422 IRRIGATION. 



answer is that the Government is the great landowner of the western 

 halt* of the United States, and that it is for the interests of all of the 

 people of the country to have these lands settled by men tilling their 

 own farms; but, more than this, agriculture in an arid region yields 

 results far greater than in humid climates or those of uncontrollable 

 moisture. In countries where the sun shines every day the develop- 

 ment of plant life, with proper moisture, is far greater than in regions 

 of prevailing clouds and occasional storms. The yield per acre is 

 greater, and where the temperature is favorable crop follows crop 

 throughout the year. With unlimited sunshine and properly regu- 

 lated moisture the farmer has a far safer and more remunerative 

 occupation than in the East. 



Irrigation properly conducted means intensive farming, the cultiva- 

 tion of the soil in the best possible manner, and diversified crops. 

 The area which any one man can cultivate under such conditions is far 

 less and the yield per acre correspondingly greater. In the best irri- 

 gated regions farms are very small, the average size of cultivated 

 area in Utah being less than 80 acres. Small farms and the economy 

 which must be practiced in conveying water results in comparatively 

 dense rural population. In southern California the irrigated tracts 

 in orchards and vineyards are so small that the farming region takes 

 on the appearance of suburban communities. The houses, instead of 

 being a mile apart, as on the prairies and plains of the central part of 

 the country, are within a few rods of one another. Social intercourse 

 is possible, good roads are assured, and rapid communication through 

 electric car lines. 



Cultivation of arid lands by means of irrigation results in a far 

 higher type of civilization than is possible on isolated and lonely 

 farms. Diversified agriculture, the raising of vegetables and small 

 fruits, and the keeping of various domestic animals also necessitate 

 greater mental as well as physical activity, continuous employment for 

 all the members of a family, and many minor industries impossible 

 where attention is concentrated upon a single crop, such as wheat, 

 corn, or cotton. 



The small farms so successful under irrigation make possible a colony 

 life such as that practiced by the Mormons in Utah and exemplified 

 in the early history of the Greeley Colony in Colorado. The success 

 attained has led to a most interesting experiment, that of the Salvation 

 Army helping the people to get back to the soil. In their work in 

 big cities the Salvation Army has come across almost innumerable 

 men and women who are eager for an opportunity to get away and 

 start life anew in the open air. Out of the thousands of applications 

 there have been selected certain families apparently best qualified for 

 success, and these have been located upon small irrigable farms. 

 Nothing is actually given these people outright except the opportunity 



