164 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



There are no quarrels between rival claimants for water, and it 

 gives rise to no litigation in the courts. Like other things sup- 

 phed by nature it is the best system possible if a man takes in- 

 telligent advantage of it. 



Not only is there no question about the water supply as long 

 as the rivers run, but soil cultivation is easier than under ditch 

 irrigation. Not only is the elevation less than some of Colo- 

 rado's most famous fruit districts, but the chmate is at least 

 equal to and very little different from that of Colorado. Cool 

 nights, ample moisture, and bright sunshine all combine to give 

 the high coloring and fine quality which has made Colorado 

 fruit famous. Western Nebraska has all of these. 



The extreme western part of Nebraska has a lesser amount 

 of sub-irrigated land because of the narrowing of the valleys. 

 The bench lands are used therefore and have fine soil usually 

 free from alkali. Their elevation above the river compells irri- 

 gation from ditches. There are now within the state more than 

 twenty-five hundred miles of irrigating ditches, the Platte river 

 alone supplying about twelve hundred miles of canals, watering 

 560,000 acres. Additions are constantly being made to these 

 ditches and to the areas brought under their beneficent in- 

 fluence. 



The most important plan now in contemplation is to dam the 

 North Platte river above Casper, Wyoming. Here the stream 

 forces its way through rocky barriers having a narrow channel 

 with a rock bottom. It is proposed to construct a dam of such 

 height and proportions as will impound enough of the flood 

 waters to irrigate at least 100,000 acres. The Government will 

 construct the necessary ditches. It will be at once apparent 

 that the storage of a portion of the winter flow until needed in 

 midsummer will be of benefit to the entire Platte valley. 



Now given fertile soil, an abundance of water, and favorable 

 chmate, I see no reason why the fruit products should not equal 

 in excellence those of Colorado. 



APPLES. 



Some of the finest Jonathan apples I ever saw, ten and one- 

 fourth inches in circumference and with brilliant coloring, were 



