262 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



May 



ments are vigorous, and are being 

 lived up to in all the work I inspected ; 

 and I have never seen more compact 

 or uniformly solid banks than those 

 being built. 



"The soil of the irrigable areas is 

 fertile, and well suited to the applica- 

 tion of water. Taken in connection 

 with the productiveness of the contig- 

 uous pasture land, it is certain that 

 the cultivation of irrigated areas will 

 be highly profitable, and will insure 

 the creation of a large and prosperous 

 agricultural community. The water 

 supply is ample, and the rights of the 

 company thereto are secure. The laws 

 of Canada for the acquirement of 

 water titles are equalled by few coun- 

 tries in the world in the specific char- 

 acter of the rights granted and the 

 subsequent protection afforded appro- 

 priators. The filings in connection 

 with the control of the land to be 

 watered give the company a security 

 and a freedom in carrying out its plans 

 which is altogether exceptional." 



CANADIAN WATER LAWS 



The law of Canada concerning the 

 rights of water-farmers has been de- 

 clared by resolution of the American 

 Irrigation Congress to be far in ad- 

 vance of any similar lavv'S in the 

 United States, and the Irrigation 

 Office of the Department cf Agricul- 

 ture at Washington has issued a spe- 

 cial bulletin calling attention to the 

 good features of the Canadian law, 

 and setting it up as a pattern which 

 should be adopted by States within 

 which irrigation is practiced. 



The Canadian law is based upon 

 the following broad principles : 



(i) That all water is the property 

 of the Crown. 



(2) That applicants for the right 

 to construct irrigation works must 

 complete them within a stated time, 

 and to the satisfaction of government 

 engineers. 



(3) That the amount of water to 

 be supplied for any given area (at 



present one cubic foot per second for 

 each 150 acres), and the irrigation 

 season (May i to October i) during 

 which such water must be supplied, 

 shall be fixed by the government, and 

 not left to the whim of any irrigation 

 company or person selling water for 

 irrigation. 



(4) That all agreements for the 

 supply of water for irrigation must 

 be registered with the government. 



(5) That any disputes regarding 

 the division or distribution of water 

 are settled by the government officials 

 without the necessity of any appeal to 

 the courts or bill of costs to parties 

 making complaint. 



(6) That parties complying with 

 the provisions of the law, and granted 

 the right to divert water, obtain a pat- 

 ent direct from the Crown for the 

 water, which they can carry in their 

 pocket, if they wish, as prima facie 

 evidence of their title, and that any 

 attempt to interfere with such title 

 is prevented by government officials 

 without cost to owners of the water 

 patent. 



The best proof of the fairness and 

 stability of the Canadian law relating 

 to irrigation is the statement that al- 

 though irrigation has been practiced 

 for ten years, and today in southern 

 Alberta there are, including the Can- 

 adian Pacific Railway's project, eight 

 hundred miles of canals and ditches 

 carrying water for irrigation, there 

 has not during that time been one law 

 suit about water rights. 



The canal constructed by the Can- 

 adian Pacific Railway Company has 

 an absolute title under the Canadian 

 law to two thousand cubic feet of 

 water per second from the Bow River ; 

 and that river at the point of intake 

 for the canal has never shown at its 

 lowest stage, since government guag- 

 ings were commenced some years ago, 

 a smaller flow than three thousand 

 cubic feet per second. During the ir- 

 rigation season the flow usually aver- 

 ages about six thousand cubic feet 

 per second. 



