RECLAMATION- OF ARID LANDS BEADLE. 



471 



In this connection it is well to note the difficulty of fixing an exact 

 time when a large reclamation project is physically completed. Irri- 

 gation may start with the completion of the first portion of the canal 

 and laterals, but the construction of the rest of the system may extend 

 over a number of years and yet keep well in advance of settlement 

 and development of the irrigable lands. A better knowledge of the 

 dependency of the water supply gained during these years by further 

 measurement and study may warrant additions to the canal system 

 and the area covered. Or the development of the new community 

 may sufficiently advance land values to justify further expense to 

 increase or conserve the water supply, as by building added storage 

 works or lining the canals with concrete to prevent seepage losses, in 

 either case permitting additional land to be served. 



Thus the project as a whole becomes a growing thing, and is not 

 to be compared to a single definite piece of construction, such as a dam 

 or office building, but is similar to a city or railroad system that in 

 a sense may be regarded as never complete. 



Nor is the matter of completion made definite by reference to the 

 plan before construction, for we commonly find that during the early 

 history of a large project, while it is being investigated for con- 

 struction, the conception of what the project finally will be suffers 

 radical changes with the surveys of canal lines and irrigable areas 

 and the accumulation of information regarding the water supply, 

 soil quality, and other factors. 



The Government projects now operated are listed in Table 2, which 

 shows that the Reclamation Service delivered irrigation water to 

 760,000 acres during 1914, but that the systems were constructed well 

 in advance of this, as noted above, being capable of serving 1,210,000 

 acres. In subsequent pages the principal projects are briefly de- 

 scribed with an outline of the work done since former reports. The 

 following tabulation gives some idea of the quantity and diversity 

 of construction work done by the Service on these projects: 



Table I. — Brief summary of construction results. 

 [To June 30, 1915.] 



