fastest development from this time on, 2. It represents the only large field where the agricultural industry can ex- pand in the United States, and it is good business sense to make a line of goods thoroughly well-known there, with a view both to immediate and future results. 3. The farmers of the arid region are more uniformly prosperous than those who are afflicted by crop failures, and they are therefore more profitable cus- tomers as a class. 4. They use more and better goods of all kinds for the same reasons. 5. They are the most intelligent farmers in the world— brains are required to get the best results from irrigation-and they are naturally the first to recognize a good thing. 6. They are confronted on all sides by new problems-How to use water to the best advantage— How to cultivate each acre to get the best results— How to develop the most attractive communities. These problems make them eager to consider and to buy whatever will help them to get ahead. 7. THE IRRIGATION AGE is the only publication that reaches this peculiar field in a broad way. It is the friend and champion of Western America and has a powerful influence with its field. Every business man who has anything to get before the large, enterprising and multiplying public in Western America should advertise in this journal. Send for rate card and advertisers' testimonials. THE IRRIGATION AGE COflPANY, 511 TMTHSONIC CHICAGO, ILL. Publisher's Announcements The Irrigation Age in the East URING I894...77/E IRRIGATION AGE... desires to extend its circulation very largely among the Eastern States. It already has a large constituency there, but it should be multiplied many times during the next twelve months. If this is accomplished it will be a benefit alike to Western and Eastern interests. There are thousands of home seekers in the East and thousands of homes awaiting them in the West. Special Inducements for Eastern Circulation In view of the benefits to follow the wide circulation of the great Champion of Irriga- tion among the masses of the East... THE AGE...ha.s decided to offer special inducements for that class of circulation. Write for 'Special Introduction Terms East of the Mississippi River. These will be granted only when specially requested, so that it shall be an apparent result of this advertisement. LAND AND WATER ENTERPRISES in the West should also write for special terms for "List of Five" and "List of Ten" TO BE SENT TO EASTERN ADDRESSES. A generous response to the "Club Proposition" will bring better results than any other form of spreading information. A Monthly Tour of the World THE KERN COUNTY LAND COMPANY says: "We have frequently called upon the...lRRIGATION AGE. ..to present our properties and ALWAYS WITH GOOD RESULTS." Every company having desirable Irrigated Lands for sale should follow the example of the most progressive and successful land enterprise in California. There is a great and growing demand for these lands. People write and call every day at the Chicago Office of ...THE AGE... Some want lands in Idaho, Washington and Oregon; some in Montana, Utah and Nevada; some in Arizona, Ca if^rnia, Colorado and New Mexico. The general public thinks that an Irrigated Land proposition that does not advertise in the pages oL.JHE IRRIGATION AGE...must be either very dead or very bad. Why don't you invite your Land Proposition to accompany.. .THE IRRIGATION AGE... in its MONTHLY TOUR OF THE WORLD? THE IRRIGATION AGE P. O. Box 1019 CHICAGO IRRIGATION ENGINEERS.— MISCELLANEOUS. C. W. ALDRACH, S'Atf" Clts" Irrigation A Specialty EXAMINATIONS AND REPORTS MADE FOR INVESTORS. BONDS NEGOTIATED. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED... YANbERQGDK ENQRAV1NQ ANb PUB. CO., Supply you with anything in the line of Engraving by THREE METHODS of Engraving: WOOD ENGRAVING, ZINC ENGRAVING, HALF-TONE PROCESS. Illustrating of Town, Family Histories, Land Company Catalogues, Fine Souvenirs, Books, and other Publications requiring High-grade Engraving. Engravings for College Annuals, Board of Trade Publications. SPECIALISTS IN HALF-TONE WORK. 407-415 DEARBORN ST., - - CHICAGO, U. S. A. j| POTATO DIGGER THE "HOOVER" 32-page pamphlet free Mention this paper. HOOVER, PROUT & CO,, AVERY, 0. DISCOVERY Which is protect- ed by letters Patent from the United States. By the ad- mixtures of several natural substances and pure quartz sand we are able to prc duce a very strong, durable and cheap material from which very superior Water and Sewer Pipe can be made. The strongest acids and gases will not affect It. No skilled labor, expensive plant or machinery are required to manufacture it. It can be manufactured where used, thereby saving expensive freights and cartage. Patented March 20, 1894, by CARTER & HINMAN, 228i><-aram'f ana the inif.it stamp correspona* to that on a regular bound volume. The magazines are instantly ana securely held in the covers by thin steel slats, which run lengthwise through the magazine. This binder has no equal, since it is just as attractive when partially as when wholly filled, and does not in the least muti- late the contents. Price $1.00. THE IRRIGATION AGE, 51 1 Mastnic Temple, CHICAGO, ILL. MENTION THE AGE WILL MAKE A VALUABLE VOLUME. RAILROADS OF ARID AMERICA. UNION PACIFIC The Overland locate, IS THE HOST DIRECT LINE FROM . . . THE MISSOURI RIVER ALL°PRINCIPftL POINTS WEST, And on account of the varied character of the country it traverses, offers to those who contemplate going West a more greatly diversi- fied territory to select from than does any other TRANS-CONTINENTAL LINE. Passing as it does throngh NEBRASKA, KANSAS, TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, WYOMING, UTAH, IDAHO, MONTANA, OREGON and WASHINGTON, every business Interest is to be found along Its line. UNEQUALCD ADVANTAGES FOR THE FARMER, THE STOCK RAISER, THE MINER AND THE BUSINESS MAN. For pamphlets descriptive of the above named States or Terri- tories, or any information relative to the Union Pacific, eall on or address any agent of this Company, or W. T. HOLLY, Gen'l Agent, 191 S. CM St., Chicago. E. DICKINSON, Gen'l Mgr., E. L. LOMAX, Gen'l Pass. & Ticket Agt., OMAHA, NEBRASKA. RIO GRANDE WESTERN RY. RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILWAY The only Standard Gauge Route penetrating the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The only Line passing directly through Salt Lake City to and from the Pacific Goaat. Situated on this line, awaiting settle- ment, are Homes for Millions of People In a Land Fair and Rich. THE ONLY LINE Offering passengers the choice of three routes through the Rocky Mountains, the scenery of either being the marvel of two continents. Running solid trains between Denver, Pueblo and Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City and Utah. Offering pass- engers of all classes free reclining chair cars between Denver, Salt Lake and Ogden. W In the development of Utah and her magnificent resources the Rio Grande Western has always taken the lead. See that your freight is routed over the Rio Grande Western Railway, and that your tickets read the same way. D.C. DODGE, Gen'l Manager; A. E. WELBY, Gen'l Supt.; J.H. BENNETT, Gen'l Pass, and Ticket Agt. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Send 25 cents to J. H. BENNBTT, Salt Lake City, for copy of Utah, beautifully illustrated. IFOBNIA 3i DAYS Variable Route Tourist tickets allowing privi- leges never be- fore accorded? can be obtained with full infor- mation, upon application to any ticket agent, or to the General Pass- enger Agent, CHICAGO. FROM CHICAGO. All meals served in Dining Cars. Palace Drawing- Room Sleeping Cars and Tourist Sleepers are run through to San Francisco without change, leaving Chicago via the North-Western Line, CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RY. " Scenic Line of tbe World." THE DENVERAND RIO GRANDE RAILROAD PASSING THROUGH Salt Lake City EN ROUTE TO AND FROM THE PACIFIC COAST. The Popular Line to LEADYILLE, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, ASPEN AND BRAND JUNCTION. The Most Direct Route to TRINIDAD, SANTA FE and NEW MEXICO POINTS Reaching all the principal towns and mining camps in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. The Tourist's Favorite Line TO ALL MOUNTAIN RESORTS. All through trains equipped with Pullman Palace and Tourist Sleeping Cars. For elegant illustrated descriptive books free of cost, address E. T.JEFFERY, A.S.HUGHES, S. K. HOOPER, Pres't and Gen'l Mgr. Traffic Manager. Gen'l Pass & Ut Agt. DENVER, COLORADO. MENTION THE AGE. HOMES AT SMALL COST IN WYOMING. A PRACTICAL AND SUCCESSFUL IRRIGATION ENTERPRISE. -w' PLAN of colonization, the success and / % practicability of which has been deter- / % mined by actual results, may be found at ^k fgs Wheatland, Laramie county, Wyo- oming, where the Wyoming Devel- opment Company has provided, the means by which at least six hundred families may be furnished homes and a sure way of obtaining not only finan- cial independence, but a reasonable degree of af- fluence. The following facts inform the home-seeker where these homes may be found ; how they may be ob- tained; some of the advantages of owning them ; how much they cost, and give some general informa- Denver & Gulf railway system. Fifty-eight miles north at Orin is the Cheyenne & Northern junction with the F. E. & M. V. branch of the -Northwestern railway system. Twenty miles to the northeast is the Hartville mining district, containing the largest and richest iron deposits of the West. Seventy-five miles north are the oil fields of Casper and Douglas, from which during the past two months shipments of oil to market have commenced over the Denver & Gulf railway system. The surface of the lands is slightly undulating, the elevation above sea level varying from 4,500 to 4,700 feet. Along the western line of the lands extends a range of the Black Hills heavily timbered with pine. VIEW OF A CURVE ON CANAL NO. 2. of which may be a personal visit of tion of the surroundings,, all verified and substantiated by the home-seeker to Wheatland, where he can see for himself and learn from the lips of the settlers who have preceded him just what has been accomplished in the short time Wheatland has been opened to the home-maker. LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS. The lands in question comprise 60,000 acres, all patented and owned absolutely by the Wyoming Development Company. They are about ninety miles north of Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming, on the line of the Cheyenne & Northern branch of the CHARACTER OF SOIL. The lands are admirably adapted for cultivation by irrigation, being slightly rolling with just about sufficient grade to carry water freely. They require no clearing having formed for years natural grazing lands on which rich bunch and buffalo grasses have grown in abundant supply. The soil is a sandy loam and clay and is uniform in quality over the en- tire tract. From 400 to 600 acres have been under cultivation on various parts of the tract for the past six years, and 1,500 acres have been put under cultivation-this year. On the parts which have been farmed previous to this year there has never been a (ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT.) ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT. short crop, while on the 1,500 acres cultivated this season indications are that even on sod land full crops of alfalfa, potatoes and oats will be raised, demonstrating in a most practicable manner the richness of the soil and its productive qualities. AN AMPLE WATER SUPPLY. Water for irrigating these lands is abundant. The Wyoming Development Company is the owner under Wyoming laws of water rights which entitle it to the use of the waters of the Laramie river at a point where the volume of water is 6,000 cubic feet per second at its maximum which is in the irrigating season. At this point a stone dam, 150 feet across, is constructed and sluices and head gates of great solidity and strength erected. From the dam the water is first taken through a solid rock tunnel 8 feet wide by 7 feet high and 3,100 feet long under the mountain range lying between the Laramie River valley and the company lands. At the tunnel exit the water is turned into Blue Grass creek, which in turn flows into the Sy- bille, and is conducted down the natural water courses formed by the channels of these streams for a distance of twenty miles to the Wheatland lands • over which it is distributed by canal number one which is 35 miles long, canal number two which is 20 miles long and between 120 and 150 miles of laterals. These will be augmented this year by canal number three 8 miles long and 50 to 60 miles of laterals, The canals are 25 feet wide on the bottom and carry 4 feet of water. They have been constructed under direction of State Engineer E. S. Nettleton, of Colorado, and Mr. J. A. Johnston, of Wyoming, two of the best hyrdaulic engineers of the west, and are sub- stantial and permanent in character. The head gates are built with heavy timbers and all parts of the system being constructed with a view to perma- nency few repairs are necessary. From the tunnel exit to the heads of the ditches the water being car- ried in the Blue Grass and Sybille creek channels no repairs will ever be required. The system also includes two large storage lakes formed in natural reservoirs and needing but low dykes to retain their waters. One of these covers 300 acres and is 54 feet deep ; the other covers 600 acres and 60 feet deep. Although the quantity of • water taken directly from the Laramie river is suffi- cient to irrigate the entire tract of land without draw- ing upon the supply in the lakes they will be kept filled permanently as storage reservoirs ensuring abundance of water should there ever be a year of drought of such severity as to affect the water supply of the Laramie. That such a state of affairs should ever exist is doubted as the Laramie river sources are in the perpetual snow fields of the Rockies and it is fed by countless mountain streams of unvarying quantity. CROPS BEING RAISED. Six hundred acres of the company's land have been farmed for the past six years and a govern- ment experimental farm has been conducted on a forty-acre tract of the property for three years. The results from both are convincing proof of the state- ment that the lands are productive and that large crops of alfalfa, grains, and roots of all kinds can be successfully produced. 'Alfalfa, the great money-making crop of the West, does remarkably well. Three crops are produced each year. The first is cut the latter part of June; the second early in August ; the third, about the middle of September. One irrigation only is needed for each crop. The production averages four tons to the acre for each season, although this year four tons per acre were cut for the first crop on an acre in the experimental farm. There is a good market for all that can be raised. Owners of range stock buy all they can get and pay good prices. Five and six dollars a ton in the stack has been the price for several years. Owners of range cattle, instead of being forced to send their cattle to the Nebraska feeding farms to be fattened on alfalfa and grain prefer to buy at home, and a market is insured for evefy ton of alfalfa that can be grown in Wyoming. Oats yield 30 to 60 bushels to the acre. Several hundred acres have been cultivated annually on the company's farms. Two to three irrigations are required. The straw is short, but the grain and heads are heavy. Prices are good. Last year's crop- sold for 1% cents a pound on the farm. Numerous experiments on the experimental farm have demon- strated that the best varieties are Early Archangel and Giant Side. A fair stand of oats has been obtained this year by several settlers, who planted it on the sod which was harrowed, but not ploughed. Wheat yields 25 to 40 'bushels to the acre. Winter wheat does not do well on account of the light snow HOMES AT SMALL COST IN WYOMING. fall, but spring wheat is always a good crop. White Russian, Velvet Chaff, Blue Stem and Saskatchewan are good varieties for the country. As 95 per cent, of the flour used in Wyoming is shipped in from other states, it is apparent that the market will be good in the state for wheat growers for a great length of time. Winter and spring rye yields 30 bushels to the acre. One irrigation only is required. Experiments with the grain for the past three years show it to be a certain crop and one produced with but little care. Flax yields 16 bushels to the acre. It requires two irrigations. That raised on the company's land last year took the first prize at the World's Fair. Barley of the best quality is raised. It requires two irrigations and yields 25 to 40 bushels to the acre. Beauty of Hebron and Hoffman are found to be good varieties for which the Wheatland soil is especially adapted. There is always a good market. The 1893 crop netted 75 cents per hundred pounds. During the big strike and tie-up of most of the railroads of the country the Wheatland farmers who had potatoes commanded 4 cents a pound for them. Field beans produce 20 bushels to the acre with but one irrigation and little cultivation. Field peas produce 22 bushels per acre. Broom corn grows splendidly. The Japanese and Imperial Evergreen are good varieties, growing to a length of twelve feet with fine, smooth brush. All grasses do well except red clover which is in- clined to winter kill. Broam and Johnson grasses produce good stands and grow rank. Timothy, Rye and Blue grass produce well, but not such heavy CUTTING A FIRST CROP OF ALFALFA. Corn yields 40 bushels to the acre. The fodder is small, but the grain is large and matures early. About 40 acres have been cultivated annually for a number of years on the company farm and constant experiments have been made on the experimental farm to determine the best varieties. The market is unfailing as there is a constant demand for corn by cattle raisers for fattening stock. The potato crop is a big money maker. They do better on the Wheatland lands than in the famous Greeley district where many farmers have become rich by raising potatoes. The yield is 100 to 400 bushels an acre. No fertilizers are required and but comparatively little water, two irrigations only being needed. Alfalfa land ploughed under raises enor- mous crops of potatoes of the finest quality. On the experimental farm fifty varieties are being tested. Mammoth Pearl, Rose Seedling, Empire State, crops as on low lands. Millet with a small amount of water is a good grass to cultivate. Sorghum has been raised on the experimental farm, growing ten and twelve feet high with the cane^well filled. It has never been tested for quality. SUGAR BEETS. Sugar beets have received much attention on the experimental farm and good crops have been raised for three years. Here, as elsewhere, they require much care in cultivation and considerable water is needed for irrigation early in the season but very lit- tle at the close. Twelve to twenty tons per acre has been the average annual crop. With cost of seed, ploughing, irrigating and all other labor the cost per acre of production has been about $25. The Wheatland beets are of the finest quality. Tests are made of the products of experimental ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT. farms, from all states where they are establishd, by government officials. The report of the Secretary of Agriculture on the result of these tests shows that the Wheatland beets are richer than any others pro- duced in the United States, containing 22.09 percent, of saccharine matter, which is 5 per cent, above the average. While comparatively isolated from the sugar beet market at the present time there is no doubt that if sugar beet raising is undertaken on the Wheatland lands on a large scale a factory within profitable shipping distance will be erected. Mangel Wurzel and other stock beets produce 40 tons to the acre. Carrots produce 20 tons and all stock roots do proportionately well. These are profit- • able crops for farmers who combine stock raising with farming, enabling them to fatten stock and put it on the market at any time during the year. Watermelons are grown successfully and find a ready market at good prices. They are of fine flavor and weigh 30 to 50 pounds. Strawberries, gooseberries, red and black currants, raspberries and blackberries have been raised on the experimental farm with great success for three years. Plum, cherry, apple and pear trees have been cul- tivated for three years and are now bearing. With no special attention all of these trees have done well and will be good producers. Experiments with tobacco, sweet potatoes and pea- nuts show that all can be successfully cultivated and all, with the exception of tobacco, profitably. Tomatoes, cabbage, onions, cucumbers and all small vegetables have been successfully cultivated for three years and a ready market is at hand in Cheyenne and Douglas for all vegetables at good prices. PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. The Development Company lands were put upon • the market in February last. A number of Colorado farmers living on rented farms in the Greeley and Eaton irrigation district were immediately attracted by the advantages of the Wheatland tract and dur- ing February, March and April about 13,000 acres were sold to them in farms varying from 40 to 160 acres. A number left their rented farms at once and settled at Wheatland, there being about 60 actual settlers at the present time, who are cultivat- ing their farms. A number decided to remain in Colorado this season, but will break the sod this coming fall on their Wheatland farms, and move on to them at the close of this year's contract with their lessors. All of the settlers who have farmed at Wheatland this year are, without exception, pleased with their new location, and satisfied they have laid the founda- tion for future prosperity and contentment. Although getting their seed in late, they will have full crops and will make even the first season's work profitable. All are practical irrigators, and familiar with the climate and soil. They are delighted at being in a district where water is so abundant as under the Wheatland system. COMPACTNESS OF LANDS. The compact form of the Wyoming Development Company tract is of great advantage to settlers. Quite often irrigation districts and colony sites are in long narrow strips extending along river bottoms or valleys. The Wheatland tract is compact and almost square in form. Short hauls to and from the railway station and to and from town are beneficial results. Schools and churches convenient to a large number of the settlers can be built, and all the advantages of close community and neighborly intercourse be ob- tained the lack of which sometimes makes farm life dreary and monotonous. THE EXPERIMENTAL FARM. Having the experimental farm on the company lands is of incalculable benefit to settlers. The farmer need make no experiments. What to plant, when to plant, how to irrigate, what are the best va- rieties of seed, what are the most profitable crops, may all be learned without cost. Accurate records of the time of planting, quantity of water required for irrigating, and the results of cultivating all varieties of all kinds of crops have been kept since the estab- lishment of the farm and are at the disposition of the public. From the outset settlers are protected from loss by mistakes in choice of seed by having the ex- perimental farm as their guide. COMMUNITY OF PASTURE. Farmers usually have to keep part of their holdings in pasture lands if they wish to combine stock raising with farming. This is not so on the Wheatland tract. The entire body of land is fenced and each settler's HOMES AT SMALL COST IN WYOMING. land is fenced. The unsold land forms a common pasture which is open to stock belonging to the set- tlers. As sales of the land cut down the area of this pasture, grazing lands adjoining the colony will be used as pasture for stock on which an inexpensive system of close herding will be employed, or in the event of the cession of lands to the states, it will be rented and fenced by the community and used as common pasturage for the stock of the settlers. By a combination of farming and stock raising both oc- cupations may be made a source of sure and contin- uous profit, and in no place in the West is the oppor- tunity to do this equal to that at Wheatland. AID FROM LAND OWNERS. The Wyoming Development Company, while possessing ample capital, does not engage in any enterprises to make money out of purchasers of its lands, but on the contrary, encourages settlers' them- selves to engage in these enterprises. There is a big demand for brick and the company could make a profit by engaging in its manufacture. Instead of doing this the clay banks have been leased to a set- tler who, in addition to farming his 80-acre tract of land, is burning a kiln of 200,000 brick for all of which he has contracts to sell. The company has also decided not to open any stores, or hotels, but will leave all these fields open to individuals. In repair- ing ditches, building new canals, enlarging reser- voirs, cultivating its farms and all other work which it is having done the Development Company offers work to settlers who may have time to spare from their own work, and no outside labor is em- ployed if it can be obtained from the community. All supplies used by the company or its employe's will be purchased from those engaged in business in the community. CHARACTER OF SETTLERS. The fact that the settlers who have become the pioneers in the colony are familiar with irrigation methods and are practical irrigators will be of great aid to all subsequent settlers. The experience of the pioneers and the invariably satisfactory results of their farming will be infallible guides for all future purchasers. THE TOWN OF WHEATLAND. A townsite has been laid off by the company at Wheatland station on the line of the C. & N. rail- way, and the building of a substantial town com- menced. The location for a pretty town is unsur- passed. The land slopes gently toward the railroad on the east. On every side can be seen the green fields of grain and alfalfa. The horizon to the west is the wooded summits of Laramie Peak and Squaw mountain and to the north and east the ragged hills through which flow the Laramie and Platte rivers and Chugwater creek. Two general stores have been built. They are owned by men who have bought farms in the tract. One carries a $10,000 stock of goods, the other $15,000. Several frame residences have been erected. Contracts have been let for the erection of a brick school house, a brick hotel and several brick resi- dences. A daily train north and south puts the town in close communication with Cheyenne, the capital of the state, and Douglas and Casper the principal towns in Converse and Natrona counties. The town is in close touch with the outside world. It seems an incredible statement, but it is a fact that the Chicago Sunday papers are received at Wheatland at noon Monday. Freight rates to Wheatland are but slightly in ex- cess of those to Cheyenne, and lumber, coal and gen- eral merchandise will be sold as cheap there as along the main line of the Union Pacific. Native lumber is close at hand, the entire line of mountains and foot hills west of the town being covered with a heavy growth of pine. CLIMATE. It is well known that the entire Rocky mountain re- gion both on the east and west slope is possessed of a health-giving, invigorating climate. At Wheatland the winters are short and mild. Very little snow falls and the country before settlement was one of the best winter ranges for stock in Wyoming. The al- titude ensures freedom from fevers and the variety of the atmosphere and its dryness affords in many cases a certain cure for lung and throat troubles. The summers are cool and pleasant. GAME AND FISH. Hunting and fishing are close at hand to the Wheat- land settler, and if he has time and inclination both are to be enjoyed. Deer, elk, bear, antelope and ALFALFA PILED FOR STACKING. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT. smaller game are found in the mountains directly west of the lands. Laramie Peak has been noted for years as the finest field for big game in the West. Ducks and geese are. plentiful in the fall and spring in the many small lakes and ponds in the neighbor- hood of the tract and along the Laramie river and its various tributary creeks. The storage reservoirs on the company land are stocked with food fishes and the Laramie and Platte rivers swarm with pike and channel cat while in the mountains are numerous trout streams. PRICES AND TERMS. The lands are sold at $12 to $25 an acre, according to location and quality. This price includes owner- ship in the water, every purchaser becoming a joint owner with the other purchasers and with the company in the irrigation system under which the lands lie, thereby doing away with the heavy and onerous bur- den of an annual water tax, which in most colony and irrigation schemes puts a perpetual burden on the settler and takes away a good share of his annual profits; never gives him absolute ownership in the water, without which his land is worthless, and thus puts him forever at the mercy of the owners of the water system under which he is farming. Buyers of Wheatland farms buy the water rights also, the only annual charges being a pro rata division of the cost of annual repairs and these, owing to the stability and strength with which all the works have been constructed, are nominal. Terms are easy. A cash payment of one-tenth is required at 'the time of purchase. No payment ex- cept interest is required the second year. The bal- ance is to be paid in nine annual payments. Inter- est is 6 per cent. A family with $500 cash can get a Wheatland farm and by industry and economy can, during the first year, make a living and a fair profit and in the succeeding years can rise gradually, but surely, to financial independence. AN UNEXCELLED OPPORTUNITY. By the actual results of six years' farming the lands of the Wyoming Development Company are proven to be of excellent quality. The water supply is ample to irrigate every acre. The irrigation works are permanent and substantial and water storage is provided by natural and perma- nent reservoirs. Markets are close at hand ; prices are good and by reason of Wheatland's location in reference to the range cattle industry and to the iron and other min- eral districts will continue so. Railway communication is established. Good schools and churches are ensured. The conveniences of the town are close at hand. Stock raising may be combined with farming under the favorable circumstances of free pasture. Prices, considering the quality of land and that they include ownership of water rights, are exceed- ingly low. Terms of purchase are easy. These facts considered, there is no place in the United States offering safer, surer or more substan- tial inducements to the intelligent farmer and home- seeker of small capital than are to be found at Wheatland. For any other information the intending settler or home-seeker should address, J. A.JOHNSTON, Cheyenne, Wyo. « i H KEEP YOUR AGE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. WILL MAKE A VALUABLE VOLUME. THE IRRIGATION AGE BINDER PRICE, $1.00. THE IRRIGATION AGE, 51 1 Masonic Temple, CHICAGO, ILL. < <> f f 100 Rich Hen $1,000 Each To secure practically what the Readers of this Magazine may have for a Cash Outlay of $4.OO •••••«• Reference is made to that Superb Memorial Collection known throughout America and Europe as TUB WMlBjHt]] flltfOllO. The Irrigation Age's Rich Offer. WILLIAM H. JACKSON, the Greatest Scenic Photographer in the World, was called to the World's Fair to photograph it. Eighty photographs were selected from all that were taken, and four pictures comprised an Artfolio— twenty parts completed the set. One hundred rich men subscribed for them at $50 a part— $1,000 for each complete set. That seems like an awful price— it is. You ought to be glad of it— We are— Because : We offer them to you each part at only 20 cents — mind you, exact size. Parts 1 to 18 inclusive are now ready. Call at our office or send for them by mail. The size of each picture is 14 by 17 inches, and when sent is complete to frame, or to keep in the folios. The White City Artfolio is the name. Stanley Wood contributes a short history with each four parts. We are not going to give the names of the pictures in each Artfolio. Each one is different and unlike any ever offered before; hence the names would simply delude you. 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THE IRRIGATION AGE, 511 Hasonic Temple, Chicago. IRRIGATION AGE, } * COUPON 1 TO 18. o In consideration of your offer of The White City Artfolios, I agree to show^them and The Irrigation Age to at least one friend audl neighbor as soon as I receive them, and tell about your wonderful offer. Enclosed find cents, for which send me parts My address is Name .... City. State... ^-Distinctly Remember that you must either fill out this coupon, or copy it exact in your letter if you do not wish to cut the Magazine. IRRIGATION ENGINEERS. DONALD W. CAMPBELL. GEO. G. ANDERSON, Member InitituU of Civil Enfinwn. t ANDERSON, ...Consulting Hydraulic Engineers... Rooms 833, 834 and 835 EQUITABLE BUILDING, Cable Address, "IRRIGATION." -^ ^DENVER COLORADO • Cal. Plans, estimates and reports on Irrigation and Water Supply Work and Structures. Consultation service with managers and engineers In charge. Examination and report on projects in cases wherein it is proposed to sell bonds, stocks or properties, a specialty. New York and London connections and references. Steam and canal capacities measured and rated. Litigation cases exported. Manufacturer and Dealer in ... ALVA J. GROVER, Mathematical and Surveying Instruments, Tracing papers and Vellum Cloths, prepared and unprepared Blue Process papers. ENGINEERS' AND ARCHITECTS' SUPPLIES. 318 S. 15th St., OMAHA, NEB. Prompt attention to orders by Mail . WALTER H. GRAVES, C. EB. RECORD— Eighteen years1 experience in Engineering work, mostly in the Rocky Mountain region ; twelve years exclusively in irrigation work, having built over 2,000 miles of irrigating canals. SUPT. IRRIGATION, ETC. 5n£7*SHINOTON, D. C. JAMES T. TAYLOR, C. E. Specialty, Hydraulics. Expert examinations, plane, estimates and reports for Ir- rigation, Sewerage and Water Supply. Topographical Maps and all classes of Surveying. Member American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Irrigation Engineers, California Association of Civil Engineers, Technical s>ociety of the Pacific Coast. MAIN OFFICE, EVANS BLOCK, Telephone No. 40. RIVERSIDE, CAL. 0. O. KINNEY, Member American Society of Civil Engineers. CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER. Dams, Power, Plants, Pumping Plants, Bed Rock Tunnels, Reservoirs and General Irrigation Schemes. PHOENIX, ARIZONA. P. II. YOlCllOK. Irrigation Engineer. Member Cal. An'n Civil Englneeri. M«-nb*r Am. Soc. Irrigation Engineer!. Twelve years' experience in the irrigation systems of the San Joaquln Valley, Cal. Irrigation systems planned, estimates made, construction superintended, cases In litigation exported. Office, 6 Flood Building, San Francisco, Cal.; temporary P. O. address, Lake Greeno, Lassen Co., Cal. THE A. LIETZ COMPANY, INSTRUMENTS or ALL KIND. FOR CIVIL CMOINCCIM XTo. -422 Seucr«.no.c».to B-tr««t, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. F. C. FINKLE, C. E. CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER. Irrigation, Consulting and Expert Work a Specialty. Office, Room 9 Farmers' Exchange Bank Bldg., San Bernardino, Cal. DAKOTA IRRIGATION. S^SStfSd'bS Artesian Wells in the world. Practical Irrigation Engineering, locating of wells, reservoirs and ditches. Distribution of water a specialty. J. T. McWltHAMS , Late from Pacific Slope. Aberdeen, SI. Dak. H. CLAY KELLOGG, CIVIL AND HYDRAULIC Member of the Technical Society ENGINEER of the Pacific Coast. AX AH Kill. CAL.. Twelve years' experience on irrigation systems, having planned and built some of the most improved systems in Southern California. Surveys, maps, plans and estimates and reports made of Irriga- tion works, town sites and methods of irrigation. Expert examina- tion In cases of litigation. Temporary address. GILA BEND, A. T W. P. HARDESTY, Member American Society Irrigation Engineer*. CIVIL, AND HYDRAULIC ENGINEER, Surveys, Maps, Plan*, Estimates and Reports for Irrigation and Water Power Projects. Construction Superintended. ROOMS 612 AND 613 PROGRESS BUILDING, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. PAINTER & MURPHY, ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS-AT-LAW. Corporation and Irrigation Law a Specialty. Eastern and Western Collections Promptly Made. Legitimate Enterprises of all kinds Promoted, Briefs and arguments prepared on any subject. Practices in all State and Federal Courts. Companies organized in any State or Territory. OFFICES: OGDEN CITY, UTAH; 59 Dearborn St., CHICAGO. CHARLES HENRY TOMPKINS, JR., ANDREW J. WILEY, M. Am. Soc. Irr. Engrs. M. Am. Soc. Irr. Engrs. 15 Cortland St., New York., P. O. Box, 1442. Boise City, Idaho. TOMPKINS A, WILEY Surveys, examinations and reports. Plans and estimates. Construction superintended. CIVIL ENGINEERS. IRRIGATION A SPECIALTY. KITTELL 4. VAN NATTA, Members American Society Irrigation Engineers. Surveys and Estimates on Irrigation Work. .... NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. MENTION THE AGE. THE IRRIGATION AGE, Illustrated, Edited by Wm. E. Smythe. THE IRRIGATION AGE is a Journal of Western America, recognized throughout the World as the exponent of irrigation and its kindred industries. It is the pioneer journal in its field and has no rival in half a continent. L. R. BRITTON, Business Manager. CONTENTS FOR AUGUST, 1894. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. Arid America and Our Institutions 47 Union for the Common Good 53 Liberty will Survive the Shock 47 An Effort to be made at Denver 53 Why the Irrigation Congress is Vital 48 A Significant Scandinavian Movement 53 Declaration of the Last Congress ! 48 Mr. Rocho's Good Work in Colorado . . .«. 54 The Public Domain of Heritage 49 The Producers of Wheat and Corn 54 Division of the Streams 49 A Possible Remedy for Low Prices 54 The Ownership of Water 49 All Hail the State of Utah 55 Honest Debate on the District Law 51 A Great Railroad Proposed 56 Gov. Sheldon should be sent to Denver 51 Opening Utah Indian Lands 56 Intelligent Plans for Colonization 51 " Back to the Land," is the Cry 56 INTERESTING CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES. The Third National Irrigation Congress— Colorado Prepares a Royal Welcome for her September Guests, By the Chairman of the National Committee 57 The Ait of Irrigation— Sixth Paper -Water Measurement and Delivery Considered. By T. S. Van Dyke 67 The Division of Water -Methods of Dividing Water in Canals and Ditches. By L. G. Carpenter — 69 The Field for Irrigation in Western Nebraska. By H. Emerson 71 Public Lands in Idaho. By E. T. Perkins, Jr 73 Climate and Soil of Southwestern Texas. By James C. Atkins 86 FEATURES FOR FARMERS AND FRUIT GROWERS: Egyptian Corn. By Chas. W. Greene 75 Hop Culture in Colorado. By Henry S. Bellows 76 The Irrigation of Sugar Beets. By Franklin H. Austin 77 Unsolved Problems in the Fr u it Industry. By W. C. Fitzsimmons 82 Plant Food 78 The Sweet Potato Crop 81 Reducing Evaporation 79 Sunflowers 81 Curing Electricity by Tree Planting 79 Rabbit Pest 81 Ostrich Farming 80 Licorice , 81 Potato Blight 80 Louisiana Sugar Crop 81 Red Cedars 80 Experiments on Thermometer Exposure 84 Botanical Collectors 80 More about Spraying 85 Foreign Crops 80 Idaho as a Fruit Country 85 For the Onion Crop 80 English Sparrow Pest 85 Fence Posts 81 Palms 85 Utah Agricultural Bulletin 81 Small Fruits 85 Profit in Potatoes 81 The Pulse of the Irrigation Industry, With News Notes from all over the Field 86 New Companies 89 Canals 90 ILLUSTRATIONS. Hon. Lionel A. Sheldon 47 Echo Cliff-A Utah Scene 50 John F. Rocho 49 Scenes in Utah 52 Members of Denver Committee 58 and 61 F. C. Goudy. G. O. Shafer. E. W. Merritt. F. D. Carper. M. C. Jackson. Fred E. Coe. H. J. Mayham. Caldwell Yeaman. John C. Twombley Birdseye View of Denver 59 Estes Park, Colorado . . 66 TERMS: — $2.00 a year in advance; 20 cents a number. Foreign postage §1.00 a year additional. Subscribers may remit to us by postoffice or express money orders or by bank checks, drafts or registered letters. Money in letters is at sender's risk. Renew as early as possible in order to avoid a break in the receipt of the numbers. Bookdealers, Postmasters and Newsdealers receive subscriptions. THE IRRIGATION AGE, 511 Masonic Temple, Chicago. CALIFORNIA. not fop fame, But in perfection pest." AND THE CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE, SOIL AND PRODUCT IN Kern Valley COME NEARER PERFECTION THAN MOST PLACES IN THE WORLD. A Planted in alfalfa, corn and orchard, will support any industrious, practical family in comfort. You have your own home, your own horses, your own cows, hogs and poultry, your own vegetables, and you are your own landlord and your own master. All who possess moderate means who wish to better their condition, should address KERN COUNTY LAND GO. (INCORPORATED) CAPITAL, $10,000,000. S. W. FERGUSSON, Manager, BAKERSFIELD, GAL. BRANCH OFFICES: 918 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. CHICAGO. AU nrlceS ^^ted are for 812 BENNETT BUILDING, NEW YORK. unimproved lands only. 44-46 LEADENHALL, E. C , LONDON. THE IRRIGATION AGE. VOL. VII. CHICAGO, AUGUST, 1894. No. 2. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. The friends of Western America are And Amer- . . . . ica and Our watching current events with the keen- Institutions.esl jnteresti A peculiar combination of circumstances, covering a period of at least fifteen months, has been at work shaping the future of our civilization along new lines. Almost every one of these events, however startling they may have been to conservative sentiment elsewhere, has brought to the thoughtful leaders of the irrigation world new and convincing assurances of the early triumph of their ideas and the speedy realization of their hopes. The future belongs to Arid America. It is in her broad valleys that industry shall be reorganized upon surer foundations than it has known before. It is in the western half of this continent, and only there, that outlets can be found for surplus popula- tion, that gainful work can be found for idle hands, that new institutions can be established without dan- gerous interference with existing rights. The Re- public is sorely pressed and troubled, but its last and greatest resource remains to be utilized. In Western America there is room for sixty millions more people, who can sustain themselves without encroaching upon any acre now occupied, or upon any property right now vested in individual or corporation. To prepare this new domain for occupancy will absorb labor now idle and employ capital now timid and apprehensive. The conditions which have brought about the present situation are numerous, and no single remedy will solve our difficulties. But the greatest single remedy will be found in the provision of land for the landless, homes for the homeless, labor for the laborless and independence for the de- pendent. This is a solution which the men of the arid West can tender to their fellow countrymen, and which no other men on earth can offer. We need no longer ask ourselves whether the American people will avail themselves of this opportunity. The time has come when the American people must avail themselves of it. Above the clamor of protest and the murmur of indifference rings the imperious voice of Fate. It is the destiny of Arid America to save HON. LIONEL A. SHELDON, Chairman of Committee of Resolutions at Los Angeles. our institutions with " a new birth of freedom," and to prove again that " this government of the people, for the people and by the people shall not perish from the earth." What may be the condition of the coun- Liberty will Survive try when these words reach the reader the Shock. cannoj be foretold, but they are written amid the tumult of warring classes and at a moment when there is some reason to apprehend that old institutions are crumbling beneath our feet. Certain it is that the tide of events flows swiftly — that it is turbulent and angry. Certain it is that mighty forces are at work and that we are on the 47 48 THE IRRIGATION AGE. threshold of stupendous changes. These may come peacefully or they may come through those awful forms which have wrought out stupendous changes in the past. But it is certain that they are coming. Whatever may be lost or gained, whatever modified or strengthened in the process, we may be sure that human liberty will not perish. If, as the immediate result of the present strike, human liberty should seem to lose, we may be sure that in the end it will be the gainer as the result of the trying times through which we are passing. If there shall be temporary loss or disappointment for the mass of mankind, it will be because our laws are wrong, and because the American people uphold their laws, good or bad. But it is the many-headed people who make the laws, and the remedy for existing conditions rests with them. The vast majority of the people have decided to draw the line on certain ten- dencies which have marked legislative, judicial and administrative conduct in this country during the past twenty years. Western interests must surely be benefited. For many years we have been talking the claims of Arid America to dull ears. We may expect a more attentive audience hereafter. This is preeminently the hour to bring forward new ideals. But let us suppose that the nation should say to the men of the West to-morrow, " We are ready to join hands with you in an effort to reclaim and populate the arid domain. What is your plan?" What then would be our answer? We have none. There are many plans, but none on which we have substantially united. If every duty of patriotism rested upon any part of the American people, it rests at this moment upon the leaders of popular opinion in the West. And that duty is to come together, discuss the whole situation, harmonize their differences, and map out a national policy that shall be in line with the new tendencies of our time. Failing in that duty at this moment of supreme opportunity, God only knows when we can regain what we shall lose by our crimi- nal negligence. There are moments in the history of peoples when a single definite act will shape the currrent of events for centuries. THE IRRIGATION AGE believes this is the moment when we must say what character of organic law shall serve as the broad foundation of the civilization of Western America. Why the Ir-^ 's m tn's ''Snt that the Third National rigation Irrigation Congress, which will assemble Congress is , , . Vital. at Denver, September dd, is seen to be an event of extraordinary importance to western men. Elsewhere in this number of THE AGE large space is devoted to the plans of the congress. The article should be carefully read by all friends of irrigation, and each individual should make up his mind to do his part in rendering the event successful in the highest degree. There is ample reason for the pre- diction that the Denver convention will surpass in interest and importance all previous bodies of this kind. The time has come when certain things must be settled. If we have irrigation conventions here- after they will deal with different phases of the sub- ject than those now up for consideration, unless the Denver meeting fails entirely in its purpose. It will be the business of this congress to formulate meas- ures; we sincerely hope it will be the business of the next to celebrate their triumph. The plans made for the Denver meeting are radically different from any convention we ever heard of before. It is proposed to adjourn the convention on certain days in order that the delegates and spectators may go out and study the physical aspects of the questions with which they are dealing. It will be as if the Congress of the United States should adjourn a tariff debate to go to New England and study the practical manufacture of cotton cloth, or to go abroad to compare wages and the conditions of working people with things existing on this side of the sea. But while this feature is unique, and while everything that is an innovation is to a degree hazardous, we believe the plan will prove immensely attractive and profitable. One thing is certain, and that is that Colorado will do everything in her power to repay delegates and visitors for their attendance upon the convention. It is well to recall at this time the main Declarations r ... r . T of the L,ast features of the declaration ot the Inter- Congress. natJOnal Irrigation Congress held at Los Angeles, last autumn. That was another convention which discarded precedents and proceeded to get results by original methods. Instead of passing a series of resolutions it adopted a ringing "Address to the People of the United States.1' It recognized the differences existing between men equally sincere as to national and State legislation and it created the commissions so that those differences might be studied with a view to final compromises. At the same time, the "Address to the People of the United States'" was not a coloress document. It boldly laid down certain fundamental principles which, in the judg- ment of that convention, must forever underlie our ir- rigation philosophy. It was the desire and expecta- tion of that convention that whatever policy might be hereafter favored wpuld rest upon those prin- ciples. The commissions were instructed to steer by that chart and there is little reason to fear that any representative convention of western men will depart from this ground. We call attention at this time to the most important features of the memorable "Ad- dress to the People of the United States " because it seems highly important that the public recollection should be refreshed on this subject just upon the eve THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 49 of the reports of the several Irrigation Commissions and the assembling of the Third National Irrigation Congress. The Public The Los Angeles address began by invit- Domain a . . '. Heritage, ing the attention of the country to the fact that the public domain fit for agriculture with- out irrigation is exhausted. It then stated that a suf- ficient portion of the arid public lands can be irri- gated to furnish homes for millions of families. " Notwithstanding the present condition of these arid lands," said the Address, " we confidently predict that they will become the seat of the highest civiliza- tion and the greatest average prosperity yet devel- oped on this continent. The intensive scientific cul- tivation rendered possible by irrigation results in the largest conceivable development of independence and prosperity on the fewest possible number of acres." It was then declared that " the problem of conquering these deserts is national in its essence. These lands are the heritage of the American peo- ple. To have a home upon them is the birthright of every American child. The conditions under which they would be reclaimed and acquired by the settler must be founded on the recognition of these facts.'7 It is impossible to lay too much stress upon this feat- ure of the declaration. No policy which proposes to take these lands beyond the control of the American people, or to permit private interest alone to name the terms on which they shall be acquired after reclamation, can permanently endure. We have no land policy to-day worthy of the name. It is purely a game of grab. The Desert Land Law, in a major- ity of instances, is the cloak of dishonest purposes and methods. It keeps the word of promise to the ear and breaks it to the hope. That is its design. The great principle enunciated at Los Angeles must prevail, but it can be preserved by any one of a num- ber of plans suggested. Remembering the funda- mental idea, we must proceed to select a plan of leg- islation upon which we can all agree and which will appeal powerfully to the nation's sense of right. An- other important declaration under this head favored the limitation of the amount of land to be taken by individual settlers to forty acres. This was a radical step, but it won wide public approval. Division The Los AnSeles Address made this ex- ofttie plicit declaration concerning the thorny Streams. subject of interstate waters : " We de- clare that all streams rising in one state and flowing by natural courses through one or more other states must be conserved and equitably divided under fed- eral authority.1' In another place it is declared: "Nothing must be allowed to jeapordize interstate streams, and it is highly important that the drainage J. F. ROCHO, Of Greeley, Member of Executive Committee for Colorado. areas of these streams should be promptly known and defined at once in a way sufficient for the purpose here in view and not await the slow results of a thor- ough technical inquiry, which should follow in its train and for its needed purposes.'' It was further suggested that a non-partisan national commission should be appointed to investigate the whole subject of national legislation. It has, of course, been impos- sible to secure that during the past year. Doubtless interstate waters will furnish an absorbing topic at Denver. The question is surrounded by many diffi- culties, but it must be solved sometime and some- how. TJiere is nothing to be gained by dodging it. The men who will assemble at Denver are a hun- dred times better fitted to deal with the question than any Congress we shall ever have in Washington. It is the part of wisdom to look this subject squarely in the face and recommend to the country the very best plan that western brains and patriotism can de- The ship of er< - °nly P°int at which the Address was vigorously attacked in the convention was where it dealt with the abstract ques- tion of water ownership. Representatives of certain private interests thought the paragraph on this sub- ject might well be left out, although they did not se- riously dispute its soundness. The paragraph was modified in some respects, but in its final shape read as follows: " We declare it to be the correct princi- THE IRRIGATION AGE. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. pie that water in natural channels and beds is pub- lic property; and when, under the law of any State, vested rights have been secured thereto, such rights, like all other private property, may be supervised for beneficial purposes and be condemned for public uses, under the exercise of the power of eminent domain.'1 The Congress favored the leasing of the pastural lands and the use of the army in preserving the forests. It favored liberal appropriations for sci- entific work in the semi-arid regions. Honest It will be remembered that previous to tSebDlst°Ict tne last con£ress THE AGE made a stren- L,a.w. uous effort to induce both the friends and opponents of the District law of California to be present at Los Angeles and discuss that measure to a final result. Hon. C. C. Wright, author of the law, was present and delivered a very notable speech, in which the law was thoroughly analyzed and explained from the standpoint of its friends. Not a single critic of the law arose to discuss it. And yet there is much criticism of the statute in California. Within a few miles of the opera house in which the conven- tion met prominent citizens were at that moment en- gaged in an effort to disorganize a district, which would seem to be the best possible type of a locality to which such a law is adapted. We refer to the Ana- heim district, which, according to the latest accounts, is now a complete failure. In many other portions of the State the law encounters vigorous criticism. The declaration of the Los Angeles congress on this sub- ject is as follows: " We endorse the principle of the district irrigation law of California, commonly known as the Wright law, as a wise step in the direction of the public ownership of irrigation works. While we do not assert that it is suited to the needs of unsettled localities, or that it cannot be improved in some of its minor details, we do declare that experience has demonstrated its usefulness, its fairness and its econ- omy.'' We believe this declaration, properly con- strued, correctly represents the attitude of the friends of irrigation. They approve the principle. They do not believe law is suited to unsettled localities. They do not deny that it can be improved in some of its minor details. Now, many other States are seriously considering the adoption of a law like that inaugu- rated in California under the leadership of Mr. Wright. It is not only desirable, but it is absolutely necessary, that the subject should be discussed from every standpoint at Denver. Mr. Weight will be there to defend it and to answer all criticisms. But if the discussion is to be profitable to the representa- tives of States outside of California, it is essential that some able critic of the law should stand up with a list of the districts, the amount of bonds voted, the amount of work done and all other details, and point out what weaknesses have developed in the system. One of the ablest students of irrigation law is L. M. Holt of Los Angeles, who has been" closely associated with Mr. Wright in the championship of the District system. Mr. Holt says there are vital points at which the law must be strengthened in order to be thor- oughly successful. The Denver congress should be enlightened on this side of the question. The intrinsic strength of the proposition of public ownership, to- gether with the ability of Mr. Wright, may be trusted to secure another triumphant vindication for the principle involved in the District law. But if other States are to have the full benefit of California's ex- perience, every side of that experience should be fairly and fully exhibited at Denver. Gov. Sfte7donThe Committee on Resolutions of the last Shouldbe Irrigation Congress was very fortunate &&tlt. IO . _ r-r** • • Denver, m its chairman. This important position was occupied by Hon. Lionel A. Sheldon, of Pasadena, California, a gentleman who has enjoyed a wide and distinguished experience in public life. For six years he represented New Orleans in the popular branch of Congress, serving under Speaker Blaineon the Com- mittee of Ways and Means and having the lamented Garfield for a colleague. He was governor of New Mexico at the time of the Lincoln county war and won the highest credit for courageous and vigorous conduct on that occasion. As chairman of the Com- mittee on Resolutions at Los Angeles Governor Shel- don kept the Congress on the best parliamentary basis and gave to the committee itself the greatest dignity. He is a man of broad views, deeply impressed with the part which irrigation will play in the future life of the Republic, and determined that our legislation shall be in accord with conditions essential to the high- est state of civilization. If Governor Markham sees fit to name Mr. Sheldon as one of his delegates at large the choice will be applauded by all the friends of the movement, and the distinguished gentleman will cer- tainly be as conspicuous at Denver as he was at Los Angeles. Intelligent The colonization problems of the arid Plans for region demand more intelligent study Colonixa- . tion. than they have yet received. The colo- nist is as essential to the success of an irrigation project as water or land. Much stress has been laid upon the need of educating the public to understand the value of irrigation securities. It seems very plain to us that time, money and effort could be more wisely devoted to educating the public to understand the advantages of homes on irrigated lands. When it is possible to guarantee the speedy settlement of land with industrious and thrifty families it will be much easier to sell irrigation securities. No enter- 7 HE IRRIGA TION A GE. SCENES IN UTAH ON THE LINE OF THE RIO GRAND r--. WESTERN R Y. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. prise can earn profits for the investor unless people are found to purchase the lands and utilize the water supply. Nearly every failure we have had thus far has been due to the fact that lands have not been settled after tens of thousands of dollars have been expended in the construction of works. There are many reasons why they have not been settled. In the first place, the public has not yet been made to understand the advantages and charms of life in a region of small farms intensively cultivated by the best irrigation methods. If we can ever get this idea thoroughly well known to the American people every acre of irrigated land will be in speedy demand. Then irrigation enterprises will pay. And as a natural consequence irrigation securities will be in lively demand. There are companies that have spent money very liberally to secure settlers, but there are few companies or individuals who have attempted to do anything worthy of their opportunities in illustrating the possibilities of irrigation farming and its attrac- tions both from an industrial and social standpoint. If there is any line of business in which Union for the Common men can wisely cooperate for their corn- Good. mon gOOCi jt js m thjs matter of exploit- ing the opportunities for home-building in Arid America. It is the height of folly for the San Joaquin valley of California to Cast reflections on the Pecos valley of New Mexico, or for the Yakima valley of Washington to belittle the advantages of the Salt River valley of Arizona. The fundamental facts in all localities are the same. The irrigation industry is the basis of their industrial life. No man will settle in either place until he understands the enormous advantage of insuring his crops by the purchase of a water right, of living on a farm of 20 or 40 acres and thus enjoying the blessings of neighborhood associa- tion, and until he realizes the full force of that indus- trial philosophy which teaches men to win indepen- dence for their families by producing from their own land the things they consume. The men who are placing irrigated lands on the markets, whether they are operating in Kansas, Arizona, California or Washington, ought to stand shoulder to shoulder in presenting the claims of Arid America. Before we can realize any large measure of success we must se- cure the absolute solidarity of irrigation interests in this respect. No single company, nor even any sin- gle State, can alone bear the expense of the campaign of education necessary in order to turn a stream of colonization, broad and deep like a mighty river, into our new western empire. It is a surprising fact that the real captains of the irrigation industry are scarcely known to each other. It has long been the desire of the editor of THE IRRIGATION AGE to bring these men together upon some common ground. They ought to get acquainted, devise some compre- hensive scheme for promoting colonization, and then set out together on a campaign of conquest. There can be no clash of interests. The reservoir of people in our own country and in Europe which may be drawn upon for settlers is so vast that there is ample room for all. In the May number of this journal the An Effort to be Made writer presented an article entitled, at Denver. , W. C. Fitzsimmons, makes the following suggestion: " Now let us suppose that our farmers cease to struggle with Indian ryots and Egyptian fellaheen in the European wheat markets and decline to raise wheat for export. Let the wheat areas be cut down one-half — to seventeen million acres or thereabouts— which could easily be accom- plished, each farmer decreasing his acreage at least fifty per cent. A little extra care and labor bestowed upon this reduced acreage could, and should, bring up the average yield to say 18 bushels per acre, which would make a crop of 300,000,000 bushels, or enough for our home supply without any surplus foi export. The moment we cease to export wheat, the price of foreign wheat in the European markets is bound to rise, since the available surplus in the world would, for a time at least, be greatly curtailed. Not only, therefore, would our farmers reap the benefit of such inevitable rise in values, but, assuming the Mc- Kinley tariff of 25 cents a bushel on foreign wheat to stand, that amount would be also added to the value of every bushel of wheat produced in the United States. Assuming that a rise in price of only ten THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 55 cents per bushel in the European market should be the result of our retiring from the present ruinous competition, and adding to this the 25 cents tariff now operative, we have 88.8 cents per bushel as the value of our wheat instead of 53.8 cents as was found to be the case at the close of 1893. In short, whatever the price, fixed as it now is, we should have the ben- efit of the 25-cent tariff and of any rise that might come in the European market. But this is not all. By devoting the seven- teen million acres of land thus relieved from wheat-bearing to other and more profitable uses, such as pasturage or mixed cultivation, it is reasonable to assume that a net income of $5 per acre could be obtained. This would add $85,000,000 more to the right side of the farm ledger, beside relieving this large body of land from the continual and exhaustive drain of wheat production. In conclusion it may be said that this condition of things can be brought about in a single year by the farmers themselves, and without any invocation of supernatural or superhuman agencies. It is a condition easily reached, and requires for its attainment only the plainest common sense, hearty cooperation and honest tenacity of purpose." Amid the gloom of the memorable month of July, State of 1894, one bright star shone out suddenly and Utah ! resplendent. It was the star of the new State of Utah ! The bill providing for its admission finally passed the House July 12th, and the President affixed his signature a few days later. And so the greatest of all the Territories becomes a full-fledged American commonwealth. The event is ex- tremely gratifying to western men, because it means more votes in both branches of Congress for those policies which western men believe necessary to the realization of national destiny. The meanest critic of western institutions has never denied that Utah has the population, wealth and potentialities of growth essential to Statehood. The admission has been opposed only on the ground that the preponderance of Mormon voters would render the State practically subservient to the church. There are those, not only in the East but in Utah herself, who harbor this fear in all sincerity to-day. The writer does not. Doubtless Mormons will fill the greater share of the offices, and wield the larger degree of influence, precisely as would be done. by Methodists or Baptists if they held the numerical strength in Utah that the Mormons hold. But that the majority of Mormons will regard citizenship as merely a new power to be placed at the disposal of their church, we emphatically refuse to believe. Such might have been the case if Statehood had been conferred fifteen or twenty years ago. At that time the whole Mormon body stood upon the defensive, seeking to protect a " peculiar institution " against what they sincerely believed to be unwarrantable persecution. But that " peculiar institu- tion '' has passed away. A new generation has grown up. Their interests are sim- ilar to those of the people of Colorado on the east " ;>~ ' 1" - and California on the west. These interests will cause them to divide between the great political par- ties. Their supreme interest is the progress and prosperity of Utah— that land which they love as Germans love the Fatherland. Utah will be an American State, and, in time, one of the foremost of THE IRRIGATION AGE. American States. One bar to her progress fell when the practice of polygamy was discontinued and the church party dissolved. The other bar falls with the shattering of Territorial bonds. The future of the beautiful State between the Rockies and the Sierras looks as bright as one of her own morning skies. It is widely announced through the press Railroad despatches that the admission of Utah to Proposed, statehood will be quickly followed by active operations in the construction of a railroad system from Salt Lake City to the coast. It is stated that prominent officials of the Mormon church are cooperating with Isaac Trumbo of San Francisco and Gen. J. S. Clarkson of Utah in this undertaking. Surveys have been made and assurances of ample financial backing secured, according to current re- port. It is said that the railroad will open up enor- mous coal beds in southern Utah and then proceed southwest to a connection with the Santa Fe system. We sincerely hope this report is well founded. Such a railroad is much needed and will give a splendid impulse to the development of a section of country which is very richly endowed by nature. It would create an avenue for the exchange of commodities between localities which differ widely in character and products. Southern California will ship largely to the inter-mountain region in the North, and the latter section will ship largely to Southern California. In the near future ocean traffic will come into San Diego's phenomenal harbor. The new railroad will also open a splendid field for irrigation enterprise all along its line. It seems almost too good to be true that such a line can be built in the midst of the pre vailing hard times, but if the potent influences of the Mormon church are behind it we believe it can be done. The resources of these people are large and their credit of the highest. They have never yet failed in any industrial undertaking. Opening The United States Senate has passed the bil1 opening to settlement 3,000,000 acres Lands, of Indian reservations in central Utah. This will give another glorious impulse to the new State. The lands which it is proposed to open are among the best in Western America. They are en- dowed with rich and varied natural resources, and the country will become a wonder field for prospect- ors, as well as for the development of agricultural and horticultural industries. It is understood that the numerous beautiful valleys are amply watered. There can be no doubt that money and men will rush in to make the most of the opportunities from which they have so long been barred by the presence of the Indians. All things considered, Utah would appear to be at this moment about the most promising State in the Union. It will be difficult for her to escape a genuine boom. It is pleasing to reflect that her foun- dations are perfectly solid, and that she ought to be able to amply reward whatever amount of labor or capital shall be expended upon her. The Third Real Estate Congress will be held at St. Paul, Minn., August 21, 22 is the Cry. and 23. The secretary of this body is Mr. O. W. Crawford, of Chicago. This gentleman is doing a good work in raising the slogan, " Back to the Land!" His articles on this subject have been widely published. In these articles he notes the steady decrease in the average size of farms, and predicts that they are destined to grow smaller and smaller in order to accommodate the pressure of population. The Real Estate Congress will take up this subject in earnest. Mr. Crawford believes that small farms are going to be popular, not only in the irrigated region, but in the Middle, West and South. He believes the people must go back to the land in order to sustain themselves and make the nation prosperous. The friends of the arid region are glad to observe this kind of agitation. They think they know to what section the people will go when they are thoroughly aroused to the necessity of colonizing vacant lands. THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. COLORADO PREPARES A ROYAL WELCOME FOR HER SEPTEMBER GUESTS. BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE. THE Third National Irrigation Congress has been called to meet in the city of Denver, September 3d. It is certain to be the most interesting and im- portant convention of its kind ever held in this country. It will mark the culmination of years of effort in organizing public sentiment in favor of com- prehensive plans for the reclamation and settlement of the arid lands. The people of Denver and of Colorado are doing everything in their power to attract a large and repre- sentative attendance, and they will go further in their effort to make the event profitable in results, and pleasing to those who participate in it, than any com- munity has attempted to go before. The rivalry for the honor of entertaining the convention was sharp and earnest. Denver was chosen because of its favor- able location, railroad facilities and hotel accommo- dations, but the people of Colorado as a whole see in the event an extraordinary opportunity which may be turned to their advantage in a legitimate way. They can we'll afford to spend money and time to make the most of it as a means of putting their advantages before homeseekers and investors. The importance of the Congress to the people of the United States, the character of its deliberations, and the nature and extent of the excursions proposed are sketched in the following article. i.— ARID AMERICA FACES ITS OPPOR- TUNITY. Every citizen of the arid States and Territories should feel a deep and active interest in the coming Congress. Irrigation is not a distinct industry by itself in the West, but the foundation of the entire in- dustrial fabric in half a continent. The reclamation of land and the settlement of population thereon is equally important to the railroad, the merchant, the manufacturer and the professional man. In a very large sense the future of all the West is bound up in the future of irrigation. A Congress which proposes to declare the deliberate and studied conclusions of the western public concerning the national policy of the future may properly claim the widest public at- tention for a few days at least. THE OPPORTUNE MOMENT FOR THE WEST. There are other important reasons why the Third National Irrigation Congress should be the object of liveliest interest to all western men. It will assemble at what is likely to prove the most opportune moment in the history of the country for effective work in the interest of irrigation progress. We are in the midst of an extraordinary period of depression. We have recently beheld the strange spectacle of thousands of idle men marching upon the national capital to demand some sort of relief. In politics and in industry there is accumulating evidence of popular, discontent and unrest. There is now no citizen of the United States, however conservative he may be by nature, who does not recognize the need of some new impulse in our industrial life and the need of a new outlet for idle energies and surplus population. We have had periods of depression before, but a vast un- occupied public domain has always served as a safety valve. To-day, when the pressure seems more severe than ever before and when our institutions seem fairly brought to the test, as foretold in Macaulay's remark- able prediction, there is no outlet unless the arid lands are to be speedily reclaimed by some form of enterprise, either public or- private. Last year irriga- tion may have been a western fad ; to-day it is a great national necessity. Last year it was the price of western prosperity; to-day it is perhaps the price of peace and safety for national institutions. WE MUST MAKE HOMES FOR MILLIONS. The most conservative authority on record con- cedes that the deserts of Western America, under a proper system of irrigation, will sustain as many more people as now live in the United States. To render this possible will, in the first place, furnish employment for vast capital and great numbers of men. In the second place, there will have been cre- ated homes for millions of families. Under a system ot diversified farming these millions of families can .sustain themselves, if they can do no more. Is there anything more important in this hour of darkness and strife and evil foreboding than the making of an irrigation policy under which these great ends can be achieved? EVERV INFLUENCE SHOULD UNITE. It is in this aspect that the coming congress should attract the attention and command the support of all western men, for it is in this aspect that it will ob- tain and hold the respectful consideration of the country at large. We shall look in vain for any en- 57 THE IRRIGATION AGE. lightened legislation by the Federal Congress until we suggest it ourselves and until we support the proposition with practical unanimity. This is the opportunity for us to solve the problem and to or- ganize the forces which will carry it successfully be- fore the country. It is the opportunity which should be taken at its flood, lest our future "be bound in shallows and in miseries.'' Every man and newspa- per of influence in the West should labor unselfishly and energetically from now until the Congress assembles at Denver to make the event success- ful in the largest and best sense. FORMER IRRIGATION CONVENTIONS. To fully comprehend the importance of the Denver Congress it is necessary to know some- thing of its predecessors. The first Irrigation Con- gj-ess was called by Gov- ernor Thomas and met THE POLICY OF LAND CESSION. The principal argument in favor of cession was that this measure was the best that could be ob- tained. Very few people regarded it as the ideal solution of the arid land problem, but the vast preponderance of opinion at the first congress was to the effect that the East would never consent to large appropriations, and that the West must itself deal with the question as one of local importance. Senator Warren of Wyo- • ming introduced a bill based upon the Salt Lake platform. The measure failed to command the strong support which its friends expected in the West itself. An opposi- tion, based upon the fear that the lands would be frittered away by corrupt legislatures, speedily de- veloped. In the East the measure was strong, as its friends had antici- pated. Eastern public F. C. GOUDY. G. O. SHAFER. F. D. CARPER. E. W. MERRITT. MEMBERS OF DENVER COMMITTEE. M. C. JACKSON. in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September, 1891. It was largely attended and many eminent men were included among its delegates. The object of the convention, as stated in the call, was to consider the cession of the lands to the States. Only this aspect of the subject was considered and after sev- eral days of animated debate the Congress, by a practically unanimous vote, declared in favor of cession. men and newspapers were willing to say to the West, " Take your worthless arid lands and get out." It is believed that the present ad- ministration feels this way about it and would willingly lend its influence to a plan of cession if now vigorously presented by the West. But upon that proposition alone the West cannot be united, and it is hoped that a better plan can be devised. THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 59 THE CITY OF DENVER. THE SECOND CONGRESS AT LOS ANGELES. The second Irrigation Congress was held at Los Angeles last October and resulted in the creation of the irrigation commissions. This was avowedly a truce between the friends and the opponents of the plan of cession. It provided a year for study and debate, at the end of which it was hoped a wise compromise could be effected and western senti- ment united upon it. The congress at Los Angeles accomplished more than the creation of the commis- sions, however. It attempted to declare certain fund- amental principles upon which measures of legis- lation should hereafter be based. In another depart- ment of this number of THE IRRIGATION AGE these principles are stated and analyzed. OTHER FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME. Each of the former irrigation congresses presented elaborate programmes aside from the debates and declarations upon the vital issues referred to. Such events always attract a large attendance of thinking men, and bring to the front those most capable of discussing the various phases of the subject in which they are particularly interested. This was the case at Salt Lake, but in a larger degree it was true of Los Angeles. In the latter case the more extended 6o THE IRRIGATION AGE. and important debates occurred in the Committee on Resolutions. The congress itself was occupied for five days with the presentation of papers and ad- dresses covering a wide range of topics. The dele- gations from foreign countries contributed largely to this feauture of the programme. There was scarcely a dull moment from Tuesday forenoon, when the congress was called to order, until late Saturday night, when it reached final adjournment. Many ap- plications have been received for places on the Den- ver programme, and while the plans have not yet been completed in all details, it is quite certain that the programme of the coming congress will be fully as entertaining and instructive as that at Los Angeles. But in many respects the Denver congress will differ radically from any which has ever been held. II.— THE IRRIGATION COMMISSIONS AND THEIR WORK. As has already been said, the congress at Denver will mark the culmination of years of discussion and agitation. The feature of transcendant interest at Denver was foreshadowed in the following paragraph of the Address to the People of the United States, adopted by the Congress at Los Angeles: The result of the investigations of^these several commissions shall be submitted to the next Irrigation Congress, at a time to be designated by the Executive Committee, not exceeding one year hence, and upon these reports the final and definite decla- ration of the people of the western States and Territories may be based. By this means we hope, within a reasonable time, to suggest a satisfactory irrigation policy to the nation and to the States and Territories, and we hereby declare our purpose to erect it upon broad foundations of justice and equality, and with due regard for the rights of both labor and capital. This portion of the address was telegraphed to the country and reproduced in hundreds of newspapers It was deeply impressed on ^hj? mind of every Delegate, and by every means in the power of the convention the public was notified last October that the next Irriga- tion Congress would aim to express "the final and definite declaration of the people of the western States and Territories." This was the means adopted to harmonize con- flicting views and unite the west- ern public upon a national irriga- tion policy. It is thus quite certain that the reports of the several Irrigation Commissions, the de- bates to whichjhey will give rise, and the final conclusions based upon them, must constitute the overshadowing features of the coming congress. CHARACTER OF THE COMMISSIONS. The commissions appointed in accordance with the Los Angeles platform are generally composed of the best material. Most of them have been faithful to the responsibilities imposed upon them. It is yet too early to furnish any forecast of their conclusions and recommendations, but they have collected a vast amount of valuable material and the Denver Con- gress will certainly be able to deal more intelligently with its problems than any other convention has done. NEVADA FIRST TO ORGANIZE. Nevada named the first commission. Gen. John E. Jones, of Carson City, the energetic member of the National Committee, stands at its head, and his asso- ciates are L. H. Taylor, of Reno, W. C. Pitt, of Lovelock, James Newlands, Jr., and R. M. Clark, of Carson City. This commission held its first meeting November 13th, and appointed auxiliary committees reaching out into all portions of the State. It has flooded Nevada with circulars and letters and there is reason to expect that its report will be one of the most exhaustive, as well as one of the most inspiring and suggestive submitted to the Congress. THE CALIFORNIA COMMISSION. California named a very notable commission, headed by Hon. Eli H. Murray, the former governor of Utah, and including such well- known names as Hon. C. C. Wright, author of the District law; W. S. Green, now surveyor general of the State; L. M. Holt, one of the foremost irrigation thinkers in the country, and J. A. Pirtle, of Los Angeles. This com- mission had its first meeting in December and di- vided the State into districts in order to provide HKOADWAY ENTRANCE TO BROWN PALACE HOTEL. THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 61 means for a thorough canvass of public opinion, as well as to secure data for an intelligible report. AN ABLE COMMISSION IN KANSAS. Judge J. W. Gregory, of Garden City, stands at the head of the Kansas commission. He belongs to the first rank of irrigation leaders and Kansas is certain to maintain her usual prominent position as the re- sult of the work of the commission named by him. It is as follows: Judge V. H. Grinstead.of Digh- ton, L. Baldwin, of Great Bend, A. B. Montgomery, of Goodland, F. D. Co- burn, of Topeka. H. V. Hinckley was added to the commission as con- sulting engineer. The Kansas commission has held several meetings at the State capital and dis- tributed circulars calling for information to many' citizens of the State. H. J. MAYHAM. OTHER NOTABLE COM- MISSIONS. Another very notable commission is at work in Wyoming. State En- gineer Elwood Mead is at the head of it and President Johnson of the State University is a con- spicuous member. Sev- eral meetings have been held and a comprehen- sive circular mailed to every voter in the State. The work of the Idaho commission has also at- tracted much attention. It is composed as follows: T. D. Babbitt, Nampa, chairman ; Charles H. Ir- win, Nampa; F. J. Mills, Pocatello; J. E. Ostrander, Moscow ; A. D. Morrison, Idaho Falls. Colorado has a notable commission which includes Prof. L. J. Carpenter, of the State Agricultural Col- lege, J. Sire Greene, the former State Engineer, Ex- Mayor Platt Rogers, of Denver, and W. S. Car- penter, of Cortez. J. F. Rocho, member of the National Committee, is ex-officio chairman of the commission and is devoting his time liberally to the work. CALDWELL YEAMAN. MEMBERS OF DENVER COMMITTEE. The New Mexico commission is headed by Mortimer A. Downing, of Santa Fe, who enjoyed a rich experience as Col. Hinton's right-hand man in the Bureau of Irrigation Inquiry at Washington. His colleagues are C. B. Eddy, of Eddy, Frank S. Coolidge, of Olio, O. H. Hadley, of Watrous, and W. H. Hopewell, of Hillsborough. This is a commis- sion which ought to give a good account of itself. S. B. Robbins, of Great Falls, heads the Montana commission, which in- cludes Col. A. C. Botkin, of Helena, author of the memorial to Congress issued by the Salt Lake convention. The other members are Paris Gib- son, of Great Falls, W. H. Sutherlin, of White Sul- phur Springs, and W. A. Clark, of Butte. The Nebraska com- mission is as follows: Charles H. Ross, North Platte, chairman; J. M. Lee, Oxford; John R. King, Benkelman; B. E. Brewster, Harrison; George E. French, North Platte. The South Dakota commission is as follows: J. T. McWilliams, Aber- deen, chairman; S. W. Narregang, Aberdeen; S. H. Riggs, Frankfort; A. B. Hassett, Redfield; Robert Evans, Spearfish. Three commissions of which much is hoped are those of Washington, Utah and Arizona. The chairman of the Wash- ington commission is Dr. N. G. Blalock, of Walla Walla, who represented FRED. E. COE. JOHN C. TWOMBLY. his State at the World's Fair so successfully as executive commissioner and who is thoroughly identified with the industrial life in the arid portion of the far northwestern State. William H. Rowe, chairman of the Utah commission, is president of the Bear River- en- terprise and also of the company which is doing such important work in central Utah on the Sevier river. He will bring to the next congress a thorough knowledge both of the early and modern irrigation methods in the Territory which he represents. Judge • 62 THE IRRIGATION AGE. J. L. VanDerwerker, of Yuma, is chairman of the Arizona commission and is also very much in earnest and thoroughly well equipped. His commission will deal with the problems of our new Southwest and its report ought to be an important contribution to irri- gation literature. The Georgia commission, as noted in this journal last month, consists of five very prominent citizens of the Empire State of the South, and its report will be awaited with much interest because the idea of irrigation in that part of the country is itself unique. A CODE OF STATE LAWS. The reports of the irrigation commissions will deal not only with the question of a national policy, but also with local laws which it is hoped may be made common to all the States. This latter feature is one of great importance. It is cer- tain to lead to a full discussion of the District law of California, of the office of State Engineer and other subjects of the widest interest. It seems desirable that it should be the policy of States to do more for themselves and expect less of the National Government. It is hoped that the in- fluence of the congress will go far to popularize this idea. ROTUNDA OF BROWN PALACE HOT! L ENLARGING THE SCOPE OF THE NATIONAL WORK. An effort will also be made to enlarge the scope of the National Executive Committee. This is absolutely necessary in order to put irrigation before the country as a national issue and secure the triumph of the pol- icy enunciated by the coming congress. It will also have a beneficial influence in providing outlets for irrigation securities and securing settlers for irrigated lands. If the committee could next year be extended so as to include a representative man from every State in the Union the result could not fail to do good. But nothing in this direction can be done until the West is ready to present its plans to the country with an earnest and unanimous voice. We must settle our differences first, and then appeal with united front to the American people. TWO COMMITTEES ON RESOLUTIONS. It is likely that the work of the coming congress will be divided between two committees on resolu- tions, one dealing with national legislation and one with State laws. In view of the vast importance of the subjects they will discuss, it is desired to have the convention itself analyze the reports of the State Commissions and debate every item that may enter into the final declarations of the congress. While the plan has not been perfected as yet, it is likely that the commissions will submit their reports on the first night of the convention, and that the commit- tees will then deal with them by top- ics. For instance, the Committee on National Legisla- tion may first take up the forestry sub- ject, then pastural lands, then inter- state waters, and so on to the end of the list. A similar plan might be pur- sued by the Com- mittee on State Legislation. Hav- ing shaped its re- port upon one topic, the committee can refer it to the con- gress for debate and ratification or THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. rejection. In this way the congress itself will be kept constantly busy with the main issues, the committees having first discussed them and formulated an ex- pression of their views. It generally happens that the committees consist of the foremost men of the congress, and as a rule the convention endorses their conclusions. But it is desired that the Denver Con- gress shall deal with its work directly, in*view of the fact that the policies to be enunciated may perhaps become the foundation of civilization in the West. ADOPT A CLEAR-CUT BILL. There is a strong sentiment in favor of having the national policy expressed in the form of a bill, to be presented to the Congress of the United States. This would be preferable to leaving it for any individual to formulate hereafter. If the results of the congress be embodied in a clear-cut measure, the people can support it with a knowledge of just what they are favoring, and political leaders and conventions will have no difficulty in understanding the proposition. The National Committee will then have a definite measure to urge upon the country. HI. _AN ATTRACTIVE PROGRAMME OF EXCURSIONS. It is the purpose of the people of Colorado to make the Third National Irrigation Congress the occasion for putting the beauties and advantages of their State conspicuously before the eye of the people. Colo- rado has suffered some setbacks during the past year. She proposes to utilize this opportunity to demonstrate her marvelous resources, the charm of her climate, the grandeur of her mountain scenery, the sufficiency of her water supply and the fertility of her irrigated lands. The Irrigation Congress will be presented with some of the finest object lessons, illustrating both what has been done and what remains to be done, to be found upon the continent. The plan of excursions arranged by the Colorado people should of itself attract an immense attendance, not only of delegates but also of spectators and of homeseekers. It is true Colorado can be seen at any time, but on the occasion of the Irrigation Congress her hospital- ity will be on dress parade. Not only that, but low rates of railroad fare will be provided and extraordi- nary efforts put forth to provide for the comfort and pleasure of all visitors, which includes the spectator and the homeseeker as well as the official represen- tatives of irrigation interests. THE FIRST DAY OF THE CONGRESS. The congress will go into session on the forenoon of Monday, September 3. The forenoon session will witness the opening addresses and the temporary or- ganization, with the appointment of committees on credentials, order of business and permanent organi- zation. In the afternoon session the permanent officers will be elected and the committees on Na- tional legislation and State laws will be named. Usually this business, with the address of the per- manent president, occupies the time of the afternoon session quite fully. Probably the evening session will be devoted to the reports of the several State commissions and an address by the chairman of the National Executive Committee. GREELEY AND THE NOHTH. Bright and early on the morning of the second day the congress will leave by special train for Greeley, Fort Collins, Longmont, Boulder and other points of great interest in the irrigated districts. Every friend of Arid America will desire to visit the historic col- ony of Greeley, which is everywhere known as a type of the best agricultural possibilities of Colorado. Founded under the inspiration of Horace Gree- ley, in the face of the dangers and hardships of the pi- oneer life a quarter century ago, this community dem- onstrates the tremendous significance of irrigation in the economic life of Western America. Its methods, its products, its civic institutions and its homes are so many beacon lights showing the way to prosperity in the future. But there are many other attractions in northern Colorado which the delegates and their friends will be shown on this first day's excursion. Among them is the agricultural college and its ex- perimental farms at Fort Collins. AGAIN IN SESSION AT DENVER. The convention will return to Denver Tuesday- night and re-assemble in convention Wednesday morning. It will enter upon its second day's session with enthusiasm and intelligence quickened and en- lightened by the previous day's sight-seeing in the north. Doubtless the committees will by this time be able to report several sections of the proposed national measure, as well as some features of the code of common State laws. If so, the convention will at once enter upon the debate of these topics and begin the construction of those great policies which must underlie the future development of Arid Am- erica. Any time that can be spared from the more important work of the convention will be devoted to a miscellaneous programme of papers and addresses, dealing with various phases of irrigation. MELON DAY AT ROCKY FORD. Wednesday night the Irrigation Congress special train will again be at the service of the delegates and their friends. It is proposed to make a night run to Rocky Ford and join the citizens of the Arkansas valley Thursday morning in the festivities of Melon Day. This is a famous Colorado festival. People come from all over the State and consume melons without money and without price. They inspect the 64 THE IRRIGATION AGE. irrigation works and the irrigated farms of the valley and celebrate the triumph of water over the desert. It is expected that this Melon Day will be the most memorable in the history of Rocky Rord, for it will be graced by the presence of men and women from all over the Union and will doubtless call forth con- gratulatory speeches by the national leaders of irri- gation thought. The special congress train will re- turn to Denver during the night, and Friday and Sat- urday will be devoted uninterruptedly to the work of the congress. The committees will, if desired, oc- cupy special cars and carry on their work while en route. It is likely that the formal deliberations of the congress will be brought to a close at Denver Satur- day night, although it is proposed to keep the con- vention together for several days afterward and to hold meetings in other portions of the State. THE GREATEST EXCURSION OF ALL. On Sunday the committee have arranged for an excursion around the " Loop '' above Georgetown, one of the most famous scenic points in the State. Re- turning from this short trip, the convention's triumphal excursion is planned to leave Denver on the evening of Sunday, September 9th. It is this excursion which will exhibit to the delegates, homeseekers and spectators the magnificent scenery and boundless in- dustrial possibilities of the great Centennial State. Short stops will be made at Salida, Gunnison and Delta, arriving at Grand Junction Monday evening. On their return they will pass through Glenwood Springs and over Tennessee Pass by the more northern route and then through the famous San Luis valley of southern Colorado, where three-quarters of a million of acres already lie under ditch, awaiting the electric touch of human labor. It would be impossible to describe the beauties of mountain and valley, of hill and plain, which the visitors will behold in the course of this trip. They will take in the great circle of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, which carries them not only through the eastern foot hills and down the San Luis valley to the New Mexico border, but into southwest Colorado. No more glorious trip could be selected in Arid Amer- ica, and Europe has nothing worthy to be mentioned in the same day. PEACH DAY AT GRAND JUNCTION. Interest and enthusiasm will begin to reach their highest pitch when the special train arrives at Grand Junction Monday evening, September 10th. The following day, Tuesday, will be the great festival day of Colorado's western slope, when the scenes of Melon Day at Rocky Ford are re-enacted on a grander scale and peaches are substituted for melons. It will be a revelation to the visitors of the enormous possibilities of fruit farming in western Colorado and eastern Utah. On this occasion the California delegation will be introduced to peaches that are peaches, indeed. Men from all over the arid region, and men from the East and South, will be astounded by what they learn on this occasion of the future of a section hitherto all but unknown to them- Western Colorado will have an opportunity to show what she understands, to be the meaning of that word, " hospitality.'' It is hoped that not less 500 dele- gates will be present at Grand Junction on this gala day. They will represent much more than half the States of the Union and several foreign countries. A MEETING ON THE DESERT. The country surrounding Grand Junction presents some of the typical problems of Arid America. Here is a vast and voiceless desert. The soil is rich, the climate almost ideal. Through this tract of arid land flows a tumultuous river, carrying an immense amount of now useless water down to the tropic sea. It is pro- posed to assemble the Irrigation Congress, with its friends and the local visitors to Peach Day, upon this desert and hold there a grand rally for Arid America, for industrial independence, for human equality, for everything involved in the civiliza- tion of the future. This THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. will be indeed a memorable day in thehistory of American irrigation. This occasion alone should at- tract an immense gathering from all over the country. COST OF THE EXCURSIONS. The Denver Committee of Arrangements, of which Hon. E. W. Merritt is chairman and Thos. L. Smith, secretary, advises us that special arrangements have been made with the railroads in order that these at- tractive excursions may be placed within the reach of all delegates, visitors and homeseekers. IV.— DENVER. The city of the congress; the fascinating, surpris- ing, and not-easy-to-depart-from city, the entire at- tractions and merits of which we cannot hope to re- hearse in one article. It has become a saying among women that it is unsafe for men to leave the cars, or stop over at Den- ver, as an irresistible charm is worked to create rest- lessness and dissatisfaction elsewhere, and when the entrancing city, with its " s.tony sponsors for the passing years," the grand Rockies, standing as if to guard it for 250 miles, and the long stretches of fine avenues, are all familiar to us, we understand, we feel, and yield to the spell. We read its history, and try to realize that we are introduced to a city boasting only thirty-five years of existence, but contradictions bewilder us, and we dimly comprehend the marvels accomplished in that short time. It was of this country that Daniel Webster said, on the floor of the Senate in 1838, when a post-route west from the Missouri was under discussion: " What do we want with this vast, worthless area, " this region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, " shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus " and prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope WINDSOR HOTEL, DENVER. " to put these great deserts, or those endless mount- "ain ranges, impregnable and covered to their very " base with eternal snow? * * * What use have "we for such a country?" The answer was begun twenty years later, when savages and beasts were braved, when Denver had its beginning ; and since irrigation has transformed these deserts into gardens, and almost incomputable wealth has been wrested from these mountains, we wonder where Webster roams that he hears not the reply. The claims of this goodly place are not shifting as its sands may have been, but urge themselves upon us as most enduring ones. The almost perfect cli- mate is too well advertised to mention, since Denver has become one of the sanitariums of the world ; but no visitor has ever been wholly prepared for the beauty of the city in its splendid public and private buildings; the halls and corridors of the former are faced with exquisite marble or onyx, while scores of homes are of finely cut stone, blue, red or brown. There are hotels of beautiful pressed brick and terra cotta, or of brown stone, cleverly finished in onyx, marble or choice woods, while as a whole, in no com- munity in the country of Denver's size do better school houses stand. There are no tenement houses to work their harm to health and happiness, but, according to the U. S. census officials, Denver ranks first in the country in the number of homes to her population, for the humblest laborer occupies a separate little home, with no meagre space about him. Denver is beautifully situated at the meeting point of the plains and the foothills. One hundred and seventy-five miles of boundless prairie surface away from the State line on the east, and only twelve miles westward to the actual mountains themselves. There is no city in the world that surpasses Denver in its means of public transportation — its rapid tran- sit system astonishes everyone, even its own people, accustomed to its increase and advantages. As a business and financial center Denver claims as her kingdom the entire country between the Mis- souri river and the Sierra Nevadas, and from the Gulf to the British Provinces. The business men of the city know that the prosperity of the country tributary to it is necessary for its own best develop- ment, and are ever ready to give time and money for any enterprise tending to the building up of the State, or to the improvement of economic conditions in the West. The truth of this is proved by the work Denver men are now doing for the coming congress. Personally, the members of the local committee are but slightly, if at all, interested in agricultural mat- ters, or in irrigation, but to advance the cause of the latter, which they hold next to silver in importance, a 66 THE IRRIGATION AGE. question which, rightly solved, will do more than all else to build up a mighty empire on the plains and foothills of Arid America — for these reasons solely these men spare neither time nor thought in the pre- liminary work of the congress. Until recently the position of Denver as a manu- facturing center was neglected, but what Western energy can do in a short time is shown in the rows of manufacturing plants now bordering the railroad tracks. The paper mills, making every kind of paper from manilla to fine book and writing paper, supply a dozen States ; the cotton mills and the shoe factory, all attest the perfect success of every undertaking in the direction of manufacturing. Mining machinery and builders' hardware are shipped all over the West, to Mexico and South America. Fire brick and fire clay articles, sewer pipe, pottery, etc., are among the goods of export. Colorado, as a State, with its fine colleges in the middle section, and its Boulder University in the northern, and Denver, with its generous and high grade educational privileges, leaves little to be done in the intellectual ways. If what has been said of the convention city shall attract the attention of the readers of THE IRRIGA- TION AGE and decide uncertain ones to go and see for themselves the beauties of the city we praise, and solve the mystery of its subtle fascinations, our pur- pose is gained, and we shall feel sure of a wide- spread endorsement of our opinion concerning this city, set indeed upon a hill, whose light is steadily penetrating in all directions. ESTES PARK, COLORADO, FROM MT. OLYMPUS.— on the Union Pacific System. THE ART OF IRRIGATION. SIXTH PAPER: WATER MEASUREMENT AND DELIVERY CONSIDERED. BY T. S. VAN DYKE. AT first glance a description of the methods of the most successful irrigating settlements of our country would seem the best way of teaching the use of water. It would be if it did not crowd out more important matter. In these days of haste the patience of the reader and not the " second wind " of the author is the limit of a book. More- over, a method good in one place may be wholly un- fit for another. It may be bad even there, yet good because the best available. Or, it may be good in general, yet bad in some details; as in the illustrations we often see of laterals and sub-laterals, with con- nections of earth instead of wood, or something by which an even feed of water from one to the other may be insured, so that one stream is not too big and another too small, or stopped entirely by the streams beside it taking too much water, or a leaf, or other small thing, making a dam at the passageway from one to the other ; and again, this may be good because the nature of the crop will justify nothing better. A hundred miles from there, or on a different scale, or under a different soil it might pay so well to use the better method that it would be folly to imitate the other plan though it be profitable there. You must learn the principle upon which all good work depends* Then, and only then, can you decide what you want. CONDITIONS TO BE CONSIDERED. The best methods will be described as we go on; your choice will depend not upon your preferences or your inclination to imitate successful irrigators at home or abroad, but upon: 1st. The character of your soil. 2d. Its slope and drainage facilities. 3d. The amount of rainfall it has. 4th. The amount of water at your disposal for the year or season. 5th. The amounts or heads in which this quantity of water maybe used by you at different times and the frequency of the times. Differences in the amount of hot weather, markets and other smaller considerations may also affect this question. But the five limitations above given are absolute, especially the fourth and fifth. THE DELIVERY OF THE WATER. And these lead to an examination of the way water is delivered by companies, whether public or private— a subject you must master whether you like it or not, for the knowledge of it is essential to full success, even if you own your own water works. As a rule, water from a company is a more reliable and convenient source of supply than any private works you can build. Some of these are companies of which the stock has been sold out along with the land so that the irrigators are in the same situation as if they had clubbed together in the first place and built the works themselves. Other companies sell water while keeping the stock, and these are gener- ally as reliable and good as the others. But the method of distribution is the same in both; it is founded in good sense and will always exist. BUY A WATER RIGHT. Water is sold for irrigation by the cubic foot a sec- ond or by the miner's inch. In a few cases I have known it sold by the thousand gallons, and one who knows little of the subject is liable to think this a good way. It is, however, too much like buying hay for your horse at so much a straw. So surely as you do it, so surely shall you flatter yourself that that horse is keeping remarkably fat on one or two straws a day- less. He will be like the Irishman's horse that he trained to live without eating. Just as he "got him elegantly broke he died." Buy a full water supply and then you will be sure always to use enough. And unless you are in a land owner's com- pany where the stock represents your right to the water, buy what is called a "water right," and don't listen to anyone who tells you that a public water company, like a common carrier, is bound to deliver water to all applicants on tender of the rates. What your trees or other things want is water. They won't thrive worth a cent on damages at the end of a long law suit, especially when the question is one that may be fought over again the next season. A " water right'' contract, as it is called, is not, as some tell you, an additional means of squeezing you to enrich east- ern goldbugs. It is an insurance policy. You are put on the list of the company's consumers and so much water is set apart for you. No decent com- pany will oversell its supply in such a case, but will save enough water for you in all except extraordinary seasons when you may have to take less, the same as if you were in a landowner's company in which the allowance of water to the stock- holders is based upon the average seasons and not upon the exceptional. But if there is no contract 67 68 THE IRRIGATION AGE. between you and the company it is under no obliga- tion in law or morals to furnish you any specific quantity of water, or any at all, unless you can prove a surplus above what is necessary to fill its contracts with others. And by the time you have proved a surplus the irrigating season may be over and you will have to prove it over again for the next. WATER MEASUREMENT. Having secured through stock or contract a per- petual right to a given quantity of water, how is it to be measured out to you? The standard measure of water is the cubic foot a second, or " second foot," as it is often called. If you had a ditch a foot wide and a foot deep in which the average velocity (not the top or center velocity) was one foot a second it would give you a cubic foot a second. If the velocity were two feet a second it would give you two feet a second, and so on. On account of the difficulty of getting the average velocity, water in considerable quantities has to be measured with a weir or the fall over a sharp-edged board from a still pond. But this is inconvenient for small quantities and it is not always convenient to make a pond large enough to deaden the velocity of the stream to a stillness reliable for accurate meas- urement. The miners in early days therefore adopted a pressure measure called the "miners' inch " which now has become a legal measure in some States and Territories. It is generally fixed at a pressure of four inches and is the quantity that will flow through a hole an inch square out of a box in which the level of the water is four inches above the center of the hole. As this will vary with the nature of the edges of the hole, it becomes a purely theoretical measure de- duced from the flow there should be from the laws of gravity. A discount of about 36 per cent, is made for the twisting of the water and other resistance to its discharge, which leaves a flow of 13,000 gallons a day, nine gallons a minute, or 540 gallons an hour. These are in round numbers, which will be used all through for convenience. They vary a trifle not worth considering and only making them harder to remember. This is a convenient measure because it is one- fiftieth of a cubic foot a second. It amounts to 620,- 000 cubic feet a year, which equals 4,750,000 gallons. This will cover an acre over 14 feet deep in a year, and cover 10 acres about 18 inches deep. This would give to 10 acres 6 irrigations of 3 inches each, which would be much more effective than 6 rains of 3 inches each, as they generally come. From these data you may figure out other things it will do, but these are enough for all practical purposes. HOW TO USE THE WATKR TO ADVANTAGE. Suppose, now, you have an inch of water and ten acres of land. You speedily discover that with an inch flowing all the time you can do very little. It keeps you constantly at work and limits you to the use of basins so that you cannot wet the whole ground. By the time you have the last of your tract wet the first part needs water again, and you have no time to cultivate properly. You are doing four times the v/ork you should do and will get less than half the results you should have. If you could let that inch run into a reservoir for four or five weeks or more and then let it all out in a few hours you might wet something with very much less work. In other words, you want not a continuous flow of one inch, but so many 2^-hour inches at once. The equiv- alent of a continuous flow for a year is what you want, taken in quantities and for lengths of time to suit your convenience. But when you come to figure on a reservoir that will be tight, safe and not a nasty mud-hole most of the year, you are staggered at its cost. Anything like an artificial tank is very expen- sive, and natural basins of any size with narrow mouths, suitable for safe and cheap dams, do not grow in every canyon. Your neighbors find the same trouble. NO NECESSITY FOR A RESERVOIR. Well, why should you build a reservoir when the ditch itself is one? Suppose there are 10,000 inches of water in the ditch and 500 consumers want 20 inches each for 24 hours. With a little care on the part of the management of the ditch they can all have it. Suppose, farther, that there are 10,000 con- sumers on the line, each with a 10-acre tract, with a water right of an inch to 10 acres. They can all be furnished 20 inches a piece for 24 hours in 20 days. The expense and annoyance of 10,000 reservoirs are thus saved. Some irrigators will want larger heads of water for shorter times and others smaller heads for longer runs. But they will average up so that every 30 days one can have about what he wants. The only restriction is that he cannot have it just when he wants it. But if he sends in his order early enough to give the ditch-tender or secretary time to arrange his deliveries far enough ahead, he can get his water at very nearly the time he wants it. If disappointed this month, the company will try hard- er to accommodate him to the minute the next time. But after the first few times the irrigator will have his crops accommodated to the times, so that although not exactly what one would prefer, this taking turns works very well in practice, and is the only way of getting water in sufficient irrigating heads without too much expense. THE DIVISION OF WATER. 69 CONTINUOUS FLOW NOT DESIRABLE. This, then, is the way in which water is delivered by all companies that understand their business. An inch of water never means continual flow unless ex- pressly stated. The consumer don't want it in that way and the company don't want to be bothered measuring it in that way. An inch does not mean one inch for 365 days any more than it means 365 inches in one day. One is almost as great a nuisance as the other. It means the equivalent of it, or 365 24 inches, taken in such quantities and at such times, and for such lengths of time, as may be consistent with the rights of other consumers, to be determined by the rules of distribution laid down by the company for the accommodation of all. I know but one exception to this, the San Diego Flume Company, which, con- trary to the intentions of its projectors, limits its con- sumers to a continuous flow. Human ingenuity could devise nothing better adapted to torment consumers and drive a company into bankruptcy. No one of sense will have anything to do with water delivered in any other way than large heads. Fortunately there is but one such company in the world, so the reader runs little danger. The world can produce only one such set of brains in one era. In some companies the rules provide that the gate shall not be opened for less than 50 inches. Ten inches is the smallest head that will be delivered in Southern California outside of the Flume Company above mentioned. No other company will be bothered with anything less and nearly all of them are land owner's companies, too. An irrigator limited to the continuous flow of a single inch is driven to the use of hose and basins. He can use his water only in the day time so that the device is a good one if a company wants to sell twice as much water as it has. He can avoid this only by an expensive reservoir; for one to do much good on ten acres worked for profit should have about a hundred thousand cubic feet of space. You can now readily understand how your mode of ir- rigation is limited by the irrigating head, or the amount at your disposal at any one time, as well as by the quantity you may have for the year. Suppose you can get one hundred inches, twelve hours run, seven times a year. This will give you 350 24-hour inches, or very nearly your inch for the year. With such a head you can flood your ten acres to bed rock if the texture of the soil or other consideration makes it advisable to flood. Suppose, however, that you can get thirty inches two days run six times a year. Here you see are 360 24-hour inches, or very nearly your whole inch for a year. Or, suppose you can get twenty inches three days run six times a year. You then have the same amount and under almost all systems you can get it in this way. You can in either case, if the nature of your soil permits, use the small furrow system, which for many things is so superior to all others that it is folly to be content with anything else, however effective it may be. SELECT LAND CONTIGUOUS TO WATER. But suppose you cannot get it in this way and have to take a small dribbling stream. It by no means fol- lows that you must not irrigate. But you must deduct from the price of the water the cost of a decent res- ervoir to give it its full value. Or, if you are getting it from a spring of your own, or from a well by wind- mill or other power, you must figure out the cost of all these things before you invest your money and you may find it will pay you to go somewhere else. But the great American irrigating tenderfoot rarely does anything of the sort. He picks out a fine piece of land, or a fine view, or something else that is fine, and after getting anchored by the investment of so much hard cash, paying of ten aw£ feet deep gave the best results. 3. Soils remove most of the solids from water ap- plied beyond soil saturation. 4. The water that does escape from soils by leach- ing is richer in the elements of fertility than before it entered, the amount so escaping, however, being so small that the total contains but a fraction of the solids applied. 5. Where water applied is small in amount, the temperature grows higher and higher on decreasing amounts. 6. Water applied to our gravelly soils appears to evaporate inside of twelve days. Profit in Potatoes. — A farmer near the irrigating canal in Butler county, Idaho, is making a success of the potato crops. This year he has planted over forty acres (double last season's area, on which he made a profit of about $75 an acre). With moisture in sufficient quantities this section is an excellent one for all kinds of farming. The Sweet Potato Crop.— The sweet potato is one of the most valuable crops grown by the farmer, either for market or home consumption. The value of sweet potatoes as a part of the ration allowed cows has not received the attention it de- serves. They are one of the cheapest milk producers farmers can grow, and cattle are very fond of them. Potatoes for this purpose should be of the prolific sorts, like the Brazilian Yam or Southern Queen. Such as are intended for this purpose may be put up in the fields in small hills containing eight or ten bushels and will keep in excellent condition through the winter. When opened the contents of a hill can be moved at once to a bin in the barn for use. Plant sweet potatoes for the cows and pigs. Sunflowers. — Experiments have shown that the common sunflower exhales twelve ounces of water in twenty-four hours. Roots of all trees draw large quantities of moisture from the soil, which is dis- charged into the air through the leaves. It is esti- mated that an oak tree with 700,000 leaves would give off something like 700 tons of water during the five months it carries its foliage. Rabbit Pest. — Rabbits have been causing much damage to the wheat on the irrigated lands west of the slough in Fresno county. There is quite a heavy crop of grain in that section, and the long-eared pests have been mowing it down rapidly. Two drives have been made and 3,000 of the animals killed. These drives are to be continued at intervals. Lticorice is another plant that someone under the ditch may like to experiment with, and, it may be added, with a fine prospect of making a decided hit. It takes three years to realize from a licorice plan- tation, but one once started it is a permanent thing. Cuttings of roots three to four inches long are used for planting, the process being much the same as with hop roots. The world's supply of licorice now comes principally from Spain, but considerable is produced in the south of England. The Louisiana cane sugar crop last season reached about 226,000 tons, the heaviest crop ever grown in the state. The beet sugar made in California last season was 17,569 tons. Experiments will be made with sugar cane in the valley of the Sacramento river, Cal., the present season, and it is believed the culture of cane may be found a profitable enterprise in some of the rich valleys of that state. An electric mosquito bar has been invented by a Frenchman. Just as the mosquito touches it the insect receives a death shock. Ninety-two acres of beets were planted in the vi- cinity of Chadron, Nebraska, and there are prospects of a good crop. HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. ^*^^Y UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN TSE FRUIT INDUSTRY. BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. "T^HE growing of fruits of every kind, suitable to the 1 climate and soil of the United States, is rapidly increasing. In nearly every nook and corner of the country the fruit interest is becoming more or less prominent; and in many places where the industry was merely incidental a few years ago, it has now be- come a leading pursuit. The enormous consumption of wholesome fruits, in largely increasing volume from year to year, is the surest indication that the American people have gained some knowledge of dietetics and will never again be content with a coarse diet of pork and hominy and all that such a fare implies. But, of course, there must be a limit to fruit-grow- ing, no matter how great the facilities may be for merely producing even the choicest fruits. That limit is most nearly fixed by the cost at which the product may be placed upon the tables of consumers. With a proper standard of living for American citizens, either proprietors and employes or laborers for hire, the final cost of producing most varieties of fruit in the United States cannot and should not be very greatly reduced. In some cases the large proprietor, by operating in a wholesale way in all things and cul- tivating a large acreage, may produce fruit at a lesser cost per ton than the small orchardist whose system of management must be different. But the great or- chardist should not exist. The best interest of the country demands that the farms and orchards be small, and that the owners and their families perform most of the labor required. Nothing approaching peon labor should be permitted, if possible to prevent it, among fruit-growing communities. The successful fruit-grower must read. He must not be of the non-progressive element of our rural population who decry "book farming" and ridicule the farmer who reads farm journals. The farmer or fruit-grower who insists on learning everything about his business through his own experience will never know much. One of the unsolved problems in fruit growing is that of placing the product in the hands of consumers at prices within their reach, while at the same time leaving a living margin in the hands of the grower. This is not merely a question of freight rates on the railways, and of commission men, as so many fruit- 82 growers believe. The question is a very much broader one, though it includes the two elements named. Primarily, the solution of this gravest question before fruit-growers must depend upon the producer him- self. He must produce good fruit; he must so sys- tematize his business that he can produce it at a mod- erate cost, and know what that cost is. It is probably true that not one fruit-grower in fifty knows what it costs him to produce a pound of any variety of fruit. If this be true, he should naturally have but little voice in fixing a price for his product, for he has lit- tle knowledge of its proper value, based upon the cost of production. At this point, therefore, permanent cooperative or- ganizations are essential. It has come about that single-handed and unaided efforts along nearly all lines of human endeavor are largely nullified through misdirection. A thousand men cannot move a ton's weight by each one exerting his own strength sepa- rately. With the united and simultaneous exertions of ten men the weight is easily moved. The same principle holds good among fruit-grow- ers. What ten thousand of them, acting as individ- uals, cannot hope to accomplish, may be easily brought about by a few compact units made up of the isolated individuals comprising the mass of men engaged in the business. Cooperation, then, is the first necessity in the direction of business-like and profitable marketing of a fruit crop. Indiscriminate consignments of perishable products to unknown commission houses is absolutely fatal to the business, of production, and in the present condition of civiliz- ation and business morals must remain so. This is not always the fault of the much-abused commission man. Ordinarily he has his full share of sins to answer for, but the fact that a shipper does not always • realize his expectations from consign- ments is not conclusive evidence of dishonesty or in- competency on the part of the selling agency. Some- times the shipper himself is to blame. His fruit is badly packed or graded and has been known to have the best specimens on top of the package. In fact, many who have given unprejudiced study to the question assert that " honors are easy" between the average consignor and the average consignee, so far as commercial integrity is concerned. The pleasure of denouncing the seller as a scoundrel has been so long enjoyed by the average shipper that it cannot be expected, perhaps, that he will without objection hold HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. the mirror up to nature and see how much alike most men are after all. Here is a case in point : For two years past the orange growers of Southern California had not been satisfied with the returns received from their crops, amounting to some 5,000 or 6,000 carloads per year, which were sold mostly to or by so-called commission men. So great was the dissatisfaction, much of which was fully justified, that the growers resolved that the crop now nearly marketed from that State should be handled by themselves and without the intervention of middle men. As a result of this proper determination, a number of coopera- tive fruit exchanges were formed to include nearly every one of hundreds of orange growers throughout Southern California. These several exchanges were united into a princi- pal exchange under an able board of managers, and the work of marketing the large orange crop was commenced. It was announced that fruit sent out by the exchanges would be honestly packed, properly graded and branded, and that consumers everywhere might expect good fruit at reasonable prices. Un- fortunately a heavy freeze early in January greatly damaged the crop and absolutely ruined at least a third of it. Notwithstanding this well-known fact, frozen and nearly worthless California oranges have been in the Chicago and other markets by the hun- dred boxes every day for the past four months under the brand of "fancy," "choice," or otherwise, as the case might be. This fruit was packed and branded by growers, or under their direction and with their knowledge. Hundreds of carloads of damaged fruit have thus reached the markets of the country under false representations, not by the commission men, but by the growers themselves who combined, and properly so, to put a stop to dishonest practices in fruit marketing. This case is cited in no" spirit of hostility to the movement on the part of growers to secure better markets for their crops. On the contrary, they did wholly right to denounce dishonesty wherever dis- covered, and to organize to prevent it by force of numbers — but they should also have practiced hon- esty themselves. The unfortunate and deplorable fact that they did not as a body do this should not wholly discourage those who, by looking deeper, will still see in coope- ration the ultimate hope and success of the fruit in- dustry. It serves at least one valuable purpose. It must dispel the illusion that orange producers are honest and that orange sellers are not. That is to say, it will emphasize the fact well known to all thinking men, that commercial integrity, or the want of it, is not monopolized by any class of citizens. This is an exceedingly valuable lesson, and until fully learned all along the line of transactions in farm and orchard products, will continue to present ob- stacles to the satisfactory buying and selling of such commodities. THE IRRIGATION AGE has previously pointed out the great difference between the prices received by the grower for California dried fruits, for example,, and those paid by the consumer. This difference will generally be found to be entirely too great. Somewhere between the producer and the consumer there should be a lopping off of the prohibitory prices which so greatly restrict consumption. For instance, there is no good reason why California prunes of a certain quality should be worth 25 cents per pound in Chicago or New York, when the same goods can be purchased by the million pounds in San Francisco or San Jose at less than nine cents per pound. This is the whole difficulty in a nutshell, and no possible re- duction in the costs of production can ever fully bridge this chasm. The consumer must not pay more but less for his fruit supplies, while the grower has already reached the bottom price at which he can continue in the business. It is not the purpose of this article to point out a specific remedy in detail. It is a very broad question and cannot be settled off- hand. But the basis of any action looking to a better outcome in this direction is organization. Cooper- ation, which guarantees strict honesty in all transac- tions, as between the growers and the market, and also demand the same from any and all selling agen- cies employed is the first requisite. This must be the foundation stone of any substantial edifice built up in connection with prosperous fruit industries in this country. With this firmly established in each fruit district, the questions of local detail will be found to readily adjust themselves. But the organizations must be permanent, and not liable to go to pieces whenever the whims or caprices of dissatisfied mem- bers may demand. To be brief then, the only hope of permanent and gratifying success among the great body of American fruit-growers is compact organization and intelligent and honest cooperation toward the desired end. This done and adhered to through thick and thin, through prosperity and disaster, will ultimately win the fight. The American table must be supplied with choice fruit grown in America, and it must and can be supplied in unlimited quantity by prosperous orchardists at reasonable prices, to the end that every family in the land may daily lunch upon a dish of fine fresh or cured fruit at the breakfast and dinner table. When this happy day shall come, and it will come, and should come early, THE AGE will hope to number among its tens of thousands of readers the happiest, the most intelligent, and the most prosperous of business men — the fruit-growers of the United States. THE IRRIGATION AGE. IT is a common saying among farmers and others interested in temperatures at various seasons that the United States weather bureau thermometers scarcely ever indicate so low a temperature during a cold wave as do private instruments in the locality. The cause of this conservatism on the part of the government thermometer is generally believed to be that it is a more reliable instrument, and has been graduated and tested with greater accuracy. Two observers, independently of each other, have made experiments in this direction which are worthy of note. One of these observers was located at Pasa- dena, in Southern California, and the other at Sac- ramento, the capital of the State. All government observers are expected to have their thermometers sheltered in a certain way, prescribed in the rules and regulations governing the weather service. In accordance with this requirement, the observer at Pasadena, Mr. H. S. Channing, had one thermometer placed 7 feet above a platform 12 feet square on a roof 32 feet above the ground. This was for the reg- ular daily observations reported to the government bureau at Washington. A similar instrument was placed 5 feet above the ground on a post 5 feet away from the house and on the north side. The instru- ments were read at 5 and 8 in the morning. Mr. Channing sums up the matter as follows : " The results of the observations taken on clear and comparatively still nights gave an average dif- ference of 1.6 degrees lower temperature for the ther- mometer nearest the ground, the difference varying from 0.4 to 4.2 degrees. This last variation of 4.2 degrees occurred on one of the coldest and stillest nights of the month." The observations at Sacramento by Mr. S. H. Gerrish disclose a condition of things somewhat un- usual. In this connection Mr. Gerrish says: " The idea has prevailed that a frost would do more damage in wet weather than when it was dry, and the irrigation of orchards has been suspended to 'harden the trees.' I experimented years ago and found to the contrary; that the damage was severe only when the ground was dry, the cause being that the northwest wind was negative in its electrical effect and sapped the positive or life-giving electricity from the plants. This weakened the vegetation so that a lighter frost would damage the plants more than a heavier frost when there was plenty of moist- ure.'' Mr. Gerrish also presents an exhaustive table showing a comparison between the minimum tem- peratures at Sacramento, as indicated by two equally accurate thermometers, one of which was placed some distance above the ground, as required by the weather bureau, the other being near the ground. The period covered by the observations was eighteen years, and ranged through the months of January, February, March, November and December of each year. The number of observations recorded is 463, in which 17 show that the thermometer nearest the ground registered a higher temperature than the other, and 12 observations show an equal registry for both instruments. In all other cases, 434 in num- ber, the instrument nearest the ground showed a lower temperature. The average difference in read- ings for all observations was 5 degrees, showing that killing frosts might be safely assumed to follow a weather bureau record of 37 degrees. But the differ- ence was very much greater in numerous instances, and reached in one case 14 degrees, and in another (Dec. 18, 1892) 16 degrees. In the latter instance the weather service thermometer recorded a temperature of 40 degrees, while the one near the ground fell to 24, a most remarkable difference. In another case, when the government instrument showed a record of 45 the other registered 31 (on Feb. 17, 1881). It will thus be seen that under ordinary conditions the records of temperature given by the government weather service are by no means an infallible guide to farmers and fruit-growers, and have no doubt given rise to much complaint of the inefficiency of the service. Assuming that the raison d'entre of the weather service is to aid the farmer and fruit-grower in con- nection with other important interests, it is here sug- gested that a great improvement might be made by having two thermometers at each observer's station, the one placed as now, but the other exposed in such manner as to record as nearly as possible the actual temperature prevailing at or near the ground, such as growing crops would necessarily be exposed to. The trouble and expense attached to this addition to the service would be insignificant, and much good could be made to result. The agriculturist is not especially concerned about weather conditions in the atmosphere many feet above his crops, but he is deeply concerned to know very often what degree of cold he may expect at or near the surface of the ground at a given time. In view, therefore, of a condition which appears fully established by the observations made in Cali- fornia, THE IRRIGATION AGE would respectfully invite the attention of Secretary Morton to this mat- ter, with the hope that further investigation be made to the end of improving the service along this line. California fruit-growers have demonstrated that irrigation does not produce fruit of inferior flavor but that too much water does produce lack of flavor. HOR TICUL TURE B Y IRRIGA TION. More About Spraying.— It may be quite pos- sible that too great amounts of poison are used in the preparation of the mixtures ordinarily used for spraying fruits. Much experiment along this line has resulted in changing the formulas from time to time of some of the most useful sprays. And it might easily result that still further experi- ment would lead to other modifications. One thing is clear: as little poison as will do the work in hand should be used. Beyond that point lies danger, as well as increased expense. It has been found that minute quantities only of our best insecticides are fully effective when duly appropriated by the insect. It may easily follow from this fact that weaker solu- tions more frequently applied would, in many cases at least, bring about the sought for result without en- dangering the consumer of fruit in any degree. Rel- ative to this subject, Professor Kedzie, of the Michi- gan Experiment Station, says: " The use of poisons in horticulture, in my opinion, is largely in excess of the amount required for a fungicide. One-half or even one-third of the amount usually employed would probably give as good re- sults. " In the spraying of some fruits, such as strawber- ries, in 1892, the amount was purposely used in large excess. In one case nearly five grains of blue vitriol were recovered from one pound of fruit — a dose no sensible person would want to take. in his food. Yet, even that dose would not probably be fatal, though it might cause vomiting. Any of the doses of arsenic or of copper found in a pound of these fruits might be swallowed without endangering life by such single dose. It is the repeated doses, day by day, of such poisons that might produce slow poisoning and the gradual undermining of the health, without obvious cause. It is safe to refuse all fruits which have been sprayed with these poisons (especially arsenic) dur- ing the period of ripening.'1 Farms, where there are 414 acres. No record is made of trees set out prior to 1887. Idaho as a Fruit Country. — The Producers Association of Nampa have gathered and compiled some interesting data with reference to the fruit acre- age of Ada and Canyon counties. The association was unable to get reports from a number of growers, principally in the Payette valley. The table prepared and printed by the association gives the acreage of trees set out from 1887 to 1893 inclusive, at 3,321.1 acres, of which 604.5 acres is apples, 86 is peaches, 2,388.3 is prunes, 120.2 is pears and 32.1 is cherries. The most remarkable increase is noticed in prunes. In 1887 there were 81 acres of prunes planted in the territory embraced in the two counties. In 1892 this had been increased to some- thing over 1,135 acres, and, in 1893, 1,252 acres were set out. The largest prune acreage is at Orchard English Sparrow Pest. — Every year there is a renewed agitation for the suppression of the English sparrow. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the ornithologist of the agricultural department, says that the sparrow is now spreading rapidly over the fruit-growing dis- tricts of California, where, if repressive measures are not quickly inaugurated, it is destined to levy a heavy tax on the State. By far the best way to fight the pest is by the destruction of its nests and young. The breeding season is unusually prolonged, from four to six broods being commonly reared each year. The great strongholds of the English sparrow in towns and cities are the masses of Japanese and English ivy and Virginia creeper that cover the sides of churches and other buildings. In such places the sparrows nest by hundreds or thousands, according to the area covered by the vines. If these vine-covered walls are within reach of a hose pipe, multitudes of the young birds may be destroyed by thoroughly dousing the vines with water at night. By systematic and concerted efforts millions of young sparrows may be prevented from reaching maturity. Palms can be used to advantage out of doors in summer if kept partly shaded from the direct rays of the sun, and it improves them; they come in in the fall in much better color and stronger and stiffer. Plunge the pots into a bed of ashes up to the rims underneath a shade tree and sprinkle the foliage often. Do not keep the roots soaked nor allow them to become dried out. Small Fruits, such as strawberries and rasp- berries, require frequent and clean cultivation to pro- duce the best results. •Hot Alum Water applied with a brush is said to be sure death to all insect life on fruit trees. In irrigating orchards do not forget that cultivation is as essential as the application of water. Irrigated land requires more cultivation than that which is not irrigated, and without cultivation your crops are likely to be failures.. The mistake of many begin- ners is that they cultivate too little and water too much; cultivate intensively and put on no more water than necessary. Prof. L. O. Howard succeeds Prof. Riley as chief of the National Entomological Bureau at Washington. For sixteen years he has been Prof. Riley's first as- sistant. The bureau has been a great source of aid to the horticulture of this country. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. CLIMATE AND SOIL OF SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS. BY JAMES C. ATKINS. SOUTHWEST Texas may be defined as follows : Commencing at Matagorda, a town on the coast about 100 miles southwest of Galveston, and follow- ing the coast line to the mouth of the Rio Grande, thence up the river to Eagle Pass and back in a straight line to the place of beginning, making a somewhat irregular triangle. For the last thirty or thirty-five years this part of Texas has been in the hands of ranchmen, whose im- mense ranges have been kept for the use of their herds alone, to the absolute exclusion of the farmer and gardener. A large portion of these lands is now being put on the market at reasonable figures, and before long I hope to see this the finest country in the United States, blossoming like a rose and filled with people. I say ihe finest country, for what place is there in the United States that can compete with us in cli- mate, or in the earliness with which we can place our vegetables on the market? We live in a country which lies on the verge of the temperate and tropical worlds. The chill of the winter wind and the fierceness of the torrid heat are not known here. The prolonged spring, the summer, tempered with the ever-pleasant and all-pervading cooling breeze, the genial, bright and sunny fall and uniformly mild and gentle winter, constitute a cli- mate of constant enjoyment worthy of the highest appreciation. From the similarity of climate to that of southern Europe this country might be called the New Mediterranean. Especially is this the case at this point, Portland, which is situated on Corpus Christi bay, on bluffs forty feet above the level of the sea and about midway between Galveston on the north and Brownsville on the south. At both of the above named places the extremes of temperature are greater than at this point. At Portland the uniform summer temperature is, day after day, 84 to 86 degrees, rarely going above this, and then only to 90 or 92 de- grees. Even this is hardly felt as long as we have the delightful gulf breeze. In winter our days are a succession of pleasant temperature of from 40 to 60 degrees, interspersed now and then by a norther, or north wind, when the temperature will fall slightly below 40 degrees, but rarely getting tow enough for a frost. 86 We have three varieties of soil here: The white sand, composed of decomposed shell; a quick soil if it has plenty of water, but without strength to stand continued cropping without the addition of artificial fertilizers. This land is only found in the immediate vicinity of the coast, and consequently is very liable to drift unless protected by wind-breaks in the shape of trees. Brown sand : This forms our staple market, gar- den and fruit land. It is a fine, rich loam and well able to stand continued cropping, and producing veg- etables and fruits, such as grapes, peaches, plums, dates, oranges, lemons, bananas, etc., from three to four weeks earlier than California. No great quan- tity of these fruits has been as yet raised here, as the country has only been open to settlement within the past few years. Enough have, however, been planted to prove the above assertion. In this county (San Patricio) there are two bearing vineyards, containing about 40 acres of wine grapes, from which is made some of the finest wine I have ever tasted in the United States. This wine will be better matured in three months'1 time here than in three years' time in California. As far as I can ascertain, the first carload of water- melons shipped in the United States this year was shipped from La Fruita,- in this county, to Kansas City, and Portland had the honor of placing the first car in Dallas on the 5th of June. I have just heard from Chicago that the first of the Georgia crop is not expected before July 15th. Over a month's difference. Our other vegetables are equally as early. The Black or Hog Wallow land: This is similar in some respects to the North Texas black waxy or gumbo land, but has more sand in it, making it a great deal easier to work. It is a very rich soil, well adapted for cotton and corn, and capable of produc- ing large crops for an indefinite number of years without fertilizing. This land holds the moisture very well and may prove to be very good for fruit. As is the case in all new countries, the sandy land is the first to be developed and experimented with, so in this case all fruits and vegetables have been planted in the sandy lands and the black land has only been allowed, to produce cotton and corn. However, I know of a few grape vines that have been planted in it and are doing well, being heavily loaded with fruit this year. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. A great deal has been said this year in the papers about the great drouth in southwest Texas, how nearly all the stock was dead and that the people would be in the same condition unless help in the shape of supplies was sent at once. This is mislead- ing to the general public as there is only a small portion of the country in that condition, viz: the county of Starr and part of Duval and Encinal, and I think that the reason of their destitution is at their own door. There has never been a time yet in the history of this section of the country that it has not been possible to raise a half bale of cotton to the acre where they have taken the trouble to cultivate the land. The white people of the above counties are not starving, though they have lost a great deal of stock, owing to the overstocking of their pastures, but it is the Mexican who has heretofore taken care of their cattle and who has been dependent on them for a living that is now in trouble. These people are too lazy to work land and raise enough to support themselves, and, in fact, would rather starve than do so. The rancheros do not wish in their own straitened circumstances to have to support them, so have made a great cry in the papers for help. The United States weather bureau gives this place the mean annual rainfall for the past twenty years as 36.98; this is about the same as Iowa, Illinois, etc. Now if this rain was equally distributed throughout the year we would not feel the need of irrigation, but as it sometimes comes in rains of from two to six inches in 24 hours flooding the country and filling the rivers and then perhaps not another for a month or two. This is hard on market gardens. A good winter rain will start them nicely, then comes a spell of dry weather and they begin to suffer ; perhaps some of the crop dies; then suddenly another heavy rain, or per- haps a light shower, neither of them doing one-quarter as much good as if we had a good irrigation ditch. If garden truck and fruits can be placed on the market ahead of California from two to four weeks under the above circumstances, what would be the results if we had irrigation? There are three plants that I know of in this part of Texas, viz.: one at Brownsville, owned by Mr. Rabbj who uses it for irrigating sugar cane and bananas; one at Laredo belonging to the North Laredo Land and Irrigation Company, who irrigate about 500 acres and have most of it in grapes and a few gardens. The last and youngest of the three is about 40 miles from this place on the Nueces river. Mention was made in one of your late issues about the starting of this plant, stating that one hour and twenty minutes after starting the pumps the river was dry. This is a mistake. The pumps absorbed the flow of the stream and at the above mentioned time no water flowed below the plant. They have no dam and are depen- dent on what water may be in the river between rains' If a series of dams were built on the Nueces river enough water could be stored to irrigate an immense quantity of land. If you will take the trouble to look at a map of Texas you will see that this river rises in the western portion of the State and consequently drains an enormous body of land, thus insuring a good supply of water. Nothing can be said for or against this plant as yet, as it was started far too late to do any good to the crop of early spring vegetables. But by December it will have had a chance on the fall garden crop, and then we will know more about it. We have several other rivers and basins that could be utilized in this part of the country. There are a great many arroyos or gullies on the coast that could be easily dammed, some of them being of very great size and capable of irrigating a gopd deal of land. The Aransas, Chittipin and San Antonio rivers could all be utilized, especially the two latter. There are several irrigation schemes under discussion at present and I look for the development of some of them before long. I also expect to see great strides made in the advancement of this country. Give us irrigation and we will make California hustle to keep up with us. OBJECT LESSONS IN IRRIGATION. OBJECT lessons in irrigation are the most effect- ive means of teaching the benefits to be de- rived from the labors of placing water upon arid land even under the most adverse conditions. The traveler from the East going west over the Southern Pacific line from Texas, after long and weary toiling over apparently endless wastes of arid land, suddenly comes upon the green alfalfa fields and fruit orchards of the Salt River valley in Arizona. The transition is so sudden and so complete that it is almost incom- prehensible, and may well impress one as some trick of a mighty conjurer whereby barren wastes and end- less stretches of wearisome desert are made to ap- pear like fairy-land. After all, it is a substantial reality, and no magician has wrought the miracle. THE WATERS OF THE SALT RIVER. The prosy combination of the capitalist, the civil engineer and the man with the shovel have wrought it all out within a few months by turning the hitherto useless waters of Salt river upon the thousands of acres which now smile with their burdens of alfalfa and vines and fruit trees. Toiling still westward over other dreary stretches of inhospitable desert, the traveler climbs a pass in the Sierra Nevada range and then drops down into the valleys of the Sunset slope. But the great magician's wand has already THE IRRIGATION AGE. waved over that region, and behold, a million beauti- ful orange trees in all their semi-tropic luxuriance stand before him! It is Riverside. Riverside, the peerless, as her proud and happy citizens delight in believing. But what has been done at Riverside and Redlands and Ontario and the unrivaled colonial settlements 'round about can be accomplished, in a measure at least, on millions of acres of the arid belt. To be sure, the orange, the lemon, the fig and the pomegranate may not flourish over large areas, but that is not necessary, or even desirable. On every acre of such lands the apple, peach, plum, pear, grape and all the cereals and grasses will flourish luxuriantly, to say nothing of potatoes, melons and the endless line of vegetables, including sugar beets. A TRAVELER'S VIEWS. As showing how the startling • transformations wrought out by the irrigation of a sandy waste, within a few years' time, strike a world-wide traveler, the following is clipped from a long and interesting letter by a well-known traveler, published in a late number of the St. Paul Globe: " Riverside presents the most striking instance in Southern California of the marvelous transformation effected by scientific irrigation. The irrigation of land, which to a majority of the American people seems like a new idea, and one that is only adopted as a last resort, is in reality as old as history itself. It has been practiced in Egypt, in Syria and other arid sections of the old world from time immemorial, but never has been brought to such scientific perfec- tion as here in Southern California. Twenty years ago the country around Riverside was a barren and desolate plain without house or tree, and was consid- ered almost as worthless as the desert of Arizona. It ^\vas assessed at 75 cents an acre, and the owner act- ually appeared before the county board of equaliza- tion and protested, claiming that the assessed valua- tion was more than the actual value of the land. But by the ingenuity of man the waters of the Santa Ana river have been turned upon this arid plain, and the desert has been made to bloom and blossom as the rose. Vacant land that was considered dear at 75 cents would now be called cheap at $500 an acre." MORE INFORMATION ON "IRRIGATION IN THE CANADIAN NORTHWEST.' ' That the Federal government is keenly alive to the importance of data being obtained without delay is apparent from the fact that steps towards the or- ganization of irrigation survey parties were immedi- ately taken, and these are already in the field under the able supervision of Mr. J. S. Dennis, Chief In- spector of Surveys, to whom the inspection of irriga- tion works is also to be intrusted. This gentleman was sent to all irrigation centers in the United States, last winter, by the Dominion government for the purpose of studying the question, with a view to its application in the Canadian Northwest, and also to collect material and valuable information for the final revision of the "Irrigation Act7' prior to its in- troduction into Parliament for discussion. The proposed irrigation survey of Southern Alberta and Western Assiniboia extends from the fourth meridian on the east to range 5 west of the fifth and from the international boundary on the south to township 29 on the north. Permanent bench marks will be established at all points where such are liable to prove useful as a basis for future irrigation opera- tions throughout the district mentioned, and all riv- ers and streams cross-sectioned at various points. The rate of flow will also be measured by means of current-meters, and the volume of discharge calcu- lated. In addition to this, the general topography of the country traversed will be carefully sketched in, and these topographical notes will extend as far as possible on each side of the line run, and the proba- ble volume of all sources of water supply deter- mined. AN OPPORTUNITY. Mr. C. E. Moorman, of Solomonville, Arizona, writes that he considers the present an opportune time for someone to engage in building an adequate irrigation system with reservoirs in that valley. At present water is very scarce for irrigation, partly occasioned by too many ditches and a consequent loss of water in division and seepage .in the bed of the river between dams. One undertaking this en- terprise would probably find it best to arrange with each of the present ditches for their water and so consolidate the whole supply at the Narrows where there is rock bottom and sides where the river leaves the mountains, and then carry the water from a suffi- cient dam at this place some distance and all around the foot hills as far as was desired, possibly forty or fifty miles, making storage on the way, and at proper intermediate places construct lateral ditches supply- ing the present ones with water according to their priority in quantity and time of appropriation, and, if possible, acquire all such water rights and then rent the use of water as in other localities. The capital necessarily involved would be perhaps about $150,000 to construct a proper and permanent system. This valley is about 45 miles long and will average from three to five miles wide, and has now not one-half of the land irrigated, but the Gila could, with a proper system with storage, water the whole of the irrigable land throughout the whole season. A railroad is now building into the valley which will be the means of opening the way for settlers. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 89 Several artesian wells are being sunk in Cochise county, Arizona. A well near Benson found water at a depth of 275 feet. The residents in the eastern part of Pmal county along the San Pedro are watching the experiments with interest, for the same conditions are likely to prevail throughout the entire length of the valley. The California method of developing and utilizing the artesian flow will doubtless be adopted on the San Pedro. By that method a series of six and eight inch wells is sunk along an artesian belt. The wells are capped and their flow piped to a penstock. Thence the water is conducted by pipes or open ditches to points of distribution. Frequently water companies are organized, purchase land in an artesian belt, de- velop a number of thousand inches of water, which are sold to land owners, at great profit to those in- vesting in the company. Again, an owner of land in an artesian belt, by boring a few wells, finds himself completely independent of canal and water compa- nies. An automatic electric indicator is to be used to re- cord the flow of water in the north fork of the river at Fort Collins, Colorado, and a daily report will be posted at the post-office for the information of those interested. The extension of the Pecos Valley railroad from Eddy, New Mexico, to Roswell, eighty miles away, is being pushed forward as rapidly as possible, and is destined in time to become an important feeder of the road leading from the Pecos region, which, under irrigation, is becoming a very important agricultural district. The Southern Pacific railroad is sinking an artesian well at Gila Bend. It is now 500 feet deep and ar- rangements have been made to go 1,300 feet, if neces- sary, to obtain a good flow of water. A supply of pure water will be a great help to the town. NEW COMPANIES. The Kearney (Nebraska) Hub says: "If we live here we must irrigate." Nearly all of Arid America is now fully alive to the importance of irrigation, and they are wondering how they ever existed so long without it. The Bear River Canal Company of Utah is oper- ating a steam plow that turns over twenty-five acres per day near Corinne. This company will put 5,000 acres into alfalfa, timothy and fruit this fall. Denver Congress.— The headquarters will be located in the Brown Palace Hotel, and the sessions will be held in the Broadway Theatre. ADVERTISER WANTS POSITION OF TRUST with Irrigation company which requires a competent superintendent with long experience in handling water, also in vine and tree growing and general irri- gation farming. Experience gained in California and New Mexico. Best references as to capability and character. Address, IRRIGATION AGE. Utah.— Weston— The West Cache Canal Company organized with Peter Mickleson, president, and P. J. Sandberg, secretary and treasurer Salt Lake City — Articles of incorporation of the Richards Irrigation Company have been filed. The object of the company is to construct and maintain reservoirs, water ditches, etc., particularly for Little Cottonwood waters and oth- ers in that vicinity. The stockholders all reside at Union Fort, and that will be the principal place of business. The property of the company consists of the waters of Little Cottonwood creek, now running through the Richords ditch, and the ditch itself. The officers of the company are Peter Van Valkenberg, president; Charles B. Baker, vice-president;, De Morand Griffin, Jr , secretary; William A. Goggess, treasurer; and these, to- gether with Ben A. Griffin, form the board of directors. Capital stock, $12,500. Colorado. — Denver — The Beaver Brook Reservoir and Canal Co. has amended its charter, changing location of reservoirs Nos. 1 and 2 The Barton County Irrigation and Farmers' Insti- tute has been organized by the election of W. W. Sowards, presi- dent; L. Baldwin, vice-president; M. B. Fitts, secretary; W. B. Cornel], treasurer. Steps will be taken at once to interest every man in the county in the work of organization Colorado Springs— The Roswell Land and Water Co., incorporated. Cap- ital stock, .S500.000 Pueblo— The Traders' Land Co., incor- porated. Capital stock, $5,000 Fort Collins— The Laurel Street Lateral Ditch Co., incorporated, improving Laurel street lateral ditch. Capital stock, $1,000. Nebraska.— Elm Creek— A local irrigation company has been organized here Culbertson— Riverside Canal and Irri- gation Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $10,000 Fremont — Fremont Canal and Power Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $1,- 500,000 Oneal— The Elkhorn Irrigation Co, have let contracts for the construction of ditch south of Elkhorn river. Work will begin at once. Texas.— Corsicana — The Corsicana Water Development Co. has been incorporated with a capital stock of $30,000. The com- pany is sinking an artesian well, which has now reached a depth . of SOOfeet San Angelo— Veck Irrigating Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $10,000. New Mexico. — Las Vegas— Las Vegas Water Co., incorpo- rated, supplying water for irrigating, etc. Capital stock, $500,000. South Dakota.— Deadwood — The Black Hill Canal and Water Co. is inviting bids for the construction and building of a 650-foot tunnel at the head of Sawpit Gulch, through the ridge to Sheeptail Gulch. Tunnel to be five feet wide and six feet high. Oregon. — Lake View — Windy Spring Irrigation Co., incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $2,000. California.— Bakersfield— The Lowell Land and Improve- ment Co , incorporated by Wilmot Lowell, Herman Hirshfield, H. A. Blodgett, A. C. Mande and T. E. Harding. Capital stock, $100,000 Monterey— Monterey Power Co., incorporated by P. P. Oyer and others. Capital stock, $100,000. Washington.— Walla Walla— The Headley Irrigation Co., incorporated by C. P. Headley, P. P. Pearson, Willis Riser, to acquire, build and sell irrigation ditches, flumes and reservoirs. Capital, $600, in 600 shares of $1 each Ellensburgh— Address James G. Boyle, secretary board of directors of the Middle Kitti- tas Irrigation District concerning the sale of $200,000 worth of bonds for construction of canal North Yakima— North Ya- kima Canal Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $60,000 9o THE IRRIGATION AGE. CANALS. Arizona.— The announcement is made that the contract to construct 110 miles of canal, with a dam 150 feet high, at Horse- Shoe Bend, Verde river, 60 miles northeast of Phoenix, has been given to P. B. Langdon& Co., of Minneapolis, Minn. The land to be brought under irrigation amounts to several hundred thousand acres and will add materially to the cultivated area of Arizona. Two million dollars are to be expended, and the work will prob- ably be accomplished in eighteen months. The capacity of the canal will probably be 57,000 miner's inches Chief Justice Baker recently made an examination of Salt river and the various headgates therein, all the way to the Arizona dam. His object was to obtain personal knowledge of the amount of water in the river and its distribution to farmers on both sides, so that in case any legal questions should hereafter arise in his court concerning irrigation he may have a practical understanding of the issues involved. Colorado.— The Fort Morgan canal has finally been turned over to the farmers, who are now in full control The Mount Lincoln Land & Water Company has been sending out to the landholders under their survey a circular letter and form of con- tract for their consideration, and if a sufficient expression of interest is manifested in the enterprise by these people, the work on the High Line canal will be at once commenced and pushed to a finish. The cost of the canal will not be less than 1600,000, and the ditch will be operated by the High Line Mutual Irrigation Company upon the same principle and basis as the Grand Valley Irrigation Company, but it will be built by the Mt. Lincoln Land and Water Company upon certain considera- tions, viz: That a sufficient number of landholders under the survey will contract to take stock in the irrigation com- pany. The survey covers 110,000 acres of land not covered by other canals; perhaps 75,000 acres are tillable. The promot- ers of the enterprise say that there will be no hitch in its con- summation if once they are assured of co-operation of the land holders An encouraging amount of work has been and is being done on the High Line canal, better known as the "Ster- rett ditch." This canal draws its supply of water from Brush creek, and empties it into Cedar creek, after which it is again taken out at a point lower down the stream. The canal is com- pleted to a point two miles north of Cedar creek. The work of making the canal to a width of twelve feet on top is being pushed as rapidly as possible, and it will be enlarged afterwards as the needs of the community demand. A ditching machine is being used in this work which will make two miles of ditch per day one foot in depth and four feet wide. A number of parties here in town and in the surrounding country have located land under this canal and are working out their water rights. This arrangement offers a splendid opportunity for a man of small means to secure a water right in return for labor. There are thousands of acres of as good land as is to be found anywhere, under this canal, and the terms are reasonable upon which both water and land can be secured by parties seeking homes. This canal, as surveyed, covers an immense tract of fertile soil, which is within a few miles ot an abundant supply of dry pine timber and also near this town. California.— Plans (except for the head works) for pomplet- ing the main canal of the Modesto District to the present termi- nus of the canal have been received. The engineer estimates the cost of this work (headgates excepted) at about $137,000. It is largely composed of expensive fluming Col. Adolph Wood, of the Arrowhead Reservoir Company, says: " We expect to have completed in about three months two tunnels, one 6,000 feet and the other 2,000 feet in length, and the entire system will re- quire several tunnels, as we propose to carry the headwaters of the Mojave river across the drainage- area into the valley. We are now gauging our rainshed, which is about forty miles in ex- tent, and four camps are at work in a thorough system of meas- urement, so that we may know just how much water to depend on and just how large to make the capacity of our works. These important matters have been overlooked too much in California either through the cupidity of land boomers or lack of knowledge, and I fear the present dry season is going to prove a disappoint- ment to many who have bought land with an assurance of water supply which they are not going to realize. This season is an excellent opportunity for Southern California to ascertain the 'duty' of perennial streams in time of greatest need, and this will, in a great measure, shut off future misrepresentations about the supply of water." The South Riverside Land and Water Company has decided to dig a canal to draw water from Lake Elsinore. It will be 2,200 feet in length and will cost about $7,500. The Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company is putting in a division gate at the head of the canal. The work is in charge ot the Superintendent, assisted by the Superintendent of the Ana- heim Company The Grapeland irrigation district reports a flow of about two hundred inches of water in the company's tun- nel. The tunnel is being run in a side canyon from Lytle creek, through an intervening hill and under the bed of Lytle creek, in- tending to tap, not the water of the creek but the underflow of the canyon. Water was secured before the creek was reached, and now this heavy flow has been secured and the tunnel has not yet reached bed rock into several hundred feet. The tunnel is about 1,200 feet in length and connects with five or six miles of stone-paved ditch that will conduct the water to the district. The amount expended on the tunnel has been about $15,000 This is an unusually dry season, and 200 inches now means consider- able more than at any other season. If this strike has been made without tapping or diminishing the surface flow of Lytle creek it will prove one of the most important events in the history of ir- rigation in this part of the State. Idaho.— We learn that the survey of the Crook Irrigation Company's ditch has been completed. When the estimates are submitted the landowners who are interested in the enterprise will be able to form some idea of what the cost of water is going to be under the proposed system. Nebraska.— The supervisors at a late meeting held in Fre- mont decided to build the Reynolds waterway Culberson— The Solomon & Crews ditch is furnishing an abundance of water. The ditch was constructed late last fall by private enterprise, tap- ping the Frenchman river, and lately the water was turned in at the head gate, reaching the east end within the corporate limits of Culberson within a short time, and the water is now being utilized to irrigate hundreds of acres of land in the valley The con- tract has been let for the construction of the irrigation ditch south of the Elkhorn river by the Elkhorn Irrigation Company and work will begin in a few days. The contract provides for the completion of the ditch by Nov. 1. 1894. It will irrigate one of the prettiest sections of the country, comprising over 90,000 acres. .— Wasatch— There are about 2,000 acres of land unpro- vided with water that could be covered by a canal taken out of the Provo river near the bridge on the Park City road. By the building of this canal the wealth of Wasatch county would be in- creased $100,000 within the next few years, besides furnishing employment for a number of the citizens and homes for a hun- dred or so more families. A company is being organized to undertake the work. Wyoming.— The Brockway ditch enterprise has been incor- porated under the title of the Fetterman Canal Company. Active work has begun and will continue all summer, the force at work being increased as found necessary. PUBLISHER'S DEPARTMENT. WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH 100,000 ACRES IN KERN COUNTY, CAL. READERS of THE IRRIGATION AGE believe the industrial problems of the United States will be largely settled in Arid America. If that is so it be- comes interesting to inquire in what localities the new developments may be looked for. Obviously there must be many localities to come into prominence in the process of making homes for millions of people in orderto provide a real outlet for surplus population and found a new civilization worthy the name. These localities will be scattered through half a continent, beginning in Kansas on the east and the Canadian boundary on the north. But it is quite safe to predict that California will continue to maintain its place as the most attractive of all western common- wealths to the multitudes of the East and of Europe. CALIFORNIA'S POPULARITY. It is not difficult to understand the causes of Cali- fornia's preeminent popularity. It has never lost the glitter which the discovery of gold gave it in 1849. The public has never outlived the first impression of its sunny skies, golden fruit, luxurious vegetation and winterless climate. Its proximity to the further and greater ocean, which laps the shores of Occident and of Orient, gives California a nameless charm in the popular imagination. There may be other lands un- der the wide arch of the western sky equally interest- ing, but they are not equally well-known and appre- ciated. California is to-day, and for some years must continue to be, the irresistible magnet to attract homeseekers into new and promising fields. THE BEST PART OF CALIFORNIA. But if it is indefinite to say that Arid America will furnish a field for the solution of current problems it is only less so to say that California will be a conspic- uous place in that field. Next to Texas California is the largest state in the Union. It presents every climate to be found upon the globe, except that of the equator. Eternal winter and perennial summer may both be found within its boundaries. Surely there is need of guidance for the settler who thinks of making his home in California. The writer knows of but one place in the Golden State where land is under irrigation and open to set- tlement in sufficient amount to render it capable of demonstration in a marked degree the possibilities of the policy of colonization in connection with our industrial situation. This land is located in Kern county which is in the southern third of California. It is enclosed on three sides by the Sierra Nevada and Coast Range mountains and is abundantly watered by a stream taking its rise at the foot of the glacier of Mt. Whitney. Here is a tract of 350,000 acres, varying in the nature of its soil, but everywhere fertile and adapted to the higher forms of horticul- ture and agriculture. The irrigation system includes more than a thous- and miles of canals and ditches and yet is as simple as the mill race a boy builds by the side of a brook. It is turned out of the river into the canals by the simplest of weirs and conducted by main and lateral canals over the entire property. In many respects this is the finest opportunity for settlers offered in all California. WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH 100,000 ACRES. If it be true that an outlet can be found for sur- plus population on arid lands, and that a scheme of industry can be devised whereby these people can become independent and evenly prosperous, then surely the fact can be demonstrated to the satis- faction of the public on say 100,000 acres of Kern county land. In Kern county the farm unit may well be twenty acres. An area of 100,000 acres would pro- vide homes for 5,000 families, or 20,000 people, count- ing four to a family. Whatever can be done by 5,000 families on 100,000 acres of Kern county soil we may properly accept as truthfully representing the high- est possibilities of Arid America. Practically just such an experiment will be made between this time and August, 1894. WHAT IS BEING DONE IN KERN COUNTY. The Kern County Land Company is represented in many large cities of the United States, Canada and Great Britain. Its agents are directing the set- tlements of homeseekers by every proper and active means. Backed by ample capital and by the solid merits of their proposition, they ought to accom- plish the settlement of 100,000 acres of land this year. It is not necessary, in order to get success- ful and significant results, to try the experiment on so large a scale. But it would have more influence 92 THE IRRIGATION AGE. with the world if 20,000 people found prosperity on 100,000 acres than if 2,000 on 10,000 acres. Several attractive colonies have been laid out in Kern county, and the experimental farms have been carried to a stage which warrants settlers in apply- ing their lessons. Settlers who go there to-day will have the benefit of the best instruction of experienced and expert farmers. This is a wonderful advantage, and the results of this liberal policy will certainly justify it. PRICES AND PRODUCTS. Prices of Kern county lands range from $60 to $100 per acre, which includes a perpetual water right. The products include everything, except citrus fruits, and there are certain limited areas where the latter flourish. The writer would predict that the small diversified farm will be the final outcome of Kern county experience, but the surplus product will be peaches, apricots, olives, raisins and alfalfa. A very low and conservative estimate of the profit per acre from any of these sources, except alfalfa, would be $100. The products of Kern county lands, including the costs of growing them and the prices they bring in ordinary times, were very fully treated in these pages last month. WHERE THE STRIKE DID NO HURT. It was understood that the California fruit growers were heavy sufferers by the recent railroad strike, which was more effective and for a longer period there than elsewhere. Bakersfield and its surround- ing Kern county colonies are on the main line of the Southern Pacific railroad. Traffic was seriously interfered with there, but there was no occasion for the fruit of the vine and tree to perish. Nearly everything grown on these lands can be dried and sold profitably at the grower's leisure. This is true of the raisin grapes, the peaches, the apricots and the prunes. Nothing except a drouth could seriously affect Kern county, and the ditch is an insurance against that calamity. The intending settler can obtain full particulars about everything relating to home-making in Kern Delta by addressing S. W. Furgesson, General Manager, Bakersfield, California. HIGH DIPVOI CC Shipped GRADE DIuIuLuO C. O. D. $•-'5 Bicycle for$ia.5O $75 " *87.50 f«a.50 ^llllltHnilf^if^ Send for large illustrated Citilr pue Free i BUYERS' UNION, 162 W.Van Buren St.,B 18, Cble»ro,lll. »nd prices r's profits I Will Get You Settlers, If your irrigation enterprise is not doing well for the want of settlers, and can pay a salary of $1,000.00 and 3 per cent, commission on water sales and 1^ per cent, on land sales, try me. I make a business of colonizing and am very successful. Settled 75,000 acres of Government land during 1893. Am thor- oughly posted on the U. S. land laws and irrigation of all kinds. I work on a different basis from any one else — one that brings in the settlers. References: present employers. Also refer, by permission, to THE AGE. Can begin work on 30 days' notice. ADDRESS, PRACTICAL IRRIGATOR, Care of THE AGE, Chicago. The Trust Company OF1 CAPITAL PAID UP, $700,000. OFFICES: Bank Block, Denver. Gibraltar Building, Kansas City Crawford Building, Topeka. Provident Building, Philadelphia John R. Mulvane. T. B. Sweet. Joab Mulvane. DIRECTORS: Geo. M. Noble. Henry Taylor. H. C. Flower. Frank J. Balrd. N. R. Ferguson. H. J. Page. REAL, ESTATE LOANS NEGOTIATED. First Class Irrigation Bonds a Specialty. Street f^aihjuay Bonds... ...litigation Bonds. EDWARD FORSYTHE, Drexel Building, PHILADELPHIA. JUST REIADV?' LAW OF IRRIGATION. By CLESSON S. KINNEY, ESQ., of the Salt Lake Ciiy Bar. One large octavo volume, 832 Pages: Bound in Full Law Sheep. Price, $7.00 net. Poet-paid upon receipt of price. Send for de- scriptive circular. Publiehed and for Sale by W.H.LOWDERMILK & CO., Law Booksellers, Wasnington, D. C. W. W. MONTAGUE & CO. MANUFACTURERS OF ALI, SIZES 4s? 11V Irrigating, Mining, Power Plants, Artesian Wells, Water Works, Town and Farm Supply. SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIVETED. WATER PIPE Made In Sections of any Length Desired 1 2 to 38 Feet. The Cut on the left ehows a Section of Five joints of pipe. DOUBLE RIVETED IN LATERAL SEAMS. Particular attention given to Coating Pipe with our "EUREKA.'' Composition, a Special Mixture Containing fio Coal Tar. Iron Coated with this Composition is Bust-Proof and Rendered Imper- vious to the Alkalies of the Earth, is Practically Indestructible. iron cut, Pnncned and formed for Making Pipe on tne Ground Wnere Required. 309-317 Market St., San Francisco, Gal. Selected as Headquarters for Irrigation Congress. Brocun Palace FACING BROADWAY THEATRE Where National Irrigation Congress Session will be held Sept. }d to loth, 1894. Absolutely Fire-Proof. American Plan. The M. C. Brown PflllACE HOTEli, Denver. This Palatial Hotel, the most perfect that modern skill and experience can devise, is nine stories in height, triangular in shape and contains over four hundred rooms (many fine sample rooms) all fronting the broad streets encircling the building. The plan of the house is strictly American and its appointments, furnishings, service and cuisine are unequaled in any country on the Globe. Tftetmcefr IRates, $3.00, $3.50 anE> $4.00 per frag. The Chicago, Union Pacific & North-Western Line If II Provides Unrivalled Service between Chicago and Colorado, Utah, California, and all Pacific Coast Points. PULLMAN AND WAGNER SLEEPING CARS Solid Vestibuled Trains to Denver Superb Dining Cars on promises good results for producers. And the special adaptability of canaigre culture to the arid zone points to that region to supply the world with a staple article of commerce for all time to come. EXPERIMENTAL CULTIVATION. It has not been fully demonstrated as yet on a large scale what the productive capacity of the plant is under favorable conditions; but the results of experi- ments made at the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, and also by private individuals in several places, point unmistakably to profitable results from the cultivation of canaigre under irrigation. It has been found in practice that it is difficult to secure a good stand of canaigre from planting the seed, and TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. that much better results are obtained from planting the roots. This fact is not so serious a drawback to its cultivation as might at first be supposed; for the roots planted do not decay, it is alleged, and may be dug and used when harvesting the crop which sprang from them. The seed, therefore, costs practically nothing, and the setting aside of a certain amount of roots for planting is all that is required. It might well be that the continued planting of the seeds of the canaigre would result in producing improved varieties, as with potatoes, and the seeds of various fruits and plants. No doubt, however, the work is being done at the several Experiment Stations in the canaigre districts, and we may reasonably expect some beneficial results to flow from this line of experi- ment. Large amounts of canaigre roots are now gathered from the public domain and • prepared for market ; but in view of the great importance of creating an industry by aid of this plant its welfare should be guarded and its extermination from its natural habitat should not be allowed. The government endeavors to preserve its forest lands from spoilation, and it might well undertake the collection and distribution of canaigre roots to those who would guarantee their care and cultivation. Probably the greater part of the canaigre now growing anywhere is on the public domain ; and while its preservation for use by those who would create a new industry might appear to partake of the paternalism which is so obnoxious to the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture, yet practical wisdom would suggest that the elements of a valuable industry soon to develop from plants now growing wild on the public lands should be carefully guarded from annihilation. METHODICAL DIVERSITY OF PRODUCTION. BY J. W. GREGORY. DIVERSITY of production ought to be a hobby with practical irrigation farmers. "Don't 'put all your eggs in one basket" is an admonition it is well to heed, however trite the saying. No matter how carefully one may plan and plant and cultivate, any crop will be a failure sometimes, and it is only taking counsel of ordinary prudence to have a suffi- cient diversity of products to make a success of one sort when another fails. The man of one crop must be fortunate in his location and wise in his selection to stand any show of continued success. NEED NOT BE A MOSSBACK. But diversity of production does not mean a con- stant " bobbing around " from one sort of crop to an- other, from one list to another, growing one kind or list-of crops this year and changing to something en- tirely different next year. Experiment is all well enough and one need not include moss on his own back among his crops. It will often be advantageous to try new things and to shift from one sort of crop to another, but the man who grows peas, potatoes and sweet corn for market this year, cabbage, tomatoes and celery the next, and cucumbers, onions and spin- ach another time, always planting what brought a good price, or what an intelligent or fortunate neigh- bor made an exceptionally good return from the pre- ceding season, will find that, as a rule, he is keeping just about a year behind the good prices and that he does not get on remarkably well. HAVE A SPECIALTY. A good specialty is the very best foundation for a diversity of crops. And it is not a bad idea for one to have a limited line of tested and successful spe- cialties and stick to them. One may well make an orange grove, an apple or prune orchard or an alfalfa field \\\s piece de resistance, combine with the chosen leading specialty other standard lines in which he has experience, and then experiment cautiously, but on a limited scale, with other things. The leading special crop will be a failure, total or partial, at times, or prices for the product will rule low; but in such cases the " side lines " will pull the farmer through, and if his selections are wisely made, he will profit by perseverance. " SWEET-POTATO PEARCE." We have in mind a good example of the success following an intelligent adherence to a well-chosen specialty. A located Methodist minister, Eld. J. F. Pearce, residing in Finney county, Kansas, has for the past ten consecutive years planted five acres each year to sweet potatoes. He does not mind the fact that this has gained him the sobriquet of "Sweet- Potato Pearce," inasmuch as the crop has paid him an average return of $200 per acre per year for the period mentioned. He has not grown exceptional crops, nor, indeed, a very high average; but all the work has been done by himself and family, so that what is received is very nearly net gain, so far as the cash account is concerned. He has had plenty of time to devote to other matters right along and has made a good plain living for his family. His long experience in handling this crop has made him an expert, both in safely growing it and in getting the most possible out of it. He knows when and where to market the product to the best advant- age. People and dealers in his vicinity who want anything in his line always know where to go to get it so long as his stock holds out. He has a cheaply constructed root cellar in which he keeps an average of 250 bushels through each winter, and he " beds " a stated quantity each spring for growing plants, for which he has a ready sale. Sometimes prices are 132 THE IRRIGATION AGE. very low, but other seasons they are high enough to make up for it and so maintain a remunerative average. ONIONS. Another small farmer makes onion-growing his steady specialty and grows his two acres every year with satisfactory average results. He knows what varieties pay best, how and when to plant, cultivate, harvest, handle and market to best advantage. In fact, he has the special knowledge which only comes from long experience and which is worth money in any business — in growing sweet potatoes or onions to the same comparative extent that it is in conducting a banking business or operating a railroad. OTHER SPECIALTIES. Many instances might be given of those who suc- cessfully make a specialty of Irish potatoes, of cab- bage, of asparagus, of strawberries, and so on through a long list of the products more commonly grown in- cidentally and in a more or less haphazard fashion, saying nothing of the great staple crops, the produc- tion of which absorb so large a proportion of the time and energy of the mass of agriculturists. A PROFITABLE POLICY. As in these cases, cited merely by way of illustra- tion, so it should be with the man who devotes a larger acreage to the more common products. The sweet potato grower adds alfalfa and poultry to his list. The onion gardener has a somewhat varied but systematic line of other vegetables to supplement his one invariable crop. So the man who makes alfalfa growing his principal business will do well not only to have hogs and cattle or other stock to eat the al- falfa, but to grow at least one other sort of forage or grain crop to supplement it in sustaining and matur- ing his stock. An orchard and a garden should be considered matters of course and receive a full share of care and attention. And so it should be with the producer of wheat or corn, oranges, raisins or prunes. A wise selection may be made of other sorts of crops, the production of which will fit in with and around the " leader," and it may be accepted as a demon- strated fact that the experience of any considerable term of years will prove diversity of production, when intelligently practiced, the safe and profitable policy. THE LIVE STOCK. The " first assistants" of the irrigation farmer are — or will prove to be — the cow, the bee, the pig and the hen. Which of these is really entitled to be con- sidered as chief probably cannot be definitely settled because it will be a matter of opinion, and opinion is largely dependent upon the point of view. The old cow feeds more babies, adds more to the good things on the table and probably pays more taxes and more interest on the mortgage — in an indirect way at least — than any of the others. But mother hen also comes in very close to the head along the same lines. How seldom we think of, and how little do we realize the fact that the poultry yard beats the wheat field as a wealth producer! The pig, with his capacity for con- verting almost every waste and unprofitable thing produced on the farm into a profitable, cash article of merchantable pork, is not to be overlooked, and while the honey-bee may not figure so largely in the sum total of profits as do some of the others, it adds a big item of net profit, nevertheless, in addition to the important and indispensable services rendered as a bearer of pollen to and fro for the fertilization of the blossoms from which comes so large a proportion of our choicest and most valuable fruit. All are grand helpers and will return manifold all judicious expenditure of time and labor in their direction. DO YOUR OWN MANUFACTURING. ONE inflexible rule upon the irrigated farm should be : Send to market in its most condensed and valuable form everything you have to sell. Don't, as a rule, sell hay. Feed some hay to stock and sell horses, mules, cattle and sheep. Don't, as a rule, sell grain. Convert your oats, your barley, and also your wheat, into beef, pork, mutton, eggs, poultry, butter and cheese. There is an added profit in manufactur- ing hay and grain into these things and you should do the manufacturing on your own land and thus reap the profit. In fact, there are two substantial profits derived from thus condensing the raw material of the farm. There is the larger return in cash received for the product and there is the fertility saved to the land in the way of manures, and both are most appreciable profits and will amount to a "pretty penny" in the course of time. Just look around you, and recall in mind also, taking note of the farmers who get on and make money, and you will find that they are those who make it a rule to send their grass and grain to market on the hoof, and in the butter-tub and egg- basket. Condensation is the "rule of faith and practice" at the desk of every "able editor." It should be as faith- fully and persistently applied by every practical irrigator. Practiced along the lines suggested, it will be found to affect in a most practical and indi- vidual way the silver question, the price of wheat, the per capita circulation, etc. "Condense," says the editor. "Condense all along the line." LET THE STOCK GRIND THE GRAIN. How people do run in ruts, like an old wagon! A few seasons ago, when corn was very cheap and fanners, in some instances, used it for fuel, many TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 133 people considered it little less than wicked to do so. They did not grasp the utilitarian fact that corn is a better and cleaner fuel than coal, and that circum- stances may be such as to make it economical to burn the former instead of the latter. But the simple idea of burning up something ordinarily used for food, and not commonly used for fuel, is naturally repugnant to most people and doubtless many a man has shov- eled a ton of corn into his wagon, taken the time and labor of himself and his team to draw it ten miles and shovel it out again, received less than $5.50 for it and drawn back a ton of coal which cost $7.50, or more, without observing that he had lost a day's labor and the price of another day's labor in cash in the operation, because it did not occur to him to use the corn for fuel. WHEAT. In disposing of wheat people are as much inclined to follow custom. Wheat is ordinarily exchanged for flour at the most convenient mill, or sold to the grain dealer, and hundreds of men have sold thousands of bushels of it at 50 cents per bushel, or thereabouts when it might have been used as feed and netted the grower a dollar a bushel or thereabout. Made into chop, wheat can scarcely be excelled as a food for hogs and cattle, or horses, and, either whole or ground, it is the food par excellence for poultry. Utilized in this way, it can be made to yield a remunerative price when shippers' figures are down in the neighborhood of the cost of production. Hence, we suggest to those who grow wheat, when the price is low, try taking at least a part of it to mill to your pigs, poultry and cows. A cheap chop mill and windmill or horse- power are first-class assistants in such case. This course will both benefit the grower who intelligently follows it by giving him a fair return for his product and aid in reducing "the visible supply" to proper limits. THE SMALL FARM. THE eleventh commandment, so far as irrigators are concerned, is: "Despise not the day of small things! " This is directed especially to the beginner and the prospective beginner in the practice of irrigation. Look out for the details. The work fairly bristles with details which may seem of little consequence to the amateur, but they are all big somewhere out of sight. If you are planting an orange grove or seeding a tract to alfalfa, remember these are truly perennial crops, and see to it that your ground is thoroughly prepared and that you know precisely how it is to be irrigated. Plant only healthy trees of any sort, and purchase stock from no one but a reputable and responsible dealer who understands his business and cannot afford to deceive you in any way as to quality or variety. If you are building new ditches, be sure of your grades, get the ditches in the right place, andjmake every ditch broad and deep enough, every dam and embankment strong enough, have flumes so they wont leak and gates so they will clear. There is economy in having things right and sufficient for their intended uses in irrigation work. DON'T WAIT. If you have a quarter section you would like to irri- gate and the water supply is not all in sight, don't wait for somebody or some company to undertake furnish- ing you water for the whole 160 acres. Get what water you can, and try an acre— or half an acre. There are 'steen thousand men living upon land which ought to be irrigated to produce the best results and who wish to begin, but are waiting and have waited for years for the appearance of some capitalistic company which shall make rivers of water flow where little or none ever was seen before. Don't wait on the big companies and great canals of water. Sink a well, or dam a draw, or impound the waters of a spring, or get a small supply of water from some source, and be rich — in experience at least— and know what you want to do and how you ought to do it, and what a water supply is worth by the time the big company arrives on the ground. Furthermore, the little farm has proven and will prove the corner stone — and also the basement, side- walls and mansard roof — of irrigation. There will be men who can successfully conduct a bonanza farm under irrigation just as there are Marshall Fields in trade, Jay Goulds in railroad assimilation and Pulitzers in the newspaper business; but their num- bers will be about in like proportion to the mass of irrigation farmers as are the phenomenally success- ful to the rank and file in other industries and call- ings. The mass of those who succeed to their own satisfaction and to the good of the community in irrigation farming will be those who do thorough work upon a small tract. It is a sort of situation where " A little farm well tilled " must be the rule if success is to follow effort. One of the strongest proofs of the wonderful ad- ministrative ability of Brigham Young is the fact that he limited the farm unit, under irrigation, to twenty acres. He placed the limit high enough, and the results of fifty years' practical working have abundantly proven the wisdom of his regulations in this regard. It would be well if people would accus- tom themselves to contemplating irrigation farming on such a basis— the basis of the quantity of land a man can handle for himself. Little beginnings, small areas intensely cultivated, small investments of cash until experience justifies branching out by safe degrees, these are some of the 134 THE IRRIGATION AGE. small things which ought to be considered at their true value in the work of making homes by the help of irrigation. They will aid very greatly in achieving success. Pecan Culture. — Considerable attention is being given to the establishment of pecan groves in various parts of the country. The natural groves of Texas and Louisiana, by the good profits they have given in recent years, have stimulated the culture of this valuable tree to such an extent that a few years hence the quantity of nuts offered for sale will no doubt be many times the present product. The pecan is allied to the hickory, and while the nut is one of the best grown anywhere, the timber is also most valuable for a number of purposes to which at present the hickory is generally applied. The pecan will not thrive in too rigorous a climate, and yet it does well in Indiana and parts of Illinois. It is in the milder regions further south, however, that we may look for the most satisfactory results from the culture of this nut. Some groves have been established in Florida by grafting the pecan upon the wild hickory which grows in thickets in many parts of that State. A good deal of controversy has arisen in different parts of the country over the propriety or danger of removing the tap root of young pecan trees when transplanting from nursery to orchard. Though both sides of the question have been presented with con- siderable force and warmth, at times, yet it cannot be said to have been definitely settled. It takes so long a time to determine the matter from actual results of orchards planted in different ways, that he who plants pecans should avoid every possible risk, and plant the nuts where the trees are to stand, or use the utmost care in handling the tree while transplanting, so as to put the tap root into its place with the least possible disturbance of the few fine rootlets which may be attached. If we may reason from analogy we shall arrive at the conclusion that nature demands the tap root, and unless experience has shown it to be unnecessary to the tree in a state of cultivation, it were better not to take the chances of cutting it off. The pecan, like most other fruit and nut-bearing trees, thrives best in a well-drained, porous soil, with no hard-pan near the surface. In planting a large, deep hole should be dug and then filled in with sur- face soil, taking care that all fine rootlets are spread out as they should be to insure the best growth of the tree. The earth should be carefully worked about the small roots by hand, only running water about the tree during the operation of planting; and if the locality is subject to high winds the trees should be staked for the first two years at least. When well grown, the pecan often bears abundantly, although the tree is slow to begin yielding profitable returns. He who plants pecans must expect to wait eight or ten years for substantial returns, although five or six years may sometimes give evidence of value in a grove. A report was lately made of some pecan trees in Florida that yielded a return of $32 each at seven years of age. But this is an extraordinary per- formance and cannot be relied upon for frequent repetition. Good pecans sold last fall by the carload at six cents per pound. Running a Big Farm Does Not Pay.— The size of the average farm in the United States, as shown by the census of 1890, was 137 acres. It is said that in France the average farm comprises scarcely one-fourth of this acreage. That the farms of the United States, especially in the West, are generally too large is freely admitted by most thinking men who have given the matter careful study. One of the greatest drawbacks which the American farmer has 'to contend with is his own inclination or determina- tion, either inherited or acquired, to own more land than he does or can properly cultivate or use. For the ten years, 1880 to 1889, inclusive, the aver- age yield of wheat per acre in Massachusetts was 16.3 bushels, worth $20.74; Connecticut, 16.6 bushels, worth $19.14; Vermont, 16.9 bushels, worth $19.75. For the same period the average yield and value in some of the best of the large farm States of the West were as follows: Illinois, 13.4 bushels, worth $11.32; Minnesota, 12.5 bushels, worth $9.31 ; Iowa, 10.6 bushels, worth $7.56 ; California, 12.5 bushels, worth $10.35. During the same decade we find the relative pro- duct and value of corn as follows: Maine, 32.2 bush- els, valued at $24.25 ; New Hampshire, 32.7 bushels, worth $24.32; Vermont, 32.5 bushels, worth $23.18; Massachusetts, 31.6 bushels, worth $22.94. How was it on the large farms of the West? In Illinois the yield was 26.7 bushels, valued at $9.38; Iowa, 30.9 bushels, worth $8.63; Kansas, 28.5 bushels, worth $7.90; Nebraska, 32.8 bushels, worth $7.58. These figures will certainly prove a surprise to many western farmers, who generally believe their rich prairie soils to be much more productive than the farms of New England. While it is undoubtedly true that the western soils are more fertile, the diminished yield, compared with that from the worn soils of the far East, is so much the less creditable to the methods employed by the western farmer. All that could be said on this subject in a thousand pages of THE AGE could not more completely tell the story of loose methods on the farm than the few figures given above from the census of 1890. Farmers every- where should study not only the best methods em- ployed by the shrewdest of their craft, but should know also the history of their art, to the end that a TALKS WHH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. . 135 broader view of present and future requirements may be profitably taken. With irrigation and the small farm will almost certainly come better cultivation, fertilization and returns for the soil tiller in all parts of the United States. Drainage. — The importance of adequate provision for drainage, along with the use of water for irriga- tion, is something which ought to be appreciated by practical irrigators in very many localities. Where but small, isolated tracts are watered, or the water supply is so scant, or the climate so arid that water never accumulates and stands in pools and puddles, drainage is, of course, a " matter of history " only. But where water is plentiful, so that it may be used to excess; or where there are at times a succession of heavy rains, or where any extensive system of reservoirs may be constructed, care will have to be taken that water is not allowed to stand in stagnant pools, nor to form groggy " seeps " and marshy places, else more or less land will be ruined for crop production, and regions now fanied for their health- fulness will be troubled by malaria and by more or less malignant fevers. A Dangerous Pest. — The Russian thistle, for extermination of which Senator Hansbrough, of North Dakota, asks the appropriation of $1,000,000 by the general government, Avas introduced twenty years ago at a point near Yankton, and has been steadily adding to its domain since. An extensive bulletin just gotten out by the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture gives a map showing the re- ported distribution to extend over the east of the Dakotas, northeastern Nebraska and northwestern Iowa, with small spots all over the Dakotas, Nebras- ka, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and it has recently appeared in northwestern Kansas, and farmers there report its rapid propagation. The Russian thistle very closely resembles the common "tumble-weed," but is more spinous. In fact it is a tumble-weed of the worst kind. When it breaks off at the root late in the fall, it rolls away in the wind at a rapid rate, scattering its seeds upon every rod of ground over which it travels. Well grown plants in the Dakotas are said to reach four and five feet in diameter, and even more in excep- tional cases. The prickly branches are so dense that it is impossible to pass one's hand to the interior of the bushy plant. The technical name of the pest is Salsolo, kali, and it is briefly described as follows: Herbaceous, annual, branching from the base, usually densely bushy at maturity; leaves alternate, without stems, long, spiny- pointed, and with narrow margins near the base, usually striped with red like the stems; flowers minute, at the bases of the leaves, without sepals or petals. It blossoms in July and August and its seeds mature in September and October. The extermination of the Russian thistle demands that it be smitten hip and thigh by a sharp hoe in the hands of an active $1.25 a dayman. Digging it up seems to be the only way to fight it. If it is hoed or plowed up before it goes to seed it is likely to leave no posterity. To plow it under later than that is idle. It will take hard work to exterminate the pest. If raked with a reaper some seed will surely be left to perpetuate the curse. Burning will not effect a com- plete eradication. Cultivating corn, potatoes and other root crops serves to wipe it out if thorough work is done. Bulletins bearing on the subject of the Russian thistle are No. 31 of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and No. 15 of the Division of Botany, United States Department of Agriculture, Washing- ton, D. C. Either of these bulletins will be sent free to applicants. A Drouth -Resisting Fodder Plant. — Califor- nians are experimenting with a new fodder plant known as the " Saghalien Knotweed " (Polygonum Saghaliense), plants of which are now growing on the experimental station grounds at Berkeley, and said to be wonderfully resistant to the effects of drouth. The following description is from the official journal of the Cape Colony Agricultural Department: " In climates exposed to drouths this Polygonum grows with astonishing vigor. Its roots accommodate themselves to all soils, even such as are hard and stony. Besides, it is used successfully to consolidate the banks of rivers, the slopes of railway embank- ments, and like places. It is a very picturesque plant for ornamental planting; the stems being about three feet high, furrowed like those of the rush, and the leaves numerous, about 11 inches long and 1% inches broad. The flowers are produced in panicles of little bunches, and are eagerly visited by bees toward the end of summer. On the approach of the European winter the stems lie down, but the root- stock is perennial under the surface. It requires no protection, and in the following spring new shoots arise more numerous than the previous year on ac- count of the plant's facility of bud production. In turning this plant to account as a successful fodder, the stems are cut in spring level with the soil as soon as they have reached a height of three feet or more. The entire cutting is passed over to the farm stock, which are all very fond of it, whether fresh or made into hay. New stems begin to sprout up immediately and furnish a second, followed by a third and even a fourth cutting in good soils, which keep up a prolonged vegetation. Under these con- ditions a clever cultivator could secure a return of about twenty-five tons per acre. A plantation is made 136 THE IRRIGATION AGE. by picking out young plants obtained from seed, or sections of 'the rhizome, at a distance of a yard apart. A combination of the two is most suitable. This is best done in spring or late autumn. The next sea- son the stems and leaves spread over the entire sur- face of the soil. It is not necessary to give any man- ure or culture when the plant is once established. It may be added that the young leaves maKe a very good vegetable for the table, less acid than sorrel, less insipid than spinach. The vegetarians have already used and appreciated it as a summer vegetable. The Best Grain for Horses. — Most farmers in the central West and in the Southern States habitually feed their work horses and mules with corn. Oats to a certain extent serve to vary the diet somewhat, but the staple grain ration is corn, usually fed unshelled from the cob. A certain number of ears of corn are served to the animal, which is expected to bite the grains from the cob and consume the ration in his own way. While corn thus served has generally been regarded a cheap and hearty food, it is question- able if it is by any means the best food for work ani- mals, especially in warm weather. Street railway companies using horses as motive power long since learned that horses fed too exclus- ively on corn are short lived in their service, from the tenderness of the feet induced by the too-stimulating and feverish nature of the corn ration. Buyers for such service on a large scale therefore avoid, so far as possible, the corn-feeding districts or States, and endeavor to make their selections of animals from those parts of the country where corn is not regarded as the staple diet. For this reason Canada, where oats are generally fed, and California, where barley is the staple food for horses, have been drawn upon heavily for horses where endurance of hoof and mus- cular fiber are especially required. Now that the price of wheat is very low as compared with both corn and oats, it should be largely utilized as a food for horses. Especially should wheat bran be made to do duty in the ration for work horses in place of corn. It is well known that wheat bran is rich in phosphoric acid, and that it may be used with great advantage to build up and sustain the waste of muscle and bone alike in the horse that works. While wheat in any form should not perhaps be used ex- clusively as a food, yet a judicious mixture of wheat bran with other forms of food daily, will be found of great advantage in preserving the health as well as the strength and general well being of work horses. But barley is an excellent food for horses of nearly all ages and conditions, and the wonderful feats so often performed by California horses are often attrib- uted to a life-long diet of barley, both as grain and hay. Practically no timothy or red clover hay is used in that State, and while alfalfa is used to a consider- able extent, yet the great bulk of hay consumed, especially by work animals, is made from barley or wheat, cut before the grain hardens and cured as other hay is cured elsewhere. Be your own Grocer and Butcher. — Nothing is of greater importance to the man established upon a tract of irrigated land than is the matter of pro- ducing, as nearly as possible, what is consumed upon the family table. The more nearly the modern irri- gator can approach to the traditional independence of the old-time farmer the better. It is something well worth striving for and will do very much to give to the occupation of cultivating the soil the dignity and standing it deserves. It should be a matter of constant study with the practical irrigator to so order and arrange his farming operations as to decrease his cash outlay to a minimum by producing a wholesome, abundant and sufficiently varied food supply for home use. No one can come so near doing this successfully as can the practical man who controls a few acres of decent land and an adequate water supply and he ought to do it. It will pay. Increase Potato Acreage. — It is a remarkable fact that while American farmers cultivated over thirty-four million acres in wheat last year, which yielded but eleven bushels to the acre, worth 53.8 cents per bushel at the farm, and while the equivalent of over 180,000,000 bushels of that crop were sold in European markets, yet the farmers are still import- ing potatoes, while the farm value of the wheat crop of 1893 was but $6.16 per acre, that of the potato crop for the same year was over $41. The imports of potatoes for the ten months ending with April last, were 1,980,303 bushels, valued at ports of export at $853,054 ; while for the ten months ending with April, 1893, the amount of potatoes imported reached 3,446,- 482 bushels, valued at $1,607,191. It can be thus seen that the acreage devoted to potatoes in the United States, maybe extended some- what with profit, while the wheat acreage certainly should be curtailed very considerably. By raising no potatoes for export, the duty on foreign tubers be- comes operative and raises the price, not only of the potatoes imported, but also of the entire crop in the United States remaining unconsumed when import- ations are made. A Kansas Enterprise. — The people of a town- ship in Finney county, Kansas, whose land lies high and dry and is cut off from the possibility of securing water from the Arkansas river, the only stream in the vicinity, by an impassable range of sand hills, have under consideration the formation of an irrigation district on a novel plan. The Kansas irrigation law TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 137 provides for the formation of irrigation districts and the issue of bonds thereby to construct irrigation works. The people in question are scattered over an area six miles square. What they propose to do is to select a single section of land centrally located, lay it off in small tracts, reserving plenty of ground for public parks,etc., and all the people in the district move to this section, the proceeds of the bonds of the dis- trict being used to put in a pumping plant and build a reservoir large enough to irrigate the small tracts settled upon. Thus they will be enabled to en joy the advantages of irrigated land, a good school and social privileges, using their scattered, dry farms to grow such grain and fodder crops as they may produce. The plan is excellent if properly carried out. The Best Farm Horse. — For farm work the best horse, other things being equal, is the one that walks most rapidly. As an all-around work animal for the farm no gait compares with a rapid walk. The trotter and the running horse are of comparatively little worth on the farm, but the fast walker is invaluable. The horse that moves off with a firm, confident and rapid walk will do more work and do it more easily than any other animal. Entirely too little attention is paid to breeding fast walkers by farmers, as a class. If any special attention is given to the matter at all, it is generally in the direction of strength and weight, or in that of the fast trotter. With the better roads of the near future and with the light, improved agricul- tural implements, neither the heavy draft horse nor the trotter will have any proper place upon the small, irrigated farm. A horse of reasonable weight, but not so heavy as to be clumsy, and which has a rapid, vig- orous walk, will be the horse to meet most completely the needs of the irrigation farmer especially. And the proper feed for such horses will not be corn in the ear, but oats or barley, with a judicious ration of wheat bran or other similar substances, and good sweet clover or barley hay. And the men who own such horses will see to it that they always earn their keep and a good deal more ; in short, such horses will never be allowed to " eat their heads off. " An Indiana Irrigator.—As an object lesson in irrigation, on a small scale, the experience of Mr. W. W. Warner, of Marshall county, Indiana, may be of interest to farmers in the Mississippi Valley States who think their lands do not require irrigation. It may be said that Marshall county is in the northern central part of the State, and enjoys as great a rainfall per- haps as any part of Indiana. Still Mr. Warner found it very profitable to irrigate two acres of his land from a reservoir fed by springs. The fertilizers used were such as were produced on the farm, and the soil was not of extra quality. The work was performed by the usual farm help, and Mr. Warner gives to the Indiana Farmer the following statement of the product of the two acres referred to: He produced 415 bushels of onions, which sold for $332.27 ; celery to the value of $645.43; cabbage, $60; making a total cash return, after paying freight charges on shipments, of $1,037.70. The labor cost was less than $45, thus leaving a net return of nearly $500 per acre from his little patch of land properly treated. It is entirely safe to say that there are many farms in Marshall county, and in all other counties in the United States, containing 160 acres each, from which much less money is annually received than Mr. Warner received from his irrigated "farm" of two acres. Good Roads being one of the greatest concomi- tants—a sort of twin-sister interest — of irrigation de- velopment, every irrigator ought to make it a matter of personal care and pride not to allow the water to escape to highways or sidewalks while irrigating. To do so shows a slovenly or careless bent in the farmer, wastes good water which ought to be devoted to better purposes, and has a tendency to draw from passers-by uncomplimentary and untidy remarks, thus unduly adding to the burdens of the clerical force in the office of the recording angel. As a matter of fact, we shall not be surprised to find that the man who carelessly allows water to flood a public highway has charged up to his private account all the sinfulness occasioned thereby, and it would serve him right. A Potato Fertilizer. — An experienced potato grower recommends as the best fertilizer, if the crop is planted on a sandy loam (the most suitable for potatoes) the following : Sulphate of ammonia, 105 pounds; muriate of potash, 225 pounds, and super- phosphate, 85 pounds. This amount of the ingredients named applied to an acre of potatoes has been known to double the ordinary yield, and can generally be depended upon to very largely increase not only the yield but the quality of the tubers. Those who have given but little attention to fer- tilizers, as is very likely to be the case with farmers in the arid belt, will be surprised at the increased yield of a better quality that almost invariably follows a fairly liberal application of suitable fertilizers to the growing crop. All plants require for their growth and maturity definite quantities of nitrogen, phos- phoric acid and potash ; and if a soil is deficient in any one or more of these necessary ingredients, it will be impossible to mature a full crop, even though the other ingredients be present in excess. The strength of a chain is that of its weakest link ; and the strength of a soil may be fairly estimated by the bulk of the above named ingredients which it contains. 138 THE IRRIGATION AGE. Profit in Alfalfa.— Irrigated alfalfa fields in parts of the arid west last season paid net profits of upward of $30 per acre. At least such are the figures, upheld by the statements of dozens of as good, reputable, reliable men as can be found any- where, and they stand ready to back up their state- ments by sworn testimony. This was on land which was not worth more than $15 per acre as raw land, and would not have been worth one- tenth that amount but for the value given by good location. Alfalfa can be set at an average expense, in some localities at least, of not more than $6 per acre, and in many instances a good stand has been obtained at less than $5 per acre from the sod. Given fifteen-dollar land, and add $5 per acre to seed it to alfalfa, making a total of $20 per acre, and it is small wonder that with such results as above mentioned there should be a rapid increase in the acreage of alfalfa in many sections. Keep Abreast the Times. — Nothing shows the unreasoning conservatism which seems to largely dominate reasoning humanity more strongly than the persistence with which thousands of farmers will, year after year, grow crops and stock, or follow methods of farming, which have ceased to pay and which an intelligent study of conditions would show must con- tinue, for a time at least, to be unprofitable. Farmers must learn to watch the course of business and pro- duction closely. IjUcerne..— Utah Experiment Station bulletin No. 31, just issued, reports experiments on the time of cutting lucerne, and on mulching. As to the proper time of cutting lucerne, the results given are timely and interesting. It is shown that, whether cut twice or thrice, the yield is practically the same. The weights are given for each cutting, also the dates of cutting. The principal feature of the trial, however, was the feeding of steers to test the relative feeding value of lucerne cut at different degrees of ripeness. The first cutting was done before the lucerne came into bloom, the second lot in early bloom, and the third lot completely out of bloom. In the feeding trial the "early cut " lucerne gave a gain per day per steer of .778 pounds ; "medium cut," .234, and "late cut," .328. On the second crop, " early cut '' gave a gain of .743; " medium cut," .751, and "late cut ".169. Taking the average of the first and second crops, it is seen that early cutting gave decidedly the best results. It is believed, however, that conclusions should be suspended until further experiments verify the results of this. The bulletin is summarized as follows: 1. Early-cut lucerne gave a greater gain than late-cut lucerne. 2. As large a crop was received from two cuttings as from three, whether the first cutting was at an early period or at a medium period of its growth. 3. As early-cut hay gave a slightly better gain, the balance of the experiment favors early cutting. 4. It is assumed, not known, that the character of the growth from early-cut lucerne would not be as substantial as from the late cut. In the mulching trial, reported in the same bulletin, no good results are shown to come from mulching. In fact, there is a decrease in yield shown in almost every instance where mulch was applied. The state- ment is made that the trial was conducted on a very poor piece of ground, and that it will be transferred to a more favorable area of the farm. Utah Experiment Station bulletin No. 32, also just received, is entitled "Roots and Plants of Farm Crops." The weights of roots of oats, clover, corn, potatoes, timothy, barley, wheat, at each inch of depth down to twelve inches deep are given, and then the total weights for the twelve inches. A very accurate method was pursued in gathering the roots. The soil was a sandy loam, upper bench, and several feet deep at the point tried to the cemented limey sub-soil filtered into gravel. The same bulletin contains a table showing the number of plants and stalks of farm crops per acre and per square foot taken from four plats and aver- aged, the crops being oats, barley, spring wheat, fall wheat, rye and clover. The bulletin is interesting and valuable for reference. INFORMATION WANTED. A READER of THE AGE desires other readers who have the knowledge to tell him all about the " midge " or " louse " which is doing, or seems to seems to be doing, so much damage to alfalfa in por- tions of the Arkansas Valley this year. It is a minute winged insect; is about a sixteenth of an inch in length but is narrow as the finest mark made by a fine- pointed pen, hence can only be seen by close search- ing. It is supposed to suck the juices from the blos- soms of the alfalfa, causing them to wither and drop off, thus curtailing the seed crop. What is the in- sect? What is its life history? What actual damage does it do, and what measures can be successfully adopted to destroy it '? It is also desired to know the name and nature of a slender, bright yellow vine which has appeared in some western alfalfa fields, which spins its filaments from plant to plant like a huge, golden-colored spid- er's web. Is it a dangerous pest ? What can be done to check its spread and destroy it? It is suggested that some of our German readers who grew alfalfa (or "luzern ") in the old country tell our inquirer about this parasite, what damage, if any, it did in alfalfa fields there, and what steps were taken by people and government to get rid of it. HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. CASTOR BEANS AS AN INTERCULTURE. BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. A CORRESPONDENT at Sterling, Illinois, sends the following letter relative to a subject which has a considerable importance to almost every fruit grower who plants an orchard in any part of the country: LETTER OF INQUIRY. " Myself and several friends expect to locate in the fruit section of the Snake River or Yakima River valleys and engage in fruit raising. I have been looking around for some time for the best crop to raise for a few years until our trees come into bear- ing, and it occurred to me that perhaps the castor bean would be as profitable as anything. Could you not give the AGE readers some information about its culture, yield, prices and market, manner of harvest- ing and the adaptability of it to the arid regions of Idaho and Washington? "They are quoted in St. Louis at $1.25 per bushel, and I have been informed they would yield 50 to 100 bushels per acre, with good care and cultivation, and are not much more work than corn. If that is correct they would certainly be a very profitable crop to raise." Although not distinctly stated with above com- munication, it may be assumed that reference is made to a crop to be grown between the orchard rows. In the first place, if it be determined to utilize the space between trees while awaiting their fruition, a crop should be selected, if possible, which is adapted to the conditions of the locality and which gives promise of profitable returns. THE ORCHARD THE MAIN OBJECT. The soil and climate of the regions referred to are so exceptional that a great number of crops may be successfully produced there if cultivated by them- selves alone. But the main consideration, after all, is the pushing of the orchard to maturity as rapidly as is consistent with its own welfare; hence such crops should be chosen to plant among the trees as will interfere as little as possible with the orchard growth and development. Above all things trees must not be deprived of the sun; hence any crop growing to a height necessarily making much shade possible upon the fruit trees should not be thought of. To be sure, it is well for the first year or two after planting to screen the tree trunk from the direct rays of a hot sun, yet this may be done much better by [This letter of inquiry was sent to Mr. Fitzsimmons to be an- swered, he being an authority on the subject. — EDITOR.] wrapping with newspapers or coarse burlaps and fast- ening carefully but not too tightly. For this reason, besides others to follow, we cannot recommend castor beans as a suitable crop to be grown between rows of young orchard trees. For the same reason corn is not a proper crop to be thus grown, although it is sometimes so planted. RESULTS IN KANSAS. A few years ago the writer undertook a somewhat careful investigation of the profits and other condi- tions of castor bean culture as shown in one of the best districts to be found in the United States, namely southeastern Kansas. The country there ap- peared to be well adapted to the crop, and a consid- erable acreage had been cultivated for several years. A recent trip through the same district showed a greatly lessened acreage growing than formerly. The figures of yield and price given by our corre- spondent would indicate a good business; but unfor- tunately no such actual profits can be relied upon. Thirty bushels of beans per acre would probably be found to be a good average yield, and quite likely the real figures would be considerably below that point. Then, too, the castor bean is not a sure crop, one year with another, though in this regard perhaps it is not more hazardous than many others. The net result, however, if the investigations referred to, which were conducted at considerable pains and ex- pense, was that a gross return of $25 to $35 per acre, appeared to be about all there was in the castor bean business at that time and place. There are no gen- eral statistics available showing the profits of the castor bean industry as a whole in the country, but observations covering some years lead us to believe that the figures made above approximately represent the probabilities of that business in tried localities. In localities not yet tested on a large scale, as in the Yakima region, it is not possible to speak with authority. POTATOES RECOMMENDED. On the other hand, we can recommend potatoes for that valley, either as an interculture or to be cultivated in the open. This crop requires the land to be kept in good condition, does not interfere with the growth of trees in any manner detrimental to them, and if properly cultivated and fertilized will rather add to otherwise favorable conditions for the growth of an orchard. With plenty of irrigating water and with i.39 140 THE IRRIGATION AGE. careful culture the rows of potatoes may be placed near each other, though they should not be within, say four feet of the newly planted trees; and thus a good crop assured in ordinary seasons. Frost may sometimes hurt a crop, but with irrigating facilities one good crop may be practically assured ; in some cases two crops might be grown in one year by proper care. Relative to the probable outcome of a potato crop, we have full and reliable statistics for almost the en- tire country. By the census of 1890 it is shown that the average yield of potatoes for the whole United States for a period of ten years was 76.2 bushels per acre per year, worth at the farm $38.34. It will be at once seen that taking so long a period and so wide an area as was embraced in the report, the potato crop has been one of the most profitable j grown by farmers. In fact, it is so now, and bids fair to so con- tinue to be for some time to come. But the census figures show still more. They show that the average yield of potatoes in Washington for the ten years, 1880 to 1889 inclusive, was 117 bushels per acre, the greatest given for any State or Territory. The next highest yields were those of Montana, 107.4 bushels, and Oregon, 100 bushels per acre. The farm value of the potato crop of Washington during^that period was $54.91, or $16.57 more than the average for the country at large. In view of all the known and unknown conditions affecting the queries of our correspondent, it^is Jquite safe to recommend potatoes as an interculture^among new orchards in the Yakima region. In fact, there is no better potato region in the world than that. Next to potatoes, we should recommend an investigation of peanuts for the same purpose. There is just now something of a peanut " boom " in various parts of the country, and some allowance must be made for excited imaginations among the most enthusiastic advocates of peanut culture. This is, however, a crop not fully tried on a large scale in the region un- der review, and plantings should be experimental and comparatively small at first. Cabbages are often grown with good profit among orchards and can be shipped long distances with satisfactory results. To conclude, we cannot recommend castor beans as an orchard crop, but believe that with careful culture any of the other crops named can be made to yield reasonable profits while interfering very little with the growth and early maturity of the orchard. In planting any crop among orchard trees, care should be taken not to encroach too much upon the legitimate domain of the trees themselves. After the second year it will be found that their roots have reached out to a considerable distance, and if en- croached upon by other crops, enough fertilizing ma- terial should be applied to give both trees and other crops sufficient nourishment. Even if the land be new and rich, both trees and other crops will be found to appreciate a ration of fertilizer. As a further practical suggestion, to be considered in connection with the foregoing, we quote the follow- ing from The Ranch, published at North Yakima, Washington : " No reason in the world why the turkey ranch will not pay in this dry country. Few are the springs when the rains or the dews will chill the young. In summer the grasshoppers are plentiful and there is an abundance of range. They can be herded like sheep and driven home at night. The sage brush gives shade, and when well along the young turkeys can be allowed to get their drink from the irrigation ditches.1' MARKETING THE ORANGE CROP. BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. ONE of the benefits of concentration and cooper- ation in marketing crops, is shown in the case of the Florida Fruit Exchange. The promiscuous consigning of Florida oranges by individual growers and shippers inevitably led to the glutting at times of every market, thus depressing prices below the point of profitable production. As a partial remedy for this great evil, the Florida Fruit Exchange has proven of immense advantage, not only to the men who have sold their fruits through its efficient agency, but the steadiness of the markets, largely brought about through the action of the Exchange by its in- telligent distribution of shipments to many consuming centers, has resulted in better prices for all Florida fruit. While the past season has been one of unprece- dented depression in nearly all lines of business, and in spite of the fact that the orange crop of Florida was the largest ever grown, the Exchange prices for fruit marketed through its agency were reasonably satisfactory. At a late meeting of the Exchange the report of the manager showed that the amount of fruit handled by this agency for the season was 456,- 119 packages, an increase of about 25 per cent, over the preceding year's business. The total gross aver- age price per box for oranges was $1.75, and the net price at shippers' stations was $1.02 per box. The gross average price received for pineapples was $4.93 per crate, and the net average was $3.16. Besides acting as a reasonably successful selling agency, the Florida organization fought to a tri- umphant finish the contest between fruit shippers and the railway companies concerning an increase of freight charges by the latter. The result of this con- test before the Inter-state Commerce Commission was a saving of about $115,000 in transportation charges alone on the last season's crop. Further pro- ceedings are to be had also with a view to collecting from the transportation companies the excess paid HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 141 by shippers prior to the injunction against raising the rate. It will thus be seen that while the Florida Exchange has been of very great advantage to many orange growers in the State, it has been of even higher advantage probably as an object lesson to the whole country, showing the beneficial results of cooperative effort along the lines of rural industry, especially in marketing the products of the soil. In fact, the Florida Fruit Exchange has demonstrated beyond a question the pre-eminent benefits of cooperation among fruit producers and shippers. To a very great extent the same may be said of the Southern California Fruit Exchange, organized last fall for the better marketing of the citrus fruit crops of that State. At this writing full data of the operations of the Exchange are not available, but partial reports of the management from time to time through the season show conclusively that the Exchange has been an agency of the greatest value in the distribution of the crop to the best available markets. So far as at present writing it may be stated, the net returns to growers who shipped through the California Exchange were about the same as those given above for Florida. And it is conceded by very many well informed growers that except for the Exchange the returns could not have been so favorable by a large percent- age. But the strange thing in connection with both the California and Florida Exchanges is that the orange growers in each State hesitate about joining their fortunes with their neighbors. Whether this results from selfishness, want of information, distrust of others, or from habitual indifference it is difficult to say; but the fact remains that not nearly all growers have as yet joined the Exchanges or any other coop- erative association for marketing fruit in either State. The Florida organization is much older than that in California, and its operations have been generally conceded to have been honest and efficient ; yet men still hesitate to patronize it, and send their fruit pro- miscuously to commission houses in the North who make such returns as they please. The same is true in California; but the indications now are that in both States a more enlightened policy will be hereafter adopted by growers generally, and this means full, complete and permanent cooperation. THE LEMONS OF THE UNITED STATES. FLORIDA lemon growers assert that the fruit pro- duced in that State, under the best conditions of cultivation and curing, far surpass the imported fruit, and weigh about fifteen pounds per box more than that usually brought from Italy or Spain. That lemons of the finest quality are produced in considerable quantities both in Florida and California there is no doubt whatever. And the problem of producing in those States all the lemons required by the people of the United States is merely one of suitable climatic conditions and skill in curing the fruit for market. Some two or three years ago careful tests were made under the direction of officials of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, and it was then ascertained that the lemons tested, which were grown at Riverside, California, fulfilled every possible requirement and were pronounced far superior in nearly all respects to the best imported lemons to be found in the mar- kets of Washington. Doubtless those grown under the best conditions in Florida would be found to possess most if not all the desirable qualities found in the California fruit. The lemon trees and fruit are less hardy than the orange, hence require a mild winter temperature unless it happens that the fruit in the locality will mature nearly at the same time, and before the approach of winter. Ordinarily, however, the lemon tree matures its fruit continuously, and therefore it is generally important that the mer- cury should never go below 32° for best results. While a temperature of 32° may not seriously damage a lemon crop provided the mercury does not remain long at that point, yet if an orchard site can be selected where the thermometer always registers above the freezing point it will, other conditions being equal, enjoy very great advantages over one where the mer- cury goes below 32°. The tenderness of the lemon of course necessarily restricts possible plantings to the milder sections of the more southern States of the Union. And even in the southernmost sections, if far removed from the sea, lemon culture is quite un- certain, if not impossible, by reason of extremes of temperature. The greatest care should therefore be exercised in selecting a site for a lemon orchard. The prime consideration, however, is to find a place as nearly frostless as possible, for there are very few "frostless belts" in the United States, although the real estate boomers advertise large areas under that seductive title. The site once selected, the trees should be of the best budded varieties, and among them the Lisbon, Eureka and Villa Franca are stand- ard sorts and have many of the best qualities to be found in lemons anywhere. The Villa Franca is alleged to be more hardy than trees of most other varieties. The trees should have been budded upon orange stock, and if upon the wild orange it is just as well, possibly better. Experience has not yet fully demonstrated which is best for lemons, the sour or sweet orange stock. But in no case should lemon trees budded upon lemon or lime stock be used. The spreading habit of the lemon tree would suggest a distance of at least twenty-four feet between trees, and an orchard planted as here suggested will scarcely fail to give you returns if properly cultivated, watered and fertilized. 142 THE IRRIGATION AGE. Forest Tree Planting.— In the absence of strictly enforced laws and regulations to protect the American forests from wanton destruction by fire and by lumbermen, it can scarcely be hoped that in the present generation at least this reckless waste can be wholly repaired. It may, however, be reasonably hoped that farmers in the arid belt will so readily understand the vast importance and direct benefits of large timber areas in any agricultural section that they will encourage tree planting wherever feasible. To many it may seem a hopeless undertaking to plant forest trees with any prospect of seeing value in them during the lifetime of the planter. But, nevertheless, trees should be everywhere planted among the farms and along the roadsides throughout the arid regions, and until their rapid growth is actually seen and recorded one can scarcely comprehend it. To be sure, some varieties grow much more rapidly than others, but perhaps the more rapid growers are not always the most desirable or profit- able to plant. The cottonwood is often planted along irrigating ditches and in moist ground, but it is by no means the best tree to plant in such places. The cottonwood has little commercial value, although it is sometimes used for fencing and other purposes about the farm. A much more useful tree, and one which will grow almost anywhere within the climatic limit of possibility, is the common eucalyptus or blue gum. The timber of this tree is valuable, it grows very rapidly and roots deeply. It will often flourish where other less valuable trees will fail. Extremely cold weather would destroy the eucalyptus, however, and its planting should be confined to the more tem- perate regions of the arid belt. This tree does not, like the cottonwood, furnish a breeding ground for insect pests, but on the contrary is alleged to act as a repellent of the whole tribe of noxious insects that invests every kind of plant life in all countries. Among the better known varieties of native forest trees which may be planted with reasonable hope of early results is the " shell bark " hickory. When properly planted in rows and cultivated, watered and tended, the hickory makes rapid growth and soon attains a size adapting it to coopers' use for hoops, while a few more years' growth will convert it into tool-handle timber. By planting the hickory in rows six feet apart, and four feet apart in the rows, about 1,700 trees may be grown upon an acre of land. By gradually and carefully thinning out the rows as the trees attain a salable size, it will be found that in a few years such a timber grove has attained very great value. It is well known that the carriage makers find it more and more difficult each year to secure a supply of hickory timber for their uses, and pay very attractive prices ^for satisfactory material of that character. In suitable places, too, white ash may be planted with profitable results, though perhaps with less satisfaction than the hickory. Black walnut will grow in nearly every county in the arid belt, if sur- rounded by conditions attainable in nearly all parts. From the fact, however, that the hickory may be util- ized at almost all stages of its growth, it is probable that it would yield the best results, even if planted on a large scale, when properly cared for. Probably no more profitable investment could be made anywhere in the irrigable domain than the planting of large areas of timber of the varieties best suited to local conditions, always considering the commercial value of the timber itself as well as its incidental value for shade, windbreaks or fuel. An Opening for a Young Man.— Since spray- ing the orchard is a necessity in order to produce merchantable fruit on a large scale in all parts of the country, preparations to treat the trees in a proper manner should be made by all owners of orchards, even though small. In a district where fruit growing is merely a side issue, and quite subordinate to the gen- eral farming interest, it may be inconvenient and per- haps expensive for each farmer to maintain an efficient spraying outfit. In such cases it will gener- ally be found that by the farmers of a neighborhood clubbing together, a spraying outfit sufficient for the use of all may be obtained at a small cost to each, and that the work may thus be done for all at no great expense. What would be still better, however, would be to offer adequate inducements to some enterprising young man in the neighborhood to provide himself with the necessary spraying apparatus and materials for the required sprays, and then to do the work for each orchardist as required, at a cost to be agreed upon. In this way the work would almost certainly be done when needed, and would not be indefinitely postponed, or indifferently performed, as is so liable to be the case when the small orchardist depends wholly upon himself to provide the appliances and materials for spraying. Peanuts. — In the cultivation of peanuts the main points are to keep them clear of weeds and grass ; do- not hill the spreading varieties; let them lie flat on the ground; and keep throwing fresh dirt under the ends of the creeping kind as they grow outward, so the young nuts can easily bury themselves. Keep the ground loose and mellow around the roots. Why Not Have a Fall Garden?— Is it neces- sary that the one effort in the spring should be all the attention given the garden, when by a little fore- thought you can have the health-giving fruits and vegetables the entire year ? ELECTRICITY AND WATER POWER. ELECTRICITY AND WESTERN DEVELOP- MENT. BY AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. From the Northwest Magazine. THE knowledge has not reached the American people that there is a section of country in the United States destined in the near future to become the theatre of an industrial revolution greater than any precedent in the world's history. The cause is the creation of electric light, heat and power by the utilization of falling water. The section to which al- lusion is made consists of the States of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, California, Wyoming, Ne- vada, Colorado, Utah and the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, with an area aggregating 1,175,490 square miles, which will be designated here as the Western section, in distinction to the geographical divisions comprising the States and Territories on the east of it, and extending to the Atlantic Ocean, con- taining altogether 1,794,510 square miles, to be known as the Eastern section. It will be noticed that, con- trary to popular impression, the Western section nearly approaches in size its Eastern neighbor, and, as investigation will show, possesses a capacity for useful production far beyond that of any correspond- ing portion of the earth's surface. Except in favored localities in the East, the West- ern section holds a monopoly in its unlimited water power. When thus produced electricity can be util- ized to turn night into day. It will banish at once gas works, cooking stoves, heating furnaces, chimneys and smoke. It will abolish boilers, engines, coal and ashes. It means an uncontaminated atmosphere and freedom from damage to goods and fabrics. How- ever great and far-reaching may be the industrial changes likely to ensue as the result of relatively free light, heat and power, they are small in importance compared to the wealth of natural resources in the West which such changes will introduce to the activi- ties and ambitions of the world's inhabitants. Dividing the elevated mountain ranges are basins varying in size which for centuries have been the re- ceptacles of the wash of the mountains, the soil thus made being really a combination of chemicals best suited for plant growth, which in the upheaval of the surface was lifted from the bowels of the earth and through ages of exposure to the air and elements made ready for the intended purpose. Every valley has abundant water supply in streams which head among the mountains and are fed by the congealed accumulations of the previous winter, slowly melting as the sun gains strength and the supply naturally and automatically regulated, so that the same heat that in the valleys demands moisture for the crops unloosens it on the mountain sides to meet such re- quirement. Some of this water, after absorbing am- monia and other valuable qualities from the atmos- phere, runs on the surface in rivulets and streams directly to replenish the fields below, while much of it sinks into the earth to gain by percolation soluble richness from the volcanic matter and decomposed limestone of which the mountains are composed, only to reappear in springs at lower levels to join the com- mon stream. With rare exceptions the lands of the valleys have exactly the requisite degree of slope to insure an even flow of water over the surface, and the streams run at such a grade that canals for irrigation can be economically constructed to carry supplies out to contiguous cultivated fields. It will thus be seen that the operations of the agri- culturist are carried on with the certainty of maxi- mum results. He has all the forces of nature under absolute control, and can in the beginning of a sea- son, with the knowledge of the character of his soil and his facilities for water supply, calculate with a certainty precisely what the yield will be at the ter- mination. Starting with a soil as rich as nature can make it, with seasons arranged as if for his special use, with rain quietly stored in neighboring mountain heights to come at his bidding, instead of precipi- tating itself, frequently with dangerous violence, at unwelcome seasons, with reservoirs of liquid manure needing only to be tapped, with a climate constantly inviting out-door labor, and with no uncomfortable heat or cold to encounter — what conditions supposed to have existed in the Garden of Eden are lacking in this? But the list of attractions of the mountain States is not yet complete. There being no moisture permanently in the ground there are no long waits in the spring for the melting of the frost before the labor of plowing and seeding can commence, and for the same reason all traveled roads are as perfect as any combination of material can make them. In contemplation of the possibilities of such a country who can predict its future, when with wise laws capital can be provided for the stimulation of its resources? What a magnificent field for the settle- ment of the idle millions of the over-crowded East if knowledge of the inducements for emigration can be conveyed ! Electricity will here find its home and its benefits be so diffused that the modest farm-house as well as the city mansion may enjoy the blessings of unlimited light, heat and power. 143 PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. IRRIGATION IN CENTRAL WYOMING. BY ARTHUR W. PHILLIPS. IRRIGATION enterprise is awakening at a rapid 1 rate in Central Wyoming this year; several large and very promising projects for utilizing the abund- ant waters of the North Platte r iver have been started and are well under headway at the present time. The triumphant success of the Harvey water- a fine large body of land on the old Fetterman res- ervation. The " Riverside Canal Company " has been lately formed for the purpose of irrigating the rich bottom lands along the river between Douglas and Orin Junction. Their scheme involves the constructing of a large water power plant, and pumping the water into their canals. The place where they contemplate NORTH PLATTE RIVER AT LOWEST WATER, SEPTEMBER. wheel, which was described and illustrated in THE AGE of June, this year, has opened people's eyes to the vast possibilities of the splendid valley through which the noble Platte, deriving its supply from countless mountain springs and streams, and melted snow from lofty mountain ranges, winds its way for a distance of over 200 miles in the State of Wyoming, carrying a volume of water amounting to 15,000 cubic feet per second of time. The " Fetterman Ditch Company," recently organ- ized, are working a number of teams on their ditch above Dougjas, and will construct a ditch to irrigate building the waterwheels is admirably adapted to such an undertaking, being a narrow channel between two rocky banks, where the fall in the river is very great. The development of an immense power is comparatively easy and cheap at this point, and when power is obtained it is an easy matter to raise all the water required to a height of twenty-five or thirty feet. THE PLATTE VALLEY. The irrigation of the Platte valley by this means can be accomplished at a small outlay per acre, and the splendid water supply in the Platte insures abundance of water at all times and for all purposes. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. '45 The tract of country intended to be reclaimed by this company is especially valuable. The land itself is fine in quality and in its formation. Sloping gently from the foothills to the river, it affords every facility for thorough irrigation with good drainage, which is so essential to successful farming by irrigation. A large portion of this tract of land is already settled upon by a thrifty and good class of people, who will be glad to purchase water from this company to make their lands productive. Most of these farms are well improved, with fine buildings and good fences on them. All these lands are adjacent to the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, which makes a junction with the Denver and Gulf Railroad at Orin practically inexhaustible, and the cost of constructing the irrigation works reasonable. One of the principal promoters of this enterprise is the Hon. DeForest Richards, State Senator from Converse County, and President of the First National Bank at Douglas, Wyoming. Mr. Richards has had extensive experience in irrigation matters in Wyom- ing, and is convinced of the soundness of this enter- prise and of its ultimate success. CLIMATE AND PRODUCTS. There is no finer climate on earth than in Central Wyoming. The altitude is high enough to make the summers pleasant, but not so high but what alfalfa, corn, tomatoes and other such crops mature and FARM BUILDINGS ON THE LINE OF THE RIVERSIDE CANAL, CENTRAL WYOMING. Junction. At this point this company will have their canal high above the town, affording facilities for using the immense water power to be obtained from a fall of twenty feet from the canal, which can be used for operating mills, electric light plant, etc. A pipe line is now under construction from the oil fields at Casper to Orin Junction, where the oil will be shipped on the cars south. When this is completed it will make Orin Junction a lively place. There is no ditch enterprise in the West that has better prospects of success in their undertaking than this one. The land is excellent farming land, the location is all that can be desired, every acre of the 10,000 acres being near two railroads, the water supply flourish. The farmers, therefore, who have located in the Platte valley, and have succeeded in irrigating their farms, are the most prosperous of any of the people in the State. The market for produce of all kinds can never be glutted, for the reason that the land capable of being cultivated in Wyoming is only about four per cent, of the total area of the State, and the uplands will always be used for the grazing of vast herds of cattle and sheep, which consume in being fattened for market all the produce that can be raised. As an example of the fertility of lands in Wyoming we can take some crops which have been harvested in the State in recent years. The premium presented 146 THE IRRIGATION AGE. by the American Agriculturist for the best and largest yield of potatoes in the United States was awarded to Wyoming for a yield of 975 bushels off one measured acre. There is also on record a yield of oats of 131 bushels per acre, and a crop of wheat that threshed out 67 bushels to the acre. Such yields are exceptional of course, but there is no reason why the same care that brought them about once should not be equally as successful again. Wyoming gained the first premium for wheat at the World's Fair in competition with the whole world. In area Wyoming is an empire, larger than the whole of New England, containing boundless re- sources. In agricultural lands she has homes for millions, and in minerals of all kinds no State in the Union is her superior. "MY BROTHER'S KEEPER." To the Editor of THE IRRIGATION AGE : THE stand taken by THE AGE in the June issue, wherein it states that " hereafter THE AGE will expose doubtful enterprises," is a grand step in the right direction and deserves the praise and practical support of all persons interested in the cause of irri- gation. Herewith find $2 for a year's subscription. The position of THE AGE is doubtless taken after due consideration and the public need fear no " back- sliding." The step should make THE AGE the most influential journal and best advertising medium for legitimate ventures in its line in America. THE WRIGHT LAW. The writer is a most enthusiastic believer in the cause of irrigation, and willing to do everything possible to advance its true interests, but has had the honor of being hung in effigy for opposing gross misman- agement, safely ensconced under the wings of the "Wright law'' of California. Theoretically the " Wright law " is good, and in the line of cooperation by communities, practically it admits of fraud and manipulation in the interests of " promoters." I be- lieve it is the duty of every good citizen to cooperate with THE AGE in exposing these defects and causing them to be remedied. Two years ago I had written THE AGE calling at- tention to these matters, but was advised by those consulted that it would be useless to send it, as any- thing written against the management of an irrigation district would be construed as prejudicial to the cause of irrigation and would be suppressed. Your present attitude gives me hope a little judicious criticism will not be taken amiss, and that other districts may be protected against the snares into which this district has fallen. THE AGE mentions " one district where schemers and manipulators have imperiled the fortunes of a community of honest, hard-working men." I suspect you mean the Ferris irrigation district, knowing its relations to the Bear Valley company and its dis- sensions of two years ago. It is to be sincerely hoped that no other community has been duped as this has been, but fortunately Ferris irrigation district can and will survive its misfortunes, as its resources are great, its location desirable, and its advantages unsurpassed; besides, the bad management was exposed before many investors had bought at high prices, and the land which, under proper management, would be selling for $150 and upward^ per acre is now being sold at from $40 to $60 per acre. The locators and early settlers, who had borne the strain of pioneer life and who should have been ben- efited by the formation of the district and the intro- duction of Bear Valley water, are the sufferers and are now selling their land for a merely nominal sum to get money to meet taxes, buy water, and get started under the new regime. This state of things has been brought about by plausible persuasions before the dis- trict was formed and urtwise management thereafter. The district is now being carefully, honestly and economically managed and has a good future to look forward to. The object of this article is not to expose or denounce anyone, but to try to interest THE AGE in bringing about such legislation as shall prevent the abuses legally possible under the "Wright law" and other similar State laws. THE AGE will certainly merit the best wishes of its constituents if it can succeed in protecting the honest home seeker, and the safe-investment seeker of small means, from the " velvet fingers of cunning." The method which appears most feasible and direct to the writer is to have the next Irrigation Congress pass a resolution embodying the following ideas. Resolved: That the legislature of each State be urged to establish a Commission (or have added to the duties of some Commission already formed, as the State Bank Commissioners) whose duty it shall be to annually investigate and report to the Attorney- General of the State, the legal, financial and industrial status of each irrigation district already formed, or which has taken steps -toward such formation, and that said report be made public, and that no irrigation district be permitted to organize and issue bonds until their plans and possibilities are investigated and ap- proved by said Irrigation Commission and the Attor- ney-General and Surveyor-General of the State. Said legislation being intended to equally protect from fraud the bond buyer and home seeker. Hoping to interest in a just cause abler minds than mine, I leave the matter with THE AGE and its co- workers. ORA OAK, Ferris, Riverside Co., Cal. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 147 IRRIGATION IN CHINA. A large part of the farming of the Chinese empire is done by irrigation, and the water rights of the Celestials are as full of complications as those of Col- orado, says Frank G. Carpenter. Although they have no fences to mark the bound- aries of their property, they work away in peace and quiet, and it is wonderful how much they make the land produce. Three crops a year is not uncommon, and if a sign of failure is seen the seed for another crop is straightway sown. The farms are remarkably small, thousands of holdings being an acre or less, and in the better part A MEXICAN CANAL. The Bureau of the American Republics, at Washing- ton, D. C., is informed that the Sonora and Sinaloa Ir- rigation Co., which owns a concession granted in the name of Mr. Carlos Conant, for the construction of an irrigation canal in the States of Sonora and Sinaloa, is rapidly pushing forward its work. When completed the canal will be seventy feet wide at the bottom, having a fall of fifteen inches per mile, and will carry a stream of water six feet deep. For more than one year a steam dredge costing $27,000 has been at work. The concessionaire has a land grant of 550,- 000 acres, lying between the rivers Yaqui and Mayo, FARMING LAND IRRIGATED BY THE RIVERSIDE CANAL, CENTRAL WYOMING. of the empire it is estimated that an acre will support a family of six persons. The use of fertilizers is universal, and there is no land which is so well fed. Everything is saved, and the stuff which is gathered up is kept in great vats, and the farm is watered like a garden. A dipperful of the fertilizer from the vats, in liquid form, is put into every bucket of water and the mixture poured at the roots of the plants. Such fertilization is going on all the time and some- times $20 to $30 is spent on one acre. The tools used are extremely crude, and there are no horses and few cattle, the plows, when the land is not worked by hand, being pulled by water buff aloes, an extremely ugly animal. which will be opened to settlement as soon as the canal shall have been completed and the land subdivided. In Owens Valley, Inyo County, California, the Californian Waterworks and Irrigation Co. is con- structing a canal fifty-three feet wide on the bed to carry six feet of water. It will be about eighty miles long and will irrigate over 300,000 acres of land lying in the Owens Valley, Rose Springs Valley and Indian Wells Valley. About eighteen miles will probably be completed in October, when 170,000 inches of water from Owens River will be turned in. Arizona canal building to the amount of $8,000,000 is promised in the next six years. 148 THE IRRIGATION AGE. The people of the south side of the Platte river in Scotts Bluff county, Nebraska, met in Gering during the middle of August and organized the Gering Canal Company, for the purpose of constructing a canal commencing in Wyoming about three miles west of the Nebraska State line, and building a ditch to the lower end of Creighton valley, in Scotts Bluff county, making the ditch about fifty miles long. ^Martin Gering, W. S. Peters, F. M. Sands, George Lawyer, E. P. Cromer, Wm. Bensley, Ed. W. Sayre, G. Dickenson and Frank Beers were elected direct- ors, and George. H. Lawrence, engineer. It is estimated that not less than twelve hundred irrigation pumping plants have been put into opera- tion in the western half of Kansas the current year. This represents a good big practical step in the right direction and will produce valuable results. The Lincoln (Neb.) Call says: "A little less politics, a great deal less talk on the silver question, and more, infinitely more, horse-sense discussion of the irrigation question." At a late meeting of the Northwestern Nebraska Irrigation association a committee was appointed to correspond with other irrigation associations, boards of trade and others interested, to arrange for a meeting for the purpose of drafting a bill on the subject of irrigation which will cover the legal necessities of the entire State. B. F. Williams of Douglas, Michigan, is putting in a pump to irrigate a fruit farm, obtaining the water from a creek near by. Mr. G. M. Munger of Eureka, Kansas, is construct- ing an extensive irrigation plant to water about five hundred acres, principally orchard, in which the fruit trees are beginning to bear. Kansas expects to have a display of her farm, field and orchard products, grown by irrigation, at the National Congress in Denver. It may be made per- manent. An Ellensburgh, Washington, business man is fit- ting up a capacious room in which to keep a perma- nent exhibit of the products of Kittitas county. It is a laudable undertaking and public spirited in the highest degree. The contract for the construction of the Middle Ditch, Yakimacounty.Washington, has been awarded to Peter Costello. The estimate of cost, as furnished by Engineer Owens of North Yakima, is $136,748.10. Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, has over one hun- dred and fifty miles of ditches, which irrigate many thousands of acres. Each of the three political parties in Kansas has an irrigation encouragement plank in its platform. The only farms in Nebraska where crops did not burn are irrigated. A press dispatch from Omaha says that on such places corn is "green and luscious," while across the road, on unirrigated places, nothing is left. The people of Brown county, Texas, are consider- ing a proposition made by a California irrigation company to furnish a system of irrigation ditches. The Chamber's Lake ditch, in Larimer county, Colorado, is a success. A large quantity of water being drawn from the Laramie river to the Cacha la Poudre via Chamber's Lake. The mountain cut was a very difficult piece of scientific engineering. The Castle Rock (Colorado) creamery is now turn- ing out something more than 2,090 pounds of butter and the same quantity of cheese each week. Australia stands first among the wool producing countries of the world, and they are now beginning to take an active interest in irrigation. A flow of artesian water has been the result of a bore of 260 feet, about six miles from Tammany, Idaho. It has taken two months to sink this well, some of the strata being extremely hard. The well is on the premises of Mrs. Dowd, an energetic busi- ness woman, who intends to put out 200 acres of hops next season. The matter of irrigation is being most enthusiasti- cally and practically investigated in Buffalo county, Nebraska. Yakima Valley, Washington, has felt the effects of the hard times very little. The State fair is to be held at North Yakima during the last week of Sep- tember. SOME RECENT BOOKS. Mr. Clesson S. Kinney, of Salt Lake City, Utah, has recently published, through W. H. Lowdermilk & Co., of Washington. D. C., an impressive work entitled, " A Treatise of Irrigation Law." J. G. Sutherland, of Utah, writing of the work, says: " Mr. Clesson S. Kinney has given the profession a very useful book in his treatise on ' Irrigation.' I have looked through it with considerable study. The author has evidently prepared the work for use in that extended area of our country which he de- nominates as the arid and semi-humid region— the area where the soil is naturally fertile, but is practically unproductive until water can be artificially supplied. He has sketched the general history of irrigation. But irrigation presupposes a supply of water. Therefore the author's work is mainly devoted to the dis- PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 149 cussion of water rights as recognized in that region where irriga- tion is necessary— how such rights may be acquired and pre- served, or lost. "After the beginning of placer mining in California, the courts, taking notice of the local conditions and wants, recognized the rights in running water which had gained a practical existence among miners. In the progress of evolvement the right was held to extend to all applications of water to useful purposes. Ripa- rian rights were held subordinate, that the entire water supply might be utilized, and thus every business and industry derive the benefit of it. Congress and every legislature in the States covering or including the arid region, regulated water rights on this basis. The author has lucidly explained and stated the law in its origin and in all its stages of development. He has gen- eralized the decisions, both federal and State, with great thor- oughness and accuracy. His work will be of great value to all persons who have interests depending on the use of water; and to practitioners and judges who have to deal with water rights in . the Pacific States it will be invaluable." Phillip G. Roeder, of Cleveland, Ohio, has issued a volume compiled from data gathered by him during several years' ex- perience in Mexico as a manufacturer's agent, entitled " The Exporter's Hand Book of Mexico." It contains carefully revised lists of bankers, reliable merchants in all lines of trade, profes- sional men, landed proprietors, mining companies, etc., in forty- three cities of Mexico. Also population of cities, railroads on which located and mail routes. In addition it contains shipping directions, customs laws and vocabulary of proper names and terms. To those desirous of opening trade relations this book will be found invaluable. Price $2.00, postpaid. Phillip G. Roeder, 664 Cedar Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. RECENT LEGAL DECISIONS. Right to Use of Water for Irrigation.— The right to the use of water for the irrigation of land, together with the ditch making such right available, becomes so attached to the land, as part and parcel thereof, as- to pass by a conveyance of the land, without mentioning the water right, and to be subject to the liens and lia- bilities which attach to the land, and entitled to the same exemp- tions as the land. Frank v. Hicks. (Supreme Court of Wyoming.) 35 Pac. Rep. 475. (74). Rights of Stockholders in Irrigation Companies. — A stock- holder of an irrigation company organized to furnish water ex- clusively to its stockholders is entitled to the proportion of the water carried through its irrigation canal that the amount of his stock bears to the whole amount of the stock of the company. Rocky Ford Canal, Reservoir, Land, Loan & Trust Co. v. Simpson. (Appellate Court of Colorado.) 36 Pac. Rep. 638. (50). What Constitutes Sufficient Complaint Against Diversion of Water.— In an action for diversion of water from a stream, a complaint which states that the complainant is the owner and in possession of land through which a certain stream of water was accustomed to flow, and that another diverted the water of the stream from its accustomed channel, need not also state that the complainant had the right to use the water, since such right is implied from his ownership of the land. Shotwell v. Dodge. (Supreme Court of Washington.) 36 Pac. Rep. 254. (80). Diversion of Water from Premises of Lower Riparian Owner. — A landowner who diverts the water of a stream flowing through his land into a ditch running through a porous soil, so that much of the water is lost by soaking through the bottom of the ditch, and the rest is lost at the end of the ditch, the only benefit re- ceived being from the water that percolates sideways through the banks of the ditch, is liable, in at least nominal damages, to owners of land further down the stream, since such use of the water is not reasonable irrigation. Shotwell v. Dodge. (Supreme Court of Washington.) 36 Pac. Rep. 254. (98). Extent of Enforcement of Water Rights.— Where a petition alleged that petitioners were entitled to 119.43 cubic feet of water per second for two ditches; that such ditches took the water from the Platte river; that in several water districts lying above on such river, ditches of junior appropriators were diverting the water which would otherwise supply petitioners' ditches; and asked that a writ of mandamus issue, directing the state engin- eer, and other irrigation officers to close the gates and shut the water " from all ditches in the territory named whose priorities were later than those of" petitioners, the prayer for relief was held to be too broad and could not be granted. Farmers' Independent Ditch Co. v. Maxwell. (Appellate Court of Colorado.) 36 Pac. Rep. 556. (113). Grant of Rights by Ditch Company— The board of control fixed the amount of water which a ditching company should take from a certain creek, and described the land to be irrigated by such water; and the ditch company sold a four-fifths interest in the ditch and the water, and a one-fifth interest in the same to a different party. Though the second purchaser owned more than one-fifth of the land to be irrigated by means of the ditch, he could be enjoined by the other owner from diverting more than one-fifth of the water if he failed to show what water was actually and rightfully being used on his land when he acquired title, or that the owners of the four-fifths interest in the water acquired their water rights after he had acquired title to his land. McPhail v. Forney. (Supreme Court of Wyoming.) 35 Pac. Rep. 773. (140). A provision in a contract between a ditch company and the owners of land irrigated by the ditch that, if the company shall willfully fail or refuse to supply any land owner with the amount of water agreed upon, the land owner shall have the right, upon payment or tender thereof, to take the water, is void, because in- consistent with the right of control incident to the ownership of the ditch, and against public policy as tending to confusion and a breach of the peace. Farmers' Highline Canal and Reservoir Company v. White. (Col. App.) 31 Pac. Rep, 345. A FIVE MILLION ACRE SUIT. Judge J. O. Broadhead, of St. Louis, J. K. Rickey, of Washing- ton, and P. B. Thompson, of New York, are preparing the papers in an important land case that is to be tried before the United States land court, whose session will begin in Denver, Oct. 15. The case involves a tract of land 150 miles long and 50 miles wide in the Salt River valley, Arizona. There are 4,750,000 acres in the claim, a large part of which is capable of irrigation. By the expenditure of $5,000,000 it is estimated by engineers that the land will be worth $50,000,000. The city of Phcenix is located on the grant, and the celebrated ruins of the Casa Grande are also in its boundaries. Remains of pre-historic irrigation ditches show that the land was once under high cultivation. The case promises to attract general attention on account of the amount involved and the romance of its history. From the records which are found in the City of Guadalajara, Mexico, it is shown that the land was granted in 1742 by Emperor Ferdinand of Spain to Don Miguel Peralta, a Spanish Knight of the Golden Fleece and Baron of Colorado. His sole descendant is the wife of J. A. Peralta Reavis, a resident of Missouri, in whose name the contest is to be made. By the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the terms of the Gadsden Purchase all the old Mexican titles are guaranteed by the United States government, and if the con- testee is successful she will be paid $1.25 per acre for all the land ISO THE IRRIGATION AGE. occupied by settlers. The land includes the Final Indian reser- vation, a part of the White Mountain Indian reservation, and many valuable mining districts.— St. Louis Republic. NEW COMPANIES. A COLORADO STREAM CASE. In the case of the Water Supply and Storage Company v. the Larimer and Weld Irrigation Company an injunction was granted forbidding the latter to take and store away any of the waters of Dry creek, which a year ago was adjudged to be a nat- ural stteam tributary to the Poudre, at any time when such waters should be needed by prior appropriators for immediate irrigation. LAND DAMAGES. In the case of the Western Drain and Water Supply Company v. A. Z. Salomon and wife, of Denver, Colorado, tried in the County Court, the jury brought 'in a verdict assessing the dam- ages at $1,600. The case in brief is as follows: The ditch company wanted right of way to run a ditch eighty feet wide across 320 acres of land near Platteville belonging to the Salomons; it being willing to pay $500 for that privilege. The Salomons through their counsel, Wells, Taylor & Taylor, of Den- ver, and Judge Wheeler, of Platteville, wanted the full value of the land, claiming that it was worth $10,000, saying that the ditch would render their property comparatively worthless, owing to the fact that on this land was a pond containing about forty acres, which they wished to use for the purpose of propagating fish to sell in the Denver and other markets; and the digging of this ditch would drain off the water. WRIGHT LAW SUSTAINED. The Supreme Court of California has affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court in the case of the Rialto Irrigation district, plaintiff and respondent, v. J. R. Brandon et al., defendants and appellants. The plaintiff was an irrigation district formed under the law of 1887, known as the Wright act, with its location in San Bernardino county. In constructing its works it was necessary to lay a pipe line across the lands of the defendants. The action was brought to condemn a right of way, and judgment for plaintiff, the dam- ages being assessed. The appeal was from the judgment and order denying a new trial. The Supreme Court holds that the appeal was without merit and the demurrer properly overruled. The argument was that the act provides only for the construction of ditches and canals, and that this does not include pipelines; but the court holds that the language is broad enough to cover pipe lines; also that it was not error to admit the decree of the Superior Court confirming the regularity of the proceedings for the organization of the dis- trict, and that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the findings. A CALIFORNIA CREEK IN DISPUTE. The Riverside Water Company has instituted proceedings against all the various owners and users of water in the valley east of San Bernardino, California, claiming, it is understood, all the water flowing in Warn! creek, except that used by Peter Kehl and the San Bernardino Electric Company. The defend- ants in this suit are four companies composed of nearly one hundred of the oldest settlers. A decision in favor of the Pomona Land and Water Company against H. M. Loud has been rendered in the Supreme Court of California, involving about $105,000 in payment of several large tracts of land bought by Loud during the boom. California.— Los Angeles— Cahaenga Gold Mining and Irri- gation Company, incorporated. Capital stock. $100,000. Sonora— Salmon River Hydraulic Gold Mining and Ditch Co., reported as having filed articles of incorporation. Pasadena.— The Pasadena Park Tract Land and Water Co., in- corporated. Capital stock, $240,000. Colorado.— Pueblo.— The Bessemer Irrigating Ditch Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $200,000. Illinois.— Chicago.— The Great Western Land and Irrigation Co., incorporated by Alfred J. Tendewald, Oscar W. Brecher and William O. Olin. Capital stock. $50,000. Kansas.— Independence. — The Montgomery County Irrigating Co., incorporated by C. H. Wortz, A. C. Stich, W. M. Wade, J. W. Simpson and Henry Baden. Capital stock, $3,000. Montana.— Sctco,— The Beaver Creek Irrigating Co. $5,000. Nebraska. — Elm Creek. — Elm Creek Irrigation Co. $25,000. Ford Precinct, Scott's Bluff County.— The Ramshorn Ditch Co., incorporated by Caroll Nichols, Yorich Nichols, John T. Logan, J. E Rails and Peter Vonberg. Capital stock, $12,500. Sutherland, Lincoln County.— The Sutherland Land and Pax- ton Irrigation Co., incorporated by David Hunter, Alexander Nielson and John H. Conway. Capital stock, $60,000. Omaha.— Paxton & Hershey Irrigating Canal and Land Co., in- corporated. Capital stock, $100,000, Grant. — Equitable Irrigation and Water Power Co., incorpor- ated. Capital stock, $25,000. Utah.— Salt Lake City.— The Richards Irrigation Co., incor- porated by Peter Van Valkenburg, Charles B. Baker, Rufus For- bash, D. Moran Griffin, Thomas H. Smart, Sr., William A. Boggess, and others. Capital stock, $12,000. The object of the company is to construct and maintain reservoirs, water ditches, dams, flumes, water pipes, and other appurtenances, particularly relating to the waters of Little Cottonwood creek, in that vicinity. The chief place of business will be at Union, Utah. The Union and East Jordan Irrigation Co. has been organized with Levi Olsen, president; John W. Sharp, vice-president; John Larson, secretary and treasurer. Capital stock, $15,000. The company's property consists of the title to the waters of Little Cottonwood creek, and the Richards and Union and East Jordan ditches. The case of the Water Supply and Storage Company against the North Poudre Land and Canal Company at Fort Collins, Colorado, has been postponed until the September term of court. FRUIT EXCHANGES. California.— Fresno.— The State of California Raisin Growers' and Packers' Co., incorporated by W. J. Baker, R. G. Chaddock, Harroll Ghent, A. B. Butler, W. H. Hodgkins, J. H. Kelly and G. B. Noble, of Fresno, and W. M. Griffin, San Francisco, J. P. Fernald, of Oleander, and W. P. Rowell, of Easton. Capital stock, $4.000. Corralitos. — Corralitos Co-operative Drying and Canning Co., incorporated by F. M. Hitchings, G. A. Webb, John Rossi, C. E. Bowman, H. M. Ryder, A. W. Tate and L. M. Dye. Capital stock, $50,000. Santa Cruz.— Santa Cruz County Fruit Growers' Union, incor- porated. Capital stock, $40,000. Watsonville, — Pajaro Valley Fruit Exchange, incorporated. Capital stock, $50,000. Orosi, Tulare County. — The Orosi Fruit Exchange, incorpor- ated by S. H. Ross, V. E. Sloane, O. C. Goodin, William Wood, A. J. Bump. Capital stock, $10,000. Oregon.— La Grande.— The Grand Ronde Valley Orchard Co. filed supplemental articles of incorporation increasing the capital stock to $50,000. W. G. Hunter is president of the com- pany, and A. C. Miller, secretary. Washington.— Seattle.— Northwest Fruit and Produce Auc- tion Co., incorporated. PUBLISHER'S DEPARTMENT. THE COST OF STARTING A HOME IN KERN DELTA. DURING the past few months much space has been devoted in this department to the presen- tation of various phases of life in the famous Kern Delta colonies. These articles have dealt with the system of irrigation, colossal in size and yet won- derfully simple in design; with the orchard industry, in relation to several kinds of deciduous fruits; with the experimental farms, conducted by expert ability for the benefit of new settlers ; and with many other aspects of the budding industrial life of this wonder- ful valley of California. WHAT IT COSTS THE SETTLER TO START. The approach of winter will remind thousands of California, where winter is but an Indian summer. These thousands will wonder what it costs to start a home in Kern Valley, and what sort of a living can be earned from its soil. Mr. S. W. Fergusson, mana- ger of the Kern County Land Company, has studied this question carefully, and is willing to have the results of his study made public. He has had the advantage, of course, of every possible facility in arriving at conclusions, and his statement carries with it the weight of a rich personal experience in the industry with which his statement deals. There is no satisfactory way to state his conclusions except by giving the facts and figures just as he has worked them out in tabular form, as it is a serious enterprise for any man to move his home to a new country and his expectations ought to be brought down to a mat- ter of cold calculation, capable of being put to any reasonable test. HERE ARE THE ACTUAL FIGURES. The average cost of land in Kern county is $80 per acre, although very good land can be had for 25 per cent, less than that. Mr. Fergusson's estimate has been based on $80 land. In this case he takes a 40- acre farm for example, though very good results can be realized by the average family on twenty acres. One-fourth of the purchase money, balance in three, tour and five years at 7 per cent, interest $800.00 Frame house of 4 rooms, constructed of lumber, 24x24, withverandas 350.00 Furniture -according to requirements of farmer 100 00 Barn and outbuildings 150 00 Well, bored 50 to 100 ft., with pump complete 75.00 Fencing— forty acres— 320 rods at $1.00 (post and three wires), with netting $320.00 Deduct half cost of three sides, 240 rods at 50c. (borne by neighbors) 120.00 $200.00 Cross fencing alfalfa, hog proof 100.00 300.00 Implements and live stock: 2 horses at $75 150.00 Wagon $100, harness $30, plough $12, cultivator $7 .... 149 00 Mowing machine $60, horse rake $22 82.00 Sundry hand tools and implements 15.00 4 cows at $40, 6 sows at $10 220.00 6 dozen hens at $4 24.00 Seed for 18 acres of alfalfa at $3 54.00 Seed for 18 acres of grain (sown with alfalfa) 9.00 Carried forward $2,47800 Brought forward $2,478.00 Seed for 12 acres — mixed farming — grain at 50c. per acre (to be followed by corn, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, etc.) 6.00 Nursery stock for young orchard, 8 acres at $10 80.00 Seed for two acres of mixed vegetables, etc 10.00 Hired labor, six months at $20 (exclusive of board)... 120.00 Provision for: 6months' groceries, $20 120.00 Feed of horses, cows, etc., at commencement 100.00 Water rate one year at $1.50 per acre 60.00 Tax estimate 30.00 Fuel, 6 cords at $3 per cord 18.00 $3,022.00 N. B.— The foregoing figures are dependent upon the settler accomplishing the ordinary cultivation and work through his own efforts, assisted only by one hired man. THE FIRST YEAR'S RETURNS. The returns of reasonable industry and manage- ment on the basis of the foregoing Mr. Fergusson estimates as follows for the first year: Live Stock: Sale of four calves at $6 $ 24.00 60 young pigs at $4 240.00 700 chickens at 25c 175.00 300 doz. eggs at 20c 60.00 Dairy produce from four cows for eight months in the year 128 . 00 — $627.00 Sale or valuation of ten acres of alfalfa hay (1st season), 30 tons at $5 150.00 12 acres of grain hay, 1J^ to 2% tons per acre, estimated at 18 tons, at $7 123.00 Followed by, say — 6 acres of corn, 13,000 Ibs. shelled out at %c 176.25 6 acres of potatoes, 50 sacks per acre, or 30,000 Ibs., at 65c. per hundred 195.00 Pumpkins grown in 8 acres at trees' worth 80.00 2 acres of market vegetables at 50c 100.00 $1,454.25 The average yield of alfalfa after the first season is six to ten tons; price at the time of writing $7 at the farm. Land suitable for market gardening rents for $10 per acre per annum. PROPERTY VALUES AT THE END OF FIRST YEAR. At the finish of the first year, the careful farmer should find himself with the sum of $1,500 in hand, to which — in order to ascertain the precise result of his work— should be added the valuation of live farm stock, improvements, and part purchase money, amounting at cost to: Payment, one-fourth price of land $800.00 House $350, furniture $100, barn and outbuildings $150, well $75 to $150, fencing $300 975.00 to 1,550 Implements and live stock 638.00 Valuation, 8 acres orchard one year 200 . 00 2,613.00 Add cash on hand 1,500.00 Total assets 4,113.00 Deduct original outlay 3,022.00 Balance net profitin cash $1,091.00 Or 35 per cent, of the sum originally invested, after providing for maintenance of self and family. 152 THE IRRIGATION AGE. The increase in value of breeding stock will more than compensate for decrease in value of buildings and implements by reason of tear an wear. At the commencement of the second and third years, the annual interest on the outstanding balance would fall due. Such an amount, however, could be amply provided for from increased returns accruing from sales of live stock. At this juncture it might be to the interest of the settler to reduce the principal outstanding on the purchase. At the expiration of these three seasons, if not set- tled for before, the colonist, if he be wise and frugal, should have acquired some $3,000 wherewith to meet his second instalment of $800 due the first of the en- suing year. The fourth year his orchard would, with intelligent management, add $400 (that is, eight acres at $50) net profit; the fifth year $75 per acre, or $600; the sixth year the ranch could be cleared of all in- debtedness and so revert solely to the purchaser; the orchard would then and thereafter annually upon an average augment the net income to the extent of $800, rendering aggregate yearly net return of from $1,800 to $3,000 for an original investment of $3,000. The increase in land values, resulting from sur- rounding improvements, must also be taken into account, together with the market and transportation facilities. KERN COUNTY THE PLACE. Readers of THE AGE who are looking for homes on irrigated lands, where good and steady profits will reward modest investment and reasonable industry, should get all the facts about the Kern Delta. Ad- dress Kern County Land Co., S. W. Fergusson, manager, Bakersfield, Cal. Follow future articles in this department. They will be: OCTOBER: Character in Communities, describing the company's plan of application blank for home- seekers to fill out. (Illustrated.) NOVEMBER: Civilizing a Section of Land, describ- ing the remarkable modern improvements the com- pany will supply to a colony purchasing a section. (Illustrated.) DECEMBER: Electrical Future of Kern Delta, show- ing the results to follow the installation of a great plant, and the manner in which electricty will be applied to industrial and household purposes. »i"iogf wYViin Bui-en St.,B 18, CUea(o,IU. ll/ri I Drilling Machines if ELL for any depth. Jll^r-nEEP 2000 " ftrtT mm 9mm I Best line of Portable and Semi-Portable Ma- chines ever made. Drill 2 to 12 inches in diame- ter, all depths. Mounted and Down Machines. Steam and Horse Power. Self Pumping: Tools for shallow wells. Rope tools for large and deep wells. State size and depth you want to drill. LOOMIS & NYMAN, Tiffin, Ohio. The Trust Company OF1 CAPITAL PAID UP, $700,000. Bank Block, Denver. Crawford Building, Topeka. OFFICES: Gibraltar Building, Kansas City. Provident Building, Philadelphia . John R. Mulvane. T. B. Sweet. Joab Mulvane. DIRECTORS: Geo, M. Noble. Henry Taylor. H. C. Flower. Frank J. Balrd. N. R. Ferguson. H. J. Page. REAL, ESTATE LOANS NEGOTIATED. First Class Irrigation Bonds a Specialty. Street f^aihxiay Bonds... ...Irrigation Bonds. EDWARD FORSYTHE, Drexel Building, PHILADELPHIA. JUST FtEIADV LAW OF IRRIGATION. By CLESSON S. KINNEY, ESQ., of the Salt .Lake City Bar. One large octavo volume, 832 Pages; Bound in Full Law Sheep. Price, $7.00 net. Post-paid upon receipt of price. Send for de- scriptive circular. Published and for Sale by W. H. LOW PER MILK & CO., Law Booksellers, Washington, p. C. W. W. MONTAGUE & CO. MANUFACTURERS OF ALL SIZES Irrigatirg, Mining, Power Plants, Artesian Wells, Water Works, Town and Farm Supply. SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIVETED. WATER PIPE Made in Sections of any Length Desired 12 to 28 Feet. The Cut on the left shows a Section of Five joints of pipe. DOUBLE RIVETED IN LATERAL SEAMS. Particular attention given to Coating Pipe with our " BUKEXiA.'' Composition, a Special Mixture Containing No Coal Tar. Iron Coated with this Composition is Bust-Proof and Rendered Imper- vious to the Alkalies of the Earth, is Practically Indestructible. Iron cut, Punched and formed for Making Pipe on tne Gronnd Wnere Rewired. 309-317 Market St., San Francisco, Cal. MISCELLANEOUS. DEHORNING CLIPPERS. Much has been said and written about dehorning during the last few years. You can scarcely pick up an agricultural paper which does not contain some allusion to it. It is universally conceded that dehorning is the proper thing in cattle raising. To remove the obnoxious horns of a cow or steer with the old- fashioned method of sawing them off is a heart-rending under- taking. The Newton & McOee's Dehorning Clipper does the work almost instantly, cuts perfectly smooth, heals quickly, and causes the animal but little pain. Their latest improved de- horner has one-third more power than anything before produced. They very easily cut off a wagon spoke, an ax-handle, etc. It is evident that clippers with such power could very easily remove the horns. The H. H. BROWN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of Decatur, Illinois, whose advertisement is appearing in the col- umns of this paper, are the sole manufacturers. From a circular they are sending out we copy the following: " We guarantee the knives to do the work. If any part should break from a flaw or defect we will replace it without expense to the purchaser. When operating with the dehorner the head must be securely fastened so that the animal cannot throw it from one side to the other, as in that way one is liable to break or chip the blade. These blades are the same as any edged tool and must be han- dled accordingly. We do not guarantee them where the party operating tries to hold the animal with the dehorner. After de- horning, if it is warm weather, apply a little pine tar. If they are inclined to bleed too much, apply a little soot or flour. In feeding and watering it does not require one-half the troughs; it does not require as much shed room; there is no hooking of stock. Dehorned cattle crowd up to feed and water like sheep, and all fare alike. How many farmers have lost their lives on account of not having a cross bull dehorned. It is said by cattle feeders, ' If you want to see a well-fatted bunch of cattle you will find them with their horns off.' How to accomplish dehorning with as little pain to the animal as possible is the object." Ad- dress them for descriptive information concerning dehorning. BIG RED APPLES And Beautiful Prune Trees — AT BED ROCK PRICES. On whole roots, free from disease and true to name. Send for Catalogue and Price List, free. Write for special prices at once. NORTHWESTERN NURSERY, C. L. WHITNEY, PROP. WALLA WALLA, WASH. All kinds of Nursery Stock guaranteed to arrive in good condition and give perfect satisfaction. At i Price Bicycles, Watches, Guns, Buggies, Harness, Sewing machines, Organs, Pianos, Safes, Tools Scales of all Ysirirl !••• and 10OO other Articles. Lists Free. CHICAGO SCALE CO., Chicago, III. THE IRRIGATION AGE is now on sale in New York City at the following news stands: A Becker, 268 Eighth avenue. Meyer Bros., 871 Third avenue. P. A. Muller, 578 Ninth avenue. Otto Schmidt, 967 Third avenue. IRRIGATION. The Cheapest Irrigation can be had with Gasoline Engine and Pump. We can furnish Engines from 2 to 50 horse power that are Reliable, Durable and Economical. Cost of operat- ing, one cent per horse power per hour. We furnish free with every Engine an Electric Battery to explode the Gas, that will last 4 months without any attention, then it can be renewed and will last 4 months more, and so on for all time. We do not use a red hot tube to explode the gas, that has to be replaced with a new one almost daily. FOOS GAS ENGINE CO., Springfield, Ohio. Irrigation by Automatic Rams. WE ARE THE MANUFACTURERS OF THE LARGEST RAM SIN THE WORLD. Deliver 2 to 5 times more water than any other It HIM. under same conditions. The only known method of Economical Irrigation. Cost less than 25c. per acre per annum, guaranteed ! We make Rams of all sizes, for all purposes. Water ele- vated in any quantity, any distance and height. Estimates and Illustrated Catalogue upon application. A Rife Ram at work Irrigating, etc. RIFE HYDRAULIC ENGINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ROANOKE, VA., U. S. A. MISCELLANEOUS. "INDIANLAND AND WONDERLAND." Perhaps the most sumptuous book ever issued in the interest of the West is that bearing the above title, written by Olin D. Wheeler and published by Charles S. Fee, General Passenger and Ticket Agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad, St. Paul. It is written in a most entertaining style, is beautifully printed and most handsomely illustrated. It de- scribes the country along the line of the Northern Pacific and tells everything a traveler wants to know. If any person can glance through this work, much less read it, and not feel an irresistible impulse to study the wonderland it describes there is something lacking. We advise every reader to send for a copy, for it is an ornament to the library as well as a very useful addition to it. THE OLD RELIABLE PEERLESS FEED GRINDERS Grinds more grain to any degree of fineness than any other mill. Grinds ear- corn, oats, etc., fine enough for any purpose. War- ranted not to choke. We warrant the Peerless to be THE BEST AND CHEAPEST MILL ON EARTH. t^~ Write us at once for prices and agency. There is money in this mill. Made only by the JOLIET STROWBRIDGE CO.JOLIET, ILL. Jobbers and Manufacturers of Farm Machinery, Carriages, Wagons. Windmills, Bicycles, Harness, etc. Prices lowest. Quality best. I Will Get You Settlers, If your irrigation enterprise is not doing well for the want of settlers, and can pay a salary of $1,000.00 and 3 per cent, commission on water sales and 1% per cent, on land sales, try me. I make a business of colonizing and am very successful. Settled 75,000 acres of Government land during 1893. Am thor- oughly posted on the U. S. land laws and irrigation of all kinds. I work on a different basis from any one else — one that brings in the settlers. References: present employers. Also refer, by permission, f> THE AGE. Can begin work on 30 days' notice. ADDRESS, PRACTICAL IRRIGATOR, Care of THE AGE, Chicago. Among all the hotels of Denver (where on Sept. 3 the Irrigation Congress meets in convention) the Windsor is perhaps the best known. When opened to the public a few years ago it be- came famous, not only as the leading hotel of the city but of the entire West. Its sumptuous dining- rooms, parlors, hallways and rotunda are by far the handsomest and largest of any hotel in the West, and its service and cuisine second to none. In the important matter of location this hotel has no superior in Denver, being especially well situated for the patronage of tourists and business men. The Windsor is conducted on the American plan exclusively, at the very low rate of from $2 to $3.50 per day, to conform with the times. And to anyone sending their name and address a beautiful souvenir illustrated book will be sent by the manager, C. M. Hill. Folding Beds, Metal Chairs. A -I ImtaippgP Pa CHICAGO: , rl. Anir6wS & 10, 1 215 Wabash Av. Desks The exceedingly dry weather has placed corn on the top shelf and, judging from the active market, wool is a close second. The dry weather has not been the means of creating the firm market on wool, how- ever, but the cause may be assigned to two reasons: First, upon actual demand by the manufacturers, notwithstanding tariff tinkering; and, second, on account of the anticipated tariff revision many mill- ions of sheep have been driven to the slaughtering pen. We are creditably informed by Messrs. Silber- man Bros., 212 Michigan street, Chicago, Ills., who, by the way, are one of the largest wool commission houses in the West, that the demand for best grades of wool at this time is more active than for two years past. Speculators, with an eye to business, think wool is good property, and this, together with above reasons, makes a decidedly firm market. Any shippers having wool to dispose of would find it to their advantage to correspond with the above firm, and market their wool in the next two or three weeks, while the market is strong, and before there is any possible show for foreign wools coming in free, -j i>AJUuUWItMjUL*j^Aj/Lj^^ VAN&ERQODK ENQRAY1NQ ANb PUB. CO., * Supply you with anything in the line of Engraving by THREE METHODS of Engraving: WOOD ENGRAVING, ZINC ENGRAVING, HALF-TONE PROCESS. Illustrating of Town, Family Histories, Land Company Catalogues, Fine Souvenirs, Books, and other Publications requiring High-grade Engraving. Engravings for College Annuals, Board of Trade Publications. SPECIALISTS IN HALF-TONE WORK. 4O7-415 DEARBORN ST., ADVERTISER WANTS POSI- TION OF TRUST with Irrigation company which re- quires a competent superintendent, with long experience in handling water, also in vine and tree growing and general irrigation farming. Ex- perience gained in California and New Mexico. Best references as to capability and character. Address, IRRIGATION AGE. The Chicago, Union Pacific & North-Western Line Provides Unrivalled Service between Chicago and Colorado, Utah, California, and all Pacific Coast Points. PICT PULLMAN AND WAGN SLEEPING CARS Solid Vestibuled Trains to Denver. Superb Dining Cars on Through Trains. * JffejUk jiOcjA. jftcjdRk jffk jUnt aBkjfflkjifflk jiffltur jiAr * ARE RUN THROUGH FROM CHICAGO1. . To San Francisco [and Portland without Change. Only Three Business Days En Route. CHICAGO OFFICES: 206 & 208 CLARK STREET. 191 Clark Street; Western Avenue Station, Corner Oakley Avenue and Kinzie Street, and Passenger Station, Corner Wells and Kinzie Streets. amnmmmmmmmmmmmimmmmmmtmwwtg Headquarters for Irrigation Congress. The Windsor Hotel, o I o ! o o DENVER. One of the Most Elegant and Comfortable Hotels in the Country. LARGEST AND HANDSOMEST DINING ROOMS IN THE STATE. SERVICE AND CUISINE EQUALLED 8V NONE. The Finest Turkish Baths in the West, and the only ones in the City, are in connection with Hotel. Reduced Rates to suit the times. American Plan. $2.00 to $3.50 Per Day, SEND FOR ILLUSTRATED BOOK. C. M. HILL, flanager. LATE OF CHICAGO. THE IRRIGATION AGE VOL. VII. CHICAGO, OCTOBER, 1894. No. 4. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. THE Third National Irrigation Congress at Den- ver was the most important event affecting the progress of western America during the month of September, and no apology is offered for devoting this department exclusively to an editorial review of the national movement, of which the congress is the expression. The recent convention did not equal that of three years ago at Salt Lake, nor that of one year ago at Los Angeles, in point of attendance. It far surpassed both in its representative character. The entire arid region was represented by actual residents, and nearly every delegation contained a few men especially fitted, by study and experience, to deal with the work of the congress. The Salt Lake convention dealt only with one aspect of the subject — the advisability of ceding the lands. The Los Angeles convention declared general principles and created the State Commissions in the hope that the result of a year's study and investigation would pro- duce a comprehensive policy on lines of compromise. The Denver convention made progress toward the desired end, and as far as it went that progress was distinctly in the right direction. It did not proceed as far toward the goal as some of the leaders desired, but on the whale its results were more substantial than those achieved by its predecessors. In the meantime, the national organization remains in fight- ing trim, with its face toward the sunrise. Two The purely public questions to be dealt Intellectual with in shaping the destinies of Arid factions, America are larger and more complex than those involved in the discussion of tariff and silver. To work out a code of laws, national and State, and to devise systems of administration under which those laws may be administered with due re- gard to public and private interests, demands the highest qualities of statesmanship. As has been said by Judge Emery, of Kansas, these are new problems for the Anglo-Saxon mind. But it is be- cause they are so serious in character, and so far- reaching in ultimate effects, that the leaders of the movement have done, and propose to do, all in their power to have them studied to final conclusions. The Denver congress developed the fact that there are two intellectual factions in this movement. The line of cleavage is not convictions, but temperament. One of these factions presses forward to results. It wants to face the difficulties of the situation. It is ready to stand out in the sunlight and discuss fear- lessly the question of national or State control of irri- gable lands, the question of leasing the pastoral lands, the question of an enlightened forestry policy, the immensely intricate and baffling question of the division of interstate streams. This faction was represented in the congress by the National Com- mittee and the State Commissions. There is another faction which shrinks from any attempt to arrive at definite conclusions. It is appalled at the proposi- tion of settling anything, and prefers to declare only glittering generalities. It is not yet quite certain what it thinks about these vital matters, except that it is willing to give three cheers for the old flag and an appropriation. It closes its eyes to the fact that under present laws the most valuable lands are being steadily absorbed by syndicates and corporations, that the forests are being destroyed, that streams are being recklessly appropriated, that questions be- tween States are becoming graver and more compli- cated, and that the free public range is the theater of frontier warfare between cattlemen, sheepmen and set- tlers. This faction is inclined to leave nearly everything to the future. In the recent congress the friends of progress did not accomplish all they hoped to do, nor did the friends of the policy of inaction prevent the accomplishment of all they were afraid to ven- ture upon. It was announced one year ago that the Lessons reports of the several State Commissions Learned. wouid be the basis for the action of the Denver congress. Most of these commissions v. ere extremely faithful to the duties intrusted to them, 'S3 154 THE IRRIGATION AGE. although they received no pay for services and even defrayed the expense of their work largely from their own personal contributions. The congress listened to only a portion of the reports of these commissions. The Committee on Resolutions was able to consider the voluminous and valuable suggestions only in a hasty and casual way. This was due in part to lack of time, but it was also due to the unwillingness of a considerable element to consider anything looking to definite results. And yet the congress has ordered that the commission system shall be continued for another year, with new appointments. The National Committee, learning something from experience, will very probably adopt means to get the work of its commissions before the delegates in a different way next year. It has been suggested that the call for the next congress shall be issued six months in advance of its meeting, and that an effort shall be made to have the appointment of delegates made three or four months in advance. The commissions will be asked to have their reports ready as soon as delegates are appointed, and the National Committee will then attempt to have them printed in one pam- phlet and put into the hands of all delegates, so that the reports may have the most mature consideration weeks before the convention assembles. By this means everybody will know what is to be considered, and there will be ample time to organize the forces on both sides. It is hoped that no excursions will in- terfere with the serious business of the congress next time. Ornamental features of the program should be relegated to morning and evening hours. Four or five working days will be available for working delegates. When to this program we add the opportunities for discussion which will be given by newspapers and magazines, by minor conventions and by coming sessions of various legislatures, it will be quickly seen that greater results should be obtained at the Fourth Congress, to be held at Albuquerque, N. M., in the autumn of 1895, than were realized on any previous occasion. Arizona Any worthy consideration of the work of California. t^ie Fourth Congress must begin with a ideas. review of the reports of the State Com- missions. Chairman Van Derwerker, of Arizona, submitted a brief report devoted exclusively to an argument in favor of the cession of the lands. His principle contention was, that water and lands should be under one control, and that as Congress has no power to deprive the State of its control of non- navigable streams the lands also should be turned over to the State. The California commission failed to submit a complete official report, but in the absence of this, Commissioner L. M. Holt furnished a very able letter, devoted to a careful discussion of the district law of his State. Mr. Holt was closely associated with Mr. Wright and others in the cham- pionship of this law, but the weaknesses which it has developed were never more clearly set forth than in this letter, which the convention heard with profound interest. He insists that there must be rigid State supervision, and suggests a State board of irrigation, composed of five members, four of whom should be ex-officio members by virtue of holding certain State official positions, while the fifth should be the State engineer. He says the attorney-general should also be a member. This board should have jurisdiction over the formation of districts and none should be allowed to incorporate until all engineering and legal questions had been discussed and the board had given its sanction. In this connection it is interest- ing to remark that Hon. C. C. Wright will appear before the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington, October 8th, to argue upon the question of the validity of the law, and that the request that the case be advanced upon the calendar made by formal resolution of the Los Angeles congress, bore fruit in just one year to a day. Mr. Holt's other important suggestion is, that States, upon author- izing the formation of a district, should issue its own bonds for the amount required, putting the bonds of the district in the State treasury, and, by reason of the difference in interest and selling value of the two classes of bonds, realize a sufficient profit to pay the entire cost of maintaining the State board of irrigation. Mr. Holt says that with such changes as he suggests in the district system it would be ap- plicable to unoccupied public lands, provided the control of the district shall remain with the State board until a sufficient number of settlers occupy the land. Mr. Holt stated that the California districts are already burdened with a debt of $16,000,000, and that -if bonds could be readily sold the amount would quickly rise to $20,000,000. Upon hearing this, some of the Mormon delegates from Utah arose in their places to thank God that their canal systems were the product of their own labor and genius, and that there is not now and never has been a dollar of in- debtedness outstanding against them. The report of the Colorado Commission °°PointedS claims 4,000,000 acres under ditch and Suggestions. 1^00,000 acres under cultivation, and states that the problem is to get water for avast area of irrigable land. The report furnishes a large amount of valuable data concerning water supply and land. It also describes the gradual development and present status of Colorado local law. The conclu- sions of the commission are as follows: 1. That none of the public lands should be ac- quired except under the homestead law. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 155 2. That we believe it would be to the interest of the arid west for the government to withhold all public lands until water is procured for the same. 3. That land should not be monopolized for spec- ulative purposes, and all unearned land now held by railroads or other incorporations should be reclaimed by the government and held for actual settlers only. 4. That Congress should make appropriations to determine the extent and availability of underground, artesian and storm waters for irrigation purposes. 5. That the forests protecting the heads of the mountain streams should be most carefully pre- served, and that the forest reservations in the hands of the government should be protected and watched by a detail of government troops. 6. That in the opinion of the commission the Carey provision for the cession of 1,000,000 acres of land is of little application to Colorado, but we recom- mend a careful and conscientious trial of it. The report of the Idaho commission is Favored signed by Prof. J. E. Ostrander, a gen- Cession. tleman who was one of the most useful and faithful members of the congress. The report states that 2,000,000 acres of land are now under ditch in Idaho and only 250,000 under cultivation. At least 1,000,000 acres more can be reclaimed at a nom- inal cost per acre, and a considerably larger area at a cost not at present justifiable, though not ultimately prohibitive. It is stated that the commission has been unable to agree upon several subjects, but it is unanimously of the opinion that the Wright law of California is not applicable to present conditions in Idaho. Prof. Ostrander submits also his personal views and favors the unconditional cession to the States of all arid lands within their limits. He would then have the State employ an engineer to make plans for the reclamation of these lands and su- pervise their construction, the work being let to the lowest responsible bidder. The State should issue bonds to pay for the works and the State engineer should fix the price of the land, making it sufficient to cover cost of reclamation, interest and other charges. The land should be sold only to actual set- tlers. Ultimately he would have the control pass to the settlers under some form of district law. The report of the Kansas commission is Kansas for . . r c „ National largely the work of Judge Gregory, al- Control. he had the assistance of a nota- ble commission. It is divided into two parts, dealing with national and state matters. A considerable por- tion of the general report deals with the necessity of finding homes for great numbers of people, and points out the advantages certain to accrue to our institu- tions. This part of the report is a real contribution to literature and we regret that it cannot be repro- duced in full at this time. Coming to specific sug- gestions, the report favors the division of interstate waters under the control of the general government and the reservation of mountain catchment areas, reservation sites and forests as means to this end. It also states that the recovery of subterranean waters should be stimulated by government experiment and investigation. The report favors the restriction of the homestead right to forty acres, and the creation of a federal commission or court to deal with interstate waters, forests, pastoral lands and of works which may be undertaken by the federal government. The State report describes existing conditions in western Kansas, and states the further needs to be supplied by legislation as follows: "A further elaboration of State irrigation laws to render effective and operative the district system, which has already been inaugurated; the provision of a State irrigation department, headed by a competent engineer; a complete and authorita- tive examination into the character, extent and avail- ability of our subterranean water [supply, and the thorough dissemination of information as to all phases of irrigation work among our people." Chairman S. B. Robbins, of the Montana Montana Commission, labored under great diffi- Report. cuitjes jn perfecting his report. The original member for Montana resigned after appoint- ing his commission and Mr. Robbins was not able to take up the work until the middle of July, and even then failed to receive any support from his fellow commissioners. For the credit of his State, however, he devoted himself assiduously to the work, obtaining the cooperation of the newspapers and entering into wide correspondence. The result is a careful and exhaustive report, describing the conditions existing in Montana. We wish the entire report could be read by everybody in that State. It would certainly awaken them to the importance of their irrigation interests and lead them to send a large delegation to the next congress. Mr. Robbins favors a uniform unit of measurement throughout all the States, points out the deficiency of local laws in the matter of the supervision and inspection of streams and irrigation works, and highly commends theWyoming system of laws. He also favors the speedy establishment of an engineering department as a feature of State admin- istration. The report states that there is great diver- sity of opinion in Montana as to the manner in which the arid public lands should be reclaimed. ^One State convention is declared in favor of cession and another against it. The California district system is not favored. The following specific recommenda- tions are made : 1. There should be one or more'national consult- ing engineers or commissioners appointed to act in connection with State Boards of Control to determine 1 56 THE IRRIGATION AGE. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 157 interstate or international priorities and diversion of waters, with agreements as to the manner in which the waters of the different States should be appor- tioned. 2. There should be better provisions for the pro- tection of the forests and all timber lands, and some pecuniary advantage to be derived by settlers to encourage them to plant and carefully attend to the growth of trees as windbreaks and to prevent evap- oration. 8. There should be governmental aid in the con- struction of reservoirs upon the head waters of streams navigable in any part of their course. 4. There, should be a government commission vested with authority to examine and report upon all irrigation projects offered upon the market, such investigations to be made upon the request of intend- ing investors. Nevada's One of the most complete and pains- Possibil- taking reports is that of the Nevada ities. Commission, of which Gen. John E. Jones, now the nominee of the Silver party for gov- ernor, was chairman. It was presented to the Con- gress by L. H. Taylor, C. E., who succeeds Gen. Jones as the Nevada member of the National Com- mittee. To both of these gentlemen and their colleagues high praise is due for the manner in which they performed the work committed to them. They sent circulars of inquiry throughout the State, and made a careful study of physical conditions and of popular opinion. They report that there are approximately the following classifications of Surface areas in Nevada: Water area, 1,081,600 acres; for- restry, 2,000,000; grazing, 30,000,000; agricultural lands, 20,000,000 (6,000,000 irrigable, 14,000,000 non- irrigable); mineral lands, 15,000,000; saline, borax, nitre and sulphur deposits, alkali flats, 3,656,000. The report further describes the topography, moun- tain formation, lakes and rivers. Rainfall and snowfall are discussed at length. The report asserts that not less than 5,886,000 acres of Nevada soil can be irrigated, a large portion of it being government land. The report clearly sets forth the imperative need of enlightened national and State legislation to enable Nevada to take full advantage of her home- making possibilities. It fixes the maximum amount of arable land to be taken by a settler at 160 acres, and favors the conditional transfer of the lands to the States as the only feasible and constitutional way to reclaim them. It. says: "It is neither the func- tion nor the duty of the government of the United States to improve the public lands or construct reservoirs or canals for irrigation. Moreover, this could not be done by the federal government without the consent of the States, and we are not willing to surrender the control of our waterways and the use of the water for irrigation purposes to the Congress of the United States, or any power not directly amenable to the people of the States." But the report insists that title should not pass until a home is established and the lands reduced to possession. It says the grazing lands should be reserved for a common pasture, subject to the regulation of State laws. The report also favors State ownership of waterways, and rigid State regulation over the use of water for irrigation and other purposes. One of the most creditable reports in An Able , ... , . , , ,-., • Nebraska the entire list was submitted by Chair- Report. man Charles P. Ross, of the Nebraska Commission. It covered a very wide range of topics quite exhaustively and was presented to delegates in the form of a well-printed pamphlet of thirty-three pages. A portion of the report is devoted to a de- scription of irrigation conditions in Nebraska, and it may be said without invidious comparison that it furnishes altogether the best account of this subject in existence. Surface and underground waters are fully discussed, and it is clearly demonstrated that the State has an important and promising future in this respect. There is much more in the Nebraska report than can be summarized in this place. It ought to be in every irrigation library. It reflects credit alike upon Chairman Ross and the State of Nebraska. The recommendations for national legis- lation include the abrogation of the commutation clause, its restriction to heads of families, the reduc- tion of the amount of land to be taken to eighty acres where one crop per annum is raised, and to forty acres where more than one crop is raised, and urges that ten years' residence be required before final proof can be made It favors the leasing of the pas- turage lands, to be apportioned to different irrigation districts. It closes with the wise remark, " We rec- ognize that principles are not details." The report of the North Dakota Com- missi°n is signed by Chairman M. F. Merchant, W. W. Barrett and W. J. Woods. It declares that irrigation and forestry are intimately related and rank among the foremost economic problems of the time. It describes pre- vailing conditions in North Dakota and the benefits to accrue to the State from systematic irrigation. It declares that national assistance is required for the proper development of the interests at stake. It also insists on rigid national control of lands and waters. The evil effects of the hot winds are con- sidered, and the suggestion made that active steps be taken to induce the governments of the United States, Canada and Mexico to develop and maintain vast and compact bodies of forests and chains of lakes with a view of mitigating the trouble. A cabinet department devoted to irrigation and for- 1 58 THE IRRIGATION AGE. estry is also advocated. The portion of the report which deals with the physical conditions of North Dakota, its water supplies, irrigable lands, and the methods by which the two are to be brought together, is both valuable and interesting, and we hope to see it published fully hereafter. The chairman of the North Dakota Commission traveled extensively in order to obtain information for this report, and the thanks of the Irrigation Congress are due him for care he has bestowed on the work. The report of the New Mexico Commis- cjtico is Con- sion, largely the work of Mr. Mortimer servative. j± Downing, is of a very conservative character. It describes the history of irrigation de- velopment in that ancient territory. The repeal of the Desert Land Law is demanded, a law favored "giving individuals or corporations a right to reclaim land and to own it in fee simple on proof of reclama- tion." It also favors a law giving States and territo- ries the right to select tracts for reclamation, but in- sists upon the necessity of federal supervision of works, whether public or private. The report closes with a most cordial invitation for the next Congress to assemble at Albuquerque, an invitation which was accepted by a handsome majority vote. Terras The report of the Texas Commission, .Presents signed by Chairman J. J. Walker, is brief Two Views. but pOjnted. It favors the division and dis- tribution of interstate streams by the federal govern- ment under a national commission, and the retention under federal control of all main water sources and catchment basins. It favors the cession of the lands and the speedy adoption of a policy of forest preser- vation. It favors the limitation of the amount of land to be taken by a single individual to eighty acres. The Texas delegation at Denver, appointed by the governor, endorsed the report, except the recom- mendation for cession. On this point it said : "We believe that all national lands should be reclaimed, if possible, but kept under the control of the national government for homestead purposes for settlers, to the end that the same may pass into the hands of the small farmer instead of into that of corporations or large holders." The Oregon Commission presents a re- from° S port which furnishes evidence of careful Oregon. thought and faithful work on the part of Chairman Brigham and associates. It begins with a full description of the irrigable lands and water sup- ply of arid Oregon, one of the most promising dis- tricts in Western America. It also describes the soil, climate and range of productions. This part of the report is worthy of wide reading and study, and it is hoped that it will be made available for this purpose in early future. The recommendations for legislation are clearly defined. An appropriation of not less than $5,000,000, to be apportioned to the several States and Territories according to their area of available unreclaimed lands, to be expended in the prosecution of surveys, is earnestly advocated. This money, says the report, should be expended by a board of five State Commissioners, who should be charged with the careful investigation of all ques- tions pertaining to waters and lands. When the re- sults of this investigation are available, 4,000,000 acres should be ceded to each State for purposes of reclamation. Stringent forestry laws are also favored. An enlightened system of State administration, based upon the Wyoming laws in the main, is also urged. Perhaps it may be said that the Oregon report sur- passes all others in the quality of clear thinking and careful definition of conclusions. The report of the Utah Commission was Much Credit prepared under peculiar circumstances. Due Utah. £y a serjes of misunderstandings the commission was not organized until late in August, but its work was entirely successful and its report was presented to the congress in the form of a hand- somely printed pamphlet of twenty-four pages. It was prepared by Col. Chas. L. Stevenson, of Salt Lake City, acting under the authority of a commission consisting of William H. Rowe, chairman; Samuel Fortier, L. W. Shurtliff, L. Holbrook, C. E. Want- land and C. W. Aldrach. Very great credit is due Mr. Wantland for arousing public interest in the work of the commission and making it possible to se- cure so creditable a report in so short a time. The commission reviews the interesting history of irriga- tion in Utah, and then presents, in the form of com- pact statistical tables, a number of topics relating to water and land in that Territory. It also reviews the policy of the government relating to land donations and appropriations for internal improvements. The tenor of the report is favorable to State control. Utah will receive a magnificent donation of lands with the realization of statehood, and, both in her constitutional convention and the next session of the legislature, her people must consider irrigation policies as the first and foremost of all public questions. The report of Dr. N. G. Blalock, chair- Washington , , ,,T , . ,-. • • Favors man of the Washington Commission, Small Farms. shows that irrigation in his State is a new but extremely promising industry. It is going forward with strides and bounds, and it is already claimed that the small farm is the coming institution in that State. The report shows that 100,000 acres are already under ditch and 40,000 acres under cultiva- tion. All the physical conditions are favorable to ex- tensive development. The commission believes that the making of millions of new homes is the most urg- ent work before the people of this country to-day, THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 159 and that this should be accomplished either by lib- eral national appropriations, or by ceding the lands to the States. The Wyoming report, prepared by Wyoming _, Has Vigorous Elwood Mead, is one of unusual value Ideas. an(} interest. It says the great need of Wyoming is agricultural development, and the first step toward this end is to secure such changes in land laws as will adapt them to the conditions and needs of the arid region. "Present laws fail in the following particulars: Control of land and water is divided. Public land and public water should be un- der one authority. Instead of this, the State is charged with the supervision of the water supply. The fed- eral government manages the land." Mr. Mead's idea is, that the opportunity offered by the Carey law should be fully utilized, and that there is no pressing demand for further legislation in this direction until this has been done. He also points out the patent fact that settlement in the arid region can only be successfully accomplished in groups or colonies. He believes that colonies can be organized to reclaim lands successfully under the Carey law. " It will be possible to create communities consisting of hun- dreds of homes with the same facility that the single homestead is established under the present land laws, and the occupancy and reclamation of the land, oc- cupied by these communities, will be far more suc- cessfully accomplished than is the establishment of the isolated home under the operation of either the Homestead law or the Desert Land law." The report points out the injury inflicted upon the State by the destruction of the native grasses and says, " To rem- edy these evils it is suggested that changes be made in the land laws by which the irrigable and grazing lands will be united and a homestead made to em- brace a portion of both." The report opposes the limitation of the farm unit to forty acres as inapplica- ble to Wyoming, and also opposes the division of in- terstate streams under federal authority. It favors the creation of a national commission to consider this question with a view to its settlement on some fair basis. No irrigation congress ever before as- The Com- mittee on sembled had such material for its de- JResoIutions- liberations as that furnished by these reports. But it was impossible, in the time available, to digest it. Even the Committee on Resolutions was unable to more than glance hastily through these admirable reports. The excursion to Rocky Ford practically robbed the committee as a whole of the only day available for its deliberations. This was in marked contrast to the opportunities of last year's committee. On that occasion the Committee on Resolutions devoted three or four days and nights to its work. At Denver the whole burden rested upon a small sub-committee. The committee as a whole did not even have time to carefully review and revise the work of the sub-committee. This was unfortunate for the committee and for the congress. It rendered it impossible to accomplish the much-desired end — the union of western sentiment upon a comprehen- sive national policy. But in spite of difficulties pro- gress was made in the right direction and patience will yet do its perfect work. The early appointment of delegates next year, so that the reports may be placed before them several weeks in advance of the meeting, will contribute much to the unification of thought. Only a short session of Congress will inter- vene before the convention at Albuquerque and the instructions given to the National Executive Com- mittee map out ample work for that session. The making of a great irrigation policy the begins wisely and properly with a de- Desert Act. manci for the repeal of the Desert Land law. It was inevitable that this proposition should encounter strenuous opposition. Powerful interests have profited, and are profiting to-day, from the ex- istence of this anomalous and illogical statute. These interests found many spokesmen in the debate, but on the roll call of States the convention voted over- whelmingly for repeal. This action should not be mis- understood. The Third National Irrigation Congress was not hostile to capital, and still less so to vested rights. It was emphatically in favor of protecting and fostering investment. It had no harsh words for those who have acquired valuable land under the Desert act, but it was opposed unalterably to the continuance of the policy of deception and absorp- tion which flourishes to-day under that bad law. The congress insisted that the remaining public lands should be handled in a better and wiser way. The National Committee will try to organize a vigorous and effective campaign for the repeal of the Desert act. The most important expression in the A National _ , r . Irrigation Denver platform, as a matter for im- Commission. me(jiate consideration, is the demand for the appointment of a National Irrigation Com- mission. If this can be obtained it will prove an acorn from which a mighty oak may grow. The demand is for a commission having full power to consider, in the name of the nation, the vast and far-reaching problems involved in the development of a national policy of land reclamation and water and forest con- servation. Ultimately the commission should be em- powered to carry out large plans of administration. It should be an independent authority, and not a mere bureau attached to existing departments. It should be able to utilize the information and facili- ties of the Interior, Agricultural and War Depart- ments, and should be analogous to the Interstate i6o '2 HE IRRIGATION AGE. Commerce Commission. This commission cannot be created too soon. It is high time that the national authority over western problems was exerted, not as opposing, but as a cooperative force, in connection with the work of the States. Whatever may be the future of the great public forests, and the irrigable and pastoral lands, they are to-day the property, and therefore the just concern, of the nation. They are to be developed for the benefit of the American peo- ple as a whole. There is no other enlightened nation which would hesitate to deal with questions which concern its future so largely and intimately. The re- maining session of the Fifty-third Congress will be but four months long. In that brief time nothing which looks to definite and final results in the way of an irrigation policy can pass. But if between now and the middle of January public sentiment can be organized, it ought to be possible to get legislation creating the National Irrigation Commission, with a modest appropriation. The whole force of the irri- gation movement ought to be directed to this end from now until the present Congress expires. No reasonable objection can be urged to the commission, and no reasonable excuse offered for delay. It will take much time to obtain results after the commis- sion is in operation. In the meantime, the way will be prepared for action while the people are still de- bating the character of future policies. A very pleasant and significant fea- Mexico and ture of the Congress was the presence Canada. of Senor ybarolla, of Mexico, and Messrs. Pearce and Dennis, of Canada. Irrigation is a live and growing issue beyond our southern and northern boundaries. The organized irrigation move- . ment is now continental in the true sense. The three great countries of North America march shoulder to shoulder toward a common destiny. All of them will utilize irrigation in large and effective ways. The expression in the platform in favor of a temporary commission to consider and adjudicate questions arising over international waters merits the speedy and favorable action of Congress. If these waters are permitted to remain without consideration until they shall involve States and countries in loss and discord, when it is now so easy and simple a matter to deal with them, what shall be said of our Ameri- can statesmanship? The Denver Congress did not result in Compromise j c ., , . Fostponed a definite compromise bejtween the One Year. frjen(js an(j opponents of cession, as many had hoped. But it did result in progress to- ward that much-desired end. The majority of the Committee on Resolutions reported in favor of a law which would permit States to select tracts for recla- mation, make them the basis of security and colonize them. The lands were to remain under federal ownership until, when reclaimed and settled, they passed through the State to the individual settler. There is no question but what this proposition could have been carried by the brute force of the roll call, but it would have resulted in discord. And harmony was the very essence of the result desired by the friends of compromise. Those who are afraid to trust the States with any authority thought the proposition savored too much of cession, while some of the strongest friends of State control preferred that the Carey law should be thoroughly tried before anything more is asked or suggested. Under these circum- stances the Committee on Resolutions withdrew sec- tions four and five of the majority report and substi- tuted a resolution referring back to the State Com- missions, to report to the next Irrigation Congress, the question of national policy, with instructions to devise a plan looking to the reclamation of the arid lands by the cooperation of national and State author- ities. Something has been gained, because the sub- ject has been put conspicuously before the country and started on the road to settlement. Nothing has been lost, since it is generally admitted that no legis- lation of a definite character could be obtained from Congress in the coming short session. No attempt is made in this editorial re- The Men of view to deal with the many and pleasing Utah- personalities who came to the front in the deliberations of the Third National Irrigation Congress. But there is a special reason why men- tion should be made of the delegation from Utah, " the cradle of American irrigation." It was headed by the Hon.. George Q. Cannon, who was unani- mously chosen temporary chairman, and who was re- ceived with hearty and long-continued applause on being presented as "a great representative of the most illustrious race of irrigators on this continent." In view of the place which Utah occupies in the his- tory of irrigation, the convention delighted to honor the representative of the coming State. There is an- other reason why Utah should be given prominence, and this is, the fact that her industrial system is gen- erally recognized as offering the best basis for the de- velopment of homes for the millions. This system was described very fully in Mr. Cannon's opening speech, when he told the story of the small farm, of land division and of the common ownership of water, The ideas which his people have practically illus- trated are the ideas which are to prevail hereafter, and with their growth in popular favor, the virtues of the Mormon people are certain to shine with de- served luster, while many unpleasant recollections will be softened or forgotten. The Wyoming inci- dent, on whose account Governor Osborne and Mr. William Penn Rogers, of California, experienced hysterics for a year past, did not materialize at Den- THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 161 ver. Elwood Mead was chosen President of the Con- gress, while the chairman and secretary of the Na- tional Committee, the other objects of the guberna- torial spleen, were handsomely reelected. This is the quiet but effective answer of the irrigation .move- ment to the ferocious governor and the estimable gentleman from California. No one who has not himself expe- The . . . , Denver rienced the work involved in making Committee. ^e preijnijnary arrangements for an important convention can appreciate the debt which the irrigation congress owes to the local committee at Denver, and especially to Chairman E. W. Mer- ritt and Secretary Thomas L. Smith. These gentle- men and their colleagues labored assiduously for several weeks to perfect the arrangements for the Third National Irrigation Congress and to give the event the widest publicity. Their agreements were fulfilled to the letter, and members of the national committee, particularly, are indebted to them for courtesies received. Mr. Smith was appropriately honored by an election as secretary of the congress. The elaborate excursions planned by the committee failed only because there were not a sufficient num- ber of delegates who had time available for the entire program, out the delightful day spent at Greeley, Fort Collins, Longmontand Boulder and the festival day at Rocky Ford will never be forgotten. They were practical revelations of the results of irrigation applied to good soil. PULPIT TERRACES, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.— reached via the Union Pacific System. To the People of the United States. ^^HE Thi 3-10, 1 -A- One r~ r HE Third National Irrigation Congress, assembled at Denver, Colorado, September 3-10, 1894, sends greeting to the people of the United States. One year ago at the session of this Congress held in Los Angeles, California, we provided for the creation of unofficial irrigation commissions in seventeen States and Territories, charged with the duty of investigating the physical conditions of the arid region and formulating the views of their constituents as to needed legislation, National and State. By this means we hoped to harmonize conflicting opinions and find the basis for a just compromise between extreme views of public policy. With the reports of those commissions as the material for study and debate, we hope to be able to suggest at this time a national policy, broad, just, comprehensive, statesmanlike. We are dealing with problems that involve the happiness and prosperity of millions of free- men, the tranquillity of States, the evolution of new conditions of society and of higher forms of civilization. As the result of the faithful work of the unpaid but patriotic men composing our several commissions, we have arrived at conclusions upon which we believe all Western men can unite with reasonable unanimity, and which it is our purpose to present to our countrymen, from the platform, through the press and at the fireside until their triumph is complete. These conclusions are given to the press simultaneously with this address, and will be framed for presentation to the Congress of the United States at the proper time. The fundamental idea of our policy is not the separation of State and national interests, but cooperation between these powers within their proper spheres. The great end in view is to reclaim lands now useless and make them fit to sustain a vast population under conditions which shall guarantee industrial independence and human equality. We recognize these public lands as the heritage of the American people, not as the spoil of private greed. We aim to deliver to the people this precious birthright under condi- tions which will burden them only with the actual cost of reclamation and the return of the capital actually employed in the work, principal and interest. We recognize no private monopoly in the water which is the life current of the field and hence of the man who lives thereon. We seek to inaugurate a policy which will settle interstate water contentions in a spirit of justice and equity. We aim to preserve and protect the forests and so to control the pastoral lands that the barbarism of frontier warfare shall be forever eliminated and this portion of the public domain made useful to the largest number of people, under con- ditions which guarantee security. Upon these lines we hope to inaugurate a new era of industrial development, finding employment for labor and capital and security and satis- faction for both. But while we are about to urge the necessity of important and far-reaching legislation, we do not forget to thank the Congress and the people of the United States for what they have already, done for Western States and Territories. We remember with gratitude the wise and patriotic action of President 'Harrison in establishing large forest reservations and urge the continuance of this policy by President Cleveland. We heartily endorse the plan of Prof. Sargent of Harvard University, providing for the education at West Point of skilled foresters, for a local forest guard and for the use of detachments of United States troops in guarding forest areas. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of \ forest preservation to the economic life of Western America, because of its intimate rela- tion to water supply for irrigation. ^J We also note with satisfaction that a bill donating to each Western State, under con- ditions, 1,000,000 acres of arid lands for purposes of reclamation, recently passed the United States Senate unanimously, passed the House with only nine dissenting votes and received the prompt approval of the President of the United States. We interpret this remarkable unanimity of action as an evidence of confidence in Western men, of real concern for Western institutions. And it is our purpose to avail ourselves of the opportunity thus given, and to make the Carey law the first step in the development of a great internal policy. We thank Congress for such appropriations as have been provided for the work of gauging streams and in investigation of water supply, but urge that larger appropriations are needed. But while we ask such national assistance, in the way of legislation and appropriations, as the dignity and importance of the interests involved clearly demand, we assure the people of the United States that we propose to help ourselves. Our unpaid State com- missions will again be organized for the purpose of securing helpful State legislation and providing liberal State appropriations for the work of scientific study of our problems, and for carrying on good administrative systems. We especially urge our countrymen to remember that in the true sense the problems of the Irrigation Congress are of national dimensions and national import. The best solu- tion of the difficulties that vex our statesmen and economists is that solution which would provide idle, discontented or unprosperous people first with labor and then with homes. Our panacea for existing unrest is the small, irrigated farm, producing what the family consumes as well as a surplus for market and giving to its occupants, by reason of its smallness, the benefits of neighborhood association. We ask only the opportunity and facilities to provide such homes for millions and so erect great States on what is now the voiceless desert. And this we seek to do in the name of our nationality, not in the name of individual States or sections. We know no flag except the flag of the Union. We kn.ow no destiny except the destiny of the American people. And whatever we shall accom- plish under the policies we annunciate will add directly to the glory and greatness of our common country. MEHORIAL TO CONGRESS. " Your memorialist, the Third National Irrigation Congress, in session at Denver, Colo., begs to call your attention again to arid and sub-humid America, and to represent in relation thereto, as follows: " That the subject of irrigation comprehends a most fruitful field of national legisla- tion in behalf of home-seekers. "That about two-fifths of the total area of our whole country is without a sufficient rainfall to make it habitable, and therefore, if it is to constitute the homes of a happy peo- ple of the present generation or of generations to come, it must be irrigated. " That the great work of discovery and distribution of our waters, which must precede the intelligent location by the home-seeker and the actual work of reclamation, is too great and expensive to be most comprehensively undertaken by individuals, and this Congress, therefore, most respectfully but urgently petitions you to make adequate appropriations for, and to have conducted in the most comprehensive* and practical manner, an irrigation survey in charge of experienced and competent irrigation engineers. We also urge that as such work progresses you enact such laws and repeal such old ones, if any, as may be nec- essary to meet the conditions found to exist as the result of such survey.'/ a& 163 THE DENVER PLATFORM. NATIONAL LEGISLATION. +*^^ r T HE National Executive Committee of the Irrigation Congress is hereby instructed to prepare a series of bills for presentation to the Congress of the United States, -**- embodying the following propositions: 1. Repeal of the Desert Land Law. 2 That there shall be appointed a National Irrigation Commission vested with the supervision of such irrigation works as may be constructed by Federal Government. The National Irrigation Commission shall also be charged with the work of making an immediate investigation of the problem of interstate streams, and recommend to the Congress of the United States as early as possible a measure providing a means for the speedy and final adjudication of questions between States and a plan for the division of streams on a basis of justice and equity. 3. That the several Territories be included in the provisions of the Carey Law. 4. That sufficient appropriation be secured from the general government for carrying on the work of discovering waters, applicable to the reclamation of the arid lands, and for the prosecution of surveys necessary to determine the location of lands susceptible of irrigation, and the selection and segregation of reservoir sites. 5. That reservoir sites heretofore reserved by the government shall be released and made available upon application therefor by States and Territories. STATE LEGISLATION. The rapid growth of irrigation development demands that steps be immediately taken to reform the present loose and diverse methods prevailing in different States, and to devise effective administrative systems upon some basis of uniformity. In order that these and other pressing questions may be immediately taken up for discussion and settle- ment, the National Executive Committee is hereby instructed to create a system of State Commissions, acting under the authority of the Irrigation Congress and appointed on the basis laid down in the Los Angeles declaration. These State Commissions are hereby instructed to proceed upon the following lines: 1. Call State conventions as early as practicable to formulate legislation for the utili- zation of the Carey Law in those States to which it applies. 2. Devise plans for an effective administration system and present same to the executive and legislative departments of the State government not later than January 1st, 1895. 3. Consider in connection with the above the administrative systems of Wyoming and Colorado, the suggestion for the incorporation as bodies politic of water divisions consisting of grand hydrographic basins, and the district law of California. In connection with the latter, attention is called to the urgent suggestion contained in the report of the California Commission, favoring stringent State supervision of districts. 4. The State Commissions are advised to favor the construction of works by States under the Carey Law when practicable, and are most urgently advised that when lands are reclaimed under said law by private companies the State should fix the maximum price at which such lands shall be sold. 164 THE MIGHTY COLORADO. AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION AND CHARACTER- ISTICS OF A FAMOUS RIVER OF ARID AMERICA. BY J. A. YOUNG. MUCH has been written about the Colorado river, now so famous on account of the deep winding ravines through which its turbulent waters flow. History informs us that this river was discovered in 1540 by some Spanish explorers. Sitgreave's expedi- tion, in 1851, crossed the Colorado about one hundred and fifty miles above Yuma. On New Year's day, 1854, Lieutenant Whipple, when making a survey for a railroad, came in sight of high cliffs in the vicinity of this river and subsequently made dis- coveries relating to the existence of the Grand can- yon. The War Department sent out an expedition under Lieutenant Ives, in 1857, to explore the Colo- rado as far as found safe and practicable. He ascended the river to within a few miles of the Vir- gin. Previous to this time, and for many years after, the true source and exact course of the Colo- rado were not definitely known. In a general way, it was understood that several hundred miles of its channel lay in deep gorges. At many places along its course it was hazardous to approach the rim of the channel, much less descend to the edge of the water. It was generally believed that its course was beset with numerous rapids, falls and whirlpools, over which boats could not safely pass, and that for hundreds of miles this river disappeared and ran beneath the surface of the earth. It was taken for granted that certain death would be the fate of any one attempting its navigation. We are told that James White, an unsuccessful prospector, and a companion took refuge in the Grand canyon in order to escape from the Indians. Numerous romantic adventures were narrated from time to time, by per- sons who claimed to have invaded the mysteries of the Grand canyon, but for the most part that river remained unknown to the geographer. MAJOR POWELL'S EXPLORATION. In 1869, Major J. W. Powell undertook the explo- ration of the Colorado. He left Green River city, on the Green, in Utah, May 24th, with nine men and four boats, and on August 30th, landed at the mouth of the Virgin, more than one thousand miles, by the river's channel, below the place of starting. One of his men abandoned the expedition at an Indian reservation agency, before the party reached Ari- zona. Three more, after encountering unprece- dented terrors for many weeks, having made many hair-breadth escapes, preferred to risk the perils of an unknown desert rather than face " grim death " any longer. They abandoned the expedition and were killed by Indians. In order to more fully comprehend the dangers of such a voyage, we must consider that this river has a fall of about 5000 feet in 500 miles. It is beset with hundreds of rapids and cataracts, and along its chan- nel there are numerous short turns or angles. There are hundreds of projecting and overhanging rocks; on the right and on the left many obstructions rise up here and there to break the direct current, and there are hidden snags and sandbars at frequent intervals, all of which combine to make a safe voy- age almost impossible. It was one of the most venturesome voyages ever made on inland waters. Major Powell's graphic description of his adventures entitled, "An Exploration of the Colorado River of the West,'' is a story of true heroism. It portrays trials and hardships that none but a true patriot and soldier would be likely to endure. The conquest that he and his companions gained, in this explora- tion, is even greater than one that is won on the battlefield. In his official report he describes the Colorado with its canyon walls in this terse language: " Ten million cascade brooks unite to form ten thousand torrent creeks ; ten thousand torrent creeks unite to form a hundred rivers beset with cataracts; a hundred roaring rivers unite to form the Colorado, which rolls — a mad, turbid stream— into the Gulf of California." THE GRAND CANYON. The Grand canyon lies almost wholly in northern Arizona, and for the present is not accessible by any railroad, the nearest station being Flagstaff, Ari- zona, on the Santa F£ route, from whence a stage line runs to the canyon ; hence comparatively few persons have had an opportunity to behold this sublime spec- tacle. Geologists and others differ in regard to the length of the Grand canyon and the extent of the "Grand canyon district." The Grand canyon proper is about 220 miles long. The Marble canyon, which is really a part of the Grand canyon, is about 70 miles in length, making in all 290 miles. There are scores of other streams that join the main river, each of which has its canyon. Each of these again is subdivided into other " barrancas '' that intersect it, making al- together hundreds of gorges. The gorge of Niagara would sink into insignificance when compared with 1 66 THE IRRIGATION AGE. any one of them. The Colorado and its affluents have cut their way through an extensive plateau, or series of elevated table-lands, known as the " Great Plateau Region." At some points the walls of the canyon rise sheer from the water, at other places there are tali of rocks, and occasionally a narrow strip of fertile bottom land on either or both sides. It is acknowledged by all that the Grand canyon affords the greatest natural attractions and diversified picturesque scenery there is in the world. It is cer- tainly the "wonder of wonders," and is a geolog- ical phenomenon that has no equal. When com- pared with other canyons it may appropriately be called the " Mammoth canyon." It must be seen in order to be appreciated. Imagine yourself standing on the margin of a chasm, a yawning abyss in the earth, where you can look down 6,000 or 7,000 feet— nearly two miles deep— and to the opposite rim from three to twelve miles distant. Clarence Button's magnificent Atlas and Supplementary Atlas Sheets fall far short of giving an adequate idea of the vast ramifications and astonishing variety and inspiring grandeur of nature's noblest work, "The Grand Canyon of the Colorado." THE COLORADO RIVER. The Colorado is one of the largest rivers in North America. It is formed in north Utah by the con- fluence of the Green and Grand, flows southwest, in- tersecting the northwestern corner of Arizona, then turns and flows south, forming a part of the eastern boundary of Nevada and California, and empties into the Gulf of California. As a whole, in connec- tion with its tributaries, it drains a territory of about 300,000 square miles. ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF WATER. The supply of water for the rivers flows from a region of vast mountain ranges, many of them covered with snow that gradually thaws from early in the spring till late in the summer season. Along the course of its elevated headwaters there are frequent and heavy rainfalls during the warmer months. Thousands of never-failing springs along its course afford a gradual and constant supply of water. As has been stated, this river for the most part flows at the bottom of a deep channel, and its bed is chiefly of solid rock, hence but little water is absorbed by the earth. Much of the surface of the water is hid from the direct rays of the sun by the towering walls of solid rock, so that but little of its volume is wasted by evaporation. Along the course of its channel, before it reaches the Nevada line, but little of its water can be used for irrigation purposes. In view of these facts, it can be seen that this stream affords, comparatively, a very large, regular and inexhausti- ble supply of water. If properly diverted it can be made more valuable for irrigation purposes than any other river in the arid region. This stream is con- sidered by experts to be particularly valuable for irri- gation on account of its fertilizing qualities. It is said to be equal to the river Nile in that particular. The opportunities this river affords for developing water power are not surpassed by any other stream. MILLIONS OF ACRES AWAITING IRRIGATION. On both sides of the Colorado, below the mouth of the Virgin, more especially on the west margin of that river, there are millions of acres of desert land, which only requires the application of water to make it productive. The rainfall is very light and occurs at the time of the year when it is least needed. There are numerous small mountain ranges, but for the most part the land is well adapted to irrigation. The foothills of the mountains adjacent to and leading out from the Colorado afford most excellent facilities for constructing gravity ditches, having the necessary elevation for irrigating the lower and fertile lands. There are but few streams that can be relied upon for irrigation. Artesian wells may afford a limited supply of water. To the casual observer it would appear that the relative altitude of the Colorado and the bordering lands is such that but a small propor- tion of this country could be irrigated from that river. There are, however, numerous places some distance west of the river where the land isbelowthe sea level and also below the level of the Colorado. •vl r \ I A POSSIBLE CANAL ROUTE. THE MIGHTY COLORADO. 167 According to the reports of the United States Geo- logical Survey, the lands in the southern part of Lin- coln County, Nevada, adjacent to the Colorado, are mainly 1,000 feet or more above the river. At points below the mouth of the canyon there are a few locali- ties where valley lands of lower altitude are to be found, notably the Cottonwood valley and Mohave valley, but these are relatively of small extent. In the eastern ends of San Bernardino and San Diego counties, California, the land has a less elevation, and a large portion of it could no doubt be irrigated by diverting the Colorado river. In the latter county is located what is widely known as the " Colorado Desert," a part of which lies much below the sea level and also below the channel of the Colorado at that point. The unproductive part of the desert, known as " Dry Lake," could be filled and replen- ished from the Colorado, and a large area of arable land on its margin irrigated from the same source. If this should ever be accomplished, the following lines will no longer fittingly apply to the famous Col- orado Desert: "A purple sheet of cloudless sky That bends with downward slant to meet Gray, shifting sands, that silent lie Becalmed beneath the awful heat. No green blade springs in that sad land, No bird-wing beats the heavy air; The marvel of a blighted hand Vast, silent desert everywhere " The necessary works for irrigating, however, must be of the most expensive character, on account of the great floods in the Colorado and the difficulties of maintaining headworks of a permanent character where the canals and the river have about the same altitude. Near and below the Mexican line the pro- portion of low or mesa land increases, and from data now at hand it seems probable that a large canal heading in the United States territory, some distance above Yuma, on the east side of the Colorado, can be made to cover extensive areas near the border line. Why should an abundant supply of water be permitted to pass these lands and have so little use made of it for irrigation purposes? Must that vast domain remain a " barren waste ?" Is it not possible to redeem a portion of it at least? At present the land is useless and the water is useless. "A barren waste" and "an aquatic waste" are incompatible terms when applied to this desert country with the Colorado flowing through it. WHAT MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED. In view of the statements given above is it not possible to make the water of the Colorado more available for irrigation in order to develop the re- sources of that section of the country? At certain points where the relative altitude of the land and river and other conditions are favorable, dams could be erected. Doubtless, in some places, these dams would give the water sufficient elevation for entering flumes or channels that would conduct it directly to the land to be irrigated. If dams were erected, power could be obtained for elevating a portion of the water to any desired height, so that it could be conducted to the foothills, mesas and other lands. Water raised by hydraulic power would give a regu- lar supply which could be conducted directly to the land or to reservoirs. This method would not be subject to the usual disturbances caused by the rising and overflowing of the river. Where the land to be irrigated is barred by hills or bluffs, tunnels and syphons could be used. "Death Valley," in Inyo county, California, is also below the sea level. There are thousands of acres of arable land in the vicinity of the celebrated " Dry Lake," lying below the level of the Colorado. Would it not be a good investment to erect a dam at some point along the course of the river, and cut a channel that would divert its elevated waters so that " Death Valley " may be filled, and the surrounding desert reclaimed by irrigation? At times when there are great floods in the Colorado the excess of its waters could be conducted into this and other " dry lakes," which, if filled, would be vastly beneficial to that desolate country. Possibly places could be found where water could be held or stored for future use. If the surplus waters were thus drawn from the Colorado, the irrigating works and cultivated valley lands, where the bed of the river and the surround- ing country are on about the same level, would be protected from its frequent and destructive over- flows. Doubtless if " Death Valley" were filled, the water would make its way on the surface or through subterranean passages to the other " dry lakes " in that vicinity. • Col. J. C. Fremont recommended that the govern- ment appropriate sufficient funds to defray the ex- pense of cutting a channel so that " Dry Lake," in the Colorado desert, could be filled from the Pacific ocean or from the Gulf of California. No doubt he was well informed in regard to the advantages that would result from such an enterprise. A number of others from time to time have suggested the same project. If " Death Valley," " Dry Lake," the " Sink of the Mohave,'' and other depressions that abound in this desert country, could be filled with water and the surrounding lands irrigated and improved, it would have a powerful influence in modifying the climate in that section of the country. The effect would be the maintenance of an equilibrium of tem- perature by rendering the atmosphere cooler in sum- mer and warmer in winter. The constant evaporation from the surface of the ground and inland lakes would promote rain and dew fall. That hot, dry iC8 THE IRRIGATION AGE. THE MIGHTY COLORADO. 169 desert country would no longer be an incubator for hatching sandstorms, so annoying to the people of southern California. What are now barren desert valleys would be transformed into beautiful gardens of fruits and flowers, of which it may yet be said: " Knowest thou the land where the lemon trees do bloom, And oranges like gold in leafy gloom, A gentle wind from deep blue heaven blows. The myrtle thick, and high the laurel grows? •Tis there ! 'Tis there ! O, my beloved one. I with thee go ! " Power could be obtained from dams for generating electricity, which could be conducted to various places, many miles distant from the river, for operating elec- tric motors to be used for pumping water, running factories, street cars, mining machinery, etc. This power could be used for illuminating purposes also. The Falls of Niagara is about to be utilized as a source of power. It has been merely an object of wonder, a natural curiosity; it will soon become a greater wonder, because it will furnish thousands of horse power to promote the industries of man. The Grand canyon is one of the greatest wonders in nature. If the waters of the Colorado can be extended to pro- mote irrigation, in the ways suggested, that river will be a source of greater wonder. The river Nile, as it emerges from the unknown labyrinths of the wilds of " Darkest Africa," performs wonders in the way of irrigating " The Valley " that would otherwise be a desert. Why should not the Colorado, after it aban- dons the dark recesses of the Rocky Mountains and the Grand canyon, do as much, and perhaps more, than the Nile? No doubt great progress will be made toward reclaiming this section of the country. To consummate a scheme of this kind will require a great deal of capital. While these improvements are under way employment would be given to thou- sands of men. If this section of the country should be improved in the way suggested, it would furnish homes and subsistence for millions of people. A GRAND CANYON RAILROAD. As has been stated, there is no railroad leading to the Grand canyon. Several years ago a preliminary survey was made for a road leading out from a point on the Atlantic & Pacific. The parties interested in it did not receive the support they expected, hence the matter was abandoned, although they claim the enterprise would have been a paying one from the be- ginning. It is to be regretted that the grandest work of nature in the world has no approach that meets the demands of the traveling public. There are few persons who are willing to undergo the hardships and defray the necessary expenses of an outfit belonging to an expedition having the usual equipments of a camping outfit, including pack-animals and guides, or a day's ride in a stage coach. A few years ago an enterprising capitalist had a survey made along the course of the Colorado river, with the view of constructing a railroad which would give a more direct route to the Pacific coast. By re- ferring to maps of southern Utah, northern Arizona and southeastern California, bordering on the Colo- rado, it will be seen that there is no other section in the United States that presents a better opening for a railroad. The people in southwestern Utah and in the south- ern extremity of Nevada have frequently petitioned and have waited long and patiently for a railroad that would place them in communication with the outer world. That particular locality, with its natural advantages, is already reported to be "An Eden," and doubtless will become " the paradise of America " when fully reclaimed by irrigation and proper rail- road facilities. A more direct route leading from Denver to Los Angeles and the Pacific coast is wanted. This may be consummated by having a line leading out from some point on the Denver and Rio Grande and ex- tending through southern Utah, following the gen- eral course of the Colorado river to the southern part of Nevada, and thence southwest to the Pacific coast. A line extending south from Salt Lake City and in- tersecting the one named would also place that city in direct communication with southern California. In order to make this system complete it should pass through the Grand canyon district, and be operated in connection with a plant that would afford proper PROPOSED RAILROAD. I/O THE IRRIGATION AGE. facilities for visiting the Grand canyon proper at some point that would be considered the most attract- ive and interesting. The nineteenth century is preeminently an age of great engineering works and vast enterprises. Ascents are now made by rail to the tops of some of the high- est mountains, affording the scientist and lover of nature satisfactory views of the world's geological phenomena. It is hoped that in the near future the Grand canyon and its surroundings may be visited without fatigue and unnecessary waste of time and outlay of money. As has been stated, the Colorado river has a large and inexhaustible supply of water, capable of fur- nishing more water power in its numerous cataracts along its course through the Grand canyon than any other river. A plant could be established that would afford power necessary for running dynamos, from which electricity maybe conducted to motors to- be used for operating cars, elevators, etc. By means of an elevator, or incline, a high point could be reached which would give an extensive view of the surround- ing wonderland. A single electric rack railway in- cline, or a system of elevators combined with inclines, could be constructed and operated so that the water's edge could be safely and comfortably reached. Boats could run by electricity on a portion of the river, which would give good views from the depths of the "inner gorge." A trolley line, a few miles in length, operated on the margin of the river or valley ground, would serve the same purpose. A similar line, oper- ated on the rim of the canyon would add materially to the facilities for making observations. Perhaps water power could be applied directly to machinery, oper- ating inclines without introduction of electricity. Ample power could be obtained from the Colorado to operate an electric road extending hundreds of miles along its course, especially in the Grand canyon district. Relay plants for generating electricity could be located at such places as would be necessary to furnish power for an electric trolley system, or for engines run by storage batteries. This power could be made available for electric lighting, and also for compressing air to be used for mining and manufact- uring purposes generally. The Denver and Rio Grande railroad and the Santa Fe route are now celebrated as scenic routes, and, if extended to the Grand canyon district, they would become still more popular in that par- ticular. A road leading to the Grand canyon would have advantages over all others. It would be the means of forcing travel both ways. It cer- tainly would be a good road for both business and pleasure, and would receive a large share of patronage, and hence be profitable to its stockholders. In that section of the country there are extensive mining interests already established, which would be more fully developed. New mines would be opened and other interests would be promoted in like manner. It is to be hoped that enterprising capitalists will take hold of this matter, and that a road will be built along the channel of the Colorado, in the vicinity of the Grand canyon. An achievement of this kind will be in harmony with the enterprising spirit of the present time. CLIFF DWELLINGS IN THE GRAND CANYON. PUBLIC OPINION AND THE IRRIGATION CONGRESS, AUTOGRAPH COMMENTS OF PROMINENT DELEGATES.— EDITORIAL REVIEWS BY LEADING NEWSPAPERS. IN my judgment its assembling was not wholly in vain. It put at rest, at least for a reasonable time, the interested and greedy cry for a cession of the arid lands to the several States in which they' are located. It declined to absolve the government, the paramount land owner, from its duty to improve its own estate and make it a fit dwelling place for the landless, homeless, laborless and hopeless people who now overcrowd our great cities and threaten the peace and perpetuity of the nation. It plainly an- nounced that the time had come when the general government should use some of its revenue to survey the arid lands; to investigate the great question of water supply, both surface and subterranean, to the end that these lands may be reclaimed, if means for such reclamation can be discovered. Each year Con- gress appropriates millions of dollars to repair the damage occasioned by a superabundance of water in the Mississippi river. Let it appropriate a few mil- lions for the establishment of reservoirs in our moun- tains, to the end that the very waters that yearly swell the volume in the Mississippi and produce such rav- ages may be used to fertilize our plains and make them habitable for man. In the East they have too much water; in the West it is suffered to go to waste for want of storage facilities. If it is right for Congress to legislate with respect to the question of too much water in the East, why is it not its duty to legislate with respect to water in the West? The question of too much water and too little water, like the blades of the scissors, turns on the same pivot. If the Irrigation Congress will confine itself to the few questions which at once suggest themselves to practical men, and ignore those that hold in their bosoms jobs and real estate speculations, it can ac- complish very much for this generation. At best its work is simply advisory and suggestive. Why at- tempt to define any policy touching the disposition of the arid or sub-arid lands until you have first ascer- tained whether water can be had for their recla- mation? If water cannot be found to restore them to fertil- ity, it is a matter of very little importance who owns them; that is, whether they remain with the general government or with the State. Let the next Congress stand on the platform adopted by the recent one. Emphasize the duty of the government to investigate the primary question of water supply, and I feel as- sured that some good will result. After it is demonstrated that there is an abundant supply of water, we can then take another step and determine whether the general government or the State, or both conjointly, shall carry on the work of reclamation. Let us first catch our hare and then we can leisurely discuss the method of cooking him. Of Colorado. THE Third National Irrigation Congress, 'while accomplishing many things, impressed me more as a consulting body of men, strongly imbued with a single idea, than anything else. The work of the congress will probably be shown in the future in the presentation of bills to the national Congress asking for legislation on various subjects germane to the irrigation idea, and the Address to the People, issued by the congress, will undoubtedly arouse widespread interest in the work which the irri- gation leaders are endeavoring to accomplish in the West and in the East, but the principal beneficial re- sult of the congress, as I view it, will come from the interchange of thought among the 'delegates from the various States. Necessarily among so many bright men there are enthusiasts who believe that there can be only one view of any public question, and that is the one they hold. Coming from a score of States and Territories, there are naturally many of these enthusiasts, and it surprises them to discover that they do not agree. To meet other men, just as earnest and just as enthu- siastic, but looking at the main question from a dif- ferent standpoint, must be productive of benefit to every man who attended the congress. The friction of sharply opposing minds developed many new ideas, and the comparison of notes among those of harmonious views strengthened many in the opinions they held. The congress had to deal with many things, but the chain of its labors was composed mainly of these three things: Arid lands, wasting waters, homeless people. How best to make homes for millions out of these three elements is the problem confronting the men of the West. To work put such a problem alone is beyond the power of a single human brain. To discuss it in the press and from the platform is of great assistance to any student of this great question. But better than all else is for the leaders to come to- gether in a congress and sit down and discuss all phases of the question as brothers working for a com- mon end. To get acquainted with the motives inspir- ing each man working on the problem, to eliminate from it all minor points of difference, and to agree, as nearly as practicable, on the one great issue, are things which could only be accomplished by such personal intercourse as this congress afforded. Viewed in this light, the Third National Irrigation Congress was a very great success, and the result of its deliberations must be of benefit, not only in a finan- cial and practical sense, to the arid States and Ter- ritories, but to the constantly increasing thousands of our homeless fellow countrymen in the congested cities of the East, who are looking hopefully to the West for a solution of the despairing problem which now confronts them. OJM, Of California. 171 172 THE IRRIGATION AGE. IN the West popular sentiment is unanimously in favor of the early reclamation and settlement of the arid lands. Believing that the national government is either unwilling or unable — or both unwilling and unable — to undertake this reclamation, a large portion of the people have advocated the cession of the lands to the States. This plan has been opposed by many whose objections are mainly of two classes: First, that if the lands were ceded., the dis- posal of them would be under corrupt influences; second, that if the lands were ceded the several States would be prevented by constitution limitations or lack of credit from realizing any benefits from such cession. This congress undertook to formulate a plan whereby the consent of the government might be obtained, and the capital secured for the work of reclamation. In this respect it failed; in some other directions its work was more successful and may result in good. The first resolution, if strictly carried out, will work a hardship to Arizona and other portions of the truly arid region. Without doubt there have been abuses under the Desert Land Law, but it should not be repealed until there is something better to take its place. The principle of the resolution asking for the cre- ation of a National Irrigation Commission is an ex- cellent one. The welfare of the whole West requires that questions pertaining to irrigation should be studied by men who are familiar with the condi- tions which exist, who recognize the necessities to be met, and who are qualified by technical training and experience to handle these questions intelligently. Congress should be urged to make appropriations on a most liberal scale for the work of this commission. Beyond a reasonable doubt much good land will remain when every available drop of water has been utilized. In any locality, therefore, the problem of irrigation depends mainly on questions of water sup- ply. To fully determine these questions will require years of scientific observation and experiment; the cost of this work is beyond the means of corporations, or even the States. This investigation should be re- sumed at once, and continued without interruption. The resoluticn in favor of extending to the Terri- tories the benefits of the Carey Law and such other legislation on irrigation as may be obtained is one of simple justice. Legal reasons why this cannot be done may exist; but if there are none, the Territories should not be compelled to await their admission as States before commencing a work of such pressing importance. The adjustment of international interests requires the services of special commissions, formed under treaties between the nations concerned. The present movement for irrigation extension had its origin in the desire to reclaim from the desert the vast extent of arid land, which without irrigation will always remain worthless, except possibly for grazing, and which with irrigation will be capable of supporting millions of people who otherwise will never possess homes of their own. If any progress is to be made toward the attainment of this object, it will be made by keeping the control of this movement within the limits of the arid region, and not by handing it over to States which have no real interest in it. THE irrigation movement in the United States — it certainly has attained tbe dignity of a "move- ment1'— has thus far been largely educational in character, so far as the major part of our population is concerned. Although the best evidences afforded by history and the remnants of ancient civilizations indicate that irrigation antedates drainage, in the progress of mankind from the root-grubbing, nut- eating, savage state up to civilization, and has in all ages supported, and still supports, a large proportion of the world's population, yet it is to our people, as a whole, something new, and largely regarded as ex- perimental and of doubtful, undemonstrated value. Details, constructive, administrative and practical, have had to be mastered by the individual, and the first and greatest steps of all in the general work of reclaiming the arid lands of the United States have been informing and convincing the American people what irrigation is, what it is worth, what it will ac- complish. These are lessons learned slowly and with difficulty by those who, for many generations, have depended upon the fitful and so often disap- pointing dole of the clouds. The Denver Congress will, I believe, prove a his- toric milestone on the highway of irrigation progress, more because of its value as an educator in the larger sense, than for any other reason. The preparations for the congress, its sessions and conclusions, have doubtless done very much to nationalize irrigation in- terest and call the attention of the whole people to the home-building possibilities of the great arid re- gion, and while its effects in shaping a broad and uni- form national irrigation policy may not prove so forceful as hoped for, yet its influence in this direc- tion will, I am persuaded, prove broad and deep. Of Arizona. Of Kansas. TO speak of the outcome of the Third National Irrigation Congress recently held at Denver, with regard to all phases of the subject in Mon- tana, without mentioning the other States, would take up too much space. It seems to me that the most im- portant objects accomplished were, the continuation of the National Executive Committee, with instruc- tions as to what their work shall be for the coming year, a general discussion of the needs of the West, and a separation of the questions upon which the dif- ferent sections of the arid region do not agree, leav- ing them out for the present, agreeing on certain fundamental principles, and getting to work with a solid front to secure what we have determined we are agreed upon. Another object gained, was a thorough understanding by the people of the different States of the Carey bill, and the benefits obtainable under it through its proper application. To secure these benefits for their States, the new State Commissions have a very important work upon their hands. In every State, with perhaps the exception of Wyoming, to take advantage of the million acres donated under this new law, there must be a considerable new legislation enacted by the State Legislature, and a good deal now in force must be re- pealed. To do this wisely and effectively will require a thorough knowledge of local conditions, the existing laws of all the arid States, and hard work on the part PUBLIC OPINION AND THE IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 173 of the commissions. It is from these commissions that I think we will receive our first tangible re- sults of the Denver congress, which will undoubtedly leave an influence upon the whole country, the extent of which time only can tell. Of Montana. THE Denver congress marks a long stride in ad- vance by the irrigation sentiment of this coun- try. Eleven months ago, when the congress met at Los Angeles, only some half dozen States, outside of California, had representatives in that dis- tinguished gathering of the friends of irrigation. Every State and Territory in Arid America appeared through full and able delegates at the Denver meet- ing. In addition to this, Missouri, Illinois, Wiscon- sin, Minnesota, Georgia and Rhode Island sent good representative delegations, thereby showing a grow- ing interest in other States than Arid America in the matter of reclaiming the western half of our domain. Mexico on the south and the Dominion of Canada on the north also appeared and greatly added, by their counsels, to the net results achieved by this gathering of the people. The discussions, the papers read and the general trend of thought clearly showed that the old idea of ceding the arid lands to the several States was distasteful and would never be consummated. Whether the Carey law would ever be carried out, seemed indeed to be in very great doubt as applied to Arid America in general. The people want places to make small homes with- out buying such homes from syndicates and aggre- gated capital. This the American people will have. Small holdings for the million of young men yearly arriving at their majority is, from this time onward, to be the rallying cry, and this cry will be heeded and will, at last, get itself embodied into law. Another thing clearly may be gathered from our study of the doings of this congress, which is, that irrigation con- cerns not Arid America only but all the States. We do not now fully utilize all the waters we have. The humid States need, and they will have, a better dis- tribution of their present water supply. As our pop- ulation goes on doubling up every thirty years, we will make a wiser use of our flowing and underground waters. The problem of the imminent future is, how and by what methods shall all America economize all the waters the good Lord sends to us ? Of Kansas. I WAS very much impressed, not only with the work which was accomplished by the Third National Irrigation Congress, which met in Denver from September 3d to 10th, but with the strong character of the personnel of the convention itself. I believe it to be one of the most representative bodies of men that I ever saw together, representing so many differ- ent States, nearly all of which had conditions which were different from the others, and nearly all of which had private interests which conflicted with the others ; yet, upon the whole, the convention itself was able to agree upon a policy, which, it seems to me, was the only one to be adopted at the present time. The question of irrigation has passed beyond an experiment. It is admitted by all that in a very large portion of the United States it is an absolute neces- sity, in fact, would be a good thing anywhere. It is further admitted that intensified farming, small hold- ings and the owning of homes by the masses, are the things to be desired. To accomplish this it is nec- essary in the first place to have the very best kind of a survey that it is possible to make, and such experiments as will develop all of the water that it is possible to get in the arid regions, and to have these surveys and experiments of such a character as will show how the water can best be used to advan- tage.and placed so that it will do the greatest amount of service. I think this was aptly stated in the reso- lutions which were adopted by the convention, and the work of the executive committee, and in fact every one connected therewith, will be to the end that the necessary appropriations to carry on this work be obtained and the necessary steps be taken to accomplish it. If such steps can be taken so that the work can be commenced before the next congress meets, the next congress will, I think, still have plenty of ques- tions to grapple with, and they can take hold of them more intelligently than this convention could, be- cause they will have a basis upon which to work. No greater compliment could have been paid any one than the fact of the re-election of the editor of the IRRIGATION AGE as chairman of the National Committee* for the next year. It recognizes the heroic work which has been done in the past as giving great promise of the results which will be accomplished in the future. CHICAGO TRIBUNE. — The Third National Irriga- tion Congress is the legitimate outgrowth of the first and second. In 'September, 1891, the first was con- vened at Salt Lake City, Utah. It was called to con- sider whether the arid lands should be ceded to the States or controlled by the national government. After a warm discussion, continued through several days, the Salt Lake Congress agreed by a large major- ity to recommend the cession to the State. The second congress was held at Los Angeles, Cal., last October. The question came to the front again, and as there seemed to be no possibility of adopting a policy upon which congress could unite, it was decided to appoint a commission from each of the seventeen States rep- resented which should respectively investigate dur- ing the ensuing year the conditions in the States they represented, and formulate a national irriga- tion policy and a code of common State laws. Since the movement began, it has gathered force and broadened until it seems destined to become national in scope. This public awakening is indi- cated by the warm interest that is taken in the matter of reclaiming the arid lands by many leading men of the East and of the whole country. The rescue of these lands for the people means more than crops THE IRRIGATION AGE. and realty values. Right in the midst of these lands, most advantageously interspersed, are mines of gold and silver, copper, lead, iron and coal. The moun- tain streams pour down torrents that create almost unlimited supplies of electricity, light, heat and power. Irrigation is the key that will unlock all the vast possibilities of the Western Empire. These arid soils are not Sahara sands as many suppose. On the contrary, they are as rich as can be found in the world. The Denver congress is opportune now when the unequal distribution of population has aggravated the general distress, when eastern merchants are in- directly suffering from the wide-spread misfortune that has overtaken the western farmer through gen- eral drouth and scorching winds. The nation may listen now and be glad to hear of any solution of the conditions that have proven so defective and injuri- ous in the last season. NEW YORK TRIBUNE.— Seldom has any such as- semblage been more timely than the irrigation con- gress which met at Denver. There is before the whole country an impressive object-lesson, inculcating the need of the very thing this convention is trying to promote. Both East and West have this year suf- fered, and largely still are suffering, from an intense and long-continued drouth. In Kansas corn has wilted and withered in the fields, and in New York and New England parched and shriveled fruit is dropping from the trees in showers. The sum of the losses sustained through lack of rain has not been reckoned, and may never be fully reckoned. But to say that it amounts to many millions of dollars is well within the bounds of soberness and truth. A more effective text could not be chosen by this con- vention for its deliberations. It seems to be an established fact that, with the de- struction of forests and other changes incident to in- creasing density of population, the water supply is, in these Eastern and Middle States, becoming less regular and trustworthy. Drouths and floods alter- nate. At times the rivers are almost dry, and at other times they overflow their banks. And both ex- tremes are ruinous. These evils are, we confidently believe, largely to be corrected by irrigation, conjoined with tree- planting and forest-conservation ; and this belief is founded not on theory alone, but OQ actual achieve- ments. Vast areas in the West, once sterile as the Sahara, are to-day rich and fruitful, because of the water which, gushing from artesian wells or brought through canals and flumes from distant rivers, trickles in thousands of tiny, artificial channels all over the land. Other vast areas, wind-swept and sun- scorched, have been made beautiful and salubrious by the planting of trees. Nor are similar examples lacking here, where rain does fall, and where trees naturally grow. Farmers here, or some of them, have learned the lesson, and have provided them- selves with the means of watering their land when- ever there is need of it. They may seldom need to do it; but when they do need it, as the Texan cavalier remarked, they need it mighty bad. The result is that in a season like the present their farms are literal oases in a desert of dryness and dust. It is high time all learned this lesson. The loss suffered by the average farmer in this one season amounts to as much as the cost would be of equipping his farm with appliances sufficient to make him practically independent of the weather. BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.— The Irrigation Congress in session at Denver this week is unique in its prin- ciples and performances. This congress is composed of delegates from every State and Territory west of the Missouri river. There have been two other similar irrigation conventions. The first was called by Governor Thomas, of Utah, and met in Salt Lake City in September, 1891. It is- sued a call for the cession of arid lands from the fed- eral government to the several Statesand Territories. That has been done. The second irrigation congress was held in Los Angeles last October, and created commissions to form and formulate a well-defined national irrigation policy. It is upon the reports of these commissions that the present congress is act- ing. These earnest men announce that they are prepar- ing the arid public domain to receive the surplus pop- ulation of the East. They boldly claim there is room for sixty million people to subsist in the western half of this country, where now but four million ex- ist. The agency that will make this possible is the proper system of irrigation works constructed under State and national supervision in every common- wealth of the West. The federal government within thirty days has ceded one hundred million (100,000,000) acres of sur- veyed arid lands to the States and Territories in which they lie. This congress is discussing methods of reclaiming these lands and how to populate and develop them. Surely these are weighty and worthy issues for any company of men to debate. The mem- bers of the irrigation congress are not shirking their duty, if they are having a good time. They are earn- estly trying to solve a great question, and it speaks well for them that they grapple it so enthusiastically in the hour of darkness and strife and evil foreboding in the West. They are saying in substance, " Fellow- countrymen, lend us your ears to hear the new doc- trine of agriculture. Irrigation is to farming what steam is to manufacturing. Your eastern farmers are a quarter of a century behind the time, complaining of drought and praying for rain. We are masters of the situation, for we make rain when we want it.1' The irrigationists point to the countries of Europe and the Orient which have played the most important part in history — Italy, Spain, Egypt, Persia, Asia Minor, India — all wholly or in part dependent on ir- rigation. They go on to assert that the hideous mis- nomer, the Great American Desert, has been changed into the triumphant term of the Empire of Arid America by the success of the Greeley colony, the Mormon settlements and the southern California communities, and by the building of cities on arid plains like Denver, Salt Lake and Los Angeles. In these vicinities population is as dense as in the most thickly populated agricultural districts of Eu- rope. It is the aim of this congress to frame resolu- tions for extending the work of reclamation that shall speedily become crystallized into federal and State laws. It was of this country, where the irrigation move- ment is in progress, that Daniel Webster said on the floor of the Senate, in 1838, when a post route west from the Missouri was under discussion — "What do we want of this vast, worthless area, this region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to put great deserts or those endless mountain ranges, PUBLIC OPINION AND THE IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 175 impregnable and covered to their base with eternal snow ? What use have we for such a country ? '' After the Irrigation Congress has spoken, the pro- phetic value of Webster's resonant periods will have undergone a distinct diminution —for once. DENVER NEWS. — The third session of the'National Irrigation Congress has met and adjourned. While the delegates were guests in the city it was proper that the News should refrain from any criticism that would seem harsh or discourteous. In fact, it was nec- essary that its final action should be taken before any just comment could be made, either on its reso- lutions or on the evident purpose which animated the organization. It may now be said in all fairness and candor that the results of the congress are disappointing, and that the spirit which moves its most active promoters is antagonistic to the best inter- ests of the arid region. It is so evident that the single object of the con- gress is to obtain the cession of the arid lands to the states that the fact need hardly be asserted. That resolutions to this effect were not adopted is due to the active opposition and effective work of Colonel Hinton, Prof. Stanton, Congressman Coffeen, of Wyoming, and others less prominent but not less determined in their opposition to so dangerous a scheme. But cession has not been defeated. The monopolistic spirit is tireless; corporations ever watch and wait. The cessionists will turn up at Albuquerque a year hence as fresh and determined as ever. What they cannot win by open fighting they will attempt to gain by strategy. PHILADELPHIA LEDGER. — The irrigation issue bristles with difficult questions, which can only be settled by the highest order of practical statesman- ship. Shall the national or state governments con- trol the public lands subject to irrigation? Or shall there be more localized oversight and supervision? No control which might deprive any portion of the irrigated territory of water would be tolerated, a danger which is far less likely to occur under public ownership of the irrigated works and sources of sup- ply. Water is not, from its nature, private property. Each land owner has the natural right to the use of it, but if it is brought to his door by artificial means he must pay for the use of it. Subject to this restric- tion, running water everywhere should remain free. Ninety-five per cent, of all the streams in the arid regions are located within five organized mountain communities, and this makes it imperative that the nation should permanently reserve these sources of interstate waters west of the 100th meridian. " The cession of the public lands to the several states, Colo- rado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming, means the dominance of the few and the inaugura- tion of the forces of separation.1' There is force in this reasoning. The waters of our great streams should be always subject to some such general na- tional supervision as that given to the general gov- ernment in the interstate commerce act. SAN FRANCISCO BULLETIN. — The Irrigation Con- gress just assembled at Denver concerns chiefly the States west of the Missouri river. California will be represented as one of the arid States, or the one which has carried irrigation, further than it has been carried in any other part of the country. It has done this without Federal aid and without any practical help from irrigation conventions held outside of the State. It is true that a certain amount of arid land was graded down in this State by an Act of Congress, so that large areas could be bought on speculation. California has slowly worked out its own system of irrigation. What was first done in a small way is now done in a large way. District systems were an en- largement of the individual plan. Southern Califor- nia and the greater part of the San Joaquin valley are now nominally embraced in systems or irrigation, either actually or in the future. The immense citrus development of Southern California has depended upon artificial irrigation. There is not a citrus orch- ard of any magnitude in that part of the State that is not regularly watered through artificial channels. Every neworchard planted will depend upon a similar water supply. Every raisin vineyard in the great San Joaquin valley is brought up to the highest bear- ing standard by irrigation. The planting goes on from year to year at an increased rate as to citrus fruits and at a lessened rate as to raisin grapes. All the new acres must be irrigated. To the acreage already brought under cultivation in that way will at the present rate be added another equal acreage in a few years. Southern California, which in some years was well watered by seasonable rains, did not have moisture enough last winter to make cereal crops nor enough to make sufficient pasture to carry the stock. Every stream that can be utilized for irrigation will be made to contribute to the agricultural prosperity of that part of the State. Only a small per cent, of the arid land of California has ever been redeemed. That part on which water has been brought was not barren. It would not produce full crops every year with the amount of natural moisture falling on it. That was true of nearly all the land now watered by artificial means in the San Joaquin valley and in Southern California, save a few desert tracts that do not make much of a figure. As this State leads all others in its development of agriculture by irrigation, and as this has been done without Federal aid, it is a question whether this in- dependent system is not better than anything that can be made to depend upon the assistance of the government. In California there is now a well-settled principle of riparian rights. Water not only goes with arid land, but it goes with fertile land. A riparian right is as well settled as the right to the trees or the stone quarries on the holdings of the occupants. IOWA CITY (!A.) CITIZEN. — There are millions of acres of unproductive land west of the 100th meridian that could be made productive if water could be pro- cured for irrigation. The proper thing for the gov- ernment to do is to make a free grant to the states and territories of the arid country within their borders and let them solve the irrigation problem. OMAHA BEE. — The Third National Irrigation Con- gress is expected to have more important results than were realized from its predecessors, which were valu- able chiefly in arousing public attention to the im- portance of the irrigation question. The time for action had not arrived, nor were the people of the West ready to formulate an expression of their best, judgment. There was also lack of interest in the subject in other sections of the country. In the period since last congress, however, public interest m irrigation has been awakened everywhere, and in THE IRRIGATION AGE. the East, almost as much as in the West, its great importance is recognized. It is expected that some plan of compromise will be reached between the fac- tions, one of which has insisted that the national government should appropriate all the public money required in the work of reclaiming the public land and administering canal systems when built, and the other that the arid lands should be ceded to the States, in order that each commonwealth might deal with its own problems. An effort will be made to find some middle groundbetween these extreme views, a plan which will give most of the benefits of both policies and few of the evils of either. The reclamation of the arid regions will be a work of mighty proportions. Its accomplishment will occupy the time of a generation or longer, and will require the expenditure of an enormous amount of money. But it means, when accomplished, an addi- tion to the wealth of the country which will many times repay the cost. Hostility to the great scheme of adding hundreds of millions of acres to the pro- ductive area of the country, with all the grand possi- bilities of such a consummation, has been largely silenced, and there are few who do not concede the vast importance of this question and its claim to the earnest attention of statesmen CHICAGO INTER OCEAN.— It is sincerely to be hoped that the National Irrigation Convention at Denver will succeed in doing something to impress Congress convincingly of the importance of reclaim- ing the vast areas of arid land in the West. There is grave reason to deplore the evasive action, or rather inaction, of our government in relation to questions that so vitally concern the welfare of the nation as the care and extension of our industrial interests. Splendidly successful in converting desolate and waste regions into fertile lands as the system of irri- gation has proved in sections of the West, the ex- pense attached to this artificial process of rehabilitat- ing nature is so great that most States and Territories are debarred from operating on any profitably exten- sive scale. The fact of the matter is, that the conver- sion of arid lands into fruitful farms is as beneficial indirectly to the country at large as it is directly to the State so enriched. Every acre of land added to the agricultural ser- vice of the country is a national gain, and the mil- lions of now useless acres in the West might be re- claimed, to the part solution of our problem of how to dispose of the unemployed. The irrigation of these lands means increased opportunity, increased labor, increased production, and increased wealth to the people of the United States. We might reclaim these arid lands and attempt to introduce there a system of land cultivation some- what similar to that of France, where are the small- est farms and the thriftiest peasantry in the world. There the limitation of land holdings makes it nec- essary to cultivate every inch of ground, and the re- sult is that there are no waste lands in France and scarcely such a thing as a poor farmer. Here is an extract from the speech of chairman Smythe at the opening of the convention, that should be carefully considered, as it sets forth just what are the possi- bilities in the West. " Estimates differ concerning the precise capabili- ties of Western America, but the most critical econ- omist among all our students of water and land con- cedes that we can sustain, under a proper system of irrigation, as many people as now live within the boundaries of the United States. Founding our faith on this conservative authority, we send to the people of this troubled nation the message : ' We are com- ing, Father Abraham, with homes for 70,000,000 more — homes where irrigation shall guarantee industrial independence and the small farm unit the equality of men.' '' MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE. — The Third National Irrigation Congress convenes in Denver to-day. At the previous meetings of the Irrigation Congress, the principal question discussed was whether the arid lands should be ceded to the States or controlled by the national government. The First Congress recom- mended cession; the Second appointed a commission of two from each of the seventeen States represented to investigate and report. The report of this com- mission formed an interesting feature of the present congress, and the discussion upon it will help to form a national irrigation policy and code of common State laws. The irrigation problem is attracting attention outside of what is popularly known as the arid region, because the irrigation of that region will add vastly to the aggregate of the products and the wealth of the country. Minnesota has no arid lands, strictly speaking, although in some sec- tions of the State irrigation from artesian wells or streams could unquestionably be used with advan- tage as protection against periods of drouth. But North and South Dakota and Montana, States with which our merchants have intimate business relations, are deeply interested in the irrigation problem. ST. PAUL DISPATCH. — The progress of irrigation in arid regions is such that millions of acres are under cultivation, and the Irrigation Congress to be held at Denver will undoubtedly do much to determine the future development of this immense region. Many persons are urging that the government should en- gage in irrigation enterprises, but it is believed that this work can be better carried on by the States and Territories, under wise restrictions. THE CROOKSTON (MINN.) TIMES. — All of the north- west States should be interested in the National Irri- gation Congress, which convenes in Denver shortly. Kansas and a few other States that have suffered from the drouth this year are of course more directly interested. The solution of the irrigation problem will result in small farms and diversified crops. PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. — Should the Congress- men from the East and South vote in favor of extending national aid to the West, when there are so many millions of acres of land along the Alantic coast open to settlement, and to be had for such low prices? The irrigation of western lands, now unproduc- tive, by the government will mean more competition for eastern farmers. The hope of the eastern farmer has been that the home market would catch up with the country's products, and that the supply of west- ern land to be had for little or nothing would become exhausted. This hope will be deferred if vast areas of land are made productive by national irrigation. DENVER REPUBLICAN. — The future welfare of the United States depends in no slight degree upon the answer to be given to the question of what PUBLIC OPINION AND THE IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 177 shall be done with the arid lands. At least one-third of the area of this country is arid, and the ability of the nation to support a large population depends very much upon the extent to which this arid area can be reclaimed and made fertile. In this we see the vast importance of the problem. There is a division of sentiment among men who have considered this subject as to the proper policy to be adopted. Some persons take the position that Congress ought to appropriate money for the con- struction of irrigating ditches and storage reservoirs. They claim that since a great deal of money is ex- pended upon the improvement of rivers and harbors in which the arid region has but a remote interest, it would be nothing more than just to make a similar expenditure in the construction of works for the reclamation of arid lands. On the other hand, it is claimed that the better policy is to have Congress grant the arid lands to the several States and Territories in which they may be situated upon the condition that those States and Territories assume the burden of reclamation. If this were done, each State receiving such a grant would assume the duty of constructing the irrigation works requisite, and the control of all matters per- taining to irrigation in its limits would be in its hands. As between these two policies, the latter is to be preferred. It would be practically impossible to in- duce Congress, in the face of Eastern opposition, to make sufficiently large appropriations for the con- struction of irrigation works. Eastern farmers would say that their money ought not to be taken for the reclamation of land which would be used in competi- tion against themselves. The East controls Congress, and in the face of this opposition very small appro- priations, if any at all, would be obtained. Furthermore, a national law would not be so free from defects as a State law, for very few of the mem- bers of Congress know anything at all about irriga- tion. The irrigation problem is a very intricate one, and it presents many difficulties even to men living in the arid region. It may be taken for granted that Congress would not handle it as well as the legislat- ure of an arid State. CHICAGO TIMES. — As to the necessity and value of some general scheme of reclamation of those arid lands of the West there can be no dispute. Millions of acres of fertile but now barren soil in over a dozen States and Territories but await the touch of water to blossom into productive farms and gardens, capable of supporting an immense population. And artificial irrigation is no experiment. It has been proved suc- cessful beyond man's fondest hopes in the many dis- tricts where private or State enterprise has already introduced it. But the work of reclaiming th'e great arid tracts which are within reach of the surface of the subterranean waters of the Platte and Arkansas riv- ers and the dozens of minor streams which find their way from the mountains down into the dry plains of Colorado, New Mexico and the western portion of Kansas and Nebraska, is an immense one — a verita- ble task for Titans. Still, these lands should be re- claimed, and the privilege of reclaiming them should not be left to private corporations, either. The gen- eral government should do the work, or else it should parcel out the lands to the various States; not to be turned over to irrigation companies, however, but to be irrigated by the State itself. And none of these lands which now belong to the public domain, or which shall hereafter be recovered from the railway monopolies which unlawfully and immorally hold them, should ever be sold or given away. Let the federal or State governments build the reservoirs and dig the canals and ditches which are to turn these desert tracts into productive farms, and let them leave the lands in such lots as applicants may re- quire, charging a fair annual rental per acre based upon the value of the land. Thus will the bonds or other obligations issued to pay the expenses of con- structing the reservoirs, canals and ditches, be speed- ily redeemed and a perpetual income assured the State from the only proper and natural source for State revenues, the land itself. SALT LAKE CITY TRIBUNE. — The more the sub- ject of irrigation can be agitated, the more life will come to it, and the importance of it cannot begin to be estimated. As for the land in the arid belt, there is this to be said about it: The people in the east read of the number of acres and seem at once to take up the idea that it is a part of their inheritance, and seem further to hold to the idea that these lands are something like the lands in the Mississippi valley, most valuable now and prospectively. The Irriga- tion Congress ought to emphasize the fact that these lands are utterly worthless until they are redeemed, until water is carried upon them, and that the expense is something so great and the region so vast that the federal government cannot be relied upon to do the work, and that in the interests of all the people, east and west, the government ought to cede these lands to the respective States. Then each State could have the handling of the question itself, and could decide whether to try and do it as a state measure or whether to give contracts to corporations to do the work, put- ting such checks upon them as to secure the water needed to cultivate the land at fair charges. INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL. — The Irrigation Congress now in session at Denver represents a movement of general interest. The benefits and possibilities of artificial irrigation as a means of reclaiming arid lands or insuring regular and abundant crops have been known and practiced in some parts of the old world for a long time, but not until recently has the subject received much attention in this country. As long as we had vast areas of fertile land still unpeopled, which were fairly watered by nature, it was hardly to be expected that much thought should be given to artificial irrigation. Gradually, however, the subject has been forced upon public attention. Experience has shown that the arid and desert lands of the west, which, in their natural and dry state, do not bear even a blade of grass, become wonderfully fertile and productive under irrigation. There are millions of acres of such lands in some of the Western States that can be reclaimed from a desert condition and made to yield abundant crops by a general system of irrigation. To establish such a system would, however, be so costly that it is beyond the reach of private enterprise, and it is to solicit government aid that the Denver convention is called. The work seems to be a suitable one to enlist government aid, but it would seem that such aid should come from the respective State governments rather than from the national government. In a certain sense it is to the interest of the entire country that every part of it should be brought under cultivation and made pro- THE IRRIGATION AGE. ductive; but it would hardly seem fair to tax the peo- ple of the Eastern or Middle States to reclaim the arid lands of Kansas, Colorado, Idaho and other States, the benefit of the redemption of which would inure almost exclusively to the States in which the lands lie. In this connection it may be of interest to state that many farmers in Iowa, Illinois, and some even in Indiana, have adopted methods of artificial irrigation as a means of securing regular and abundant crops in dry seasons. In every case where the experiment has been tried it has been found very useful, both as a protection against drought and as an aid to nature. CALDWELL (IDAHO) TRIBUNE. — Idaho is directly interested in the Third National Irrigation Congress. The congress should be a unit regarding the most feasible plan of the irrigation of the arid region. It should settle the question of the division of the waters of interstate streams; it should unite upon every- thing that would promote the best interests of the West. It should attempt to unite the different or- ganizations incorporated to advance the colonization of the arid regions. If colonization organizations should unite in advertising the immense resources of the West, it would be the means of assisting many deserving families to independent homes. We have made a mistake in thinking that all that was needed was wealthy settlers. What we want are families with capital sufficient to place in cultivation the arid and arable land. The speculator allows his land to lie idle, and allows his neighbors, who are earnestly striving to make a home and an independ- ent living by their work and energy, to appreciate the value of his, the speculator's, lands. These speculators are not only useless incumbrances on the land, but also retard the settlement of the country. Now, if these lands were settled by a class of sturdy and industrious farmers, they would soon create a market for fruit, cereals and live stock. The pro- gressive business men and citizens should see to it that a law be passed by the next legislature making it obligatory upon the holders of public lands to im- Erove them. Make them cultivate so much of their ind every year. Let all assist in the growth and progress of our country, and let the land and water question be justly and equitably settled by legisla- tion. These questions are of vital importance. COLORADO SUN. — The importance and necessity of irrigation are established in the minds of the people. Ways and means, methods and laws, are now to be considered. Business, trades and politics will be interested in the question ceding the arid lands to the several States. Out of all the differing opinions, it is expected that a harmonious agreement will be reached, and that the outcome will be the framing of a bill, which can be presented to Congress with a solid, unanimous endorsement of the irrigation interests. Los ANGELES TIMES. — The question of irrigating the arid lands which belong to the government must not be lost sight of. In view of the unrest and dissat- isfaction which are abroad in the land, it is more than ever necessary that something should be done to provide homes for industrious Americans. Such homes may be created by thousands in the regions that are now known as desert. This is the last chance of the poor man to obtain a home from the government, and it would be a national disgrace if the government should fritter away this birthright of the people by granting the lands in question to the various States, through whom they would soon be transferred to syndicates. It would not take long to settle this question if the people of the East understood it half so well as we do in the West. But, unfortunately, such is not the case. Ignorant of the great things that have been accomplished in this section by the conducting of water on land that is otherwise worthless, most of the Eastern people look upon any proposition to irrigate what they have been accustomed to consider as "deserts" in the light of a wild and impracticable scheme. It is for this reason particularly that every effort should be made to enlighten the people of the East on this subject and to interest them in it. One of the best methods to accomplish this purpose is by the holding of these periodical national congresses. PEORIA (!LL.) JOURNAL. — The Irrigation Congress decided to ask the National Congress for sufficient appropriations to push irrigation surveys— the ascer- tainment of water supplies under ground, surface and storm. The address of the congress is clearly and eloquently written. It declares that irrigation solves the problem of homes, and asks the country to consider the issues presented. KANSAS CITY STAR. — It is a matter of regret that the National Irrigation Congress at Denver should have been opened by what sounds like a note of lamentation and depreciation of the United States of America, The particular cause of complaint at Denver was that in this formerly supposed to be free country only five per cent, of the people owned their homes. A more cheerful statistician would be apt to find that a much larger proportion of American citi- zens owned the land on which they lived. But, sup- posing the estimate to be correct, a regard for truth and justice should dictate the statement that, if the ownership of land is not widely diffused, it is not the fault of the laws or institutions or practices of the government of the United States. After reviewing the history of the public lands since the time of the Louisiana purchase.it continues: At a late period the Homestead law was passed and the policy called by its advocates, " Homes for the homeless and lands for the landless," became that of the government. The Homestead law, it should be remembered, i? made applicable to all public lands, whether in the new States or elsewhere. There is certainly plenty of land, and there is abund- ant room for its development. There is not a county which is cultivated to its utmost agricultural capacity. It would be desirable, doubtless, to add to the pro- ductive lands by irrigation or any feasible means. THE ART OF IRRIGATION. SEVENTH PAPER: CHOICE OF METHODS.— SMALL STREAMS. BY T. S. VAN DYKE. YOUR choice of methods in irrigation is not only limited by the quantity and heads of water at your disposal, as explained in the last chapter, but by the texture of your soil, its slope, drainage and sev- eral minor points. All these things you should determine before lay- ing out your ground for any system, for whatever system you adopt you will not be likely to change. As important as any of these is the texture of the soil. If it is very open you will have to use a differ- ent system from the one you could probably use if it were of closer texture. FORMATION OF SOIL. All soil is formed from disintegrated rock, some- times disintegrated in place from the bed rock beneath, in other places washed in from a distance. Where this wash has been by the flow of some stream it forms what is called bottom land. Where it has been carried only by occasional heavy rains, aided by the drift of winds, it is called slope or plain. This is a truism, but you want to keep in mind the distinction. Part of this disintegration of the rock is chemical and part mechanical, resulting from the incomplete work of the chemical operation. By the chemical part the rock decays into a fine powder or paste, according to the amount of water present. This in all its forms is called clay, and the name is suffi- ciently accurate for our purpose. The part that has not yet decayed is in hard pieces, and called sand or gravel according to its size. Sedimentary clay is where this fine part has been washed out and depos- ited in beds. It rarely makes good soil to work. THE BEST SOIL. The best all-around soil, and the best to irrigate as well as cultivate, is that which contains clay, sand and gravel in about equal proportions. If it has too much clay it will be tough and hard for the water to penetrate, and when it does once penetrate it may stay too long and in too great quantity and keep the soil cold. When it dries it is quite apt to harden quickly at a certain point, leaving you little time to work it fine ; and when it does harden it is quite dif- ficult to make fine without wetting again. Though this soil may be very rich, like some of the adobes, it may be very troublesome to work with water. It has, however, one advantage. It can under all cir- cumstances be irrigated with small streams, and it is never necessary to flood it unless it should be very much cracked from excessive dryness, which is quite apt to be the case if clay is much in excess. Where soil contains an excess of gravel it will not crack when dry. Nor will it hold any excess of water or bake so that it cannot be easily broken up. It is also warm and often far more fertile than it appears. While it will rarely produce good grain or heavy corn, it is generally the best fruit land, owing to its warmth and perfect drainage. But it will let water through like a sieve, and is called by some " leachy." It is so named because the water is supposed to leach out and carry away the fertilizers it contains. From the irrigator's point of view it is objectionable because it will not hold up streams of moderate size, but must be flooded. And as a rule it takes water in large heads and quickly handled to flood it properly. Soil containing an excess of sand is a medium be- tween these two, and is generally so open that it must be flooded. It may not require such large heads or need them so quickly handled as the gravelly soil, but it is too open to hold up small, slow streams. Some of it may be irrigated by side soaking from large streams, but often it is too open for that and water drops through it too directly downward and too fast. It is also deficient often in capillary attrac- tion of the kind you want, and will not bring up moisture from any distance below, while it will let it off from the few inches at the top so fast that shallow rooted stuff will need irrigating every few days in spite of all the cultivating you can do. Some of this soil you cannot keep moist by any amount of culti- vation. Other ground, that to the eye may be of the same texture, may contain so much more clay that it will retain moisture perfectly with cultivation. BOTTOM LAND. Much river bottom land is so open that it must be flooded, and where it is a wash of particles quite uni- form in size it is not likely to retain moisture well. Nor as a rule will water soak sideways in it at any dis- tance from furrows. You must, therefore, prepare to flood such land, and for shallow-rooted vegetation must be prepared to flood it often. If you cannot get water in large heads, and at nearly the right times, put deep-rooted stuff in the ground. UPLAND. As a rule upland, or drift by rains and wind from the hills, contains enough clay to hold up very small streams to allow the water to soak some distance on '79 i8o THE IRRIGATION AGE, each side the furrow and upward as well as down- ward, to allow the wetting to be quite uniform and not dry too quickly at the top, while it also has enough gravel to keep it from stiffening too quickly when it reaches a certain point of dryness. It gen- erally retains moisture well with cultivation, and has enough capillary attraction to bring up moisture from below to roots near the surface as fast as the surface moisture dries away. WILL THE SOIL SUSTAIN A SMALL STREAM? The most important thing therefore to determine at the outset is, whether your soil will hold up a small stream or not. If it will it is quite apt to have the other qualities of upland. If it can be irrigated from deep, made in ground plowed and harrowed as ready for planting. Get a hoe and watch it, and don't allow any ass of a neighbor to come around and tell you that that little stream is never going to get any- where. And don't lose your patience if you find that it is miserably slow, while the aforesaid neighbor tells you that folks that write books don't know any- thing practical. TIME IT. Measure off so many yards of the furrow and time the stream. If it runs a yard a minute without any special coaxing it is doing finely and your soil may be irrigated in any way. If it will run ninety feet in half an hour without any more coaxing than taking A SPECIMEN OF VERY BAD FURROW IRRIGATION. Amount of Water about Five Times too great: Uneven Feed of Water into the Different Furrows: Such Work Washes Off the Fertilizers, Leaches the Natural Fertility out of it and is in Every Way Bad, because Wholly Unnecessary. small furrows it may be worth twice as much as if you have to flood it, while it is quite certain to be worth twenty per cent, more in the saving of labor alone. Land of this sort you can always flood if you wish, or irrigate in any other way. But land that has to be flooded is generally limited to that method alone. To test this point, turn out a stream of one gallon a minute, which is about one-ninth of a miner's inch under four-inch pressure. It takes little trouble to be tolerably accurate, so measure it with your watch. A kerosene can, which it should take about five minutes to fill, is handy on almost every place. Turn this stream into a furrow about three inches an occasional clod out of the way or breaking down the barrier of some little basin it has made, it is all right. You can coax it at double or triple this speed by smoothing its course with the hoe just in front of it. But as you cannot do this in practical work on any extensive scale, you must test it, as it will run without special coaxing. In a field of any considerable size you cannot coax it very much. About all you can do is to go over the field with the hoe and see that one furrow has not broken into another, or that a gopher hole is not tak- ing all of one or more furrows. In passing you may throw out a clod of earth here and break a little dam there, but that is about all you can do. You must THE ART OF IRRIGATION. 181 overcome these things generally by forcing a larger head through at the start. Once through, cut it down to just enough to insure continuing through. But don't turn on enough to cut or puddle the furrow to any extent. TRY A LARGER STREAM, Turn on, therefore, two gallons a minute and time that. If it don't get around clods, leaves and little ridges of dirt at the rate of a yard a minute, increase it until it does. If a stream of two or three gallons a minute does not travel at this speed the furrows are badly made and it will pay you to take more care with them. Remember, if you can make this sys- tem work it will save you time and money, shoe leather and patience incalculable, besides doing far more effective work on nine-tenths of the stuff you will grow. It will also do it with less water and less waste of fertilizers by leaching than flooding. If there is any danger of malaria from irrigation there will be none from this, and in all respects it comes nearer in its results to rain than any other way of ap- plying water that is practicable on a large scale. It was first reduced to its present fine proportions at Riverside, California, and has since spread over all "parts of Southern California, where the soil will per- mit its use and where large enough heads of water can be had for a sufficiently long time. It is not an invention of any one, but is simply an evolution from the common furrow system. In exact proportion to the perfection it has reached has the character of the fruit advanced, until there is no finer in the world of any kind than that produced by the right amount of water applied in this way and the right amount of cultivator afterward. TEST THE SOIL. In whatever way you wish to irrigate it is import- ant to test the tightness of the soil at the outset. If you have not water enough to use the small furrow method and have to use basins, then it is very import- ant to be able to run the water from basin to basin without losing much of it on the way. When you use basins at all it is because there is no water to lose. To run the water from basin to ba- sin is much less trouble than using hose or water- carts, or any other annoying ways of delivery. You can also vary the shape of your basins more and do better work, even of the basin kind. If you have your water in large heads with a short run, as is sometimes the case, and you are driven to flooding, then, if the soil is tight enough to hold up these small streams, you can flood with less work than where the soil is very loose. There is less danger of the checks break- ing or cutting under a slight leak, and as the water will stand longer in them it will not take the same care to rush it over the field so as to insure a uni- form depth of water in all the checks. In making this test, do not be alarmed if the small stream vanishes in a gopher hole every time your back is turned. Where ground had never before been irrigated it is apt to be a perfect sieve from gophers, moles, mice and other burrowing animals. Stop any such hole by pressing dirt into it and let the water go ahead. If the stream starts off at the rate of a yard a min- ute for one-ninth of an inch, or a gallon a minute, your soil is all right. But you cannot expect it to hold this speed very long. If the soil is porous enough to be valuable, the stream is losing some all the time and cannot run so fast. The streams in common use where this method is brought to its highest perfection cannot be easily measured be- cause they vary so much. But they range from one- fourth to one-tenth of an inch each, with an average probably of one-sixth. This is guess-work largely, but I have watched them hundreds of times, have di- vided the head by the number of streams, the head being known because paid for at the office, and have asked the opinion of scores of irrigators who were in the habit of dividing up the heads, and one-sixth of an inch is about the average for the finest work. It is, however, common to start with larger streams to rush the water through and then cut them down. Sometimes this cutting reduces them as low as one- tenth of an inch each. But about one-sixth, or a little less, will generally do. HAVE FAITH IN IT. It takes these streams as ordinarly used from twelve to twenty-four hours to cross a square ten-acre tract. As it is six hundred and sixty feet across a square ten acres, this is a speed of from about six inches to a foot a minute. And this is about what they will make, varying some with the slope of the ground, the care with which the furrows are made, the number of clods that fall into them, etc. The main thing is to let them alone. Go to bed or down town and don't worry about them. At first the holes in the ground will make you plenty of trouble, and unless you have plenty of faith you may despair of making this system work. But after a few irriga- tions, gophers and all other things that make holes will disappear and no more will come. The holes will fill up and the water will run evenly in every furrow that is properly made. If the water runs at the rate of a yard a minute at the start, the soil is right for any method of applying water. But if does not run at that speed it by no means follows that you cannot use small streams. The top soil may be more porous in one part of the tract than in another. It will be very hard to find a tract of any size with the soil all of uniform text- ure. I have seen it on prairie in wet countries, but there is very little of it in the dry coun- 182 THE IRRIGATION AGE. tries. It often varies with a few feet, so that the stream may be slower in some places and faster in others. There may also be a hard pan, or perhaps no hard pan but only a finer soil below, and the little stream will have to wet down to that before it can get ahead much. Sometimes it will drop at once out of sight, and you think it impossible for it even to move ahead. But if you leave it for a hour or two you may find it several feet or yards ahead of where it was. But do not in any case be in haste to decide that the small stream will not work. Either increase its size and rush it through, and then cut it down to what you want; or if it is moving evenly but too slowly, give it plenty of time. Where you can get heads of water for three or four days if you want them, a few hours' difference in one of these streams crossing a tract is of little consequence. They are rarely run over six hundred and sixty feet, and it mat- ters little whether it takes twelve, twenty-four or thirty-six hours to get across, unless you are limited too much in the time you can have the irrigating head. One would suppose that in this way the upper part of the tract would be too wet and the lower not wet enough. Theoretically this is true, and the most water must be in the upper side; but, practically, no difference is seen between the two sides of the field, or if there is any it is too slight to notice. The run of water is made long enough to insure wetting the lower side enough. The fault, if any, is in wetting the upper side too much. But if the land has the drainage underneath that it should have for most valuable products, this will do no harm, while, if it has much slope, the water will find its way in time toward the lower part. The depth of wetting, the things for which this system may be used, and other points will be con- sidered farther on. THE FIELD FOR HOPS IN IDAHO. BY J. M. GOODWIN. HOP RAISING in Southwestern Idaho is a new industry for the people. Only three or four years ago some hop roots were planted around the cabin on the ranch belonging to Mr. P. P. Shelby, near Parma, for the purpose of adding some comfort and attraction in having the vines trailing over the house. When these vines began bearing the hops were so large and perfect, and so prolific, as to create much wonder and interest. Mr. Shelby, being an officer of the Great Northern Railway and located at Seattle, had opportunities of looking into the hop business in that great center of hop culture, the Yakima country. This resulted in his planting ten acres to hops three years ago, from which, in 1893, the second year's growth and first to bear, he har- vested seven and one-half tons of hops, or an average of 1,500 pounds of hops per acre. He expects this season to double that product on this ten acres, while on the fifteen acres more now bearing the first crop he hopes to harvest 1,500 pounds to the acre. It is said that in the hop districts of New York the average yield is 700 pounds of dry hops to the acre. Mr. Shelby's ranch is under the Caldwell canal. The land is rich and is classed as "bench'1 land, similar to many hundreds of thousands of acres of the Snake River valley. Two years ago certain hop raisers of the Yakima country visited Idaho in search of new lands to till. They located under the Payette canal company's ditches, about eight miles a little east of south from Payette. A recent visit by the writer was full of interest. The owners are the Golding Hop Company, who are putting 160 acres under hop cul- ture, while they own in all 1,000 acres. Three years ago this land was covered with sagebrush, was the home of jack-rabbits, lizards and toads, and a desolate desert to travel over. Now, life-giving streams of water course here and there, carrying nourishment to the rows of hops, corn and various other crops, which flourish equal to such in the most favored localities. This farm, not three years old, is a veritable oasis in a desert, and the whole country around promises to be soon transformed into fields of grain, hops, fruit orchards, meadows, and beautiful homes of prosper- ous people. The company has thirty-three acres of hops now loaded and ready to yield its first crop, this being the second season since the roots were set. Last spring ten acres more were set in hops, and each year similar or greater additions will be made. Of the thirty-three acres now bearing, two styles of* support for the vines are used, one-half being by means of poles, the other by means of " trellis." The poles are simply small pine trees cut in lengths about fourteen feet and set in the ground. The vines winding around these are supported as long as the pole stands, but should it blow over there is danger of destruction of the hops, and then it requires much labor to take these poles down and clear them of vines after picking season is over. The trellis sys- THE FIELD FOR HOPS IN IDAHO. 183 tern, while new, is popular for several reasons. In planting, the hills are in rows both ways and seven feet apart, with two plants to the hill. This makes 881 hills to the acre, or double that number of roots, which cost about $3.00 per 1,000. In putting up " trellis" a line of posts extending thirteen feet above ground is set the whole length of a row, the posts being fifty-six feet apart, or a distance of eight hills. Each row has a line of posts. Over the top of these posts are stretched a number eight galvanized wire. Heavy cotton twine is thrown over this wire so as to rest half way between each pair of hills, while the twine is staked down at the hills. Up about halfway the twines are tied together immediately over the hills, thus clearing the way for horse and man to pass through in cultivating with plows, etc. The roots throw out many vines or shoots, all of which are cut off, except two from each root. These are trained up the twine, the foui vines of each hill curling into a rope up to where the twines separate, and they are then trailed along these to the right and left until the wire is reached, to which the vines cling and hang in festoons. After the ground is well worked by cultivators, two furrows are run with a shovel-plow to make ditches for the water to run. This trellis system is anchored not only at the ends of each row but also crossways, by means of wire firmly staked all around and extending over the top of each post. Thus secured the vines cannot be seriously injured by winds. The posts used for trellis are 4x4 scant- ling. At this writing the vines are literally loaded with hops, the bolls being from one to three and one- half inches long. They ex- pect an average yield of HOPS ON WIRES. over 1,500 pounds per acre, and that next season this will be doubled. The varieties are the English Kent Golding, the American from Yakima country, and the Bavarian, their quality rating in the lines named above. No one can look at this beautiful field of hops without being charmed with it, and being possessed with .the idea that this is to become one of the important industries of these arid regions. HOPS ON POLES. •I 84 THE IRRIGATION AGE. While the tall straight poles stand firmly in the ground and are covered with hops reaching out branches from the main vines in every direction, there is a look of insecurity, making one expectant of the poles being leveled to the ground with their heavy burden by the strong winds which pass over the country. With the trellis there seems ample support in the strong cord or twine and wire, and the wind simply produces gentle swayings of the vines. Mr. J. Carmichael, the superintendent, has had much experience in hop-raising in the Kent district, England, and in the Yakima country, Washington. He does not hesitate in saying that his present loca- tion is the best for hops of any country he knows of. The soil is excellently adapted to the culture, while the arid and hot atmosphere of this valley, with plenty of water to irrigate, produces the very best results, not only in quantity but in quality, while a very important feature is the fact that no insects trouble the plants, and there will be no red rust, which in moist climates is so common and will en- tirely destroy a crop in a few hours. The dry and storage house is not a very expensive affair. It is a frame structure about 80x60 feet in all. The drying rooms, or "kilns,'1 consist of three rooms in each, at which are located stoves, fed from outside, and supplied with large flues or pipes to carry heated gases and produce the required tem- perature in the room. This is regulated by means of openings around the bottom of the room. This heat passes upward through hops spread on the floor of the second story, thence along with moisture out through a dome extending above the root. The up- per floor is made of slats, leaving half the space open, except that canvas is spread over it for the hops to rest on. After drying, the hops are dropped into a room off to the rear side of the dryers and then put into bales. During drying, sulphur is burned in the room below to the extent of bleaching the hops as desired. Picking and drying began in early September. The regulation price of one cent per pound of green hops was paid for picking. Women and children make the best pickers, earning the best wages. Since the shrinkage in drying requires four pounds green to make one pound dried hops, this item of picking alone costs four cents per pound, while all other expense connected with hop raising is about five cents. The cost of production, including marketing, is estimated at nine cents per pound. These estimates are on cost of production in Washington and California, where the average yield is about three-fourths of a ton per acre. Wherever this is increased to one ton or a ton and a half, as is promised in the Payette country, the cost per pound is very materially less- ened. The Golding company, with its thirty-three bearing hops and ten acres more planted last spring and which will bear the first crop next season, has employed two men this season to cultivate the vines, that is, to plough the ground and keep clean; ten men for two months to string and prune the vines. This makes for the year an equal of forty-four months' labor at $30 per month and board. Besides this there is the superintendent and probably one other man in constant employ, while the picking is all contract work and lasts only three or four weeks each season. The picking season requires 120 to 150 persons, men, women and children. Pickers congregate and camp near the hop fields, and besides earning good wages during the few weeks and at the pleasantest season of the year, enjoy the novelties of out-door work, camp life and real picnicking such as will enable hop rais- ers in this district to get all the help they require. When this locality is well dotted with hop farms, if there are not enough pickers to be secured in the near country, producers can draw from the cities, but there will always be plenty labor obtainable of this class. The rich soil and dry, warm atmosphere, with plenty of water and fine system of irrigation al- ready supplied, will make hop culture here one of the greatest industries in southwestern Idaho. A VIEW OF THE CAREY LAW. THE RESPONSIBLE TASK CONFRONTING WYOMING LEGISLATORS. BY J. A. BRECKONS. "W HOEVER can make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow on a spot of ground where only one grew before deserves better of man- kind and does more essential service to his country than all the whole race of politicians put together.1' Accepting this ancient proverb as a truth, the next legislature of Wyoming, which convenes in January, has an opportunity to win undying fame or unending infamy, for its action in dealing with the gift, under the Carey Land Bill, of a million acres of government A VIEW OF THE CAREY LAW. 18$ land to the State will either regenerate and make a new State of Wyoming agriculturally or will relegate it back to be used as a pasture ground for herds of cattle and bands of sheep. More than this, Wyom- ing being the home of the author of the bill, and the statement having been frequently made that Wyom- ing is peculiarly situated to take advantage of the bill, naturally turns the attention of other States in- cluded in its provisions to this State, and our success or failure in dealing with the measure will be the criterion for action in other parts of the West. So that in a degree the advancement in agricultural de- velopment of the entire West, which may be made under this law, hinges indirectly upon the action of the Wyoming legislature. NEED OF UPBUILDING. Certain it is that Wyoming is sorely in need of some process ot upbuilding. Untasteful though it may be to admit it, the State, although the youngest in the Union, has been deteriorating. In 1888, the total assessed State valuation was $38,338,541.00; for the present year it is $29,198,041.20, a decrease of $4,140,- 499.80. In 1891, the first year of statehood, the total valuation was $32,536,400.00, showing a decrease in total assessable valuation during statehood of $3,338,- 359.80. Of this depreciation, $1,275,967.00 has been in cattle valuations, the remaining $2,062,392.00 being in other industries. During this period the cattle business, which until 1888 was Wyoming's most profitable industry, has by reason of adverse winters, insufficient grass and hay supplies, falling prices and other causes, steadily retrogressed. Other industries supported by the cattle business have been depressed corresponding- ly, and mining and agriculture have been at a stand- still; this, too, in a State that has more varied and valuable natural resources than a majority of States in the Union. Wyoming has coal in great quantities, soda, oil, the precious metals, timber, large tracts of good land susceptible of agricultural development, and a better water supply than any of the other arid States. But her mines are undeveloped, her timber supplies untouched, and with an acreage of good land equal in size to an Eastern State most of her food products are brought from Colorado and Nebraska. With natural resources so bountiful and actual results so meager the inquiry naturally arises why such a state of affairs exists. It is caused mainly by the inadaptability of the land laws of the United States to the conditions which are found in the State. The large areas of lands, owing to physical character- istics of the country, cannotbe reclaimed and cultivat- ed unless large amounts of capital are employed in the work of reclamation. Capital cannot be obtained without security and the land laws of the United States do not admit of any means of making the lands to be reclaimed a basis for such security. With- out the cultivation of these areas food supplies must be brought from other States, making living so expensive that labor cannot be secured to develop mineral and other resources. AN OPPORTUNITY AT HAND. The Carey Law affords an opportunity to conquer this hitherto insurmountable difficulty, and if wisely legislated upon in the State these immense tracts of land may be reclaimed, the capital employed in re- clamation may be protected and recompense for its v;e insured, and the land may ultimately become the property of the small farmer and ranchman. For- tunately for the State the question of politics except where aroused by demagogues does not enter into the matter. The bill was framed by a Republican, approved by the Democratic Secretary of the In- terior, approved unanimously by the committee on public lands and passed almost unanimously by both branches of Congress. The committee on public lands in its report said of the measure: "The plan contemplated by the bill will prevent the land falling into a few hands, and if the States avail themselves of its provisions it will cause as wise a distribution of the lands as could take place under the homestead law." " The land laws in existence are not well adapted to the arid region, but until some other mode is adopted and found practicable it will not be wise to repeal these laws. '* " If the States complied with the conditions of the act, the lands would be reclaimed, settled upon, and disposed of to actual settlers in small tracts, thereby accomplishing the same purpose as is contemplated by the homestead laws of the United States." In his report the Secretary of the Interior, S. W. Lamoreaux.Commissioner of the General Land Office, says : " The bill is clear and is guarded in its terms. It is the interests of small settlers. The United States holds the title until the lands reserved are actually reclaimed and settled. The building of irrigation works has been found to be very expensive, costing from $5.00 to $30.00 an acre under the most favorable circumstances, and only where it has been possible to secure large bodies of land has the cost been the minimum. Consequently, the most success- ful settlements, notably in California and Colorado under irrigation canals, have been where the lands could be procured in bodies. " "The reclamation of the arid lands cannot be ac- complished to any great extent through the efforts of any single individual. Homeseekers are not men of means. Combined efforts of many settlers to re- claim large bodies of land cannot be secured nor suc- cessful results accomplished except under such mu- nicipal superintendency as shall insure economic and 1 86 THE IRRIGATION AGE. safe expenditure under intelligent control and yield- ing thereby the greatest measure of success.'* " The States are highly interested in the reclamation of arid lands within their boundaries and the settle- ment and cultivation thereof by individual citizens. The work is too vast to be undertaken by the Gen- eral Government. The principal proposition in- volved, reclamation and settlement by individuals in small holdings, meets my strong approval, and this bill seems to me to present full opportunity for the practical experiment and under proper safeguards. The United States retains title until reclamation is accomplished and the land occupied by actual set- tlers. This, if successful, is the great object to be at- tained; and if unsuccessful, the United States still holds the unincumbered fee." PLANS OF PROCEDURE. The essential portions of the Carey Land Act are as follows: " Before the application of any State is allowed or any contract or agreement is executed or any segregation of any of the land from the public do- main is ordered by the Secretary of the Interior, t,he State shall file a map of the said land proposed to be irrigated, which shall exhibit a plan showing the mode of the contemplated irrigation, and which plan shall be sufficient to thoroughly irrigate and reclaim said land and prepare it to raise ordinary agricultural crops, and shall also show the source of the water to be used for irrigation and reclamation, and the Secre- tary of the Interior may make necessary regulations for the reservation of the lands applied for by the States* to date from the date of the filing of the map and plan of irrigation, but such reservation shall be of no force whatever if such map and plan of irriga- tion shall not be approved. That any State contract- ing under this section is hereby authorized to make all necessary contracts to cause the said lands to be reclaimed, and to induce their settlement and culti- vation in accordance with and subject to the pro- visions of this section; but the State shall not be authorized to lease any of said lands or to use or to dispose of the same in any way whatever, except to secure their reclamation, cultivation and settlement. "As fast as any State may furnish satisfactory proof, according to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, that any of said lands are irrigated, reclaimed and occu- pied by actual settlers, patents shall be issued to the State, or its assigns, for said lands so reclaimed and settled : Provided, That said State shall not sell or dispose of more than one hundred and sixty acres of said lands to any one person, and any surplus of money derived by any State from the sale of the said lands in excess of the cost of their reclamation, shall be applied to the reclamation of other desert lands in such State." To carry these provisions into effect in Wyoming the following State legislation might be adopted; First. The creation of a State department of public lands, consisting of civil and hydraulic engineers and practical irrigators, similar to the State Board of Control, which now has charge of the waters of the State, with authority to inspect, approve or disap- prove of proposed irrigation works, and authority to supervise them while under construction. Second, to authorize this land department to make contracts with construction companies or colonies for the reclamation and settlement within a named period of defined areas of land in the State fora specified sum, the State Board fixing the price per acre for which land and water must be sold to settlers. When the sum specified by the contract is realized by the in- vestors in the irrigation enterprise -by the sale of land to settlers, the lands remaining in the tract, if any, to be sold to settlers, the proceeds going to the State. In all contracts the ownership of water to be in- separable from ownership of land. Under such legislation, with thorough State super- vision of irrigation works, substantial and permanent enterprises can be secured. Naming a specified sum to be paid for the reclamation of defined areas of land and to be realized at specified rates per acre from settlers, and the enforcement of the provision making ownership of land and water inseparable, makes the corporations entering the field, construc- tion companies merely ; their profits increasing with speedy completion of the irrigation works, and the speedy colonization of the tracts reclaimed with a good class of citizens. Careful preliminary engineering and knowledge of the price per acre which the State will charge settlers will show definitely to the pro- posed investor the profit to be realized from his in- vestment, and capital under these conditions can readily be enlisted. Or, the Act might authorize the State department to contract with construction companies for the recla- mation of specified areas of land, segregated under the Carey Act, fixing a maximum and minimum price which may be charged settlers for the land and water and retaining a nominal price per acre to be devoted to maintaining the department having in charge the control and supervision of the lands. These plans would allow construction companies to contract with colonists for the purchase of lands when irrigated ; would allow them to employ pros- pective settlers upon the work of construction of dams and canals, their labor to be paid, if they should so elect, in land, or part land and part cash. The accompanying map shows bodies of lands along the four great rivers of the State which can at once be irrigated, reclaimed, and put under cultiva- A VIEW OF THE CAREY LAW. 187 tion under the Carey Act if wise provision shall be made by the State legislature for carrying it into effect. A STATE IRRIGATION CONVENTION. In order that proper consideration be given the subject, a State irrigation convention should be called to meet at some convenient point in Wyoming at least one month previous to the assembling of the legisla- ture. The county commissioners of each county of the State should appoint three persons from their respective counties, at least one of these delegates to be a practical irrigator, as delegates to the State con- vention. A representative of the general land office should be invited to attend and measures should be adopted after full consideration and discussion of the subject, to be submitted to the State legislature to be embodied, if no better plans are suggested, in the laws under which the gift may be utilized. WHAT SUCCESS MEANS. The successful reclamation and settlement of the one-million-acre grant to Wyoming means that at least $5,000,000 outside capital will come into the State to be expended on permanent improvements. That at least $10,000,000.00 of taxable property will be added to the State's assessed valuation. That taxes will be reduced by reason of this increased valuation twenty-five to thirty per cent. That the population of the State will be increased fifty percent. That if from this source capital finds a profitable field of in- vestment in Wyoming, capital will also be forth- coming to develop the natural resources of oil, coal, precious minerals and lumber which the State con- tains, and that within a short period Wyoming will take the place to which it is entitled in the commer- cial world and become a progressive rather than a retrogressive commonwealth. SHADED PORTIONS SHOW LAND CAPABLE OF RECLAMATION UNDER THE CAREY LAW. THE MORMON LAND SYSTEM IN UTAH. THE SPEECH OF THE HON. GEORGE Q. CANNON AS TEMPORARY CHAIR- MAN OF THE THIRD NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Irrigation Congress : I might say truthfully that this is somewhat unex- pected to me. I received notice last night on my arrival after midnight at the hotel from the chairman of the National Committee that it was contemplated to put my name in nomination as a temporary chairman of this National Irrigation Congress. I almost hope, and if it had not been for my pride in the territory from which I came, that some other name might have been substituted for mine, for in the midst of men like these we have gathered here to-day I submit that I feel a sense of modesty, and would rather sit and listen than take a prominent part in the proceedings of this congress. Nevertheless, it is probably due to Utah, in view of the attitude which she has occupied for the last forty-seven years on this great and important ques- tion, that she should occupy some prominent position in this congress. Forty-seven years ago I crossed the plains in com- pany with companions who were then seeking homes in the Far West. I did not occupy so prominent a po- sition in the community as has been represented, be- cause I was but a youth 20 years old, but I was then, as I am now, deeply inter- ested in the future of this Western country. I felt that there was a great future for it, and then to me, as with all those who traveled at that time, it was so different to know the old conditions under which we lived that it seemed like a new world. We entered Salt Lake valley, that is, I and the party I accompanied, about eight weeks after the pioneers headed by Brigham Young had entered the valley. That band consisted of 142 men and three women. We came forward and traveled with women and children in large numbers, there being some 2,000 all told in the different companies. 188 HON. GEORGE Q. CANNON, Of Utah, Temporary Chairman Irrigation Congress. THE LUXURY OF POTATOES. The pioneers had already planted a few seeds and made some attempt at irrigation, but as they landed the latter part of July (the 24th it was) it was very difficult to do anything except to preserve the seed. That seed was carefully cared for and husbanded, and from that seed the seed potatoes (that was the first vegetable introduced into Utah) sprung. But it was not until 1849 that any of us, unless it was through curiosity, tasted potatoes. We preserved the seed so carefully that we did not dare to taste potatoes. In 1848, after planting our crops, we found that we were in such a situation that food must be raised, and as we did not have the scientif- ic friends that we have with us now to do it in a scientific mariner, we went at it as best we could, and took out water by the simplest means in our reach, and we were successful in raising at least a part of a crop. After our grain had been sown and our fields looked promising, black crickets came down by the millions and devoured our crops. I have seen fields of wheat look as promising as they could in the morn- ing and by evening they would be as bare as a man's hand — devoured by these crickets. For a time it seemed that everything planted would be torn up, and we were in such a position as you can well imagine. California was on our west, 800 miles distant; to the east was no settlement nearer than Des Moines, Iowa, and a few settlements perhaps in upper Missouri, so that we were entirely dependent upon all we brought in our wagons, and we had to deal it with the utmost care. Food was weighed out by the ounce and limited to every individual that no one should eat more than his share of the pieces that were divided for the week's supply. THE MORMON LAND SYSTEM IN UTAH. 189 I was a young man then growing, and I never worked so hard as we had to do then, and I was con- tinually hungry during that winter; it seemed to me that I was hungry to the end of toes and ringers. I was an orphan, but I had an aunt, and she said on my birthday : "George, we will have all we can eat to-day, as it is your birthday. You invite your young friends to come in and partake with us. " 1 looked forward to the anticipation of having a good square meal on that morning. I mention this because it is an interesting point to know that I did eat air I could, but I was hungry ten minutes afterward. The stomach having become contracted by having so small an amount of food, the system was starved and it required more than one meal to satisfy nature. THISTLE TOPS AS GREENS. When spring came the thistles began to grow up. Our fields produced a great many thistles. I have gone out with the boys in mid-day when the horses had come in and pulled the thistle tops for greens. It is a fact that the distention of the stomach caused by eating these thistles allayed the hunger we felt, and with the milk from the cows we soon grew fat. These crickets devoured most of our crops. I had no responsibility upon me, but I have often thought of the feelings of the men that had families under these circumstances; but there was unbounded courage. Every man felt he would stay there, no matter what the consequences might be. To us who lived in Utah about that time it seemed there was a visitation of Providence to save us. Sea gulls came by hundreds and by thousands, and before the crops were entirely destroyed these gulls devoured the in- sects, so that our fields were entirely freed from them. Whenever I see a boy pointing a gun at a gull I feel that I ought to knock his gun up. The bird has be- come sacred to me. I have gone along ditches in the morning and have seen lumps of these crickets vom- ited up by these gulls, so that they could begin again killing them. The drying of this country at that time was some- thing dreadful. It seemed as though the land was dead. I remember seeing it illustrated in the case of a grave that was dug. 1 was there at the time. It is now in the part of the town covered by inhabitants and it seems the ground has not been disturbed for ages. We dug a ditch, and so dry was it that when we turned the water in (some of you gentlemen have perhaps visited Salt Lake City and seen where the great cooperative store stands) and there a ditch was dug to convey the water to the fort, which was about a half mile, and it took two days for it to run that distance, the ground was so thirsty. THE UTAH OF TO-DAY. Now great results have followed, and I can say to- day that Utah is proud to have the opportunity of participating in a Congress of this character. We feel the questions to be brought before this Congress are of the greatest importance, not only to this por- tion of America, but to the entire Union. Every man in this entire republic ought to be interested in this question which will be discussed, I hope, so freely and profitably in our Congress. It is a matter which affects not only the West alone, but the East, and in fact it may be said to affect humanity, and everything should be done in our deliberation to reach the united action so that whatever we resolve upon will be ac- ceptable to the whole people and members of Con- gress. I am glad that these deliberations take this wide course. I would like to see every person who takes an interest in irrigation, whether they live in the arid regions or the heaven-watered regions, and I hope every man will express himself with the utmost free- dom, that there may be a unity of sentiment and a unity of action. We in Utah have proved that the small holdings are the best for the people. Our pioneers, when they went into that country, arranged in the first place that men at the head of a household should receive a city lot. The city was divided into blocks of ten acres, containing eight lots of one and a quarter acres each. I remember applying for a lot and was told that I was not a married man and could not have the land. Outside the city the first lots were five-acre lots, later ten-acre lots, and later twenty-acre lots. Mechanics were expected to have ten acres. Those who were engaged in business drew ten acres if their families were large enough. It was not a law, but was suggested. Laws were then made that no man should manipulate land, so that every man in the community should have a sufficient quantity to supply his wants and to enable him to raise what he wanted, but could have nothing for manipulation. We had to set our faces against the manipulation of land and the manipulation of water. We dread above every- thing large companies coming in and making canals and taxing our people for the water. We do not think that is , necessary. We have proved that water can be taken out and that it can be used by the poor man by a proper combination of efforts by being united. We have proved this and also that large tracts of land are not necessary for the public good. Therefore, I think I express the feeling of our people and the satisfaction of our people in Utah. But I make this statement in proof: Our conditions are different than those surrounding California, Colo- rado, Arizona, Montana, etc. I do not wish in mak- ing this remark to be understood that we oppose other measures. I only wish to say that it has been proven to us to be attended with the best results. Ladies and gentlemen of this Irrigation Congress, I thank you for the honor you have done Utah in selecting me as the temporary chairman of this con- gress. TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. THAT'S THE QUESTION ! BY J. W. GREGORY. A ND what a great, complicated, intricate one it is! J\ At a recent irrigation meeting an enthusiastic and impatient speaker protested against all talk about national and State irrigation policies, the amendment of existing laws, the necessity of agree- ment, cooperation, compromise among the various irrigation States, etc. He broadly intimated that all such discussion simply wasted time, and condensed the whole problem into this proposition: " All we want to know is how to get the water onto our land so as to irrigate ! '' Then, having thus summarily disposed of the whole matter in tones which rung of conscious triumph, he sat down and looked about over his subdued audience with a flash of victory in his eyes paralleled only in the case of Prof. Muddhedd, of Punkin Holler, when he propounded his clinching question: " If d-o-r-e doant spell ' door,' what do it spell? " There was no need to tell the old students of the irrigation question present that the speaker was still in the primer class, so to speak, and had the notation and numeration of the problem still to learn. They all knew it instantly. It was as if a middle-aged in- quirer after knowledge should protest to an assembly of astronomers against all talk about algebraic form- ulae, the measurement of angles and orbits — or even the multiplication table— and wind up by declaring that all he wished to know was how to measure the distances to the stars so he could do it himself. Recognizing the futility of attempting to impart a whole common school education to such a student at one sitting, the savants would probably listen to such a criticism in silence and momentary wonder, as did the irrigators to the speaker on the occasion re- ferred to. EACH LOCALITY MUST ANSWER. The question, as stated by the gentleman, does in- deed epitomize the irrigation problem. It is simply a question as to how we shall put water on our land to irrigate it; and if the answer involved nothing more than watering Ephraim Goggles' quarter sec- tion down on the Arkansaw, there would be no need of holding irrigation congresses and worrying over knotty inter-state and national questions. Almost all irrigation localities abound in demonstrations as to facts suited to local conditions, so that if a single lo- cality were concerned, the answer might be some- where near as simple as the question; but even the single quarter section of land in the great Arkansas valley, though furnished with its own pumping plants and reservoirs, located within its own limits, may at any time find itself embroiled in a question of prior- ity of appropriation of water, and hence vitally inter- ested in matters of State policy at least, and possibly, in some locations, in questions of national legislation and the decisions of the United States courts, i, e., matters of national policy. THE PROBABLE COST. Such are the possibilities— not necessarily proba- bilities— affecting every individual tract of irrigated land. To answer the question, how to get the water upon the land for irrigation purposes, applying it to the whole country, will fill many volumes, written by many authors and extending through many years. The attempt to begin its answer has already cost millions of money, the best efforts of eminent engin- eers, the active service and interest of hundreds of keen business men. Before it is answered fully and clearly, many millions more will have been ex- pended; great systems of surveys will have been ac- complished; great engineering problems will have been solved; State and national policies established, found wanting and amended over and over, these embracing a multiplicity of subsidiary issues like the forestry problem, the transportation problem, etc.; social, economic and even ethical questions will have sprung from it, and possibly governmental changes, and the far descendants of the present generation will have lost all trace of the man who could ask so great a question as glibly as though its answer was no more than telling the price of a load of hay. WHAT WE BUY IN OTHER COUNTRIES. BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. EXCEPT tropical fruits and plants, there is little else consumed as food in the United States that could not be easily and profitably produced in our own country. The most convincing evidence of the folly of American farmers raising wheat at fifty- four cents a bushel wherewith to buy foreign pro- ducts at comparatively high prices, is found in the following figures of imports and exports as given by the United States Treasury Department at Washing- ton for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1894: IMPORTED DUTY FREE. Cattle, horses, sheep and all other animals, includ- Value. ing fowls $ 1090,087 Chicory (easily grown in California) 108.892 Cotton 3,010,205 Currants (small raisins from Greece, easily produced in California) 774.802 Dates, easily produced in California 387,5*5 Goat skins 8.170008 Other skins 7. 60S, 280 Fixed and volatile oils 2,250.207 Rice and seeds 1,677,438 Silk, unmanufactured 16.234. 1S2 Sugar and molasses 120,619,809 Tea (experiments show that good tea can be pro- duced in the United States) 14,143,107 Fibers, all of which, or others equally good, can be produced in the United States 10,579,173 ARTICLES DUTIABLE. Cattle, horses, sheep and all others, including poultry 1,310,379 Breadstuffs, including barley, wheat, corn, oats, oat- meal, rye, etc 1,981.317 Briftles KSV.M1 jrggs l'.»'.i. :.:»; Flax and hemp 1,576,763 Figs (easily produced in any quantity in California. Florida and other States) 392,040 190 TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 191 Lemons (easily produced in any quantity in Califor- nia and Florida) 4,285,278 Oranges (easily produced in any quantity in Califor- nia and Florida) :•• 1,127,005 Prunes and plums (easily produced in any quantity in California) ... 416,342 Raisins (easily produced in any quantity in Califor- nia) 554,090 Preserved fruits 526,551 Almonds (.California could easily supply the desired amount; 769,453 Goat skins ,...-... 412,603 Hops 484,415 Can skins 884,796 Upper leather and dressed skins 1,622,330 Olive oil (can be produced 111 any quantity in Cali- fornia) : 909,897 Meat and meat extracts and dairy products 1,797,847 Rice (.can be produced in any quantity in Louisiana and the Carolinas) 2,014,896 Flaxseed 701,866 Tobacco 11,001,798 Vegetables of various kinds, as pease, beans, pota- . toes, etc.. 3,894,992 Wines 6,739,425 Wool (for the year ending June 30,1893) .... 21,06t,180 This gives a total import for the year just past, of products which can be and should be fully grown in the United States, to the enormous value of $257,- 782,000, or over ninety-one million dollars more than was realized for the entire exports of grain and flour. And a further scrutiny of figures furnished by the Treasury Department shows the value of imports named above to lack only fifteen million dollars of being equal to the entire exports of all grain and flour ; all cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, mules, and other animals; all hay, hides, honey and hops; all manu- factures of iron and steel in all forms ; all agricultural implements; and all lumber and manufactures of wood ot all kinds and descriptions. While these figures do not constitute a poem by any means, they do constitute a sermon of very grave importance to every American soil-tiller, and prove beyond the shadow of a doubt what THE IRRI- GATION AGE has long endeavored to impress upon all farmers and horticulturists, that American farm products need to be diversified, and that American soil tillers do not give sufficient attention to acquir- ing full and accurate information relative to the very things of which the Treasury figures given here- in speak so eloquently and so conclusively. We plead for a broader study of economic principles as affecting agriculture by those most vitally interested in these problems— that is, by farmers and horti- culturists themselves. Provincialism is the bane of agriculture almost everywhere. In the early spring reports were published that the farmers of a certain county in Kansas decided to plow under a portion of their wheat crops in order to increase the price of the remainder. It is entirely safe to say not one of these farmers was a reader of THE IRRIGATION AGE, or they would have known that plowing under any or all the wheat in any county in Kansas, or in all the counties, would not appreciably increase the price of that grain in any great market in the world. It will be seen that it required more than three- fourths of our wheat and flour exports to pay for the sugar we bought from Cuba, Germany and other countries last year. Every pound of sugar consumed in the United States, and millions of tons more, could be produced in this country and give better returns to the farmer than many of the staple crops to which he is so firmly wedded. These treasury statistics cry aloud for a more diversified agriculture, and add their persuasive eloquence to the arguments of the AGE, that the American farmer ought to produce nearly everything consumed by American citizens. Bean Culture in California.— Ventura county, California, has the reputation of producing more beans than any other county in the United States. Not that the conditions for bean culture are neces- sarily the best in that county, but the farmers have the " bean habit," so to speak, and beans are planted there as banking houses are established in Wall street. Beans, then, may be said to be the Ventura county specialty, just as prunes are the staple pro- duct of Santa Clara county in that State. But the farmers of the United States have not yet succeeded in raising enough beans for the use of the people, hence a number of localities best adapted might well consider the advisability of increasing their bean acreages. Last year over a million bushels of beans and pease^were imported at a cost of nearly a dollar per bushel. It is much the same in other years, and may possibly continue, in spite of the fact that beans are worth nearly twice as much as wheat and will yield many more bushels per acre. The cost of pro- duction and preparation for market is, however, in excess of that for a wheat crop of equal area. A bean-grower of fifteen years' experience in Ven- tura county has found the average yield of his land to have been 1,500 pounds of marketable beans per acre annually, and the selling price has averaged 2% cents per pound, or $37.50 per acre. It has been previously shown in THE AGE that the average annual value of a wheat crop is much less than the above ; in fact, not much more than one- third during the past fifteen years, and during the past two years not much more than one-sixth. The grower referred to herein produced the lima bean, which is not adapted to all conditions, to be sure, but any variety of good bean will be found often to be far more profitable than some of the staple crops which American farmers continue to produce in enormous quantities with very little profit. In the bean-growing districts of California it is estimated that the equivalent of one man and four horses, with the needful farm implements, will suffice to handle eighty acres of beans. Of course more men will be needed at times, but, by proper management, it is claimed that the expense may be brought down to a moderate figure. In fact, the bean industry has so far developed in Ventura county, that raw land, con- sidered to be well adapted to the business, is held quite generally at $150 to $200 per acre. It is prairie, or mesa land, comparatively near the ocean, and does not require expense in clearing, except to re- move a growth of small brush, with sometimes here and there a tree. The land in this section, as stated above, is not superior in fertility or otherwise to large areas elsewhere, and the industry can easily be ex- tended, somewhat, at least, in almost any part of the country. American farmers should learn more ex- actly what crops are not fully produced and what are already over-produced, and then gauge their plant- ings accordingly. It will be a part of the business of THE IRRIGATION AGE to point these things out from time to time. Another Forage Plant.— It it be true that he deserves well of his fellow men who causes two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, surely he who causes many blades of grass to grow where none grew before must be entitled to still higher con- sideration. Attention has lately been called by the Department of Agriculture to the Hungarian brome grass; and if extended planting shall justify present 1 92 THE IRRIGATION AGE. anticipations of its value, this late addition to our forage plants is destined to be of great advantage, especially 'in the arid regions. The plant is thus de- scribed in a late publication of the department: " Hungarian brome grass (Bromus inermis) is a vig- orous, hardy perennial, with strong creeping root- stocks, smooth, upright, leafy stems one to three feet high, and a loose, open panicle or head. It is a na- tive of Europe, ranging from France eastward into Siberia, and grows along roadsides, river banks, borders of fields and woods, and upon sterile hillsides and pastures." Data collected by the department go to show that the grass is easily propagated, and that it should be especially valuable in the arid belt. It readily establishes itself even on thin, poor soils; and where given anything like a fair chance develops into a luxuriant plant yielding three tons of hay per acre at a cutting. The experiments thus far made show that the plant is adapted to a great variety of soils and climatic conditions, since it thrives well in Canada, as well as in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, California and Mississippi. While appearing to be most at home in light sandy loams, it will also flour- ish very satisfactorily in stiff clays, in each case form- ing a dense, tough sod. It is found to stand long periods of drouth better than any other variety of the cultivated grasses, and will also endure with great fortitude intense cold and extreme heat. While this grass may not be able to supplant alfalfa for the irrigable areas, yet it may, upon trial, be found to meet all the conditions of a profitable for- age plant, not only upon irrigated lands but upon those subject to drouth and which do not enjoy facili- ties for irrigation. In any event it is to be hoped that readers of THE IRRIGATION AGE will take steps to fully test the value of Hungarian brome in their sev- eral localities, for any plant that meets the condi- tions of a cheaply produced and nutritious forage is of the highest value to American agriculture. This grass should be cut when first coming into bloom, be- cause if delayed beyond this time the stems, like those of timothy, rapidly become hard and woody and nearly valueless for hay. It is expected, how- ever, that brome will be most highly valued for graz- ing purposes, and in the more southern latitudes it remains green throughout the winter. It gives prom- ise, therefore, of affording good winter pasturage throughout a large area of country, and if this antici- pation shall be fulfilled its general introduction will prove of incalculable benefit to agriculture. About thirty to fifty pounds of seed per acre are sown, and it may be sown in the fall with winter wheat, or in the early spring. Seedsmen in the larger cities can generally supply at least limited quantities of the seed, and it should not be mixed with other grasses, as its strong growth tends to choke out any other grass that maybe sown with it. It is recommended to be sown also along ditches or streams for holding the banks from wash or caving. Sing "Hey" the Feathery Plume!— Mrs. Harriet W. Strong, an enterprising lady residing in Los Angeles county, California, has become well known in the past few years through making a spe- cialty of the introduction and utilization of the pam- pas grass. It was through her efforts that pampas became a feature in the last presidential campaign, and she also originated the pampas plume palace at the World's Fair. Recently she has published arti- cles to show that this famous grass is good for very much more than mere ornament. She calls attention to the fact that, on its native plains in South America, it is the food of great herds of fine canle, and claims that it is more nutritious than alfalfa. Horses are said to be very fond of it. It is also claimed that rope may be made from the fiber of its husk, that the beautiful, feathery plumes may be made into a bank- note paper, which water will not destroy, and that the roots may be made into a flour of considerable value as food. Every visitor to Southern California has witnessed the remarkable growth this grass makes when set in bunches for ornament, and well irrigated. Mrs. Strong says that on dry uplands it grows to a height of from eighteen to twenty-eight inches; that where it is cut down by frost in the winter it springs up again in the spring, but makes a shorter growth. It has been planted in America as far north as Kentucky for ornament, and plants of it have been grown in Con- necticut; but Mrs. Strong sweepingly declares that it may be grown in every part of the United States. An advocate so enthusiastic ought to be able to de- velop the plant into a valuable addition to the list of irrigating products. Feed the Pigs. — At this writing, nearly all mar- ket reports show this condition throughout the coun- try: cheap wheat and dear pork. Shrewd farmers will take advantage of this fact and feed as many hogs as possible with the wheat which, marketed in a raw state, will scarcely bring the cost of production. In some sections of the country a sentiment prevails among farmers that it is wrong to feed swine and other stock with the same grains that nourish the children of the family. But all this is purely senti- mental, and has no proper place in the mind of any progressive agriculturist. It is merely a matter of business. All food products are composed of cer- tain chemical ingredients, and one combination of these elements is no more sacred than another. The question of expense and expediency is the only one that can possibly have a place in any business man's mind in this connection. If wheat is the cheapest food for swine, or sheep, or cattle, or turkeys, it should be utilized to the fullest extent for that purpose; and if corn is a cheaper fuel than coal, it may properly be used as such. This is a good year to test fully the advantages of feeding cheap wheat to hogs and other stock. Cheap Grain and Costly Fertilizers.— Tests made at the Ohio Experiment Station, covering a pe- riod of six years, have demonstrated that wheat and corn, at present prices, cannot be profitably grown by the aid of commercial fertilizers at the current market price for such substances. The experiments referred to appear to demonstrate that good drain- age and thorough cultivation are the necessary pre- liminaries to profitable agriculture in any of its de- partments, and that expensive fertilizers of any kind should be applied to those crops only in whose culti- vation there is some hope of a legitimate profit. The conclusions reached by the experiments with various fertilizers are thus set forth by a bulletin from the station : " At present prices of cereal crops arid of fertiliz- ing materials respectively, the profitable production of corn, wheat and oats by the aid of chemical or TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. commercial fertilizers, or of barnyard manure, if its cost be proportionate to that of the chemical constit- uents of fertility found in commercial fertilizers, is a hopeless undertaking, unless these crops be grown in a systematic rotation with clover or a similar nitrogen- storing crop. The poorer the soil in natural fer- tility the smaller the probability of profitable crop production by means of artificial fertilizers.'' enter now so largely into the manufacture of wind- mills, that a farmer may regard it almost as a perma- nent investment the money he expends for a windmill. Winter Irrigation. — The importance and value of irrigation in the fall, winter and spring are becom- ing more and more apparent to farmers, especially in the warmer portions ot the country and on the Great Plains. A farmer in southern New Mexico says: " It cannot be too earnestly impressed upon the farmers of the far West that the more irrigation ac- complished before the warm weather comes, the bet- ter will be the results of the year's cropping. In those regions where a wet winter has prevailed a suc- cessful crop will invariably follow, but as many sec- tions have but little rain or snow fall during the win- ter, it is the more important that the ground should be thoroughly saturated in the spring. It is then in condition to respond to the surface water promptly, and will absorb a very much larger proportion of the water put upon it during the warm weather. The evaporation, owing to the winds, will be less and the plant will make more root, and consequently have more vitality. Especially should the alfalfa fields have earlv and thorough watering. The rapid growth of the first crop and its consequent thrift at the time of cutting will have its influence on all the subsequent crops of the year." In many localities fall and winter irrigation of vari- ous fruits have been productive of most satisfactory results. Again, there are localities where irrigation in the late fall and winter has totally destroyed alfalfa fields. We should be glad to have the expe- riences of practical irrigators along these lines for publication in this department of THE AGE. Wind Power. — A universal source of power which is often neglected, is that of the wind. Every farmer, however small his acreage, should have one or more good windmills. Windmill power is proba- bly the cheapest and most readily avail.'ible of any within reach of the farmer, for the lighter work about a farm, to which it mav be adapted. Pumping water for stock or for irrigation by wind power has become almost a necessity in many parts of the country, and if proper appliances are added, the windmill may be most profitably used for grinding feed, for elevating hay and other produce to storage quarters in the barn, and for many other purposes. With adequate reservoirs or tankage, it is surprising how much water may be stored for irrigation by means of pumps worked by wind power. Elsewhere something has been said about the probabilities of utilizing a fraction of the present year's wheat crop as feed for stock. To get the best results from such feeding, the grain should be ground, even if but coarsely. There are few farms anywhere that can- not command sufficient wind-power to grind a con- siderable ration of grain each day, but by means of storage bins, which can be filled at favorable times. a good supply of ground feed may be kept on hand. Most of the best mills are now to be had at reason- able prices, which are much below the cost of less efficient machines a few years ago. Iron and steel To Prevent Hog Cholera.— One of the expen- sive drawbacks to the breeding of swine on a large scale in most parts of the country is hog cholera, which reduces the profits very materially at times. A great many remedies have been prescribed, but we believe none has yet proven itself infallible. A comparatively cheap and simple remedy for this terrible disease is given by an Iowa farmer, who alleges that though thoroughly tested for a number of years, it has never failed to prevent or cure the disease. REMEDY FOR HOG CHOLERA. " To six quarts of air-slacked lime add one quart each of powdered sulphur and common salt. Stir well together and place in a long trough in a dry place where the hogs can have free access to it. Keep such a mixture in the trough throughout the season and the hogs will not have cholera." In using this mixture in any large quantity it will be found much cheaper to buy the sulphur by the barrel, in which case it will come quite cheap. Whether this remedy shall prove wholly efficacious or not, the cost of experimenting with it would be light, and no harm could result from giving it a trial. It is quite probable, indeed, that hogs would be the better for such treatment, whether or not cholera be among them. The Hay Crop. — The area under hay in the United Kingdom is given at 8,600,000 acres, and the yield for this season is estimated at 13,000,000 tons, or, say, a ton and a half per acre. Last year the yield was but little over a ton per acre, and large importa- tions from this country followed the short crop in England. Prices ruled high last season, and were quoted as high as $38 per ton. Figures covering some nine years show the average crop of English hay to be nearly one and one-half tons per acre, which is a little above the reported average yield of the United States. Last year 49,613,469 acres were de- voted to hay in this country, and the yield was author- itatively placed at 65,766,158 tons, valued at $570,- 882,872. Next to corn, hay was last year the most valuable crop produced in the United States when considered as a whole, while if regarded in the light of its per acre value, it exceeds that of the corn crop by more than forty per cent. Its aggregate value was morethan two and one-half times that of the wheat crop, and its per acre value more than eighty per cent, greater than wheat. Unseasonable weather during the past summer cut down the yield of hay considerably, so that the ex- port trade in this farm product is not likely to reach the magnitude of last season. For the year ending with June last, the exports of hay from the United States reached 54,431 tons, valued at $890,503 against 33,084 tons, valued at $519,640, for the preceding year. Although these exports are regarded large, it will be seen that after all the quantity sent out of the coun- try was really insignificant compared with the entire product of hay in the United States. Sugar Beet Pulp for Stock.— The great value of sugar beet pulp as a food for stock has been quite fully tested by Mr. Richard Gird, of Chino, Cal., and he finds the results most gratifying. His experience 194 THE IRRIGATION AGE. as a beet grower has assured him of the possibility of raising as many as twenty-seven tons of beet roots on one acre of land, the beets averaging fifteen per cent, sugar. Mr. Gird, therefore, concludes that in no other way can so large an amount of good stock feed be produced on a given area of land. He finds that the beet pulp after parting with all the sugar which the best appliances in the great Chino sugar factory have as yet been able to extract, still contains nearly one per cent, of sugar, or, say, twenty pounds of sugar per ton of pulp. Even this he finds to serve well as a food for fattening stock, and cites in this connection the following experience: On December 16th last, he put twenty steers into a separate corral and fed them for forty-eight days with about seventy pounds each of beet pulp that had passed through the sugar factory ,'and about five or six pounds of hay or straw with which to form a cud. He found that at the end of the forty-eight days each had gained about 133 pounds, which Mr. Gird regards as quite satisfac- tory. But if the pulp deprived of nearly all its car- bohydrates proved so valuable, what might not be ex- pected from the beets with all their sugar contents served as a ration for cattle being fed for market ? Dairy Cows.— An experienced dairyman, writing to the Country Gentleman, gives the following ration for Jersey cows kept in the dairy: Three pounds chopped hay, three pounds wheat bran, two pounds corn meal and one pound linseed meal. This should be fed one-third in the morning and two-thirds at evening. It should be well moistened before serving. The experience of most practical dairymen who have fully tested it is, that milch cows, to give the best possible returns, should be fed each day as large a ration of suitable food as they can properly digest. In fact, this principle holds good all along the line. Teams poorly fed do indifferent service, and stock poorly nourished fails to develop into profitable animals either at the farm or in the market. Farmers in the irrigated regions, more than else- where perhaps, should use the utmost care in the selection of breeds and individuals in stocking their farms, however large or small. As a rule, pasturage, except on small areas, will not be generally resorted to on irrigated lands. Better results can be obtained by feeding under cover and away from the disturbing influence of insects and bad weather. It becomes then of the highest importance that only the best animals be kept, and they kept in the best possible condition. No scrub stock of any kind should have a place on any irrigated farm. It costs but little, if any, more to feed the best individuals of the best breeds of all kinds of stock than it does those of an inferior type, and the selling value of the former is always very much greater. Corn Stalks as Forage. — In all the corn-grow- ing States an immense waste of good forage is an- nually seen among farmers generally. Sometimes the corn is not cut at all, but is husked as it stands in the field and the stalks allowed to dry up or other- wise become of little value as stock feed. In other cases the corn is "topped" at considerable cost, leaving the butt of the stalk holding the ear of grain still standing in the field to be handled again in the husking. Among the more advanced farmers, how- ever, these old-time methods are being abandoned and modern appliances used for harvesting and util- izing the crops. Much corn is now cut by horse power, and this is found to greatly lessen the expense. By carefully observing just the right stage of matur- ity in the cutting, the value of the stalks for feeding is considerably increased; and if, instead of husking, the corn be put through a threshing machine, the same as wheat, the result is still more satisfactory. By this means the grain is shelled from the cobs, the stalks are broken into edible fragments and the whole is carried by the machine, the grain to sacks and the fodder to the stack or mow. A number of practical farmers who had tried these methods of harvesting and preserving their corn crops, recently gave testimony in a leading agricultural journal to the ef- fect that corn thus treated becomes a much more val- uable crop than if handled by the old methods. The value of corn fodder thus treated was estimated to be greater than that of timothy hay, whether for cattle or horses. When passed through the thresher, the stalks were found to be in such condition that they were eagerly eaten, and very little waste was ob- served. If, then, the mere operation of passing through a thresher at once shells the corn and puts the fodder in condition to be consumed without waste, the practice is certainly to be commended. The First Irish Potatoes.— Irish potatoes, so- called, were of American origin, as were also Indian corn and tobacco. It is a matter of historical inter- est that Sir Walter Raleigh, who had a passion for gardening and was successful in that direction, what- ever may be said of his character and ability as a colonizer in distant lands, was the first to produce an edible tuber on European soil. Some three hundred years ago Sir Walter, while living on his estate in the county of Cork, Ireland, planted some tubers brought from America in his garden at Myrtle Grove, and from this sprang the potato industry of the world. Although the doughty knight insisted that the strange tuber was good to eat, the simple country folk of the time would have none of it, and ranked it as a poisonous plant, like the tobacco which Sir Walter had also brought from strange lands beyond the sea. Gradually, however, the prejudice was overcome, the tuber was found to be well adapted to the new condi- tions, and before many years it had become the staple food of th - Irish people, which rank it holds to this day. Hence the name, Irish potato, known in all civilized countries and contributing to the food sup- ply of more than half of all mankind. Germany pro- duces more Irish potatoes than any other country, and her crop last year was reported as high as nine hundred million bushels. The crop of the United States has seldom, or never, reached above 175,000,000 bushels; but it may be said, too, that the crop in the United States has seldom, if ever, been sufficient for the home supply. Best Breeds of Swine.— Relative to the best breeds of swine, Mr. James Anderson, a prominent breeder at Guelph, Canada, speaks as follows: " We have now the large, improved Yorkshire, which delights the eyes of the pork packer, with his large, deep sides, fine rounding hams, and perfect loins. Then comes the Berkshire, easily fed, and early maturing, which, for a general-purpose pig, if you procure the right stamp, holds its own with any of them. Then we have the Essex and Suffolk, which I would call the family pigs. When lard is as greatly valued as hams and bacon, these are the two breeds that will lay it on to perfection with very little TALKS WITH PRACTICAL IRRIGATORS. 195 feed. We have also the Poland Chinas, the Chester Whites and the Duroc-Jersey, which seem to be the favorite breeds in the corn-growing districts in the western States." Nearly all the above named breeds have been found valuable on the irrigated farms of the West. They thrive well on alfalfa pastures, and stock hogs have often been kept in good, growing condition on a liberal diet of alfalfa hay. A favorite method of turning hogs into gold coin in the irrigated districts is to allow them to feed on the growing alfalfa until the early autumn, when they will generally be found in prime condition, and require only to be ". finished off" with a ration of grain for a few weeks to make very desirable pork. In California, Arizona and other sections where corn is not a staple crop, barley or wheat is fed with profitable results. It is generally found to be more profitable to feed ground grain of any variety than to require the animal itself to do the grinding. As a matter of fact, a considerable amount of pork is every year placed upon the market which has been fattened on alfalfa pastures alone and with- out the aid of grain of any kind. Pasture Grasses.— Bulletin No. 33 has just been issued by the Experiment Station at Logan. It treats of the "grazing values of varieties of grass," and " drilling versus broadcasting grass seed." The grazing experiment has been carried on for two years on upper bench gravelly soil. In 1893 a steer was kept on each of the half acre lots used during the whole summer; while in 1894 two steers were put on each half acre in the latter part of May, and the lots quickly eaten off. This gives a test of the lasting qualities of 'the different grasses, as well as a test of their early growth. Two points are brought out prominently of practical importance. The first is that lucerne comes seventh out of a list of nine for an all summer pasture, and only gets to second place as an early pasture. This strongly indicates that there are several grasses better for pasture than lucerne. The other point is that a " mixture '' of grasses gave nearly double the gain of any of the common grasses alone. The bulletin is summarized as follows: "A mixture of pasture grasses proved very much superior for grazing steers to each one of the grasses sown singly. " Of the single varieties, tall oat grass leads, with timothy second, and lucerne third. " The results indicate that the difference in the past- urage value of the several grasses is very marked." The drilling of timothy seed, as against broadcast- ing, gave an increase in yield of hay of about eight per cent. There was found to be less moisture in the drilled area than in the broadcasted area, though this fact may not be unfavorable. Temperature slightly favored the drilled area. The Small Irrigated Farm.— Upon the sub- ject *of the small irrigated tract, an experienced ob- server remarks that a farmer with five acres of land, and no more, if that five acres is irrigated, can keep two horses, two cows, a good poultry yard and half a dozen hogs, He can also market a large amount of vegetables, small fruits and winter fruits, can make a comfortable living, and in ten years have a good home and a bank account. If he has one hundred and sixty acres of land, five acres of which -is irri- gated, he can become rich. More men will succeed with five acres than with one hundred and sixty. This is because it pays to do well what is worth do- ing at all, and one man cannot care for one hundred and sixty acres as it should be. Most men will do better where they look after their own farms and do their own work than where they entrust it to others. Nine-tenths of the failures in every department of hu- man effort and industry come from inability to suc- cessfully operate hired labor. Wheat for Hay. — These days of low prices for wheat, it will be interesting to many of our eastern readers to know that in pcrtions of California wheat is sown thickly and cut green for hay. A resi- dent of Kern county, recently describing farming op- erations there, where the wheat fields are irrigated from artesian wells, mentioned one tract of 340 acres which was sown thickly with wheat which was cut for hay yielding from one to four tons of feed per acre. When carefully put in and well irrigated, a yield of four tons per acre is counted on with certainty. One advantage of growing such a crop is the fact that af- ter the wheat hay is off the ground the same field may be immediately seeded to sorghum, or some similar forage crop, and a second fine crop of feed secured the same season. Flies in the Stables. — In almost all parts of the country the fly pest in summer is to be dreaded. Of late years, however, wire or cloth screens placed at the doors and windows of dwellings have tended greatly to relieve families from the annoyances and discomforts caused by flies. In this age of the world it should be regarded as an evidence of want of thrift, or even of culture, to allow dwellings to be overrun by filthy insects, at once annoying and dis- gusting to a person of refinement. A little effort properly put forth in attaching screen doors and win- dows will not only add very greatly to the comfort and health of a family, but will be amply rewarded in the aesthetic results sure to come to the children of the family in the course of years. Rooms swarming with flies suggest untidy lives and slip-shod methods, and are certainly discreditable to any American family. But flies should be kept out of the stables where the work horses and milch cows are housed, also. It is a needless suffering to which these faithful animals are almost universally subjected, and a proper show of a humane spirit could be made in suppressing flies in the stable. It can be done, and has been in a good many cases by those who have not only a humane disposition toward noble animals, but also an appre- ciation of the commercial value of the undertaking. Wire screens should be placed at the doors and win- dows of the stables, and every precaution taken to re- lieve the animals in the stalls of the terrible discom- forts caused by swarms of flies. It is well known that cows give less milk in the fly season, and that work horses almost always lose flesh and do less sat- isfactory service. It becomes, therefore, a question of importance from a financial standpoint, to say nothing of the dictates of a higher civilization, to pro- vide the quarters occupied by cows and work horses especially, against invasion by swarms of insects. Every appliance, therefore, within reason should be employed to bar them out; and in addition to the screens mentioned fly papers found effective in the household should also be used liberally about the stables. Such precautions as may be taken to pre- THE IRRIGATION AGE. vent the manure heaps from being the fertile breed- ing grounds of unnumbered hordes of insects should be observed. One progressive farmer in Kansas even goes so far as to cover his manure heaps by means of fine netting to prevent the entrance of flies to deposit their eggs. He finds this an effective pre- ventive, when added to the other precautions he takes with his stables and other outhouses. As a matter of fact, it is not difficult to prove that protection against the fly nuisance, both in house and stable, is not by any means an impossible task, and that it pays large dividends in cash, as well as com- fort, upon all time, labor or money spent in erecting effective barriers against this great, but controllable, evil. It is hoped that the intelligent and progressive rural clientele of THE IRRIGATION AGE will set a humane and otherwise praiseworthy example by ex- cluding flies from both dwellings and stables, for it can be done if properly undertaken. Experiment Stations. — One of the instances in which " book farming " has proven of immense bene- fit to farmers, and indeed to the whole country, is that wherein Professor Snow, of the Kansas State University, innoculated chinch bugs with a deadly disease and then turned them loose among their fel- lows. The result was to spread the disease, and thus destroy chinch bugs by the million. In one year it is estimated that the farmers of Kansas gained over §200,000 on their wheat crop alone by reason of this wholesale destruction of the devastating chinch bug. In nearly every state there are certain political demagogues who decry the value of the Agricultural Experiment Stations, and in some cases these men have succeeded in making farmers believe that they are not "practical," and should not be sup- ported by a taxation of the. people. Of course such men do not make effective protest against any sort of reckless appropriations for unnecessary purposes where they may profit by them, but try to make cheap capital among those farmers who oppose "new fangled notions" in agriculture. Farmers should strengthen the hands of the Experiment Stations by every possible means. They are doing a better work for the country than all the glib tribe of demagogues ever can do, and they are doing it at comparatively small expense. Every Congressman from a farming district should be compelled to pledge himself to up- hold the proper work of the Stations, and to favor reasonable appropriations to that end, or suffer defeat at the hands of the farmers. Feed Wheat to Swine and Poultry.— Low priced wheat is an inevitable necessity again this year. There is little hope of paying prices for that crop in its raw state in any market in the world. It is well known that THE IRRIGATION AGE has taken the ground that, so long as American farmers persist in producing two hundred million bushels of wheat to be sold annually in the British markets in compe- tition with that grown by the cheap labor of India, Russia, Egypt and Argentina, they must expect low prices. At this writing the day of good prices for wheat appears very distant. Immense areas of new land are being planted with wheat each year, and the available areas for that staple which have not yet been touched are very great. It would seem, therefore, that if our farmers still continue to pro- duce a large surplus of wheat, they must devise better means of realizing a living price for it than merely sending it to market as raw material. In some of the Northwestern States where wheat has been very plentiful and money scarce of late years, many progressive farmers have made money by feeding wheat to stock. It is found to be excellent food for work horses, and swine may be readily and cheaply fattened with it at present prices in many districts. It would, therefore, seem to be good busi- ness policy for those farmers, either in the arid belt or elsewhere, who find themselves " long " on wheat, to use a market term, to utilize it by feeding stock. It is a reasonable suggestion that at the present prices of pork and poultry, for example, wheat can be made to bring eighty cents to a dollar per bushel, and perhaps more if marketed as a manufactured product rather than as raw material. If properly distributed, there certainly could be found a market for several times the number of turkeys, capons and other first-class poultry that are now annually sold. Ground properly, wheat may also be largely used as food for dairy cows. The testimony of a number of reliable dairymen is to the effect that when properly fed to the right kind of dairy cows, wheat will almost certainly yield a return equivalent to a dollar per bushel. Along these lines there is an outlet with some hope of fair profit for a part of the immense surplus of wheat which has already filled the mar- kets of the world, and awaits tardy final purchasers at prices below any reasonable profit in production. Mushroom Bed. — Mushrooms are everywhere considered to be a delicious and wholesome article of food, but it is generally believed that they are pro- vided only at great trouble and expense. In France and other places they are extensively grown in natu- ral or artificial caves, and it is generally thought that much of the ordinary daylight must be excluded for best results. In some places in the United States, however, they thrive remarkably well among timber, especially where the ground is suitable and the shade not too dense. But most farmers can readilv produce this toothsome fungus by a little care and attention and will be amply rewarded by a very valuable addi- tion to their list of table delicacies. Sugar Beets in Washington.— The people of eastern Washington count upon being able to suc- cessfully produce sugar beets in that region. Prof. Elton Fulmer, of the State Agricultural College, has been making tests from which he appears to con- clude that the crop may be grown in that State for sugar-making— the sugar trust permitting, of course. Poultry Manure, — An irrigation farmer in south- ern Colorado lays great stress upon the value of manure from the poultry house, especially in the pro- duction of cabbage, which he claims is greatly stim- ulated by the direct application of such manure in quantities which would injure most other crops. The eastern farmer who fences against nothing smaller than a "shoat," and the western farmer who fences against nothing at all, will alike be interested in the fact that, in portions of California great fields of irrigated grain, containing hundreds of acres in some instances, are fenced against rabbits. An insect pest, an aphis, allied to the fruit louse, did some damage to wheat fields in eastern Washing- ton this year, but its ravages seemed to be checked by the advent of hot weather. HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. IN THE PRUNE BELT. BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. PRUNE culture in the United States dates from 1856, when M. Pierre Pellier, a nurseryman of San Jose, California, returned from a visit to his old home in France, bringing some prune cuttings from Ville Neuve d'Agen. From that beginning the prune industry of California, and indirectly throughout the Pacific States, took its rise. The prune generally grown is the same variety introduced by M. Pellier, though other kinds have been planted on a consider- able scale in various parts of the prune growing region. From California the industry spread to Oregon, Washington, Idaho and some other States and Territories, though beyond the three States named the acreage is comparatively small. ACREAGE. At this time California has over 50,000 acres devoted to prunes, and the planting of new orchards goes merrily on. The Santa Clara valley, wherein the first prune trees were planted, as above noted, is by far the largest producer of prunes in the United States. Nearly forty million pounds of the Cured fruit were shipped from that region last year, and the crop this season is estimated at thirty million pounds. Other districts in the State will bring the entire output up to forty or fifty million pounds, probably. Oregon claims a prune acreage of about '25,000 acres, but as the orchards are generally young the product this season is estimated at only 3,500,000 pounds. Washington is reported to have about 10,000 acres devoted to prunes, and Idaho 5,000 acres. The yield of the Washington orchards for the present sea- son will probably reach 1,500,000 pounds of cured fruit. CURING. Most prunes grown in California are cured in the sun. while those grown in the States farther north are large- ly cured in evaporators. Each method has its advan- tages and each has its strong advocates. The prune is produced and prepared for market at less expense than most other deciduous fruits, and hence is a popular fruit to plant wherever suitable conditions of soil and climate are found. In view of these facts it is not unlikely that the prune will be over-planted soon, and that the profits of prune culture will decline in a proportionate degree. While the area suitable for the growth of prunes is very large, there is not an unlimited market for the product; hence with the continual expansion of the prune growing area the time will soon come when production will greatly outrun consumption, at least at prices which will prove remunerative to the grower. In order to fortify this statement by an array of facts and figures, it may be mentioned that the following tables show the production in California (thus far the production of prunes elsewhere in the United States has been inconsiderable) for a series of years; also the quantities imported during the same period. YIELD OF CALIFORNIA PRUNES. Year. Pounds. 1886 2,000,000 1887 1,825,000 1888 2,100,000 1889 15,200,000 1890 12,000,000 1891 27,500,000 1892 30,000,000 1893 51 ,716,000 1894 (estimated) 45,000,000 IMPORTS OF FOREIGN PRUNES. Year. Pounds. Value. 1885 57,631,^20 $2,147,505 1886 64,995,545 2,026,595 1887 92,032,625 2,999,648 1888 70,626,027 2,197,150 1889 46,154,825 1,423,304 1890 58,093,410 1,789,176 1891 9,336,859 470,360 1892 23,177,617 951,444 1893 16,428,388 756,247 It will be seen from the above figures that the average home production for eight years (1886 to 1893) was 17,792,000 pounds of prunes, and the aver- age annual importations amounted to 48,719,679 pounds. The sum of these two quantities gives us a nearly accurate guide to the total annual consump- tion of cured prunes in the United States, which amounts to about seventy million pounds. No doubt the consumption is increasing, and doubtless, too, more rapidly than the population. Making allowances, however, for a large increase in both these directions in the coming years, it is unreasonable to expect a total annual absorption of more than one hundred million to one hundred and twenty million pounds of prunes during the next five or six years, at least. As a matter of fact, however, not one half of the acreage, even in California, has reached the full bearing stage, and a much smaller proportion of the total area planted in the other States named; hence it seems a reasonable deduction that within five or six years we shall be called upon to market a crop of probably two hundred million pounds of prunes. In view also of the fact that France, Servia and Bosnia already produce more prunes than can be marketed profitably outside of the United States, it would appear to follow that our main reliance for a market must be in our own country. But can and will the people of the United States consume three times as many prunes as now and at such prices as will leave a living margin to producers? These are the questions before prune planters, and per- haps one man's guess in this connection may be as accurate as another's In any event, the past and present facts of the prune industry are here pre- sented, and if carefully studied will prove a valu- able guide to planters and others interested in prune culture or prune consumption. '97 198 '1HE IRRIGATION AGE. STRAWBERRIES BY IRRIGATION. MR. B. F. SMITH, of Lawrence, Kas., is a most intelligent and enterprising horticulturist. Al- though located in the eastern part of the State, which receives what is considered abundant rainfall for all agricultural purposes, according to old stand- MONTROSE COUNTY, COLO., FRUITS. ards, he has had this season a practical self-taught les- son as the value of irrigation, even in a humid region. In a recent number of Smith's Fruit Farmer, he gives an account of the lesson referred to. If similar experiences, the past season, of farmers and horti- culturists the county over, could be collected and published, they would constitute a valuable addition to the practical experience and suggestions helpful to irrigators in general. THE AGE would gladly re- ceive accounts of such experiments from all sources for publication. Mr. Smith tells his experience as follows: THE TEMPTATION. " From the first laying of the city water pipes along the street near one of my berry patches, I have de- sired an excuse to experiment with water applied to strawberries during the ripening season. The drouth in April and May presented the opportunity to try a little irrigation scheme, different from any I have ever heard of in the west. " It was about the 10th of May that I observed that my strawberry plants were starving for water. I then sought for information about the cost of pipes, hose, etc., from a reliable pump and water fixture man of Lawrence. He figured quite a large bill for pipe to be laid two and one-half feet below the sur- face of the soil. I hesitated at the expense of ditch- ing for pipe and suggested laying it on top of the ground, as I had no use for the water in the fall or winter season. I found the pipe could be thus laid at considerably less expense, and that I could remove piping after the summer season was gone. LAYING PIPE. " So I laid the piping on top of the ground along the roadways through a two-and-a-fourth acre berry patch. Three hundred of the five hundred feet of pipe used is common inch iron, and two hundred feet, half inch galvanized iron pipe. At intervals of about one hundred feet are water cocks or faucets for at- taching a three-fourths-inch rubber hose. This hose being one hundred feet long enabled me to reach the entire berry patch. Beginning at the first faucet, I watered all within reach of it, then moved the hose to the second faucet, and so on till the whole patch was watered. LEARNS A LESSON. "At the commencement of the experiment I used a nozzle in the manner that we water our lawns; but soon discovered that the better way was to dispense with the nozzle and let the water run out of the rows of berries from the end of the hose. The water was thus applied at the rate of about a gallon to every twenty inches in length of the row. This amount of water thoroughly soaked the rows, but not the entire space between the rows, which is not necessary to the well ripening of the berries, as the water supply is wanted among the roots. Then to have watered the two feet space between the rows would have taken double the amount of water, with no addition of fruit. "The irrigating was all done at night. The time taken to go over the patch was twenty-eight hours and the cost to apply the water ten cents per hour. I used 16,000 gallons of water the first application and 10,000 gallons the second application. There was an interval of a week between the waterings. The water company charged fifteen cents per 1,000 gallons. THE RECKONING. " The piping and hose cost me $60; water, $5.25; ap- plication to the plants, $5.60; total, $70.85. I got the water plant ready to work May 19. Up to that time I had picked the patch over three times, and in my estimate of the crop by those pickings, I would have gotten about seventy-five crates off the patch, but with the use of water I gathered 225 twenty-four quart crates of berries. In fact, 150 crates might be placed to the credit of my irrigation experiment. One hundred and fifty crates at $2.10 per crate, the average of the crop, figured up $365. Subtracting the water expense, $70.85, we have left to the credit of Kaw river water, $294.15. Had there been no kill- HOME OF A FRUIT GROWER. ing frost in May, and had I applied the water ten days sooner than I did, I honestly believe this berry patch under irrigation would have yielded 400 crates of berries. " Now these irrigating fixtures will be housed in the barn the coming winter, and replaced early next sea- HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 199 son, and in the event of a dry season during spring time they will be ready for use. " From what I have learned in this little experiment, I will introduce water appliances to my Highland berry farm in the near future either by pipes from the city water plant or by well and wind mills. I firmly believe that our berry crop can be quadrupled by the use of water on berry plants at all dry times during the season of plant growth." PROFITABLE SAFEGUARDS. The evaporating establishment and the canning works are to a fruit-growing community a sort of a safety-valve, cold-storage, or insurance arrangement. It may often happen that a crop of perishable fruit will be wholly lost, or nearly so, because of some- thing which hinders marketing at the instant the fruit is ripe. Berry growers in parts of California this sea- son lost their whole crop by reason of the great strike stopping all trains so long that their fruit rotted in the crates awaiting shipment. Sometimes a glutted market is almost equally disastrous. Large growers, or communities of those operating in a small way, would doubtless be well repaid in the long run by be- ing prepared either to evaporate or can, or both, a heavy crop of good fruit when, for any reason, re- munerative prices for the fresh product in open market suddenly fail. Remedy for Pear Blight. — The greatest draw- back to profitable pear culture in almost all parts of the country is blight. Trees are affected by blight in nearly every part of the United States, and the disease does not respond readily to most of the treat- ments adopted. Like peach yellows, pear blight, if not incurable, is at least generally regarded as ex- ceedingly difficult to cure. The result is, that or- chards are allowed to go on from year to year produc- ing but little fruit, and that of very inferior quality, thus to a great extent bringing pear culture into dis- repute in many sections. To be sure, a great num- ber of so-called remedies have been applied from time to time, and some of them have undoubtedly, proven in a measure effective, but a sovereign remedy for pear blight is among the things still to be desired. In a discussion before the Missouri State Horticul- tural Society some months ago, Dr. J. Henesley gave a prescription for pear blight which he had tested quite fully with the greatest satisfaction. THE REMEDY. The remedy prescribed by Ur. Henesley was sim- ply calomel, a substance widely prescribed by the profession for various ills of humanity, and com- posed of two equivalents of mercury and one of chlorine. It is a drug familiar to all and to be found in every drug store. The dose, which should be about ten grains, is administered by cutting across the trunk through trie bark, then lifting the edges and inserting the calomel. The wound should be bound up by a piece of cloth of some kind to aid it in heal- ing. Trees should be treated during the growing season, when it is found that the medicine is readily taken up in the circulation and its good effects soon made manifest. This treatment is here recommended, not with the positive assurance of its efficacy in curing the dread disease known as pear blight, but in the hope that it may prove of value. The mode of treatment is sim- plicity itself, and the cost is merely nominal; hence any who wish to experiment may do so without loss or heavy expense, and in the light of the experience of Dr. Henesley and of others cited by him, with rea- sonable hopes of success. It is hoped that many read- ers of THE AGE may make experiments with the calomel treatment and report results to this depart- ment. Raise Fruit. — " In this era of low prices," says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, " one article of general production on the farm stands forth a decided excep- tion. The average wholesale price of apples in New York for the past season was $4.50 a barrel. Thus, a barrel of good apples was worth the same as 1% bushels of wheat. If it be remarked that the apple crop of last year was unusually short, the fact may be cited that apples in the season of 1892- 93 brought $2.50 a barrel at wholesale in New York, and this price is the equivalent of more than four bushels of wheat. The farmer who is not looking after his apple orchard in these times, enriching and extending it, is missing what seems to be his best opportunity. No glut of fine apples need be feared. Large quantities of American apples are demanded in London, the price for No. 1 ranging from $5 to $8 a barrel. The fast ocean steamers make special provisions for the fruit, and a shipment of 8,000 barrels on one steamer is on record. While the English prize most our Newton Pippins, North- ern Spys, Baldwins and Russets, they have learned the value of all good varieties, and shipments now begin as early as August. A well-flavored red- skinned apple is the favorite with the English masses. The sight of a neglected orchard on a farm is woful evidence of a business misunderstood." It will be a long time before the production of good apples is overdone, if it ever is. And the same is true of the other leading and staple fruits. The demaad for these products is increasing faster than the supply. It will be impossible, for many years at least, to have too many pears, plums, cher- ries or peaches of good varieties. Even at prices quite a little below the average of late years, fruits will pay; and should prices lower but a little, con- sumption will increase so rapidly as to check the downward tendency. More and more attention to fruit growing will pay. Pineapple Culture in Florida.— A compara- tively limited area in the United States is adapted to the successful culture of the pineapple, and practi- cally all of this area tested lies in the State of Florida. Experiments in raising pines on a small scale have been tried in various parts of California, but thus far the business has not proven a commercial success. The pine requires a climate free from severe frosts and cold winds, and the Indian river region in Florida has been found to comprise more desirable conditions than any other fully tried with this crop. For the season to July, the district referred to had shipped to market about 33,000 crates of pines, and a considerable fraction of the crop then re- mained unharvested. While pineapple culture is quite expensive, especially the establishment of the orchard from the plants or suckers, it has paid re- markably well in many cases in Florida. An average of $200 per acre, in some instances reaching as much ), has been claimed for the fruit in the Indian river region and about Lake Worth. Most of the Florida pines, amounting to some 50,000 crates for the entire crop, are sent to the markets of the At- 200 THE IRRIGATION AGE. lantic seaboard, although a portion of them is sent to the markets of the middle west. Recently a consid- erable consignment of this fruit was sent to the Eng- lish market and sold by auction in Liverpool, at an average of 14 cents per pine. This particular ship- ment consisted almost wholly of small sized fruit, and the prices obtained were regarded as quite satisfac- tory, the freight charge being but about 1 cent each. Growers along the Indian river have suffered some loss the present year from excessive drouth, which has generally reduced the size of the fruit, though it is alleged that the fruit has reached market in better condition than usual. Evidently the Florida pine growers should provide themselves with irrigating facilities, and thus become masters of the situation so far as needed moisture is concerned. '1 here is an abundance of water near the surface in all that re- gion, and to bring it to the surface and apply it to the pineapple plantations is but the work of a short time and the expenditure of a small sum. Honesty in Fruit Packing. — It has been alleged that a good fruit grader, which can be pur- chased at a comparatively small cost, is a better pro- moter of honesty in fruit packing than a copy of the new testafrient. Be that as it may, a proper grading of fruit before packing for market is not only condu- cive to honesty, but helps the sale in almost every case. It must be confessed that buyers are nearly always suspicious that the fine looking fruit in plain view on the top of the package is not fairly represen- tative of the entire contents. But it may be asked, what has aroused this suspicion and almost universal distrust of fruit packages exposed for sale in every market? Only one answer is possible. It is the too prevalent custom of putting fruits of various sizes and conditions in the packages and then facing them with choice specimens of uniform size and quality. This is certainly deception if not strictly dishonesty. The seller does not necessarily proclaim the uni- formity of the package from top to bottom, to be sure, but the outside layer invites purchases which a fair representation of the contents could not attract. It is customary for farmers and fruit growers quite generally to condemn the habits of dealers, and cer- tainly their condemnation is very often warranted. But the fruit grower or farmer who puts the best goods on the top of the package is equally open to criticism. As an aid, therefore, to honesty as well as to the best returns for farm products, they should be carefullv graded before offering in the market. Every fruit grower should have a proper grader through which his fruit should be put before packing. While such grading must relate mainly to size, yet, when properly sized, hand-grading for quality may be done far more easily and cheaply. Thus every grower should sell his products in strict accordance with honest business methods; not only for the sake of the honesty of it, but also for the profit which is sure to follow. A grower adopting such practice and not pretending that his produce is all first grade, but selling it by its honest grade according to merit, will not only gain but deserve the confidence of the con- suming public and will inevitably profit thereby. We are prone to denounce the "wheat gamblers" on the produce exchanges, and they sometimes deserve stric- tures, but the man who should sell goods habitually which are not " up to sample" in quality would not be allowed to do Business in any exchange in this country. And this is right. The man who puts the best berries or other fruits on top and demands a top price on that account should be passed by. Prices should be regulated by size and quality alone, and it should be made a criminal offense to offer fruit for sale whose visible parts grossly misrepresent the contents of the packages. Trees on the Plains. — The treeless condition of the Great Plains country, between the Rocky Mountains and Missouri river, has been whimsically explained by some as due to the fine and peculiar texture of the soil, which is alleged to be unfavorable to tree growth. The fact that the islands in the Ar- kansas and other rivers of the region were found by the earliest settlers covered by a dense growth of trees, and that nooks along the banks which were protected from sweeping fires by high banks or "breaks" also held many fine trees, shows conclu- sively that the river bottoms at least would grow timber if protected from the ravages of fire. On the uplands, except in a few spots where water is held near the surface, trees cannot grow to any con- siderable size without irrigation, because there is not sufficient moisture to a large arboraceous growth ; but where water is abundantly .supplied, experience has shown that trees do remarkably well. The texture of the soil offers no impediment. Growing Apricots is occupying a good deal of attention in the Pacific section. A. M. Cambridge, of Kern county, sold on the tree his this season's crop of apricots, from three-year-old trees, at prices which netted him about $150.00 per acre. It is not claimed that very large orchards will do so well on the aver- age, but that apricot culture will well repay care, attention and cultivation. Profit from Peaches.— The Visalia Fruit and Land Company, of Fresno county, California, sold on the trees this season, peaches which brought them $13,000. This was the crop from 4,800 three-year-old trees and 3,800 two-year-olds. The land upon which these peaches were grown was bought three years ago last spring at $100 per acre. Celery. — Experiments have demonstrated that celery is a crop which can be most successfully grown by irrigation. Not only is a fine growth and excellent quality of celery produced by plentiful and judicious irrigation, but the crop is almost wholly free from blight. The plants should be set so that the soil about them may be kept at all times thoroughly moist. Felling Trees by Electricity. — Trees are felled by electricity in the great forests of Galicia. For cutting comparatively soft woods the tool is in the form of an auger, which is mounted on a carriage and is moved to and fro and revolved at the same time by a small electric motor. As the cut deepens, wedges are inserted to prevent the rift from closing, and when the tree is nearly cut through, an ax or handsaw is used to finish the work. In this way trees are felled very rapidly, and with but little labor. California fruit growers shipped strawberries the past season north into Washington and Victoria and to the Eastern States, and it is proposed to eularge upon this branch of industry hereafter. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. PROMINENT DELEGATES AT THE NATIONAL IRRIGATION CONGRESS. THE recent Convention at Denver surpassed all its predecessors in its representative character.the delegates being actual residents of the regions they represented, and a number of them were men especially fitted, by study and experience, to deal with the work of the Congress. Seventeen States and Territories in Western America, and a number of Eastern and Southern States, were represented at Denver; also Mexico and Canada. It is very signi- ficant, as showing the advancement of the irrigation idea, that the old-style farming States of the East should send their representatives to this Convention, and implies startling possibilities in the future of the agricultural population in those States. Each succeeding Congress shows a rapidly increas- ing interest in the subject of irrigation, and brings forward in greater numbers men of enterprise and intelligence, who recognize in this question of scien- tific agriculture the solution of the problem of dis- posing of the surplus labor of cities, and providing homes and support for the many millions which time will add to our population. X SENATOR CAREY, Of Wyoming, Author of the Carey Land Law. JOHN HENRY SMITH, Of Utah JUDGE JAMES B. BELFORD, Of Colorado. 202 THE IRRIGATION AGE. EDWARD M. BOGGS, Prof, of Engineering, University of Arizona. CLESSON S. KINNEY, Of Utah, Author of Law of Water Rights and Appropriations. JUDGE JOHN H. P1TZER, Of Oklahoma. DAVID BOYD, Of Greeley, Colorado. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 203 J S. EMERY, Of Kansas, National Lecturer on Irrigation. >. B. LIPPINCOTT, Engineer Antelope Valley Water Co., California. R. B. HOWELL, Of Nebraska. JAY P. GRAVES, Of Washington. 204 THE IRRIGATION AGE. FRANCE AS AN OBJECT LESSON. MOST Americans do not take kindly to citations of the exploits of the people of other countries, and are prone to believe that each and every mem- ber of this great Yankee nation is the superior of the unfortunate inhabitants of any other part of the world. Viewed from a purely patriotic standpoint, perhaps, this provincial estimate is pardonable, if not wholly just; but looked at from an economic point of view, it cannot command serious consideration. The fact is, we have much to learn from the people of other lands. Even the Chinese agriculturists can tell us how to preserve the fertility of the soil through thousands of years of constant production of good crops. Egyp- tians are still growing annual crops upon soil which was old in cultivation when'the Pyramids were begun. England produces double the amount of wheat per acre that she did three hundred years ago, and the enormous productions of France have been for five centuries the marvel of agriculture. France is smaller than Texas by the area of Oregon, and yet she produces nearly three-fourths as much wheat as the United States, twice as many prunes, fifty times as many olives, and twenty-five times as much wine. On her little area of 204,000 square miles, she feeds a population of forty millions and contributes largely to the sup- port of other peoples in all parts of the world. The secret of it all is the small, well-tilled farm, sup- plemented by industry and frugal- ity. French farmers do not burn their manure heaps or their straw, as is still done in some parts of the United States. The poultry raisers of France received more for their crop last year than Amer- ican farmers received for their entire wheat crop, if we may de- pend upon statistics published in England, placing the poultry and eggs produced in France in 1893 at $225,000,000. Very little land is allowed to remain unproductive in France. An ancient law, requir- ing holdings to be divided among the heirs of the owner, has resulted in doing there what Mr. Henry George and his school of economists expect to eventually accomplish in the United States by the single tax— that is, the subdivision of the land into small holdings, and virtually removing it from the field of speculation. Small farms, well tilled and properly fertilized, have made the French people as a mass exceedingly prosperous and financially inde- pendent. Nothing but the accumulated savings of the French farmers enabled the country to pay the enormous amount of blood money exacted by Ger- many at the end of the Franco-Prussian war. The French peasantry, having unquestioning faith in " le Grand ffomme," Lesseps, and fired by a sublime enthusiasm for the glory of France, poured forth the hundreds of millions which that great engineer squandered so recklessly on the Panama isthmus. But we have the territory and every other needed facility to rebuild a greater France as well as a Greater Britain in the arid regions of the United States. Water, small holdings, industry, economy and education only are needed to build up in time among the mountains and upon the so-called deserts of the sunset slope an empire greater in extent and higher in its civilization than even France can boast. WILLIAM REECE, Superintendent City Schools Falls City, Nebraska. CHINESE IRRIGATORS IN THE EAST. Over on Long Island, says the New York World, at a place called Steinway, you can find John China- man on his native heath. Here you may see him in queer clothes and queer houses, raising qiueer products, and with a queer- looking pagoda-like summerhouse near by, to lend a real celestial air to his surroundings. It seems like a bit of China dropped into rural New York. If you would learn how to husband the natural re- sources of the soil, go witness a Chinese farmer at work. He can give points to the most thrifty squat- ter that ever worked a Harlem field. Several for- tunes have been made at Steinway, and their owners are now enjoying them in China. John generally selects a tree near running water under which to build his house, and while the house is pretty sure to be dirty, the fields are the pink of neatness in all that pertains to good farming. In the field he wears his native hat, uses primitive tools and gener- ally does everything upside down. He never puts his phosphates in the ground; he just sprinkles them along the top of the hill. It is queer stuff, too, which looks like soot.- He plants his vegetables upon a hill, with deep gullies on either side. He builds trellises and trains his vines upon them, and then when the fruit is ripe crawls underneath on his back and snips it off with a pair of shears. But such fruit! No Jersey or Delaware horticulurist grows more toothsome products. His squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes and pump- kins have a reputation. The rural Chinaman is a thorough believer in irrigation. The whole sub-soil of his farm is a net-work of water pipes. Every plot of ground has a water- barrel placed on one side and a pipe and faucet leading thereto. To show how queerly he works — after leading the water all under his fields to his water barrel, he laboriously lifts it out by the bucket- ful and throws it over the growing plants. From daylight until dark he is at it, stopping only to eat, and after dark he still goes on, carrying his pailfuls of water over the fields. It would be per- fectly useless for an agent to try to sell him such a labor-saving device as a garden-hose. He could not understand such a modern invention. But after all he fills his niche. It is a profitable niche, of course, but he would not fill it if it wasn't. He is an autocrat in Chinatown and an example to the American market gardener. He disturbs no one and wants no one to disturb him. He toils and slaves, only in hope of the happiness and content- ment and ease he will find when he returns to his native land. PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 205 ARIZONA. It is proposed to spend $250,000 in reclaiming Paradise valley. The Gila Bend Reservoir & Irrigation Company arid the Peoria Canal Co. have been sold by the receiver for $900,000. The Phoenix city council is considering a proposi- tion to pipe irrigation water through the town instead of running it through in open ditches. The interest in the Grand canyon dam is increasing. It is expected that within five years the waters of the mighty Colorado will be irrigating farms in the Walla- pai valley. There was rejoicing at Yuma" over the passage of the bill by Congress dividing and allotting the lands of the Indian reservation. The selling of the remain- der to actual settlers will open up thousands of acres of good land in the valley. Several sites for mills and dams have been claimed on the Salt river, both above and below Tempe. These locations are for mechanical power and manu- facturing purposes. A ranch of one hundred and sixty acres is irri- gated from the Salt river by a six-inch centrifugal pump. The water supply of the Colorado River is suffi- cient to irrigate several hundred thousand acres of land. The Montrose Enterprise is trying to push the mat ter of taking the Gunnison river into the Uncompah- gre valley. If this object is accomplished nearly all the land in the valley can be irrigated. CALIFORNIA. The Board of Directors of the Modesto Irrigation District are reported to have recently let a $65,000 contract for the construction of head gates, flumes and waste gates on the Modesto canal. Successful results have followed the boring of ar- tesian wells in and about Santa Barbara, and the peo- ple seem to be awakening to the fact that there is an abundance of water within easy reach if they will only take the trouble to bore for it. An artesian well 575 feet deep has been sunk by George W. Durborow at Indio, San Diego county, for the purpose of irrigating his fruit trees. Mr. Cogswell, of Monrovia, Los Angeles county, has lately put a pump into a well 130 feet deep, driven by a twelve-horse-power gasoline engine, and secures sufficient water to irrigate 450 acres of land. The South Riverside Water Co. has an engineer making an estimate of the cost of drawing water from Elsinore lake. Kern county has an artesian well which delivers 4,000,000 gallons of water daily. Work on the Escpndido irrigation system is pro- gressing satisfactorily. The new dam is now well under way and the work will be pushed as rapidly as possible. Richard Egan and a number of surveyors recently left Los Angeles to measure the water in Santiago creek. COLORADO. The survey of the new line of the Fort Morgan canal has been completed. Observations are being taken on a quantity of seep- age water that is finding its way back from the canyon to the Platte in Wells county. IDAHO. An attempt is being made to develop artesian water in the Snake River valley. Work on the Or- chard Farm dam has been commenced. George W. Newell has three artesian wells on his farm in the Snake River valley and expects to sink enough more to irrigate his entire 640 acres. The water from the wells is hot. A survey is being made on the projected canal or the Farmers' Union ditch, which is to be taken out of the Boise river above Star. KANSAS. Garden City has been inspected during the last month by many excursion parties. The system of windmill irrigation has been the object of interest. The Galloway cattle ranch, comprising about 12,000 acres of land in Edwards county, has been sold to Cincinnati capitalists. They expect to divide it into small farms and colonize it with Ohio farmers. Each twenty acres or so will be irrigated with a pump. Haskell county held an irrigation meeting late in August, which was very largely attended. E. J. Nason makes several pertinent irrigation sug- gestions to the Washington Register, and closes them with: " It is certainly a question of vital importance, and any action upon it would be of benefit to all." Hon. C. B. Hoffman recently purchased 2<'0 acres of land lying in the Smoky Hill bottoms adjoining En- terprise, which will be placed under irrigation and divided into ten or twenty acre tracts, to be leased to men of families. Editor Cowgill.of the Kansas Farmer, proposes to try the pump plan of irrigation. An irrigation pumping plant in Geary county, cen- tral Kansas, was recently started by H. Morris and W. Harlacker on Lyons creek, four miles south of Junction City. Sixty acres will be irrigated. An enthusiastic irrigation meeting was lately held in Great Bend, Barton county. There will be a great display of products raised by irrigation at the County Fair of Finney county, which begins October 4th. A farmer near Garden City tried winter irrigation with very good results, having cut two crops of alfalfa and securing a large crop of seed from his forty-acre farm. The Lincoln Journal says : " Irrigation by means of wind has progressed much beyond the experimental stage at Garden City, Kas. The effect can be seen to be marvelous, even from the car windows as one travels across the district." Kansas is rapidly realizing the value of irrigation, and work on pumping plants and other systems of irrigating is progressing as rapidly as possible. Next year will see a very large number of farms in the cen- tral and eastern portions irrigated ; if not entirely, at least a few acres will be experimented with. William Reece, Superintendent of the Falls City Public Schools, is a native of New Baltimore, Ohio. From June, 1885, to September, 1886, he traveled over 206 THE IRRIGATION AGE. western Texas and Kansas as geologist and surveyor for Ohio and Chicago land companies. Professor Reece has given much attention to agriculture and spent part of his recent vacation in western Kansas, examining irrigating wells and ditches and in investi- gating the profits of raising alfalfa in western Kan- sas and Nebraska. lakes capable of holding enough water to irrigate 500 acres. A conservative estimate places the cash value of the crop of potatoes raised by irrigation by Henry Lehman, near Culbertson, on twenty-five acres, at NEBRASKA. Western Nebraska has been thoroughly aroused the past season to the importance and value of irri- gation. The local papers have teemed with discus- sions upon the subject, reports of ditches projected and under construction, and advice to the people who had not the means of irrigation supply to secure the same without delay. It will be well for that State if this feeling continues with unabated or increasing ardor, unchecked by the occurrence of occasional co- pious rains. Western Nebraska irrigated will be a rich, populous, prosperous region. Without irriga- tion it will continually tempt immigrants, only to dis- appoint them and waste their time and money. Lexington precinct, in Dawson county, recently voted to issue $10,000 worth of bonds to aid and en- courage a stock company to build a canal which will irrigate 30,000 acres of land in the valley. A civil engineer recently made a trip over the country and to the South Loup river, and reported fa- vorably to the irrigation committee as to the feasi- bility of irrigating the land surrounding Grand Is- land. At a late meeting of the Madison County Alliance the whole irrigation subject was fully discussed, and it was shown that that vicinity could be cheaply irri- gated and that it would pay to do so. An enthusiastic meeting was lately held at Gibbon to consider a proposition from the Kearney Canal Co. to supply the farmers in the township with water. At a recent meeting of the City Council of Shelton, Engineer O'Brien submitted a map showing how the two lower tiers of townships of Buffalo county could be irrigated from the Kearney canal. A survey is being made for the Loup City and Rockville Irrigation ditch. The Middle Loup river will be tapped below Arcadia. Governor Crounse, early in September, refused to call an extra session of the legislature to aid the drouth sufferers. The farmers and business men of Adams county are discussing the building of an irrigation ditch. Chadron hopes to be able to secure the location of a big sugar factory there. The farmers along the line of the Meeker irriga- tion ditch, near Culbertson, all report good crops. Farmers in the Lodge Pole valley are taking steps to show the feasibility of irrigating. The Grand Island Independent places the loss of their county at $500,000, owing to their not having ir- rigated this year. York county is agitating a scheme to tap the Platte river. President I. A. Fort says that Lincoln county will have hundreds of acres under irrigation next year. Perkins county has voted $90,000 in bonds for irri- gation purposes. On the highlands of Cherry county are a number of The Sherman County Irrigation Water Power and Improvement Co. has elected permanent officers for the ensuing year as follows: Directors, A. P. Culley, R. J. Nightingale, Aaron Wall, J. Phil. Jarger and Carsten Truelson, who selected the following officials : C.L.Drake, president; Charles Riedel, vice-presi- dent; W. R. Miller, secretary; and R. J. Nightingale, treasurer. The proposed canal will be sixty feet wide and about thirty-five miles long. It will draw its supply of water from Middle Loup river. The absorbing question in Nebraska is, "Are you going to irrigate? '' NEW MEXICO. The Municipal Investment Co., of Chicago, is build- ing an irrigation ditch, which commences at Santa Cruz canyon and follows the Rio Grande river to Albuquerque, a distance of about eighty miles. The estimated cost is $600,000, and it is expected to irrigate over 100,000 acres. New Mexico and Arizona are rapidly being con- verted into very profitable agricultural regions. A new railroad is being built from Eddy, in the Pecos valley, to Albuquerque. On the southeast it connects with the Texas & Pacific system. There is good clay for the manufacture of tile in the vicinity of Eddy. The building of the railroad between Eddy and Roswell, in the Pecos valley, is progressing rapidly. SOUTH DAKOTA. The artesian wells of the great Dakota basin, the greatest artesian area in the world, are building up an enduring irrigation sentiment in that portion of the country by adding many dollars to the incomes of the lucky fellows who have such a water supply to aid in crop growing. The "township law" of South Dakota, under which townships may vote bonds for sinking a township well, has not proven satisfactory. When it comes to the matter of locat- ing the well, every man in the bonded area wants the well on his land. There are, however, a large num- ber of the wells in active and beneficial use. Edgemont, South Dakota, is combining with a de- velopment of the smelting industry the advantages of grazing, dry farming and irrigation. The enterpris- ing people of that locality will find that the irrigation interest, studiously and industriously developed, will excel, in the way of cash returns, all the other re- sources combined. Charles Mix county proposes to sink eleven arte- sian wells. A number of farmers living in the Cheyenne valley in Fall River county have decided to put in an irri- gating wheel to take water from the Cheyenne river above the falls. They expect to build a ditch five miles long, which will irrigate a great number of acres. A. C. Bartholomew, of the South Dakota Agricult- ural College, recently made some interesting irriga- tion experiments in Brul6 county. He states that PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 207 waste water from an artesian well in Brule county had formed lakes ten feet deep and covered four hundred acres of land. This would be sufficient to irrigate above four thousand acres. The farmers are afraid to use the water from the well for irrigation, owing to the wording of the present artesian well law. To remedy this he suggests that the law be so amended that every farmer whose land can be reached can use the water to produce crops. A meeting of the South Dakota Irrigation Associa- tion was held at Huron recently, at which the pro- posal to borrow the school fund of the State for irri- gating purposes was considered. Lyman county expects to have some artesian wells sunk on the Sioux reservation for irrigation purposes. The Valley Land and Irrigation Co , of Huron, re- cently closed a deal for fifty quarter sections in Ed- munds county. The Legislative Committee of the State Irrigation Association recently visited the farm of'T. A. White, three miles north of Huron, where they found an ex- cellent object lesson of the benefits of irrigation on a forty-acre tract, irrigated by a three-inch well. TEXAS. There is a prospect of Concho valley being irri- gated. The contract for the irrigation of 40,000 acres of land in the San Jos6 valley was recently filed with the county clerk. According to the plans, there will be 130 miles of canals. In various portions of the State investigations are being made as to the flow of water from the artesian wells, and the possibility of largely increasing the supply and using it for irrigation purposes. W. H. Rowe has a number of teams breaking up land near Corinne and clearing it. The intention is to seed about 5, 000 acres. It is proposed to build a reservoir in the mountains and tunnel through into the Manti City creek. If the project is feasible and is carried out, it will be a very good investment. The Bear Lake and River Water Works and Irri- gation Company's properties have been sold for $500,- 000. A new company has been organized to com- plete the building of the canal. The Manti Messenger says the first duty of Utah as a State will be to reclaim some of the arid land and assist the people to build homes. WASHINGTON. Yakima valley is rapidly becoming known as one of the best agricultural regions in the country. The crops raised this year by irrigation are some of the largest known. Senator Ide is interested in a proposed canal sixty miles long, in the Yakima valley. The building of the middle Kittitas irrigation canal is progressing rapidly. This canal will be of very great importance, and will irrigate a great amount of land now scarcely touched. The Wenatchee country is attempting to reorganize the old irrigation district, and, should it succeed in doing so, a canal will be built. The Kennewick cooperative irrigation district has 13,000 acres under ditch. North Yakima has another irrigation company, which expects to irrigate about 3,000 acres, none of which will be more than four miles from the city. EAST OF THE MISSOURI. The subject of irrigation for the rich and product- ive land in the vicinity of Toledo, Ohio, is being dis- cussed very freely. The gardeners and fruit-growers are beginning to realize the immense advantages of irrigation. George Graves, a farmer near Merrimac, Wiscon- sin, has made quite a sum of money by utilizing the water from a little creek to irrigate an acre and one- half of potatoes. Three large drive wells were lately sunk on the Wisconsin shore, opposite Eagle Point, by the Du- buque Fruit & Produce Co., from which water was obtained to irrigate fifteen acres of cabbages, five acres of tomatoes and a number of other vegetables. The farmers on Muscatine Island, Iowa, have driven wells in groups and intend to use the water next year to irrigate their melon and sweet potato crops. Williams Bros., of Douglas, Michigan, were some- what delayed in getting their irrigation plant in- stalled, and did not begin pumping until about Au- gust 1, which prevented their realizing the full benefit of irrigation this season. But the results of the exper- iment were satisfactory. They use a No. 3 centrifugal pump, operated by a ten-horse power traction engine, the capacity of the pump being 650 gallons per min- ute. Next spring they intend to draw a supply from the Kalamazoo river, and will utilize the water to ir- rigate sixty acres of fruit orchard. An experiment in irrigation has been conducted by H. E. Bucklen on a twenty-acre farm near Elkhart, Indiana. The water was obtained from a well, the pump being operated by a windmill, and the results have been very satisfactory. Mr. Orrville T. Chamberlain, of Elkhart, a gentle- man owning a large quantity of land in that vicinity, intends to adopt irrigation next year. Judging from the interest now taken in the sub- ject, irrigation legislation will command a large share of attention in many State legislatures within the next twelve months, which have heretofore given but little attention to the subject. Nevada has sixty-five or seventy artesian wells. The farmers of Umatilla county, Oregon, are con- sidering the raising of sugar beets. In view of the proposed large irrigation works in the Nile valley, the execution of which threatens some of the most ancient and venerable relics of Egypt, a memorial has been forwarded to Nuba Pasha, by the Society for the Preservation of the Monuments of Ancient Egypt, to prevent, if possi- ble, any such consequences accruing. The memori- alists observe that the monuments of Egypt are in the interest of the whole world. 208 THE IRRIGATION AGE. Artesian wells are causing great changes in the ag- ricultural prospects of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Large tracts of land have become valuable since the hidden reservoirs of water were tapped. The Western Society of Engineers has undertaken to make its library the nucleus of a central technical library of reference of all divisions of engineering and allied subjects. Recognizing the importance, both present and pro- spective, of the irrigation interests of this country, it is desired to make the literature of irrigation a spec- ial feature of this library, the library to be accessible under liberal rules to persons seeking technical in- formation. To this end the society invites contributions to its library of books and other publications, maps, draw- ings, photographs, etc., pertaining to irrigation and irrigation interests in all parts of the world. It is hoped this invitation will be generously re- sponded to, and a valuable library on irrigation and kindred subjects be built up in this city. Address the Librarian, Charles J. Roney, 51 Lakeside build- ing, Chicago. RECENT LEGAL DECISIONS. Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors.— The assignment law was not intended to affect or touch the general right of a debtor to prefer creditors, but was destined for cases where the debtor professedly did not desire or intend to make preferences, but desires to convey it all to a trustee for a ratable payment to all, a simple and convenient means to effectuate such purpose is thus provided. It then provides that a debtor so professing to turn over all his property for the benefit, proportionately, of all his creditors, cannot use such assignment to accomplish an in- consistent purpose. He cannot professedly use the Taw and the assignment for one purpose, but actually use for it another; not because he has no right to prefer particular creditors, but be- cause to do so under such circumstances would be a fraud upon the law. He may make a general assignment or not, as he chooses, but if he uses the law at all he must do it in good faith, and conform to its terms and requirements. He must "use as not abusing " it. Of course it is not indispensable that in making such assignment the debtor use the very terms of the statute, but it is indispensable that his acts be such as to indicate his inten- tion to take advantage of, and put himself and his property under protection of, the statute permitting and regulating a gen- eral assignment by a debtor for the benefit of his creditors; and any judicial construction which, against the debtor's will and design, forces his property within the range of the general as- signment law, and compels its disposition thereunder, would reverse the policy of the law, and make the assignment an invol- untary instead of a voluntary one. Sandwich Manf'g Co. v. Max. (Supreme Court of South Da- kota.) 58 N. W. Rep. 14. Creation of Easement by Flo-wage of Water.— When a lot owner constructs a ditch, by which water, which before has run upon and over his land, is conducted to a pond in the rear part of the lot, in order to relieve the front part of the lot from the flow of water, he creates an easement in favor of the front part of the lot and imposes a servitude on the rear part; and on the pur- chase of the rear and front parts by different persons, with notice of such easement and servitude, the grantee of the rear part cannot obstruct the ditch so as back the water upon the front part. Sharpe v. Scheible. (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,) 29 At. Rep. 736. The Supreme Court of Oregon holds that a prior appropriator of water for irrigation purposes abandons his right to increase the appropriation by failing for thirteen years to increase the area cultivated, during which time subsequent rights have accrued. The right of appropriation depends upon the application of the water to the intended use, and not upon the capacity of the irri- gating ditch. An appropriation of tne waters of a stream to a beneficial use is an appropriation of its tributaries. Low v. Rizor. 37 Pac. Rep. 82. Liabilities of Express Companies. — The agent of an express company induced a Dank by fraud to send money to » fictitious firm in another city, and the express company received and re- ceipted for the money, and shipped it to such city where the agent embezzled it. The money sent was constructively in the hands of the express company, and could be recovered from it by the bank. Southern Express Company v. Jasper Trust Company. (Su- preme Court of Alabama.) 14 So. Rep. 546. Implied Covenants of Title.— Where one leased lands on which were springs, the water from which flowed on the land W., who had the sole title to the water by original appropriation for irriga- tion. It was held that the general covenant of title implied l)y the words "lease and demise," used in the lease, was limited by a covenant that the lessee should quietly keep the premises "without hindrance or molestation from the said lessor, or any- body claiming by, or through, or under it," and that he could not recover for the loss of the use of the water, as W. did not claim by. through, or under it. Groome v. Ogden City. (Supreme Court of Utah.) 37 Pac. Rep. 90. Trover Against Landlord by Tenant.— Where, during the term of a lease, the landlord enters and takes possession of the prem- ises, and converts to his own use removable trade fixtures erected by the tenant for his business, the tenant may bring trover against the landlord, unless he has surrendered the premises and aban- doned the term. Rosenau v. Syring. (Supreme Court of Oregon.) 35 Pac. Rep. 844. Validity of Assignment of Pledge.— An assignment of his in- terest in a mortgage and notes pledged as security for a loan by the executor of the pledgee is valid, and not a fraud upon the pledgor, though payment is not first demanded of the pledgor, nor notice given him that such assignment is to be made, as it does not affect his position or right to redeem. Drake v. Cloonan (Supreme Court of Michigan.) 57 N. W. Rep. 1098. Liability of Common Carriers. — A bona fide purchaser of a false bill of lading from the person to whom it was issued by the railroad company, may hold the company liable to the extent of advances made upon it, under the statute which provides that any carrier which issues a bill of lading as if property had been received, shall be liable to any person injured thereby. Jaspar Trust Co. v. Kansas City, M. & B. R. Co. (Supreme Court of Alabama.) 14 So. Rep. 546. Validity of Deed of Trust.— The statute providing that every assignment by a debtor in trust for his creditors, shall be for the benefit of all the creditors, and that provisions for prefeiential payments shall be void, and all debts (including judgments by confession thirty days previous to such assignment) shall be paid fro rata from the assets thereof, does not prevent an insolvent debtor from pledging property for the security of part of his creditors only. Toe fact that a chattel deed of trust, made to secure notes to part only of the grantor's creditors, empowers the trustee to take possession of the property and sell it at a private sale, and hold the proceeds until the maturity of all the notes secured, does not make it a general assignment. Jaffray v. Matthews. (Supreme Court of Missouri.) 25 S. W. Rep. 187. When a Levy is Invalid. — Where an officer, in whose hands an attachment is placed, does not seize the property sought to be attached, nor assume possession or control thereof, but merely makes a verbal agreement with the attachment debtor, that the attaching creditor shall take charge of it as receiptor, and there is no apparent change of possession, the levy is invalid as against a subsequent levy of another attachment on the same property. Mahon v. Kennedy. (Supreme Court of Wisconsin.) 57 N. W. Rep. 1108. AN IMPORTANT DECISION. The Supreme Court of California has given an important irri- gation district ruling in the case of Quint v. Graham, involving actions of directors of the Central Irrigation District in making an assessment levy during 1892. In passing on the matter the Court says: "This Board of Directors is a creature of the statute, and it can do nothing unless authorized by the statute. It exceeded its power in making this levy. The statute says it had the power and it was its duty to levy an assessment sufficient to pay the annual interest. But here it exceeded its power by levying an assessment largely in excess of that amount. By this section of the act certain burdens could only be cast upon the land of the tax-payers of the district, and they had they double right to insist upon a rigid compliant within this proviso of the statute. The Board has no right to assume that the tax upon any particular tract of land will not be paid either by the owner or by a sale of the land itself. The question of the amount to be raised is not one of discretion, but of pure legal right. It cannot be held that a judicial discretion is vested in the Board of Directors to fix the levy at any rate which it might deem sufficient to raise the amount necessary to pay the annual interest." PULSE OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 209 NEW COMPANIES. Arizona. — Phoenix. — Castle Dome Canal Co., reported as having filed articles of incorporation. California. — Los Angeles.— Lamanda Park Water Co., in- corporated by M. L. Raftery, H. F. Newell, William B. Carey, John \V. Lohr and S. P. Demett. Capital stock $75,000; $2,500 actually subscribed. Los Angeles. — Grand Junction Reservoir Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $300,000. Oakland.— The Leader Windmill Co., incorporated by W. L. B. Cushing. J. C. Bulcter, W. G H. Rulling, J. C. Baker and G. W. Bultner. Capital stock, $10,000. Pasadena. — North Pasadena Land & Water Co., reported trust deed for $50 000. Poso.— Poso Creek Water Development Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $5,000. Operating water works. Colorado.— Pueblo. — The Bessemer Irrigation Ditch Com- pany will receive bids until September20 concerning the cleaning of the Bessemer ditch, from the headgate to the west line of sec- tion 8, township 21, range 64 west, Pueblo couuty, or any part thereof. The probable amount of material required to DC re- moved from the ditch in cleaning the same being from 30,000 to 50,000 cubic yards, and bids to be for the removal of such material at a stated rate per cubic yard, the material so removed to be placed in such manner as to strengthen the banks of the ditch. The work to be commenced not later than October 5, and to be completed within twenty-five days from commencing the same. Denver.— The Pecos Valley Orchard Co., incorporated by Thomas I. Edsall, James G. Hagerman and Arthur S. Goetz, with a capital stock of $200,000. Denver.— The Battlement Mesa Ditch and Reservoir Company, incorporated by George Fogg, Thomas Miner, W. H. Stewart, Henry Pomtier and Arthur King. Capital stock, $6,000. The company will operate in Delta county. Denver. — The Colorado Land and Immigration Co., incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $100,000. Articles of incorporation of the Lincoln and Dawson County Irrigation Company, capitalized at $500,000, are ready to file, and it is the intention of the company to build an irrigation ditch through the eastern part of Lincoln county and extend it about fifteen miles into Dawson county. Florida.— Rockledge.— The Rockledge Beach Canal Co , in- corporated with a capital stock of $20,000. Idaho.— Boise City. — The Farmers' Union Ditch Co. .incorpo- rated by S. S. Foote, Phillip S Palmer, James G. Camp and W. J. Flake. Capital stock, $50,000, of which $18,450 is subscribed. Nebraska. — Lexington. — Farmers' Irrigation Co., incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $6,000, Lexington. — Farmers and Merchants Irrigation Co., incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $25,000. Lincoln. — The South Side Irrigating Canal Co., incorporated by H. M. Knoll, W. E. Young. C. C. Campbell, John D. Ander- son, E. M. Young, George Dale and J. N. France. Capital stock, $150,000. Water will be taken from the Platte river, the ditch be- ginning on the south side of the river, in section 30, township 12, range 26 west from Lincoln county, and end near the east line of Rigold precinct in Dawson county. Lincoln. — The Elkhorn Irrigation Company, of Holt county, lately filod articles of incorporation, indicating that business is to be commenced at once and with much vigor. Lincoln.— Articles of incorporation of the Burwell Irrigation Company were filed in the office of the Garfield county clerk. The new corporation is composed of twelve representative farmers. The capital stock is $50,000, and shares $100. It is proposed to dig a ditch about twenty miles long, and to aid in tins the pre- cinct in which Burwell is situated will be asked to vote bonds. Owing to the fact that the crop was a partial failure here last year, and for one or two years preceding that, many people will be entirely destitute in a very snort time, and outside aid alone can stand between them and suffering. Lillian. -The Lillian Irrigation & Power Co. is the name of a new company just organized at Lillian. The incorporators and officers are: David McGugin, president; R. H. Sargent, vice- president; W. H. Russell, secretary; J. E. Ash, treasurer; L. H. Jewett, H. P. Gates, A. Wallace, Frank Doty, James Dare, Plin Metcalf. A. J. Ricketts, A. Kellogg and G. W. Dewe tal stock is fixed at $10,000. O' ' Neill. — Elkhorn Irrigation Co., incorporated. Capital stock, $25,000 North Platte. — Farmers & Merchants Irrigation Co., incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $50,000. Wescott. — The Wescott Irrigation & Canal Co. has effected an organization. The company is composed of farmers and others owning land under the proposed ditch and for the construction of which this company is organized. Water will be taken out of the river just below the Sargent bridge and will be turned back into the river through Spring creek about four miles east of Wes- cott. The present officers are: Peter Mickel, president; DeWitt Comstock, secretary, and Elias Cleaveland, treasurer. Con- struction work will commence as soon as the permanent survey can be made and the necessary scrapers, etc., arrive. Kansas.— Wallace.— -The Wallace County Irrigation and Ag- ricultural Association, incorporated. Missouri. — Springfield. — The Southwest Missouri Immigra- tion and Improvement Co., incorporated by G. A. Ramsey, H F. Fellows, Benjamin U. Massey, L. B. Richardson, J. C. McMa- nima, J. N. Mallett and Charles A. McCann. Capital stock, $2,000. Oregon. — Cascade Locks. — The Cascade Water Co., incorpo- rated by D. L. Gates, H A. Levins, T. C. Benson, E. P. Ash and G Hickok. Capital stock, $1,500. The principal object is to construct and operate water works in that city. New Bridge, Union county. — The Dry Gulch Ditch and Irriga- tion Co., limited, incorporated by A. L. Stalker, H. J. Fuller, R. H. Boyles, C. Leep, J. W. Koger, Mary Koger, W. E. Wood, Ira Sacrider and G. N. Reed. The capital stock is fixed at $4,000, divided into 2,000 shares. The purpose is to construct a ditch to carry a portion of the water of Eagle creeks upon a portion of the arid lands of that section of the State for the purpose of irriga- tion. The ditch, when completed, is to carry 4,000 inches of water at the headgate. Pendleton, Umatilla county.— The Maxwell Irrigation Co., in- corporated by Jas. A. Creswell and William Ogg. Capital stock, $5,000. Salem.— Oregon Wholesale Co., limited, incorporated by Wil- liam Wirt, of Denver, and Archie McGill and Malcolm McDon- ald, of Salem. Capital stock, $20,000. To construct and operate canals, ditches and pipe lines for conducting water, to operate water powers and to maintain water rights and privileges. Texas. — Menardville.-^ The Clark Creek Irrigation & Manufacturing Co. of Menard county has been chartered by W. L Black, George L. and Louis H. Rang. The capital stock is $10.000 Beaumont. — An artesian well is to be sunk. Gus. Warnecke and H. B. Johnson, of Houston, Tex., are interested. Brown-wood. — Low & Low will put in an irrigation plant, and want nlachinery to irrigate 200 acres of land with nine inches of water in fifteen days time. It is desired to elevate this water twenty-five, feet and then carry it 400 yards. Plans and prices for the works are desired. Laredo. — Mr S. F. Kerr, of San Antonio, it is stated, has leased a pumping plant of the North Laredo Land & Irrigation Com- pany and will put in a pump with a capacity of 2,500 gallons per minute. San Antonio —A company has been organized with a capital stock of $150,000 for the purpose of constructing a canal from San Antonio to the Medina river. Z O. Stocker, of San Antonio, and J S. Taylor, of California, are the organizers. The canal is to be for irrigating purposes, and is expected to water about 20,000 acres ofland; route has been surveyed and map filed for record. Seguin.—Mr. T. L. Johnson has organized a stock company with a capital stock of $1,000,000 for the purpose of constructing canals for irrigating lands in southern Texas. Utah.— Ogden.— The Bear Lake Irrigation & Ogden Water Works has been incorporated. Washington.— Kent.— White River Land Co., reported in- corporated. Canada.- Calgary. — The Sheep Creek Irrigation Company, (Limited), with a capital stock of $1,000, is applying for incorpo- ration in order to sink wells, construct dams, cribs, embank- ments, etc. FRUIT EXCHANGES. California. — Los Angeles. — The Toluca Fruit Growers' Asso- ciption, incorporated by R. E. Smith, W. H. Andrews, E. B. Lindesmith, A. M. Jones, W C. Wedington, Arthur Gayford and I. W. Deupree, with a capital stock of $40,000, of which $1,380 is actually subscribed Santa Cruz.— The Santa Cruz County Fruit Growers' Union, incorporated by S. R Wallace, H. R Dakin, of Soquel, and A. G. Rose, P. T. Stribling. F. A Hihn, W. H. Galbraith and S. F. Grover, of Santa Cruz. Capital stock, $40,000. Toluca. — The Toluca Fruit Growers' Association, incorpo- rated. Capital stock, $40,000. Iowa. — Sioux City — The Iowa and Florida Fruit Co., incor- porated by W. M. Mulleneaux, T. C. Prescott, G. A. Preston. J. W. Hallam and W. S. Preston. Capital stock, $25,000. Will commence business when $1,000 has been paid in. The organiza- tion was formed for the purpose of buying and selling farm lands, particularly in the State of Florida, and of raising fruit on its own account. Washington. — North Yakima — Articles of incorporation for the Yakima Fruit Company have been filed in the auditor's office The capital stock of the company is §2;000, and the in- corporators are, A. B. Weed, George C Mitchell, W. H. Red- man, E. R. Learning, Frank Bartholet and Fred Parker. Shares are of the value of S100 each. The objects of the corporation are: " To purchase, take, own and operate all necessary apparatus for curing, drying, evaporating and preparing for market fruits, ber- ries and other agricultural products, and to sell and dispose of the same; to buy, sell and exchange fresh and dried fruits and other agricultural products, and to deal therein generally," etc. j PUBLISHER'S DEPARTMENT. 1 I CHARACTER IN COMMUNITIES. THE INFLUENCE OF THE EARLY SETTLER IN SHAPING THE INSTITUTIONS OF NEW COUNTRIES. EVERY student of colonial development has noted the deep and lasting influence wrought on the character of new countries by the early settlers. The rigid moral temper of the Puritan is still felt in the communities which have grown up around the shores of Massachusetts Bay. The lib- eral spirit of Roger Williams dominates the public sentiment of Rhode Island down to the present hour. The easy going, generous habits and methods of the cavalier yet remain prominent traits of the true Vir- ginian character. And so the parallel between the first colonist and the present population may readily be traced through each of the thirteen original States that fringe the Atlantic Ocean. MODERN CIVILIZATION. The same principle may be observed in the more recent colonization of the Arid West. The first set- tlers in the valley of the great Salt Lake formed the institutions of Utah. Greeley, Colo., still exhibits the impress of its pioneers. Places might be mentioned in California, where the climate, soil and all physical conditions were exactly equal, and yet where two com- munities differing widely in all that goes to make the character of a town have grown up side by side. The difference in results can be explained only by the difference in the kind of people who first settled in each locality. A hundred valleys of Arid America are in process of settlement to-day. Ascertain what kind or people are going into these valleys at the be- ginning of their development and you can predict with great confidence the future of their institutions. THE PRINCIPLE RECOGNIZED IN BUSINESS. The influence of early settlers in molding the character of communities, as has been said, has long been recogniz- ed by students of such matters, but it is only very recently that it has been taken into ac- count as a prin- ciple that ought to gov- ern the sale of land. This has been done by the Kern Coun- ty Land Com- pany of Califor- nia. The effort of this com- pany is not only to sell land, but to sell land to people AN IRRIGATING CANAL. who will give value to the property by the spirit and method with which they work. To this end the company has put into use a document known as an "Application for the Purchase of Land." It resembles somewhat an application for life insurance in form and appearance. In filling out this blank the applicant states for what purpose the land is desired, the present occupation of the party who will use it, the size of the family and a list of references. The applicant then describes the location of the land which he desires to purchase, and then gives in de- tail the statements and inducements which have led him to make application for the purchase. Then follows a copy of the agreement and deed under which title to the land will be conveyed, and the applicant is required to read these carefully and state that he fully understands them. FROM THE SETTLER'S STANDPOINT. Let the application blank be studied for a mo- ment from the standpoint of the settler. It is a serious business for any family to change its home by moving several hundred or one or two thousand miles to a new country. It is a matter to be debated in all its aspects at the fireside. It involves the sundering of old ties and associations, and very fre- quently the abandonment of employments in which men have earned their living. To leave an old home in one state or country and seek a new one in another, which is known to the intending settler probably only as a matter of reading or hearsay, is one of the most momentous affairs of life. And it will be either a great success or a disheartening failure, according as the step is taken wisely or fool- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ishly. Men are urged every day to put aside the old home as read- ily as they would put off an old suit of clothes; but no man who has a proper appre- ciation of what it means to a family to in- vest its all in a new country will urge that this be done without the most careful consideration. Now, the Kern County Land Company de- sires to know not only who CHARACTER IN COMMUNITIES. 211 the intending purchaser is and what people say of his character as a man and citizen, but it wants him to state in writing for what purpose he desires the land and just what arguments and induce- ments were used in arousing his desire for it. Could the settler ask or receive stronger evidence of good faith on the part of the company with which he is dealing ? If the company merely desired to sell land it would ask but one question : Can this man pay for it? But the company desires more. It insists that the purchaser shall obtain land suited to his purpose, that it shall be fully equal to the representations made to him, that it shall know in advance that the man and the land are suited to each other and that there is a good chance for the new home to be blessed with prosperity. This is the matter from a standpoint of the in- tending settler. Much more could be said under this head, but a careful study of the application blank itself will quickly disclose its advantages to the settler. FROM THE COMPANY'S STANDPOINT. The use of the application blank has cre- ated something of a sensation in certain circles. It is not exactly in line with the usual real estate methods. Land has been sold in the past quite generally by any means that would sell it. The climate, soil and productions have been made to conform beauti- fully to the hopes and wishes of the prospective customer. No one has thought of asking anybody to file a formal application for the privilege of buying a small irrigated farm, any more than they would think of asking such a thing of the purchaser of a town lot in an outlying addition. But let us consider this matter from a business standpoint, claiming nothing for the superior honesty and integrity of the method. The Kern County Land Company repre- sents an investment of considerably more than $10,000,000 in land and water. To realize a reasonable return upon this great outlay it must find settlers for about 350,000 acres, in small tracts. To develop the ut- most possibilities of the property will be a work not simply of years, but of decades, Supposing 50,000 acres were sold during the coming season by any sort of representation that would arouse a great temporary de- mand. Then suppose half of the people who purchased it should prove to be totally unfitted, by taste and experience, for the work of home-making on a California farm. Suppose the other half discovered that the soil and climate were not well adapted to the particular forms of industry in which they had desired to engage. The Kern County Land Company would have settled 50,000 acres with discontented, disappointed men and deluded people. Whatever the moral obligation might be, the business blunder would be well nigh fatal. It would be a colossal mistake in the development of a great property. The application blank was de- vised as a means of protection against that blunder —of protection equally valuable to the settler and to the company, for the property of one means the property of the other. ANTICIPATED RESULTS. The Application Blank of the Kern County Land Company represents one of the most enlightened A SETTLER S HOME. steps ever undertaken in connection with the settle- ment of western lands. It is evidence of monumental good faith. It stamps as genuine every representa- tion made under the authority of this company. The acceptance of an application for the purchase of land carries with it the company's guarantee that the representations on which the land is sold are accu- rate, and that the hopes of the purchaser can be real- ized. It carries also the company's acknowledgment oSF^nai "A FARMER'S BOY." that the intending settler is entirely satisfactory to those who are guiding the development of the com- munities in the Kern Delta. The company can never tell the settler that he misrepresented his character, condition or expectations. The settler can never 212 THE IRRIGATION AGE. A FIELD OF BEETS. tell the company that it misrepresented the soil, cli- mate and productions, the water supply or any other essential. On both sides everything is a matter of record. It is confidently anticipated that the use of the ap- plication blank will largely increase the demand for Kern county lands and immensely enhance the character of the communities to be developed. And what good man, with a family to raise, does not de- sire to have the best possible neighbors, the best pos- sible social surroundings, the best possible civic in- stitutions? WHAT ARE THE KERN DELTA COLONIES? Lack of space in this article forbids any attempt to describe at length the property of the Kern County Land Company. This is a matter to be studied in the beautiful literature with which the company supplies all inquirers. It is enough to say here that the opportunity for making prosperous homes is nowhere better than in the beautiful and fertile portions of California covered by this great ir- rigation system. For all information, both general and specific, address Kern County Land Company, Bakersfield, Cal., or the Chicago office, 918 Chamber of Commerce building, corner Washington and La Salle streets, or the New York office, 812 Bennett building, on Fulton street. London office, 44-46 Leadenhall street. MISCELLANEOUS. PEACHES AND NATURAL GAS. f~> RAND JUNCTION, Colorado, is just now com- V_I ing in for its share of glory and profit, it having been made known to the world for the first time, on a large scale, that the country surrounding this wonderful young city is capable of producing all of the finest deciduous fruits to perfection and in profusion. Everybody now knows about its great annual festival, called " Peach Day,'' but the world doesn't know that the very land that produces these peaches has beneath it a field of natural gas. A combination of business men recently organized the V/estern Colorado Development Company for the purpose of sinking an artesian well, with which to water a large body of fruit land held by it, and were agreeably surprised to strike a heavy flow of gas. Experts who were here pronounce the find in- dicative of the presence of a strong oil field, but the members of the company incline to the belief that a much greater flow of gas will be encountered. The company has leased over 4,000 acres of land, and it is its intention to prosecute the work and fully develop the gas or oil, and at the same time bring under irrigation a body of land comprising over 5,000 acres held by it, which of itself is a fortune. The prospectus of the company, which has been sent to many inquirers, is very readable matter, and many Eastern people, principally in Ohio, Indiana and Ill- inois, are becoming interested in the enterprise. For size and prospective profit, the scheme ranks any offered in California, for the reason that the lands here have not touched the boom figures which prevail in that State, and it has been proven, so the Colorado people claim, that the percentage of profit per acre is with them much greater. Certain it is that this point is less than midway from Chicago to California, and this of itself is a point in its favor, the fruit, in consequence of its prox- imity to Eastern markets, being picked at a riper stage. The Chicago Herald of Septem- ber 12 accorded " Peach Day " an entire telegraphic column on its first page and other Eastern pa- pers and the Associated Press dis- patches spoke in praise of the country and the efforts of its push- ing people. The New York Sun recently con- tained an article asking for better peaches, and the Grand Junction people think they have solved the problem. They swept everything at the recent Nebraska State Fair, and now have on exhibition in Denver several carloads of fruit of all sorts that is attracting crowds both night and day. Several members of the late Irrigation Congress wound up their trip by taking in the sights at Grand Junction, and they were unstinted in their praise of the country and its products. It seems that the city is the one place which will attract attention during the coming year. SOME PLUMS FROM GRAND JUNCTION. COLO. JUMPING Tney bop, skip, jump, elide, turn somersaults almost incessantly from August to May. Won- DCAWC derful product of a foreign tree. Greatest curi- I rfl N A oeity to draw crowds wherever shown, on streets, in Hit op window*, etc. Jnst imported. Everj body wants one. Full history of tree and sample Jump- ing Bean to Agents or Streatmen, 25 cents, postpaid. 3, 60c.; 6, $i; 12, $1.50; 100, $10. Rush order and be first. Sell quantities to your merchants for window attractions and then sell to others. Onick sales Try 100. Big money. II Kit A I, l>. No.9£O J.B., Phi la.. Pa. 1894 HICH BICYCLES Shipped GRADE iere to anyone 11 styles and prices ' B dealer's profits C. O. D. »26Bicy<-lefor*12.50 $76 •• $37.50 $125 $62.50 . XmiKSTOiPSiisiX Send for large'illustr'ated Catalogue Free L BUYERS • UNION, 162 W.\an Bnren St.,B 18, Chicago,!!!. I Will Get You Settlers, If your irrigation enterprise is not doing well for the want of settlers, and can pay a salary of $1,000.00 and 3 per cent, commission on water sales and 1% per cent, on land sales, try me. I make a business of colonizing and am very successful. Settled 75,000 acres of Government land during 1893. Am thor- oughly posted on the U. S. land laws and irrigation of all kinds. I work on a different basis from any one else — one that brings in the settlers. References: present employers. Also refer, by permission, t> THE AGE. Can begin work on 30 days' notice. ADDRESS, PRACTICAL IRRIGATOR, Care of THE AGE, Chicago. W.W. MONTAGUE & GO. MANUFACTUREBS OF ALL, SIZES l» Irrigating, Mining, Power Plants, Artesian Wells, Water Works, Town and Farm Supply. SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIVETED. WATER PIPE Made in Sections of any Length Desired 13 to 28 Feet. The Cut on the left shows a Section of Five joints of pipe. DOUBLE RIVETED IN LATERAL SEAMS. Particular attention given to Coating Pipe with our "EUREKA.'' Composition, a Special Mixture Containing Jfo Coal Tar. lion Coated with this Composition is Hud-Proof and Kendered Imper- vious to the Alkalies of the Earth, is Practically Indestructible. Iron Cut, Punched and foned for MaKtng Pipe on tne Ground Where Repired. 309-317 Market St., San Francisco, Cal. TRAVEL. J^esorts Investments ^Developments ^Attractions ^ — ^5 Address, G. D. ACKERLY, RAL PASSENGER AGENT, THETROPICALTRUNKLINE, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. "Scenic Line of the World." THE DENVER™ RIO GRANDE RAILROAD PASSING THROUGH Salt Lake City EN ROUTE TO AND FROM THE PACIFIC COAST. The Popular Line to LEADVILLE, GLENWOOD SPRINGS, ASPEN AND GRAND JUNCTION. The Most Direct Route to TRINIDAD, SANTA FE and NEW MEXICO POINTS Reaching all the principal towns and mining camps in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. The Tourist's Favorite Line TO ALL MOUNTAIN RESORTS. ped with Pulln leaping Cars. All through trains equipped with Pullman Palace and Tourist Sle For elegant illustrated descriptive books free of cost, address E. T.JEFFERY, A.S.HUGHES, S. K HOOPER, Pres't and Gen'l Mgr. Traffic Manager. Gen'l Pass 4 Tkt Agt DENVER, COLORADO. I SEE YOU'RE from a trip over the MONON ROUTED Solid vesti- buled trains ->*. Daily.heated ^2 by steam, illuminated .. Pintsch light, BETWEEN CHICAGO INDIAN'POLIS CINCINNATI LOUISVILLE And the SOUTH. BACK Only line to lest Baden and French Lick Springs, The Carlsbad of America. W. H. McDoel. Frank J. Reed, V. P. and Gen. Mgr. Gen. Pass. Agt. City Ticket Office, 833 CLARK STREET, CHICAGO. RIO GRANDE WESTERN RY. The only Standard Gauge Route penetrating the heart of the .Rocky Mountains. The only Line passing directly through Salt Lake City to and from the Pacific Coast. Situated on this line, awaiting settle- ment, are Homes for Millions of People In a iand Fair and Rich. RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILWAY THE ONLY LINE Offering passengers the choice of three routes through the Rocky Mountains, the scenery of either being the marvel of two continents. Running solid trains between Denver, Pueblo and Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City and Utah. Offering pass- engers of all classes free reclining chair oars between Denver, Salt Lake and Ogden. IW In the development of Utah and her magnificent resources the Rio Grande Western has always taken the lead. See that your freight Is routed over the Rio G ramie Western Railway, and that your tickets read the same way. D.C. DODGE, Gen'l Manager; A. E. WELBY, Gen'l Supt.; J.H. BENNETT, Gen'l Pass, and Ticket Agt. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Send 25 cents to J. H. BENNETT, Salt Lake City, for copy of Utah, beautifully illustrated. MENTION THE AGE. The Chicago, Union Pacific & North-Western Line Provides Unrivalled Service between Chicago and Colorado, Utah, California, and all Pacific Coast Points. PULLMAN AND WAGNER SLEEPING CARS Solid Vestibuled Tains to Denver. Superb Dining Cars on Through Trains. ARE RUN THROUGH FROM CHICAGO . To San Francisco and Portland without Change. \-Zf£. 1 Only Three Business Days En Route CHICAGO OFFICES: 206 & 208 CLARK STREET. 191 Clark Street; Western Avenue Station, Corner Oakley Avenue and Kinzie Street, and Passenger Station, Corner Wells and Kinzie Streets. MISCELLANEOUS. THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES ALL POINT TO IRRIGATION AS THE FUTURE LEADING SUBJECT OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE. Sand ten cents for sample copy of the IRRIGATION AGE, 511 Masonic Temple, Cklcago. Attention, Fruit Growers! Bay your Trees and Plants of the "Old Reliable" JURT PIONEER NURSERIES, Fort Scott, Kansas. 560 acres In Nursery. Established 28 years. All stock clean and healthy. Commercial orchards a specialty. Estimates cheerfully given. Good stock, true to name, at reasonable prices. Correspondence invited. FARMERS ! WANTED— Position as a Farm Superintendent by a man who thoroughly understands farming by irrigation and the cultivating of large tracts of land. Address, FARMER, care of Irrigation Age. PATENTS Promptly secured. Trade-Marks, Copyrights and Labels registered. Twenty-five years ex- perience. We report whether patent can be secured or not, free of charge. Our fee not due until patent is allowed, ,'i^pnge Book Free. H. B. WILLSON & CO., Attorneys at Law. Opp. U. s. Vat. office. WASHINGTON, D. C. $100 PERMANENT POSITIONS POSITIVELY PROCURED At good salaries for all who take our expert Conr»e, Shorthand, Typewriting, Bookkeeping, Penmanship, Commercial Law and Co'mmercial Ariihmftic. NASflTILLE SHORTHAND INSTITUTE & TENNESSEE BUSINESS COLLEGE 3041/, North College St., Nashville, Tenn. BIG RED APPLES And Beautiful Prune Trees — AT BED ROCK PRICES. On whole roots, free from disease and true to name. Send for Catalogue and Price List, free. Write for special prices at once. NORTHWESTERN NURSERY, C. L. WHITNEY, PBOP. WALLA WALLA, WASH. All kinds of Nursery Stock guaranteed to arrive in good condition and give perfect satisfaction. Ati Price Itii-jdcs, Watches, (inns, Buggies, Harness, SrwinK Machines, Organs, Pianos, Safes, Tools S<-!ilt>s~nfall Varieties ami 1IHMI other Articles. Lists I > .-,-. UlIt'AGO SCALE CO., Chicago, IN. FoldinSBeds>' Metal Chairs. C. B. LIVERMORE, Real Estate, 120 Marion Street, Seattle, Washing-ton. I WANT YOU to send a 50-cent postal note and show this valuable book on Artesian Irrigation (illustrated) to your friends. Will send one book to you prepaid. My regular price, full morocco, gilt edge, is $5.00. Address, C. D. WHITE, Huron, So. Dak. MENTION THE AGE. THE IRRIGATION AGE. VOL. VII. CHICAGO, NOVEMBER, 1894. No. 5. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. The cause °f irrigation, which is the Winter's cause of Western America, faces the Outlook. . . • • . , - , coming winter with greater confidence than any other popular interest that can be named. It has practically no enemies. It has an increasing multitude of friends. The comments of leading news- papers from ocean to ocean, reproduced in the Octo- ber number of THE IRRIGATION AGE, indicated the wide popular interest aroused by the recent Congress at Denver. Wherever one goes, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Minnesota to Texas, he finds ir- rigation a recognized and growing topic of discus- sion. That it is to be the next great national issue is as clear as the sun at noonday. It is with a feeling not merely of satisfaction, but of real joy, that the friends of this cause note its triumphant progress as evidenced by the widening interest on the part of the general public, by the growing and strengthening organizations in various parts of the West, and by the thoughtful and rather solicitous attention the matter is receiving at the hands of public men. The outlook for the winter's campaign is encouraging in every direction, as will be seen by a reading of the following forecast. All the Western Legislatures will be in Work of ^ , the session during the next few months. In ^missions?' everv State the friends of irrigation are organizing to make their influence felt in these bodies. The time has come when we may expect thoughtful attention, if not enlightened legis- lation, from the several legislatures. But results will depend more upon the friends of the movement pri- marily than on members of the Legislature. Every Western State has a representative in the National Irrigation Committee. Every such representative is empowered to create a State commission of five, in- cluding himself, and this commission stands for the purposes, influence and prestige of the organized ir- rigation movement of the United States. The com- mission is not official in the sense that it is author- ized by law and paid out of the public treasury, but for that very reason it is at liberty to perform great work. It is unhampered by anything except the in- structions of the Irrigation Congress. These instruc- tions are: 1. To call a State convention; 2. To formu- late plans for the utilization of the Carey law; 3. To devise a plan for a State Engineer's office and ad- ministrative system. As these conventions are asked to present their conclusions to the governors and legislatures by January 1st, next, it is assumed that they will be held in November or December. The winter's campaign for irrigation in the West should therefore open with these State conventions, held under the auspices of the several commissions, the latter being directly connected, through their chair- men, with the National organization. The Chairman, of the National Committee will shortly issue an ad- dress to the State commissions, outlining the work of the coming twelve months. Now, the extent of prog' ress in each State is sure to be measured by the ac- tivity of the commission, and this activity will depend upon the success of the National committeeman in selecting his colleagues. The time has arrived when the selection must be made, and it is hoped that the full list may be announced in the next issue of this journal. The Carey law offers to the men of the Carey West the most important opportunity for Law. progress they have ever had. It imposes upon them the gravest duty that has ever confronted them. THE IRRIGATION AGE did not favor the en- actment of the law last summer, because we were pledged to favor no definite action until after the Denver congress, and because we regarded Senator Carey's proposition as inadequate and calculated to postpone, rather than to assist, the solution of our Western problems in a comprehensive way. But the more the law is studied the better it looks, and be- fore this country is one year older we may be able to see that the passage of the law just at this time was providential. But everything depends upon the manner in which the Western States deal with their 213 214 THE IRRIGATION AGE. opportunity. If the law is used as a means of re- claiming land economically and putting it into the hands of actual settlers on reasonable terms, it will prove a boon and a blessing to the East and West alike. It will furnish labor to thousands of men at a time when it is sorely needed, and then it will furnish the laborers with homes where they may become in- dependent. On the other hand, if the lands are ob- tained by syndicates and corporations, either to hold for their own uses or to sell to American citizens at prices which the public cannot control and which hold no fair relation to the cost of reclamation, then the West will be disgraced, irrigation will be dis- credited and our progress set back for many years. Doubtless there are men in each State whose mouths are now watering for the rich plum they see in the Carey law. But we shall never believe that these greedy appetites are in the control of a single West- ern State until the shameful fact has been demon- strated by actual experience. While there has been some reason to fear that during the past decade Triumphant Democracy has succumbed to Triumph- ant Plutocracy throughout the United States, we cannot believe that the great public assets, repre- sented by water and land on the public domain, will further illustrate this dangerous tendency of our times. No element of our citizenship is so unfettered as the men who breathe the free air of the West. They are sometimes eccentric to the verge of cranki- ness, but they have evinced no disposition to be the slaves of class or party. We believe they will rise to the full height of their opportunity and see that the Carey law is utilized in the spirit in which it was passed unanimously by the Senate, with only nine dissenting votes in the House and promptly signed by the President. The exposition of the Carey law pub- Wyoming lished in these pages in October may be May Use It. accepted as a very fair reflection of the views of Wyoming people, who originated the law. The article, we understand, was prepared with the cooperation and approval of /the leading men of Wyoming. The most important suggestions in the article are contained in the following sentences: The State to make contracts with construction companies or colonies for the reclamation and settlement within a named period of defined areas of land in the State for a specified sum, the State Board fixing the price per acre for which land and •water must be sold to settlers. When the sum specified by the .contract is realized by the investors in the irrigation enterprise by the sale of land to settlers, the lands remaining in the tract, if any, to be sold to settlers, the proceeds going to the State. In all contracts the ownership of water to be inseparable from •ownership of land. Or, the act might authorize the State Department to contract with construction companies for the reclamation of specified areas of land, segregated under the Carey act, fixing a maxi- mum and minimum price which may be charged settlers for the iand and water and retaining a nominal price per acre to be de- voted to maintaining the department having in charge the con- trol and supervision of the lands. Better Now, if this is the disposition of the 6 prominent citizens of Wyoming, who Law. have urged for years that the cession of the lands was the only practicable solution of our problems, and who scored a partial triumph by the passage of the Carey law, there is every reason to anticipate glorious results from this legislation. The Desert Land law has stood in the way of wise and honest development. When companies have used it as a means of acquiring the lands in large tracts it has been essentially dishonest. When they have not so used it.it has been disastrous, both to the company which built the canal without any control of the lands, and to the speculator who took up the land without any control of the water. Under the Carey law our States can instantly repeal the Desert law so far as it relates to tracts which they propose to re- claim. They can then give capital security upon both the water and the land, and guarantee a fair re- turn upon its investment and that degree of control essential to successful colonization. The proposition as outlined in the sentences quoted, proposes that the States shall regulate the cost and character of works and the maximum price which settlers shall pay for the land. If such a policy is generally adopted it will offer far better security for investment than it now enjoys, while fully protecting the rights of the public. Every friend of irrigation must be delighted to see such propositions as this advanced by the champions of the law. If those who have opposed the policy of cession will now heartily unite in an effort to utilize the law wisely, rather than stand stubbornly in the way of progress, the early months of 1895 will have a most important bearing on future development. The State conventions should be soon called and largely attended. They should bring out all shades of opinion, but the common effort should be to use the law for the benefit of the West and the country, not to discredit it for the satisfaction of in- dividual pique. J^abor and There is another aspect of the case ^ypf'he which merits the careful consideration Idle. of the public. Millions of acres of good land are already under ditch and awaiting settle- ment. But the people who are most in need of homes are unable to acquire these lands. To pay from $25 to $100 per acre for land and water right, to clear the ground, prepare it for cultivation, plant crops and await the harvest, to build a house and equip the farm with team and implements, requires some little capital. There are plenty of people who have the required capital, and they are beginning to seek these lands, but there is another great class who have no capital except their labor and possibly a THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 215 team, a few implements and some articles of house- hold furniture. These are the people who most need homes, but how shall they acquire them on the public •domain, even when cheaply reclaimed under the Carey law? How can they live for the first six or twelve months before the soil begins to yield the necessities of life? Tens of thousands of good citizens for the West could be speedily obtained if this part of the problem were solved. Here is a suggestion : Let the construction companies operating under the Carey law endeavor to select laborers who are also homeseekers. Let them pay the prevailing price for labor, $20 to $30 per month with board, paying a very small amount in cash and the rest in orders good for seed and provisions. Then when the laborer finishes his work on the canal let him select a tract of no more than 40 or 80 acres and immediately proceed to get it into cultivation, obtaining seed and provi- sions on the store orders which he has received in- stead of cash for wages during the building of the canal. He should be permitted to pay for the land out of the sale of his crops. This system would be a blessing to thousands of honest and industrious men now in need of labor and homes, and it would also be advantageous to the State and to the construction companies, as it would guarantee the rapid settle- ment of the lands. Perhaps this suggestion is not feasible, but if it is it will enable our Western States to come promptly to the front next winter and relieve the country of the pressure of idle men, or that pro- portion of them who really desire work to relieve immediate necessity and a chance to make independ- ent homes, to provide for permanent prosperity. If such a system were made a part of the policy of our States, we believe capital would be much more read- ily obtained from Eastern centers than otherwise, for property holders in that section are quite as anxious to solve the question of surplus labor as Western men are to solve the question of surplus land. The New York World recently pointed out the startling fact that in that city the great sum of $22,000,000 was paid out last winter for charity by municipal and corporation sources and that the amount had steadily increased in recent years at the rate of $1,800,000 per annum. It then said: This is certainly due to bad policies— to policies which have congested a dependent population in limited areas near the sea- board instead of encouraging it to push on to the still unculti- vated continent beyond. In some way our dependent population must be induced to leave the cities. They must be set to digging their living from the ground. This will mean happiness for them and security for the government. There is absolutely no other way out. A State engineer and administrative de- Necessity of State partment is necessary to the utilization Engineers. of the Carey law Thjs department will make the surveys and plans of reclamation and supervise the works, whether built by public or private enterprise. Every Western State and Terri- tory should provide itself with the administrative system, at least on a modest scale, during the ap- proaching session of the legislature. It is perfectly ridiculous that we should be constantly asking the nation to help us while neglecting to help ourselves in this simplest but most essential of particulars. Every Western State should proceed at once to study its water resources and irrigable land. It should have a State engineer, backed up by a good code of laws. It should insist upon rigid supervision of all new works, careful attention to water appro- priations and proper division of the supply among appropriators. To permit waters to be recklessly taken and works to be built without any exercise of public authority is a wicked and criminal thing. It is laying up a legacy of woe. It evinces a shameful lack of public spirit and civic pride. To ask the Federal government for appropriations when we. have done so little for ourselves should make us blush. Irrigation is to be the great foundation in- dustry in seventeen Western States and Territories. An irrigation department, or some adequate pro- vision for irrigation laws and their administration and for a study of water supply and irrigable areas, is as essential as any other feature of State govern- ment. Colorado Wyoming and California have bene- fited immensely from such systems, and there can be no worthy progress in other States until they have followed the example. After the adjournment of the Congress In Utah's _. ,. .. _ Golden at Denver, the editor of THE AGE de- Valleys. voted a few Weeks to a trip through Utah and the Pacific Northwest. There is a genuine revival of irrigation interests in Utah, the classic ground of the industry on this continent. Utah is preparing her bridal robes. She will be married to the Union in the course of the next eighteen months. She proposes to make adequate provision in her constitution for the protection and encourage- ment of the industry on which her fame and prosperity rests. She not only has the mill- ion acres under the Carey law, but two or three times as much more as her wedding present from Uncle Sam. It will be most interesting to observe what use she makes of these lands. She has some very virile traditions in the matter of irrigation. Her canals were built and owned by her people. Her land was acquired in small holdings. The small irrigated farm is the corner-stone of the commonwealth. But more modern forces are being felt in Mormonland. Probably the new legislation will be something of a compromise between the economic doctrines of the church and the claims of private enterprise. Judge Shurtliff is the new member of the National Com- mittee for Utah, and he promises to be a very vigor- 2i6 THE IRRIGATION AGE. THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 217 ous and effective member. He is planning a State Irrigation Convention with auxiliary associations in every county. Utah will be confronted with a unique problem before long. This will involve the abandon- ment of many of the old ditches and their replace- ment by a few larger and more comprehensive sys- tems. There will be a great saving in the annual cost of maintenance, while the well-established and prosperous farms will furnish excellent guarantee of returns to the capital employed. The writer is in- debted to Judge Shurtliff for the pleasures of a most memorable day— a day devoted to a drive of seventy miles through the golden valleys and interesting settlements of northern Utah. In Southern Idaho, and notably at Boise, as a Field Nampa and Payette, the writer found for Homes. some peculiar conditions which account largely tor the disappointments of irrigation invest- ment. Large canals have been built, but the land has been gobbled by great numbers of speculators who have neither the money nor the disposition to improve it. The speculators cannot buy water and the companies cannot control the development of the land. Progress is being made and the future is full of promise, but the situation forcibly illustrates the evils of our wretched land laws. Southern Idaho will be the field of wonderful development in the next few years. It has the ideal climate for the Anglo- Saxon. The twenty-acre farm is large enough to support a family with comfort and thrift. Forty acres should be the outside limit for a family of ordinary means. Eighty acres constitutes a mis- fortune, and one-hundred-sixty acres a calamity. No ordinary family can cultivate so much land wisely and intensively under irrigation. And only wise and in- tensive cultivation fits the conditions of the arid region. Southern Idaho has the advantages of cheap land, ample water and good transportation facilities. To study the opportunities which it offers for the making of independent homes for free men is to ex- perience a thrill which has not been felt since Abraham Lincoln signed the Proclamation of Eman- cipation. That meant much to black men. This means much to white men. Intelligent effort in the way of colonization will start Idaho upon a wonderful era of prosperity. She has all the ele- ments of a great civilization except the chief one, which is men. She can readily sustain hundreds of thousands where she has tens of thou- sands to-day. The writer is under obligations for courtesies received at the hands of leading citizens of Boise, Nampa and Payette. A very different condition of affairs was Evil in found in Eastern Oregon. Umatilla coun- Oregon. ^ Qf whicn pendleton is the chief city, represents the best and the worst that the mistaken phil- osophy of the single crop can do for a country. Here is a region of fertile soil and delightful climate where men cannot make a living on 5,000 acres. They are raising wheat and wheat and wheat. They are doom- ing their children to hopeless competition with the servile labor of India, Egypt and South America. And servile labor has planted its heel on the neck of the free-born American citizen. The farmer is learn- ing that speculation is just as bad in Oregon as it is in Wall street. Mayor Taylor, of Pendleton, hasfone irrigated acre that is worth more than 5,000 acres in wheat, because it supplies his family with all the small fruit, vegetables and poultry products they eat, besides a surplus exchangeable for much at the store. He has one cherry tree that earned more than a hundred bushels of wheat. The writer had the opportunity of addressing the citizens of this county in their Court House at Pendleton on the evening of October 1, and used it to proclaim the philosophy of the small, diversified farm, erected on the principle of self-susten- ance, and carried on in the spirit of industrialism. He urged the people to build canals and advised that if they could not command aggregated capital they might command aggregated labor, as the Mormons did. Umatilla county is destined to be irrigated and settled in thousands of small farms. It is destined to realize a wonderful prosperity. And this will come when the ditch comes. And no citizen of Pendleton should rest until the ditch is provided, if he has to turn out with his own shovel and team to provide it. The writer returns thanks to Messrs. Livermore, Lowell, Taylor, Boyd and the citizens of Pendleton generally for very marked courtesies re- ceived, from the moment of his arrival at midnight until he departed thirty-six hours later at sunrise. The conditions in Eastern Washing- Different in Eastern ton are precisely the reverse of those Washington. jn ks nejghbor, Oregon. In the Ya- kima valley of Washington irrigation systems are well under way and the country is starting in the right di- rection. There are few more beautiful valleys than that of the Yakima, and perhaps there are none where the chance for average prosperity is better.. But even here it is desirable that the people should engage more thoroughly in diversified production. The thriv- ing town of North Yakima imports from outside the pork products it uses during eleven months of the year, the surrounding farmers supplying but one month's need. So it is with some other items, while Washington as a whole sends away annually millions of dollars to pay for things which could be raised within its borders. The Yakima valley is very fortun- ate in soil and climate, as well as in nearness to the growing commercial outlets on Puget Sound. The surrounding mountain scenery is of the noblest, the 218 THE IRRIGATION AGE. H. R. WHITMORE, Of Missouri, President of Trans-Mississippi Congress. great white domes of Adams and Rainier lending a strange beauty to the scene. There is no question but what a twenty-acre farm will meet all the needs of an ordinary family and lay the foundation of a competence as well. At a meeting of citizens of North Yakima, addressed by Wm. Ham. Hall and th.e writer, it was earnestly suggested that an attempt should be made during the coming season to illus- trate the highest possibilities of the twenty-acre farm, aiming first at the sustenance of a family and next at a diversified surplus product for sale. The citizens appeared to take very kindly to this suggestion as one that would enable them to strikingly demonstrate to home-seekers the advantages of life in the valley. The writer received many attentions from the peo- ple of the Yakima valley, which he gratefully ac- knowledges. One of the strong points about our arid The Valley . . e of the region is the fact that it presents a great Bitter Root, diversity of soil and climate and there- fore of production. This observation occurred to the writer when he faced the crisp air of an October morning in the Bitter Root valley of Montana and made a mental comparison of, those conditions with the autumn climate of southern Arizona. Within the wide boundaries of arid America may be found al- most every variety of natural conditions and the ag- ricultural industry will present striking contrasts in consequence. Montana is very different from most localities that are now putting lands upon the market But it has many advantages, and there is every reason to predict that the new civilization will flour- ish there. This State is to-day a large importer of agricultural products which ought to be produced at home. At first thought it would seem that there would be but a narrow range of production in a climate where the winters are so severe, but when the writer studied the dinner bill at the best hotel in Missoula he discovered that of the thirty items in the list only three could not be produced on any farm in the Bitter Root valley. These three were the tea of China, the nuts and olives of Southern California. All of the meats, vegetables, small fruits and cereals,. together with hardy fruits of the very best quality, can be had by the farmer who diversifies his products, even in this northern latitude. The Bitter Root and Missoula valleys are among the most attractive in the West, and capable of sustaining a dense popula- tion on forty-acre farms. Mr. Marcus Daly, on his fine ranch at Hamilton, near the head of the valley, is demonstrating what can be done in fruit culture. Again at Missoula, as elsewhere, the writer received courtesies which he desires to gratefully acknowledge,. and nowhere was the enthusiasm over his remarks more cordial. Among the practical irrigators whom the writer was surprised and delighted to meet was the famous actor, Daniel E. Bandmann, who appears now only in the role of " Dr. Jekyll," having eschewed " Mr. Hyde." The most prosperous looking portion ..... » r- 11 5 of Montana is the broad Gallatin val- leV> where the land is pard of examiners, acting under the lat- ter act, on the presentation of such claim by another attorney, employed without the first attorney's consent, allowed the claim for the same amount as the judgments, though they, being void, were not admitted as evidence of the claim. The '• judgments " and the claim allowed were in effect the same, and the first attor- ney was entitled to the agreed fee. Where a person, after hav- ing employed one attorney to collect a claim, without the latter's knowledge employs another to collect it, the burden of proof is on him to show that the first attorney had either expressly or by lack of effort abandoned its collection. Craddock v. O'Brien. (Supreme Court of California.) 37 Pac. Rep. 896. A California Suit. — The San Joaquln and Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company, of California, asks $20,000 damages against the Fresno Flume and Irrigation Company because the latter di- verted the water from Stephenson creek, which the former com- pany claim, their right dating back as they say to 1871. Idaho Bond Foreclosure Suit.— A. suit entitled Alfred Eoff and H. B. Eastman, trustees, v. the Boise City and Nampa Irriga- tion, Land and Lumber Company, ct al. has been commenced. 1 he suit is brought to foreclose mortgage bonds in the sum of $50,000 issued in 1888- W. E. Borah is attorney for the trustees. A Utah Complication.— George C. Whitmore, of Nephi, Utah, has commenced suit against E. H. Sparks and the Nephi Irriga- tion Company to recover damages in the sum of $750 for the con- version of six certain shares ofwater belonging to plaintiff. The water is valued at $50 per share and plaintiff seeks to regain pos- session of same. NEW COMPANIES. Arizona..— Coronado.— The Coronado Canal and Land Com- pany has been incorporated by John B. Francis, Benjamin F. Rhodehamel, James M Rice, George H. Littlewood, Joseph B. Greenhut and others, for the purpose of constructing, maintain- ing: canals, ditches, flumes, aqueducts, dams and reservoirs and such other appliances as may be necessary in impounding, con- ducting, controlling and delivering water for irrigation and other purposes. Capital stock. $2,000,000. Kansas.— Stockton. — The Stockton Irrigation and Power Com- pany, of Stockton. Rooks County. Capital stock, $100,000. Di- rectors: I. N Pepper, T. E. Baldwin, A. E.Wilson, J. W. Callen der, I. W. O'Donnell, George O. farr, P. H. Cooper. D. B. Smyth, M. J. Coolbaugh, Jr., Charles Alexander and J. Q. Adams. Kansas. — /ngaHs.—The Ingalls Irrigation and Canal Com- pany has been incorporated with a capital of $50,000. The com- pany will construct and maintain a canal, together with ditches, laterals, dams, dykes and flumes for the purpose of irrigating a large acreage of land in Gray County. Directors: D. W. Bat- ton, D. B. Hungate, Smith Payne.W. M. Brooks and C. B. Doug- lass. Nebraska.— Schuyler.— Articles of incorporation of the Platte and Colfax County Irrigation and Canal Company have been filed, The incorporators are Orlando Nelson, Clayton A. Gates, Ira E. Gates, Charles A. Woolsley and Elon W. Nelson. The purpose of this incorporation is, as the title suggests, to construct a canal principally for irrigation purposes; said canal to start from a point in the Loup River about two and a half miles southeast of Genoa, Nebraska, and run through Platte County and through Colfax County about as far as Schuyler, there emptying either into Shell creek or the Platte river— making a canal about forty miles in length and carrying sufficient water to irrigate at least 150,000 acres. Nebraska.— Hastings,— The Elaine County Irrigation Com- pany was incorporated last week, and surveying the route of the proposed canal has already been commenced. The company starts with an authorized capital of $40,000, and its officers are as follows: E. W. Rankin, president; S. A. Daily, vice-president; E. H. Riggs, secretary, and P. C. Erickson, treasurer. The pro- posed ditcn will be about twenty-five miles long through Elaine County. Texas.— Brown-wood.— The Brown County Irrigation Com- §any has been organized by C. H. Jenkins, S. R. Coggin, F. A, winden, C. C. Wilkins, W. H. Clark, D. H. Wood, J. F. Smith, J. W. Taylor and L. C. Scott. The company will build an im- mense dam for irrigation purposes. Wisconsin.— Monroe,— American Falls Land Irrigating and Power Company. Monroe; capital, $200.000; incorporators: Nico- laus Schmidt, John Legler and Henry H. Hefty. COLORADO LANDS. PEACHES AND NATURAL GAS. GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado, is just now com- ing in for its share of glory and profit, it having been made known to the world for the first time, on a large scale, that the country surrounding this wonderful young city is capable of producing all of the finest deciduous fruits to perfection and in profusion. Everybody now knows about its great annual festival, called " Peach Day," but the world doesn't know that the very land that produces these peaches has beneath it a field of natural gas. A combination of business men recently organized the Western Colorado Development Company for the purpose of sinking an artesian well, with which to water a large body of fruit land held by it, and were agreeably surprised to strike a heavy flow of gas. Experts who were here pronounce the find in- dicative of the presence of a strong oil field, but the members of the company incline to the belief that a much greater flow of gas will be encountered. The company has leased over 4,000 acres of land, and it is its intention to prosecute the work and fully develop the gas or oil, and at the same time bring under irrigation a body of land comprising over 5,000 acres held by it, which of itself is a fortune. The prospectus of the company, which has been sent to many inquirers, is very readable matter, and many Eastern people, principally in Ohio, Indiana and Ill- inois, are becoming interested in the enterprise. For size and prospective profit, the scheme ranks any offered in California, for the reason that the lands here have not touched the boom figures which prevail in that State, and it has been proven, so the Colorado people claim, that the percentage of profit per acre is with them much greater. Certain it is that this point is less than midway from Chicago to California, and this of itself is a point in its favor, the fruit, in consequence of its proximity to Eastern markets, be- ing picked at a riper stage. The Chicago Herald 'of Septem- ber 12 accorded " Peach Day " an entire telegraphic column on its first page, and other Eastern pa- pers and the Associated Press dis- patches spoke in praise of the country and the efforts of its push- ing people. The New York Sun recently con- tained an article asking for better peaches, and the Grand Junction people think they have solved the problem. They swept everything at the recent Nebraska State Fair, and now have on exhibition in Denver several carloads of fruit of all sorts that is attracting crowds both night and day. Several members of the late Irrigation Congress wound up their trip by taking in the sights at Grand Junction, and they were unstinted in their praise of the country and its products. It seems that the city is the one place which will attract attention during the coming year. SOME PLUMS FROM GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. The Horticultural Society idea is spreading. Throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho, there have been half a dozen societies organized within the last two or three months. Cant see how you do it. $60 Kenwood Buehlnr for - $i!3.UO $50 Arlington Buhine for - $19.50 Standard Simrers - $8.00, $11.00 _ $15.00, and 27 other styles. All at- tachment! FREE. We pay freight ship anv- nn .10 days free trial, in any home it asking one cent in advance. Buy actorv. Save apents large profits. Over 1OO.OOO In nse. Catalogue andtesti- Free Write at once. Address Onfall), CASH BUYERS' UNION, 158-164 West Van Ruren St.. B 1*0, Chicago, III. Unthrifty peach trees are benefitted by potash. "Valley, Plain and Peak" is the title of a handsome little booklet issued by the Great Northern Railway, describing the cities, towns, valleys, and points of interest between Minne- apolis, Minn., and the Pacific Coast. It is profusely illustrated with engravings, showing the most notable scenery from Lake Minnetonka to the Cascade Mountains and the glaciers of Alaska. It can be secured from Mr. F. I. Whitney, G. P. &/T. A. of the Great Northern Railway, St. Paul, Minn., for ten cents in stamps. Parties Looking for an Irrigation and Colonization Property, Ready for immediate settlement, with a completed canal, one of the largest storage reservoirs in the west, and where water is already being furnished to several thousand acres of land, and where there is available for immediate colonization the best of citrus fruit lands. Address, Secretary Casa Grande Valley Canal Co., SUITE 32, HARTFORD BLDG. . CHICAGO, ILL. Irrigating, Mining, Power Plants, Artesian Wells, Water Works, Town and Farm Supply. SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIVETED. WATER PIPE Made in Sections of any Length Desired 13 to 28 Feet. The Cut on the left shows a Section of Five joints of pipe. DOUBLE RIVETED IN LATERAL SEAMS. Particular attention given to Coating Pipe with our " EUREKA.'' Composition, a Special Mixture Containing Wo Coal Tar. Iron Coated with this Composition is Bust-Proof and Rendered Imper- vious to the Alkalies of the Earth, is Practically Indestructible. Iron Cut, Punched and formed for Making Pipe on tie Ground Wnere Rennired. 309-317 Market St., San Francisco, Cal. MENTION THE AGE MISCELLANEOUS. HORSE BLANKETS. The patent of the Burlington Blanket Company, covering horse blankets, has been infringed. The company propose to protect their rights, and make the following statement : " Without threatening or insinuation, we desire to inform you as members of the trade, that the patent upon this blanket is of great value to us and that its infringement is a direct wrong and injury to us which we are neither required nor disposed to endure. This invention of Mr. Ransom has marked an era in the manufacture of horse blankets, and the infringement of our rights is a tribute to the excellency of the invention more emphatic than any words of commen- dation which we might utter. Mr. Ransom's idea was the product of long and continuous study of the problem of properly covering the horse and keeping the cover attached during all his ordinary and natural movements." Circulars describing the patent and infringement can be obtained by addressing the Bur- lington Blanket Co., Burlington, Wisconsin. A PROMINENT NURSERY. Leonard Coates, of Napa, California, has been for some time vice-president of the California State Horticultural Society, and is one of its charter members. He is recognized as an authority on matters horticultural. In conjunction with his nurseries he has a ninety-acre fruit farm where all varieties are tested. The registered brand of "Sausal" fruits is becoming well known in Eastern markets. His advertisement appears on another page. The Prescott Courier. Replete with the mining, agricultural and gen- eral news of the Southwest. Daily and Weekly, $10 per year. Weekly, $4 per year; six months, $2.50. Sample copies free. Address, THE COURIER, Prescott, Arizona. THOROUGHBRED STOCK. The value and importance of keeping only thoroughbred stock is being recognized by farmers in general, but particularly by the irrigating farmers of the West. It costs no more to feed a good quality of stock than it does a poor one and their value and the profits are much greater. For an illustrated and descriptive catalogue of the best breeds of thoroughbred cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and dogs, write to S. W. Smith, Cochranville, Chester county, Penn. THE GREAT ARIZONA PAPER. TRUSSES! On Approval. 50 Styles. Book on Cause, Treatment and Cure of Rupture MAILED FREE ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. ber Koot, $60 to $70. Elastic Stockings, Sup- porters, Crutches, &c. Free Catalogue. State particulars. GEO. R. FULLER. U.S. Gov. Mfr., Box 8079 ROCHESTER, N. Y. NOTICE TO CONTRACTOKS AND INVESTORS. Notice is hereby given that the East Riverside Irri- gation District of the Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside, State of California, will up to noon of the first day of February, 1895, receive bids for the con- struction of two main lateral pipe lines, known as the " South Main Lateral '' and the " North Main Lat- eral," aggregating about four and one-half miles in length and varying in diameter from 32 to 7 inches. The said pipe lines are to be constructed of sheet steel, in accordance with plans and specifications prepared by F. C. Finkle, Chief Engineer of the District, and duly adopted by the Board of Directors. All bidders on the said works will be required to place a sufficient amount of the 6 per cent, interest bearing bonds of the District to pay for the improve- ment. For copies of the plans and specifications and any other information needed address W. R. McCully, Secretary of the East Riverside Irrigation District, East Riverside, Cal., or F. C. Finkle, Chief Engineer, Room 9, Farmers' Exchange Bank Block, San Ber- nardino, Cal. By order of the Board of Directors, EAST RIVERSIDE IRRIGATION DISTRICT. By E. A. CHASE, President. W. R. McCuLLY, Secretary. The pumping plant at Prosser Falls, Washington, which was supplied by the Stilwell-Bierce & Smith- Vaile Co., has been running four months and there have been no breaks of any kind. Reports say that the land irrigated by the water from this plant will yield sixty bushels to the acre of first-class corn, as well as splendid crops of all sorts of vegetables, fruits, castor beans, etc. Five months ago this land was simply covered with sagebrush. C. B. LIVERMORE, Real Estate, 120 Marion Street, Seattle, Washington. To distribute seed evenly a salt shaker is just the thing. SAN DIEGO HOMES. C. E. BEARDSLEY & CO. 1408 D Street, San Diego, Cal., Make a specialty of Improved and Unimproved Orange and Lemon lands, and large tracts for Stock and Grain raising. !^~ WRITE FOR COMPLETE With the aid of a platinum wire, a battery and an electric bell, you can hear a plant grow. PATENTS Promptly secured. Trade-Marks, Copyriguts and Labels registered. Twenty-five years ex- perience. We report whether patent can be secured or not, freeof charge. Our fee not due until patent is allowed. .Tipaire Book Free. H. B. WILLSON &. CO.. Attorneys at Law, Opp. U. 8. Fat. Office. WASHINGTON, D. Ci MENTION THE AGE.