329 



attempted of the small iiiigatious of lioiiso ^aniens, lawns, ami fniif. trevs wliich 

 prevail in every city, town, and villa^^o west of the ninety -seventh meriiluin. Alto- 

 gether it will not be unreasonable to suppose that the area actually cultivated iu 

 1890 reaches at least 8,000,000 acres. 



Estimated areas of arid lands redain^hU hi/ irrigation. 



Political divisions. 



Ciilifomia 



ColoriKlo 



Bakotrius, North aiid Soiitli 



Nevada 



Arizona 



Montaua 



Idaho 



New Mexico 



Utah 



Rechiiniable 

 by irrigation. 



Acre^. 



25,O0()fO0U 



•J(», (10(1, (»()(! 



:i:f, (10(1, 000 



7,00(1,000 

 12,000,000 

 30, 000, 000 

 10,000,000 

 14,000,000 

 10, 000, 000 



Political divisioim. 



AVyoiiiiiiK 



I'ldilic hind .strip 



'I'cxas, we.st of !I7° 



Ore-ion and \\'a,><liinj;ton, east of 



Casiadi' Itanjre 



Kansas, Nebraska, Ukhilionia, and 



Indian Territory, west of 97^ . . . 



Total 



Keehiiniablo 

 by irrigation. 



Acres. 

 12, 000, OOOi 

 2, 000, 00© 

 20, 000, 00ft 



•JO, 00<J, (lO(J) 



30, 000, 000> 



245, 000, OOOi 



Artesian and undkkflow investigation in Nebraska and> 

 Kansas, E, S. Kettleton (pp. U, maps and tables li*).— A report oir 

 investigations in ISTon ember and December, 1890, in the valleys of tliC' 

 riatte and Arkansas Eivers. The author states that in Kansas and 

 Nebraskji — 



The necessity for irrigation is growing less and the line separating the himiid from 

 the semiarid regions is moving we.st ward. This movement is, however, growing 

 slower and slower, with each degree covered, and the point where it will stop will 

 somewhere be reached. * * * TIki difference in the final outcome of irrigation 

 development in Kansas and Nebraska and that in Colorado will be that irrigation 

 in Kansas and Nebraska will be confined to disconnected and smaller irrigation 

 districts and the more general utilization of the underground waters, and doubtless 

 a much smaller percentage of land cultivated by aid of irrigation. 



The various metliods of irrigation available to a greater or less extent 

 for this region are as follows : 



(1) The use of subterranean water obtained by ojien snbllow ditches. 



(2) The use of subterranean waters raised a few feet by mechanical means. 



(3) The use of subterranean waters raised from the ordinary farm wells by wind- 

 mills. 



(4) The use of the small perennial flow of the streams on the plains. 



(5) The storage and immediate use of storm waters. 

 (G) The use of the flow of artesian wells. 



WEATHER BUREAU. 



Special Eeport for 1891, M. W. RARRiNCrTON (]>p. 26). — This 

 iiu'hides general statements regjirding the reorganization of the Bureau 

 after its transfer to this Department July 1, 1891, and accounts of the 

 oi^erations of the different branches of the Bureau. "Local forecast 

 otticials" have been appointed at the larger cities, who are to study 

 especially the climatology and topography of their respective sections, 

 as well as the relation of the weather to the growth of crops. These 

 observers are permitted to predict the Aveather for more than 1 day 



