288 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The authors describe the topography, climate, water and laud resources, 

 products of irrigated lands, water laws, settlement of irrigated lands, and the 

 future development of irrigation farming. Climate and rainfall conditions 

 are discussed in their relation to irrigation, the rainfall variations throughout 

 the State being particularly noted. At Prineville the total annual rainfall is 

 8.2 in., while at Glenora it is 136.3 in. The water resources are stated to be 

 exceptionally great because of the topography, the average run-off from the 

 entire State being 1.9 second-feet per square mile. This is, however, mostly in 

 the western part of the State, where it is impossible to utilize it for irrigation 

 purposes, although the possibilities for water power development are apparently 

 almost unlimited. The discharge of streams in the main drainage areas of the 

 State is given in tabular form and there is a map showing the streams available 

 for irrigation. 



Of the lands in the State about one-third of the total area was public unre- 

 served land on July 1, 1906. Its distribution and character are shown in a 

 table compiled from the report of the U. S. General Land Office for 1906. 



The leading feature of agricultural development in the State is the great 

 variety and excellent quality of the products. The average yield and value of 

 fruits in the State are given, and the yields and net profits of crops are shown 

 by tables. Fruits are reported to yield from $120 to $350 an acre, while alfalfa 

 has yielded a net profit of $32 per acre, and sugar beets of $40 per acre. 



The fact of the large annual rainfall has made it difficult to convince the 

 people of the need and benefit of Irrigation and is thus operating against its 

 development. The laws previous to 1909 have also not been favorable, and 

 it is only within a few years that irrigation has developed rapidly. More 

 expensive works are now being undertaken, largely it is thought because of 

 Federal legislation. 



The authors consider that the future of irrigation farming will be affected 

 by recent favorable legislation, improved transportation facilities and methods 

 of irrigated agriculture, and a better understanding of the needs and benefits 

 of irrigation. Experiments conducted by this Office have demonstrated these 

 benefits, but it is believed that actual demonstrations on a practical scale will 

 be necessary to convince the landowners of the need for irrigation. 



In discussing the laws the authors include the numerous statutes and court 

 decisions prior to the 1909 law, the principal points and applications of which 

 are noted and explained. 



Irrigation in South Dakota, S. H. Lea (U. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. 

 Bui. 210, pp. (SO, )ii(ip. 1). — This report, which is one of the series noted above, 

 gives the present status of irrigation in South Dakota and includes the in- 

 formation deemed necessary for lu'ospective settlers. 



The first part of the bulletin describes the natural features of the State and 

 mentions briefly its industries, viz, agriculture and stock raising, the latter 

 being by far the more important. Considerable space is devoted to the water 

 resources, under which are described the various river systems, with a map 

 showing streams available for irrigation. LTnderground waters and the appro- 

 priated and unappropriated waters are enumerated. Tables of stream measure- 

 ment, abstracted from the reports of the U. S. Geological Survey, are included. 



The different types of land found in the State are indicated, with their loca- 

 tion and extent, showing the unoccupied and irrigated areas. The greater 

 part of the lands of the State are classed as arable, there being over 16,000,000 

 acres, exclusive of Indian farms, in this class. The rest of the area comprises 

 National Forests, swamp and overflowed lands, hills and buttes, and 2,000 

 sq. miles of Bad Lands. The crops raised are small grains, fruits, vegetables, 



