OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 297 



double those of the unirrigated. lu Wisconsin the net increase in the 

 value of crops due to irrigation was $20 an acre for hay, $11 an acre 

 for corn, and $73 an acre for potatoes. These Avere exceptional because 

 of the drought which i^revailed, but there is reason to believe that in 

 growing high-i^riced products, and crops which require a large amount 

 of moisture, irrigation is destined to be very largely emploj^ed. 



WORK OF THE IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS FOR 1902 AND 1903. 



The increased demand for information has furnished conclusive 

 evidence of the value of these investigations, while their efficiency 

 has been iDroraoted by the legislation of Congress last winter, which 

 both broadened their scope and made their aims more definite. The 

 studies of the laws under which rights to water are established and 

 streams are divided have assumed a new imjportance through the exten- 

 sion of National aid in the construction of irrigation works, and in order 

 to better direct these investigations the arid region has been divided 

 up into three districts. The headquarters of the central district, or the 

 Rocky Mountain region, is at Cheyenne, "VVyo., with Mr. C. T. Johnston, 

 assistant chief of irrigation investigations, in charge. The western 

 district will be imder the direction of Prof. J. M. Wilson, assistant 

 professor of iri-igation engineering, University of California, Berke- 

 ley, Cal. The northern district is under the direction of Prof. S. 

 Fortier, dii-ector of the Montana agricultural experiment station, 

 Bozemau, Mont. This arrangement brings about a somewhat more 

 direct supervision in sections having like climatic conditions, and 

 also enables Prof. Elwood Mead, chief of the investigations, to give 

 more of his time to the broader problems connected withlhe organi- 

 zation of the irrigation industry, which is necessary to the best and 

 largest use of the great rivers of the West. 



INTERSTATE WATER RIGHTS. 



The appropriation for these investigations provides for a report on 

 the laws affecting irrigation and the rights of riparian proprietors. 

 One of the most complex questions connected with these laws is their 

 relation to the use of interstate streams. Where rivers flow through 

 two or more States, different State laws control the same water suppl}'. 

 In some instances these laws conflict, as is the case where the com- 

 mon law doctrine of riparian rights is recognized in one State and 

 the doctrine of appropriation in another State. Neglect to provide 

 by law for an adjustment of these conflicts will inevitably lead to 

 numerous and costly contests in the courts in the near future. Ignor- 

 ing the gravity of these problems will not answer. The policy of doing 

 nothing will not serve. The first essential to a satisfactory settle- 

 ment of these issues is an accurate knowledge of existing conditions. 

 To gather this information is a matter involving care, time, and a 

 considerable outlay. The whole West can not be taken up at once. 

 One stream must be studied at a time. It is desirable, therefore, 

 that the problems first reported upon should be both important and 

 representative. 



The North Platte River and its tributaries fulfills these conditions and 

 presents both a convenient and an instructive example of the comj^li- 

 cations growing out of Western civilization. It flows through three 

 States; three codes of water laws affect the use of its waters. In one 

 State the riparian doctrine is recognized ; in the other two it has been 

 abrogated. Each State makes claim to all the waters within its bor- 



