﻿526 
  ANNUAL. 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1922. 
  

  

  Building 
  the 
  works. 
  — 
  The 
  operation 
  of 
  building 
  the 
  great 
  struc- 
  

   tures 
  has 
  great 
  popular 
  fascination, 
  and 
  the 
  work 
  itself 
  is 
  susceptible 
  

   of 
  pictorial 
  illustration; 
  views 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  notable 
  of 
  these 
  

   works 
  have 
  already 
  been 
  printed 
  in 
  earlier 
  Smithsonian 
  publica- 
  

   tions 
  ; 
  1 
  but 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  reference 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  notable 
  

   advances 
  in 
  ways 
  and 
  means 
  of 
  overcoming 
  obstacles. 
  The 
  planning 
  

   and 
  building 
  of 
  works 
  of 
  reclamation 
  aiford 
  opportunities 
  for 
  a 
  

   wide 
  display 
  of 
  ingenuity. 
  While 
  the 
  main 
  lines 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  

   larger 
  structures 
  are 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent 
  standardized, 
  there 
  arises 
  

   on 
  each 
  undertaking 
  and 
  in 
  each 
  locality 
  new 
  conditions 
  which 
  must 
  

   be 
  met. 
  The 
  way 
  in 
  which 
  these 
  difficulties 
  are 
  overcome 
  is 
  of 
  

   interest 
  — 
  not 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  American 
  engineer 
  and 
  constructor, 
  but 
  to 
  

   citizens 
  of 
  every 
  country 
  who 
  hope 
  to 
  see 
  similar 
  works 
  built 
  to 
  over- 
  

   come 
  the 
  natural 
  obstacles 
  of 
  his 
  land 
  and 
  to 
  permit 
  a 
  larger 
  use 
  

   of 
  the 
  natural 
  resources. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  ingenious 
  ways 
  are 
  illus- 
  

   trated 
  in 
  plate 
  6, 
  which, 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  part, 
  shows 
  the 
  irrigating 
  

   canal 
  carried 
  in 
  reinforced 
  concrete 
  flume 
  along 
  steep 
  and 
  crumbling 
  

   hillsides, 
  and 
  conforming 
  to 
  the 
  irregularities 
  of 
  the 
  topography. 
  In 
  

   plate 
  6, 
  figure 
  2, 
  is 
  shown 
  a 
  similar 
  flume 
  which 
  has 
  entered 
  a 
  deep 
  

   depression. 
  Here 
  an 
  inverted 
  siphon 
  or 
  concrete 
  box 
  has 
  been 
  built 
  

   to 
  conduct 
  the 
  water 
  down 
  one 
  side 
  and 
  up 
  the 
  other 
  into 
  the 
  con- 
  

   tinuation 
  of 
  the 
  flume. 
  

  

  The 
  attempts 
  made 
  to 
  utilize 
  the 
  fertile, 
  but 
  dry, 
  lands 
  of 
  the 
  coun- 
  

   try 
  for 
  farming 
  and 
  home-making 
  have 
  often 
  been 
  futile 
  where 
  the 
  

   difficulties 
  of 
  obtaining 
  water 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  successfully 
  overcome. 
  

   Plate 
  7 
  illustrates 
  by 
  contrasting 
  pictures 
  the 
  results 
  which 
  have 
  fol- 
  

   lowed 
  the 
  attempts 
  to 
  settle 
  a 
  dry 
  country 
  with 
  and 
  without 
  a 
  water 
  

   supply. 
  In 
  plate 
  7, 
  figure 
  1, 
  is 
  shown 
  a 
  view, 
  typical 
  of 
  millions 
  of 
  

   acres 
  of 
  good, 
  level 
  plow 
  lands 
  which 
  are 
  highly 
  productive 
  when 
  the 
  

   rains 
  occur 
  ; 
  these 
  erratic 
  rains, 
  however, 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  predicted 
  ; 
  they 
  

   occur 
  often 
  at 
  the 
  wrong 
  time. 
  Attempts 
  made 
  to 
  settle 
  such 
  lands 
  

   have 
  resulted 
  in 
  hardship 
  and 
  losses. 
  Throughout 
  the 
  western 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  Great 
  Plains 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  thou- 
  

   sands 
  of 
  settlers' 
  shacks 
  with 
  one 
  door, 
  one 
  window, 
  and 
  a 
  stovepipe, 
  

   similar 
  to 
  that 
  shown 
  in 
  plate 
  7, 
  figure 
  1. 
  Here 
  the 
  family, 
  if 
  it 
  

   actually 
  attempted 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  home, 
  has 
  been 
  alternately 
  frozen 
  by 
  

   the 
  winter 
  winds 
  or 
  burned 
  by 
  the 
  scorching 
  summer 
  suns, 
  where 
  

   the 
  thermometer 
  is 
  over 
  a 
  hundred 
  in 
  the 
  shade 
  and 
  no 
  shade 
  is 
  

   available. 
  

  

  In 
  contrast 
  to 
  this 
  are 
  the 
  similar 
  dry 
  lands, 
  so 
  located, 
  however, 
  

   that 
  if 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  provided 
  with 
  water, 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  plate 
  7, 
  fig- 
  

   ure 
  2, 
  the 
  settler's 
  home 
  is 
  soon 
  surrounded 
  by 
  vegetation; 
  the 
  pros- 
  

   perity 
  resulting 
  from 
  crop 
  production 
  has 
  enabled 
  improvement 
  of 
  

  

  1 
  See 
  articles 
  on 
  reclamation 
  in 
  Smithsonian 
  Reports 
  for 
  1903, 
  1904, 
  1906, 
  1910, 
  1915, 
  

   and 
  1919. 
  

  

  