74 



has made no such measurements, except in cooperation with the 

 United States Geoloojical Survey. The Survey is making maps show- 

 ing the location of all ditches and all irrigated lands, with the names 

 of the owners, contour lines, and, more recently, farm buildings. 

 Such maps have been made for the Carson, Truckee, and Walker 

 rivers, and one is now being made for the Humboldt River. The 

 State is to pay not to exceed one-tenth of the total cost of these sur- 

 veys. Having these maps, the engineer traces new maps of the tracts 

 belonging to each farmer. These small maps are taken to the farmers, 

 and the engineer goes over the ground to assure the farmer that the 

 map is correct and get his signature to it as correct. When the maps 

 have been signed in this way, the areas of irrigated land are measured 

 with a planimeter. After these measurements are made, the farmer is 

 again visited and testimony is taken as to when each piece of land was 

 first irrigated. These statements are then compared with the claims 

 previously filed, and if there is a disagreement the matter is gone over 

 with the owner and with his neighbors and an attempt is made to 

 explain the difference and make the new claim correct. Dates of all 

 extensions and enlargements of ditches are secured in the same wa}^ 

 All of this taking of testimony is done by personal visits to the land- 

 owners rather than in any formal hearing. As much of the land has 

 changed hands since it was first irrigated, the owners are not always 

 conversant with the facts as to early use of water, and in such cases 

 the older settlers who are still residing in the neighborhood, or some- 

 times those who have moved away, are called in to give testimony as 

 to the facts. In some cases early settlers are induced to return for 

 this particular purpose, and in other cases their testimony is secured 

 by deposition or informal comnnmications. The expense for this 

 collecting of testimony is paid by the owTiers of the land. 



All of the material collected in this way is finally summarized by the 

 engineer and put in such shape that it can be sworn to as depositiouB 

 in case of contest. The compilation of the testimony made by the engi- 

 neer is printed in pamphlet form, a copy being sent to each claimant 

 and to his attorney, if he has one, in order that all may have notice of 

 the claims of others as well as of their own claims. Such a pamphlet 

 was issued for the Carson River. 



The claims make no mention of the quantities of water used, but 

 give merely the acreages by legal subdivisions and the dates when 

 they were first irrigated. No contests arose in the adjudication of 

 the Carson, but in case they had arisen each claimant would have 

 been required to protect his ovra right. The engineer would not 

 have been responsible for this. From these claims the State engi- 

 neer made up his list of rights on the Carson, the only expense to 

 the claimants being the notary fees. Certificates were issued to the 

 (Claimants, statmg what rights they were found to have. The law 



