1908 



NEWS AND NOTES 



189 



methods of distribution of water and 

 practices of irrigation, says a Wash- 

 ington writer, the State may look for 

 many of its greatest possibilities of de- 

 velopment by irrigation. 



Drainage cf One of the most import- 

 Irrigated ant things in farm 

 Lands drainage in arid coun- 

 tries, says Professor Brown, drainage 

 engineer of Colorado Agricultural 

 College, is to know just when it be- 

 comes necessary. An excellent rule, 

 adopted by Mr. Matthew Eaer, mana- 

 ger of the Sommer Farm in Tremon- 

 ton, Utah, is never to allow a wet spot 

 to appear the second season. The ex- 

 perience on this farm is that wet spots, 

 due to seepage, appear from year to 

 year in different parts of the farm. By 

 draining these spots as they appear, 

 this farm continues to yield abund- 

 antly. 



So much for wet spots which come 

 this spring. Our immediate concern, 

 however, "is those wet spots which 

 came last year and the year before. It 

 is not hard to tell even now where 

 those wet spots are. They fail to dry 

 even when the wind blows for days, 

 and when the surface generally is dry 

 enough to plow. They needed very 

 little irrigation, if any, last season. 



When indications of such sort as 

 these exist, it is time to go exploring 

 below the surface. It is surprising 

 how few farmers ever think of digging 

 a few holes in the ground even 

 when confronted with most certain 

 indications of seepage and waterlog- 

 ging. Besides showing how thoroughly 

 the soil is saturated, test holes will 

 reveal just what difficulties will be 

 encountered if draining is attempted. 



Irrigation cf Talk about the romance 

 Australia jf engineering! Here 



are hundreds of thou- 

 sands of square miles, formerly the des- 

 pair and terror of Government and 

 farmer alike, magically "struck," as 

 Moses struck the rock, and forthwith 

 turned into smilinsf fields of grain, and 



far stretching stock farms capable of 

 raising rams worth five thousand dol- 

 lars each! So writes William George 

 in the Technical World Magazine. 

 Truly the "dead heart" of Australia is 

 being slowly quickened into life by the 

 waterwizard's derrick and his boring 

 pipes, that are miles deep. A wonder- 

 ful victory of mind over matter, such 

 as enables the Commonwealth of Aus- 

 tralia to produce fine wool alone worth 

 nearly eighty million dollars a year! 

 —The Great West. 



Reclaimed H. H. Yard, who has op- 

 ■^'^^"^ I.- f erated most extensively 

 Land Thief j^ Government lands in 



Butte and Plumas counties, California, 

 seeking to obtain public domain in 

 those sections, has lost his fight for the 

 possession of about 265,000 acres 

 along the Feather River. The land 

 office at Susanville has rendered a de- 

 cision and report setting forth that in 

 more than ninety claims there is no 

 evidence of mineral. The lands taken 

 by Yard revert to the Government as 

 timber lands. 



The decision is causing much ex- 

 citement in Butte and Plumas counties, 

 where similar large tracts are endan- 

 gered. 



The outcome of the controversy is 

 a great victory for State Mineralogist 

 L. E. Aubury, who has for years 

 waged a bitter fight against individu- 

 als and corporations who took up tim- 

 ber lands under the Mineral and Plac- 

 er Land Act. Aubury began this con- 

 test in 1901 and took the case directly 

 to the President of the United States. 



]\Ir. Aubury says his action is in the 

 interests of the miners of California, 

 who are shut out by these land grab- 

 bers. 



Turks cf the The Milwaukee Journal 

 Ohio says that "Kismet" is a 



Valley Turkish word used to 



stupefy the will, as opium and has- 

 heesh stupefy the body and mind. 



"When evils come upon the Turk 

 he bows his head and mutters 'Kismet! 

 It is Fate!' 



