902 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



experiment stations in continuing their investigations, which have 

 already attracted much favorable attention in the East. 



As far as practicable the cooperation of the experiment stations will 

 be sought in these investigations, and it is hoped that one result of 

 this work will be that the stations will not only be able to develop their 

 investigations relating to irrigation in the lines in which the Depart- 

 ment will work under this appropriation, but also in other important 

 lines involving operations by different divisions of the station. It is 

 believed that by concentrating their efforts on problems based on the 

 requirements of agriculture under irrigation, the stations in a number 

 of States and Territories may materially enhance their usefulness. 



It should be clearly understood that the irrigation investigations of 

 this Department are intended to cover only a limited portion of the . 

 field of investigations relating to agriculture under irrigation which 

 the stations and the different divisions of the Department may prop- 

 erly undertake. An effort will be made to mark out a line of work for 

 these investigations which will give them a distinct place between the 

 investigations of the Geological Survey relating to the topography 

 and water supply of the irrigated region, and those of the different 

 branches of the Department and stations which relate to the climate 

 and plants of that region. Aside from the studies of the laws and 

 institutions of communities in which irrigation is practiced, the irri- 

 gation investigations will have for their chief object the determina- 

 tion of the economic and profitable utilization of water in agriculture 

 as it is supplied to the farmer through reservoirs, canals, and ditches. 

 In these investigations, as in nearly all others relating to the complex 

 science of agriculture, there will be many points of contact with 

 investigations conducted under other auspices, and thus many oppor- 

 tunities for cooperative effort will be presented. With so large a field 

 of operations and so great interests at stake, there will be abundant 

 room for all the agencies now at work for the benefit of agriculture of 

 the irrigated region to fully utilize all the means at their command. 

 Besides the development of the irrigation investigations, the Department 

 will, for example, continue studies of alkali soils, the native and culti- 

 vated plants and trees best adapted to the arid regions, and other 

 related questions. 



The people of that vast area of our country in which agriculture and 

 the other industries are so largely dependent on the successful practice 

 of irrigation, are to be congratulated that attention was more earnestly 

 and successfully drawn to their needs during the recent session of 

 Congress than ever before, and more ample provision than heretofore 

 was made for studying the problems of agriculture in that region, 

 through increased appropriations for the work of the Geological Survey 

 and different branches of this Department. 



