IRRUiATION. 



415 



Whilo the irrig-ated huuls have novor and can never compete with the 

 rest of the country in agricultural \alues yet they afford the only 

 remaining opportunity for the creation of homes, and they insure the 

 highest type of agricultural and social development. The small irri- 

 gated farm, with intensive cultivation and the suburban conditions 

 made possil)le under the circumstances, is the most attractive farm 

 life, and the owners and cultivators of these farms form the most 

 stable and substantial class of citizens, so that, although the numl)ers 

 and the area mav be relativelv small, vet the opportunities are g-reat. 



Fli;. 1.— Map of irrigated and irrigablo areas. [The solid black spots are the irrigated areas, the 

 dotted areas are the localities where irrigation may be extended.] 



It is estimated that by the construction of storage reservoirs, by 

 diverting large rivers, and by sinking deep or artesian wells, it will 

 be practicable ultimately to irrigate nearly ten times the area now 

 cultivated ))y irrigation (tig. 4). There is a wide iriargin as to the 

 probable acreage, ajul it has })een placed at fi'om Oo.ot >(),()( )(» to 

 loo.OOO.OdO acres ultimately reclaimable within two or three genera- 

 tions. The amount, however, will <lei)end Avholly upon the treatment 

 now accorded by Congress to the public lands. Hy leaving matters as 

 they are, only a small ])roportion of this extent will ever be irrigated. 



