2 Oft DEPARTMENTAL EEPURTS. 



obtained, and the beneiits received. A report on these investigations 

 for the past year has been received and the investigations are being- 

 continued the present season. 



The Office has also been called ujjon to aid in the solution of prob- 

 lems connected with the exj)eriments in tea growing, conducted under 

 the supervision of Dr. C. U. Shepard, at Summerville, S. C. , and this 

 work will be continued. 



Plans have been made for a practical trial of irrigation in Missouri 

 in cooperation with Prof. II. J. Waters, director of the Missouri Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



Prof. F. H. King, of the Wisconsin experiment station, and well 

 known as an authoritj' on questions relating to irrigation and drainage 

 and the author of a recently published treatise on these subjects, hav- 

 ing become convinced that irrigation may be profltablj' employed on 

 wide areas in Wisconsin, has undertaken an experimental test of this 

 matter on sandy lands in northern Wisconsin. In this enterprise the 

 Wisconsin station is receiving assistance from this Office. 



In view of the large interests already at stake in the irrigation of 

 rice fields and sugar-cane plantations in the Southern States, a pre- 

 liminary survey of this region has been made by Professor Mead with 

 reference to determining the j)roblems which need investigation. He 

 reports that his brief studj- of rice irrigation in South Carolina showed 

 that the methods of storing watei* now practiced there are wasteful of 

 both land and water, and have largely contributed to make wide areas 

 very un health^'. In Louisiana the multiplication of ditches has already 

 given rise to some of the difficulties connected with water rights in 

 the arid region. The depletion of streams by canals has in some cases 

 caused the salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to ascend rivers farther 

 than it formerlj^ did. This is already threatening the safety of some 

 of the plantations nearest the coast. It is onl}" a matter of time when 

 the diversion of Louisiana and Texas streams will have to be regulated 

 by law as in the arid region. The proper investigation of these prob- 

 lems is a considerable task, and thus far funds have not been available 

 for this purpose. 



IRRIGATION PUBLICATIONS. 



During the past year six bulletins and reports on irrigation have 

 been prepared for publication in this Office. 



AYater-Right Problems of Bear River (Bulletin No. 70, pp. 40) con- 

 tains articles entitled "Water sui)ply of Bear River and its diver 

 sion," by C. T. Johnston, assistant in irrigation investigations of this 

 Office, and "Interstate water rights in Bear River," by J. A. Breckons, 

 prepared under the direction of Prof. El wood Mead, expert in charge 

 of irrigation investigations of this Office. The underljing purpose of 

 this bulletin is to present some of the water-right complications of 

 interstate streams. 



The bulletin is largely a statement of these interstate questions as 

 illusti-ated in the Bear River Yalle3\ This river was chosen for studj^ 

 because in its course of a little over 300 miles it crosses State lines 

 (Wyoming, Idaho, and LTfah) five times, finally emi^tj-ing into Salt 

 Lake, which is less than 50 miles distant from its source, thus pre- 

 senting in small compass a great varietj^ of interstate problems, and 

 offering exceptional opportunities for the inauguration of this class 

 of inquiries. The topics treated include extent and character of the 

 water supply, location, and character of the irrigation works along 

 Bear River; claims to water from the river and its tributaries in 



