IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 495 



province of INIihin. Thorc arc several iinpoitaiit ancient canals which 

 are used for navi<;ati()n, l)ut many of tht; large irri«;-ation canals have 

 been ])iiilt within the past tifty ycai's. Anions- those \isite(l, the last 

 to be completed cost about !^i,:iOO,OUO and has been linished about live 

 years. 



One of the instructive features of Italy's irri^^ation system is the 

 way in which farmers have united in ((^'perative societies to build 

 and operate canals or to distribute water from laterals. The largest 

 of these societies is the Iirigation Association of Vercelli. It has 

 14,000 members and controls the irrigation of 141,000 acres. It 

 supervises the operation of over 9,000 miles of canals and ditches, 

 with 40 water masters, and has about 2G0 miles of telephone lines. 

 It Vniys water at wholesale and pays on an average !^170,0(»() a year 

 for the (piantity purchased. The main societ}' is divided into 40 sub- 

 ordinate societies, each of which elects a member to a general assem- 

 bly which directs the polic}' of the association. This society transacts 

 a business of about ^600,000 a year. 



One of the effects of these cooperative societies is the absence of 

 friction and controversy between neighbors and neigh ))orhoods, so 

 often manifest in the United States. In the society above referred to 

 there has never been an appeal f I'oni the decision of the manager, nor 

 a single instance of a meml>er's failing to pay his water rentals. In 

 traveling through a i-(>gion in which 27,000 cubic feet of water per 

 second was being distril)uted every day, there was not a single com- 

 plaint of injustice or extortion, not a fear expressed by an}- farmer 

 that he would not receive his share of water wlu'n his turn came. 



Much of the land is farmed by tenants and, as the area each culti- 

 vates is small, the general practice is to rotate the use of water along the 

 laterals. These rotations are worked out with a system not approached 

 anywhere in the United States outside of Utah and a few ditches in 

 southern California. In one instance the turn of a farmer was only 

 one hour each week. It began at 7 o'clock Monday morning and 

 ended at 8 o'clock. Each seventh day there was a watering which 

 could be absolutely lelied upon. The farmer paid al)Out $♦> a A'ear for 

 the watering of each acre. In looking over the accounts of one asso- 

 ciation the largest annual payment byan}^ farmer for water was found 

 to be al)out ^1,200 and the smallest 4 cents. 



The govermnent exercises absolute control over the public streams 

 and regulates the amounts each canal may divert. Parties wishing to 

 build new canals nuist obtain th(^ (Tovernment's consent. No pei-petual 

 rights to wat(M' are now granted, Ai)pi()|)riations are treated as fran- 

 chises and their life is limited to thirty years. On tlie other hand, the 

 Government is liberal in its treatment of meritorious projects, fre- 

 quently extending aid hy paying the interest on bonds issued to secure 

 fnnds to build canals, the usual plan being to pay :'> \h'v cint for tiio 



