IRRIGATED LAND OPPORTUNITIES 



529 



mountains to hold the water as 

 snow and ice gradually melts off 

 mountain tops. However, along 

 rivers there are a great number 

 tracts which obtain their moisture 



the 



the 



the 



of 



by 



pumping water from the streams upon 

 the land. Probably one of the greatest 

 irrigating systems in the West is in the 

 Lewiston-Clarkston Valley in Idaho. 

 In a portion of this valley the water is 

 carried in pipes under the ground, and 

 land is irrigated by turning hydrants 



is certain. All the land needs is water. 

 They have the weather, the sunshine, 

 and the soil, and by adding the water 

 to these narrow valleys, which are 

 merely pockets in the mountains, one 

 can raise wonderful crops, and net 

 large returns per acre. This is what 

 makes even a ten-acre tract a priceless 

 possession. The soil is a volcanic ash ; 

 it is very fine and compact, and there 

 is very little evaporation from the same 

 when water is applied. The irrigating 



How Potatoes Grow under Irrigation in Colorado 



and putting the water on in this man- 

 ner. This is surely a very convenient 

 and practical way, although the water 

 charges are higher. 



Nearly every one visiting these dif- 

 ferent tracts, or hearing of the same, 

 will ask, "how can they raise such large 

 crops on this soil, and reap such large 

 returns from a single acre?" In ex- 

 plaining this I will say that there is no 

 excuse for crop failure. Excessive 

 rains and floods never come ; the sun- 

 shine, which makes all vegetation grow 

 to the highest state of perfection where 

 water is applied, is not interrupted by 

 cloudy weather, therefore, your success 



or reclaiming the areas in the West has 

 been going on for sometime. However, 

 it never reached large proportions until 

 the Reclamation Act was passed by 

 Congress in June, 1902. Since that 

 time the government has promoted 

 some twenty-five or more projects, and 

 thousands of people have made their 

 homes on these lands, and still other 

 thousands are moving to these new sec- 

 tions to reap the benefits which there 

 await them. While you may say that 

 the irrigation projects throughout the 

 West are in their infancy, you will find 

 that the simple irrigation projects have 

 nearly all been taken up, and the gov- 



