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water is being used under a ditch from which it was shut out by the 

 commissioner is prima facie evidence against tlie owners of the ditch 

 for changing the head gates. The commissioners and their deputies 

 are given the power to make arrests. Very httle is done under this, 

 however. The commissioners find that in many cases the district 

 attorneys will not ])rosecute, or if the}" do they make little effort to 

 convict. Juries will seldom convict for this offense. The early 

 reports of the commissioners, |)ublished in the reports of the State 

 engineer, are largely' made up of statements of their troubles mth 

 parties who refused to obey their orders and threatened bodily harm 

 to them in case they attempted to ])erforni their duties. However, 

 the sentiment against the unlawful taking of water and in favor of the 

 punishment of those who do so seems to be growing. 



The commissioners are charged also with the duty of collecting and 

 reporting statistics regarding irrigation in their districts. They are 

 to report the carrying capacity of each ditch and the quantity of 

 water carried by it each day of the season, the area under each ditch 

 and the number of acres watered, the kinds and acreages of crops 

 under each ditch, and the amount of water stored in each reservoir. 

 Blanks for keeping these records are supplied b}^ the wState engineer. 

 These include blanks for a daily record of the water carried by each 

 canal, which are to be turned in monthly and which contain columns 

 headed : (1) Day of the month; (2) Da}^ of the week; (3) Hour, a. m.; 

 (4) Gauge height; (5) Quantity; (6) Hour, p. m.; (7) Height; (8) 

 Quantity; (9) Average for day; and (10) Remarks. The last column is 

 to contain notes of the times when gates are changed, the changes 

 made, and what crops are being watered. There are also weekly 

 reports to the division engineer, showing the quantitj^ of water 

 received by the district from different sources, the quantity of water 

 used and the quantity flowing out of the district, the crops receiving 

 water, the time during which water will be required, the quantity 

 necessary to supply all needs, the date of the latest rights which are 

 being supplied, the condition of the weather, and crop conditions. 



In addition to this there is a "Water commissioner's field book," in 

 which he keeps the record for the whole season. This contains blanks 

 for both reservoirs and ditches. The ditch blanks contain for each 

 ditch columns for the dates and quantities of water carried, and a 

 summary showing the first day water was used, the last day water 

 was used, the number of days water was carried, the average daily 

 amount carried, the length of laterals, the number of acres that can 

 be irrigated, and the acreages of the following crops irrigated and 

 matured: Alfalfa, natural grass, cereals, orchard, market garden, 

 potatoes, sugar beets, and other crops. Statements of costs of repairs, 

 maintenance, and improvements are also included. The reservoir 

 blanks contain columns for the dates when water was delivered, the 



