IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 473 



studied for the iniipose of sclcctinj^- loetdities for ('X})erinients to deter- 

 uiino the l)eneHts of irrioatioii. which will till the subsoil with moisture, 

 will furnisli :ui etfectivo sup[)leinent to the ruinfuU of the succeeding 

 summer, and thus add to the certainty and anioiftit of yields obtained. 



WASHINGTON. 



O. L. Waller, Professor of Irrigation Engineering, Washington Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Statitjn, in charge. 



The most important irrigated district in Washington is the Yakima 

 Valley. Here the large yields of grain, alfalfa, and fruit have given 

 hmd and water an exceptional value, and have led to a rapid extension 

 of the irrigated area during the past five 3'ears. This increased 

 demand on the stream is making imi)erative better arrangements for 

 the division of water betwecMi ditches and its more economical use by 

 farmers. 



In addition to the extension of irrigation under ditches already built, 

 the construction of a numlier of other large works is either under wa}' 

 or the preliminary arrangements are far advanced. A canal 41 miles 

 long is being built near Ellensburg; the Indian Bureau of the United 

 States Government is building a canal to water 20,000 acres near 

 Yakima; the Sunnyside Canal is being extended to bring several 

 thousand acres of land under irrigation; and a high-line canal, esti- 

 mated to cost $3,000,000, is being surveyed. Estimates are being 

 prepared for the construction of storage reservoirs, and the complete 

 utilization of this river in the near future is assured. 



The measurements of acreage irrigated made by this Office show that 

 an area of 110,000 acres of land is now being irrigated and that there 

 is under ditches already constructed an additional area of 130,000 

 aci'es which can ])e irrigated. This makes a total of 240,000 acres 

 which can be supplied when the present ditches have been enlarged 

 and put in better condition. To this can be added a large area of land 

 along the Colunil)ia River. Near jMa))ton manv thousand acres can be 

 supplied from the Indian canal, if it can ])e extended in tliat direction. 

 To furnish the w^ater for this land the natural tlow of the river can be 

 supplemented by storage. Several natural lakes with a combined 

 capacity of 240,000 acre-feet can be utilized for this purpose with a 

 diit\' of 110 acres for each cubic foot of Avater per second. This stream 

 will serve 300,000 acres of land, but with the duty shown in some of 

 the measurements made })y this Office, where enough water was applied 

 to the land in a single season to cover it to a depth of 10 feet, it will 

 not serve one-third of that area. The work of this Office is to promote 

 the adoption of methods needed to secure the higher duty. 



At the present time there are no administrative regulations to pro- 

 tect the rights of the dillerent appropriators or to insure economy in 



