STATES EELATCONS SERVICE. 563 



In 1896 this oflSice was called upon to extend its work relatini^ to ir- 

 rigation. Under its supervision were prepared Farmers' Bulletin 

 46, " Irrigation in humid climates," by Prof. F. H. King, of the 

 Wisconsin College of Agriculture, who had studied irrigation prac- 

 tices in several European countries in 1895; Department Bulletin 

 36, " Notes on irrigation in Connecticut and New Jersey," by C. S. 

 Phelps and E. B. Voorhees. 



Increasing need for wider investigation of the legal, adminis- 

 trative, and agricultural problems relating to irrigation led to an 

 appeal from interested parties in the Western States to Congress for 

 an appropriation for this purpose. In the appropriation act for 

 the department for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1898, was in- 

 cluded an item of $10,000 for " collecting from agricultural colleges, 

 experiment stations, and other sources, including the employnient of 

 practical agents, valuable information and data on the subject of 

 irrigation, and publishing the same in bulletin form." By order of 

 Secretary Wilson, supervision of this work was assigned to the Office 

 of Experiment Stations. 



To aid in determining the lines of work to be conducted, a con- 

 ference was held at Denver, July 12 and 13, 1898, which was at- 

 tended by experiment station officers and irrigation engineers from 

 six Western States, together with the director and Mr. Beal, of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations. After careful consideration it was 

 decided to confine the work of the office on irrigation to (1) the col- 

 lation and publication of information regarding the laws and insti- 

 tutions of the irrigated region in their relation to agriculture, and 

 (2) the publication of available information regarding the use of 

 irrigation waters in agriculture as determined by actual experience 

 of farmers and experimental investigations, and the encouragement 

 of further investigations in this line by the experiment stations. 



Elwood Mead, State engineer of Wyoming, was selected to have 

 immediate charge of this work, with headquarters at Cheyenne, 

 Wyo., which were afterwards transferred to Washington. Studies 

 of laws and water rights were immediately begun and plans were 

 made for cooperative investigations on the duty of water and other 

 subjects. So much interest was aroused in this matter that Congress 

 at its next session increased the appropriation to $35,000, of which 

 ^10,000 was made immediately available, and the language of the ap- 

 propriation act was changed to provide for investigations and re- 

 ports " upon the laws and institutions relating to irrigation and 

 upon the use of irrigation waters, with special suggestions of better 

 methods for the utilization of irrigation waters in agriculture than 

 those in common use," and for cooperation of the experiment sta- 

 tions in this work. On this broader and more permanent basis irri- 

 gation investigations were conducted by the Office of Experiment 

 Stations for 16 years, until they were transferred to the Office of 

 Public Roads in 1915, where they have since been continued. Doc- 

 tor Mead resigned in 1907 to take charge of similar work in Aus- 

 tralia and was succeeded by Dr. Samuel Fortier, who had been in 

 charge of the work in California. 



The passage of the reclamation act in 1902 and the consequent 

 great activity of the Government in the construction of large irriga- 

 tion works in the Western States greatly stimulated public interest 



