150 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



States and is able to demonstrate that its nutrition work is of interest 

 and practical value, as well as of scientific importance. 



IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 



During the past year the Office of Experiment Stations, while 

 maintaining most of the old lines of work in its irrigation investiga- 

 tions, has endeavored to modify its plans so as to meet the demands 

 for information on the new issues which are constantly arising. 



This is particularly true as regards the assistance which has been 

 given to the new settlers. The task of converting desert land into 

 productive fields is not easy under the most favorable conditions, but 

 when the one who attempts it knows little or notliing about irrigated 

 farming the . difficulties are greatly increased. Those in charge of 

 irrigation investigations in the West have, therefore, devoted a con- 

 siderable portion of their time to advising the newcomers as to the 

 methods best adapted to their individual needs. This personal 

 advice, supplemented by practical bulletins, has done much to prevent 

 mistakes and to safeguard the settler from either partial or total 

 failure. 



So \\'idespread an interest has of late been created in the East regard- 

 ing irrigation in the West that the Department has been flooded wdth 

 requests for information as to the conditions and possibilities of differ- 

 ent districts. The series of bulletins on irrigation prepared by tliis 

 Department in cooperation vnth western state engineers and others 

 has done much to furnish the information desired. Of this series, 

 ten bulletins have already been published and four more are being 

 prepared. When complete, the irrigation conditions as regards the 

 climate, soil, water supply, extent of land, crops, etc., of each State 

 and Territory in the West will be accurately described . 



In former days water for irrigation purposes was both plentiful 

 and cheap and in attempting to use it much was wasted. In many 

 parts of the West the old wasteful methods still prevail, although the 

 value of water has increased many fold. The results of seepage 

 measurements of irrigation channels obtained by the Department, 

 coupled with the high price of water rights and the rise in value of 

 agricultural products, have induced many companies to line their 

 main canals. As a result, many channels which formerly lost from 20 

 to 30 per cent of their total flow are now practically watertight. In 

 many cases such improvements would not have been made if the 

 attention of the managers had not been called by our engineers to the 

 large losses sustained and the best means of preventing this waste. 

 In other cases farmers used large amounts of water without realizing 

 how excessive was the use until measurements were taken. When 

 the irrigators of the San Joaquin Valley in California first began to 

 apply water on what had been dry-farmed grain fields they frequently 



