IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 481 



Although the niiiifull of the present year was a))Ove the average 

 and good crop.s were grown throughout this region on lands not irri- 

 gated, the results of irrigation showed that in such years irrigation 

 is a marked benefit. It increased the yield of corn 46 per cent, Bur- 

 bank potatoes 95 per cent, and early Ohio potatoes 03 per cent. 



For the past two years we have given consideraltle attention to the 

 possibilities of irrigation b\- the use of small water supi)lies in south- 

 western Texas. In the early spring of 19U3 eti'orts were made to 

 gather the results of practical experience in this region, and these 

 were of such an encouraging character as to warrant the extension of 

 similar investigations in this region to those carried on in Kansas. 



Reference has alread}' been made to the investigation in the use of 

 small water supplies in parts of Oregon and Montana. It is believed 

 that these studies should be extended. As we reach a })etter under- 

 standing of the climate and soil of the arid region, we are finding out 

 that the portions of it which are wholly arid are much more restricted 

 than was formerly believed. Scattered here and there are areas where 

 certain crops can ])e grown ever\' year, where all kinds of crops can 

 be grown some 3'ears, and where a small supplemental supply of water 

 will insure success every 3'ear. The largest yields of wheat in Wash- 

 ington and some of the finest fruit orchards are in the district which 

 lies on the border line between success and failure in growing crops 

 by rainfall alone. The men who arc developing these sections will be 

 greatl}' aided b}- the work we have inaugurated in Kansas, Oklahoma, 

 and Texas, and, in addition, the carrying out of these investigations 

 will suggest means of more etiectuallv inaugurating them in these 

 isolated districts. 



SOUTH DAKOTA. 



A. B. Crane, Professor of Civil and Agricultural Engineering, South Dakota Agricul- 

 tural College, in charge. 



For the past two years, Professor Crane has been collecting data on 

 the value of irrigation and on irrigation methods emplo3ed in South 

 Dakota. In r.M)2, he reported upon irrigation by gravity in the Black 

 Hills region. In 1003, he made a stud\' of irrigation from wells in 

 the vall(!y of James River. In this vallev, artesian svells can be found 

 in many sections, and from ISKO to 181H, many large and costly wells 

 were suidc. The greater part of these were (J inches in diameter and 

 varied in depth from 500 to 1,300 feet. Few of them proved finan- 

 cially pi-ofitable. They cost from $2,500 to $4,000. The farmers 

 who made use of the water knew nothing of irrigation and distributed 

 and applied it without any economy or system. The result was that 

 the benefits derived from irrigation did not pay interest on the cost 



8. Doc. 148, 58-2 31 



