706 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



equable delivery of water from the canals, and by more skillful 

 application of the water to the fields. 



The increasing cost of utilizing surface supplies of water has also 

 led to the installation of many pumping plants to use the under- 

 ground waters. This has created a great demand for information 

 regarding wells, pumps, and kinds of power adapted to irrigation. 

 At least six of the State agents have devoted a considerable portion 

 of their time to this phase of the investigations, and as a result many 

 costly mistakes on the part of the irrigators have been prevented and 

 more efficient plants have been installed. 



The demonstration farms described in former reports have been 

 continued at Davis, Cal., Gooding, Idaho, Newcastle and Cheyenne, 

 "VVyo., and Eads, Colo., for the purpose of demonstrating proper 

 methods of using water and the possibility of irrigating small tracts 

 in connection with larger areas used for dry farming. The experi- 

 ments to ascertain the losses of water from irrigated soils under 

 diiferent conditions have also been continued during the year at Agri- 

 cultural College, N. Mex., Bozeman, INIont., Williston, N. Dak., Sunny- 

 side, Wash., Reno, Nev., and Davis, Cal., the experiments for the 

 fiscal year having been planned to show the effects upon the evapora- 

 tion of cultivating the soil at different depths. 



The demands of rice growers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas 

 for information and advice regarding the methods and the effects of 

 irrigating rice have become very urgent. Two men were added dur- 

 ing the year to this field, but the number is still inadequate to solve 

 the many new problems arising from time to time. The interest in 

 irrigation in other sections of the humid regions which have suffered 

 so from drought during the past two years has also greatly increased, 

 and requests for information regarding the methods adapted to east- 

 ern conditions and the possibilities and costs of supplementary irriga- 

 tion have been received almost daily. Cooperative experiments were 

 continued in AVisconsin, Iowa, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and New 

 Jersey during the year. Only a small amount of data, however, is 

 available as yet, but this points to the conclusion that before many 

 years all high-priced, intensively farmed crops in the humid section 

 will be insured against drought by the means of irrigation. 



During the year the office has cooperated with 10 States, either 

 directly or indirectly through their experiment stations, in carrying 

 out irrigation investigations. The total amount expended by the 

 several States and Territories in funds and services under these co- 

 operative agreements has exceeded $20,000. These cooperative agree- 

 ments have enabled the field of investigations to be greatly extended, 

 have afforded trained men to oversee experiments, and many results 

 have been obtained which could not have been possible otherwise. 



WORK IN THE FISCAL YEAR 1912. 



The increased appropriation made by the last Congress for irriga- 

 tion investigations, together with a number of new cooperative agree- 

 ments, will make possible many needed improvements and extensions 

 of the work in 1912. The general plan of the work will be the same 

 as in 1911. In States where work has been in progress heretofore, it 

 will be increased and the scope broadened, and as far as possible 

 State agents will be assigned to those States in the irrigated region in 



