IKKIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 35 



OREGON. 



H. W. Grunsky assumed charge of the work in this State at the 

 beginning of the fiscal year and has collected data and is preparing a 

 bulletin on irrigation in the State. Most of his time in the future 

 will be spent in collecting data in regard to irrigation methods and 

 practices and rendering advice and assistance to settlers, as is being 

 done in the other States. 



WYOMING. 



Fred C. Scobey, located at Cheyenne, now has charge of the work 

 in this State. The same lines of w^ork will be continued at the dem- 

 onstration farms at Cheyenne and Newcastle as heretofore. He will 

 also spend a large part of his time in going about from place to place 

 in sections where new lands are being brought under irrigation, with 

 the purpose of demonstrating to new settlers the better methods of 

 preparing land and applying water. During the past year data were 

 collected regarding the irrigation development in the State under the 

 Carey Act and irrigation district law. 



COOPERATION WITH THE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS. 



During the past year and a half this office has cooperated with the 

 Bureau of the Census in taking an irrigation census of the United 

 States. Tabulation of the data obtained has been completed in part 

 by the Bureau of the Census and some of the results published. 

 These results bring out clearly three great needs for work such as 

 comes within the field of this office, namely: (1) The collection of 

 data and publishing of bulletins intended to give the information 

 desired by persons contemplating settling in the irrigated sections 

 and to assist both the new and old settlers in solving the many prob- 

 lems which arise in irrigating their lands; (2) investigations and 

 experiments pertaining to the water requirements of crops, preven- 

 tion of losses, and other subjects aifecting the duty of water; (3) 

 a careful study of the organization and management of irrigation 

 enterprises. 



Construction has far outrun settlement in the irrigated sections 

 during the past 10 years, and the greatest need of the irrigated West 

 to-day is settlers rather than the starting of new projects. The en- 

 terprises now completed or under way are ample to satisfy the 

 demand for lands during the next decade or more. The area irri- 

 gated increased from 7,527,700 acres in 1899 to 13,739,500 acres in 

 1909. This increase in itself is remarkable and may be attributed in 

 part to the prominence given irrigation by new^spapers, maga- 

 zines, lecturers, and real-estate agents. However, even with this 

 rapid increase, the enterprises reported that by July 1, 1910, they 

 would be able to supply water to an additional 5,596,000 acres, and 



