RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS NEWELL. 173 



SIZE OF FARM. 



The size of the farms obtainable from the public domain is defined 

 by the reclamation act not by an arbitrary number of acres, as in the 

 case of the homestead and other similar laws, but the Secretary of the 

 Interior is required to give a " limit of area per entry, which limit 

 shall represent the acreage which in the opinion of the Secretary may 

 be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the lands in 

 question." 



With reference to the right to the use of water sold for lands in 

 private ownership, the limit is placed at 160 acres " to any one land- 

 owner, and no such sale shall be made to any landowner unless he be 

 an actual bona fide resident on such land or occupant thereof, resid- 

 ing in the neighborhood." These provisions necessitate a study in 

 advance of the character of the irrigable land, so that it may be 

 divided into tracts in accordance with its quality, each of these farm 

 units being of a size reasonably required when irrigated and culti- 

 vated for the support of a family. 



In the extreme southern part of the arid region, where the daily 

 sunlight and warmth is most favorable for the production of crops, 

 it results that where the land is carefully tilled, where it has been 

 put into high-grade crops, and especially in fruit, 10 acres may be 

 ample for the support of a family. This is because of the fact that 

 with intensive cultivation, crop follows crop in rapid succession, 

 there being hardly any interval for rest during the year. Alfalfa, 

 for example, may be cut eight or ten times, while there may be three 

 successive crops during the year of grains or vegetables. 



Farther north, where the summer season is limited, and there is a 

 long cold winter, the area required for a family is correspondingly 

 greater. With alfalfa and sugar beets, 40 acres may be considered a 

 fairly good sized farm, as, for example, in the more favorable parts 

 of Montana, and elsewhere, 80 acres is usually the limit. Few men 

 can handle successfully over 80 acres of irrigated land, especially 

 with high-priced water. 



In laying out the farm units it is necessary to follow the conven- 

 tional rectangular system adopted by the Government, of which the 

 section, or 1 square mile, of 640 acres is the unit, and the quarter 

 section of 160 acres is the size of the homestead entry. The smallest 

 subdivision ordinarily recognized is the quarter-quarter section, or 

 40-acre tract, commonly known as a " forty." This in turn in the 

 irrigated regions is again divided into quarter-quarter-quarters, or 

 10-acre tracts, this smaller subdivision not being generally recognized 

 in the Land Office tracts. 



Not all of any quarter section or even of the " forty " is usually 

 irrigable. Generally the farm unit consists of, say, 80 acres in all, 



