1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



101 



nor fooled by the extravag-aut claims of 

 some railroad companies and some irrig-a- 

 tion corporations who have land and water- 

 rights to sel ? He should go into that ter- 

 ritory where he expects to locate, and work 

 one season as a hired man, if he can not 

 afford to lie around; then he should post 

 himself right on the spot; get acquainted 

 with men who have no ax to grind, either 

 because they want to keep him oft" or be- 

 cause they would like to sell some land of 

 their own that they can not irrigate success- 

 fully. 



Now, having stated the facts as fairly as 

 I know how on both sides, let us examine 

 into some of the methods. I will first give 

 a sample of how much of the irrigation 

 country was developed. 



THE PIONEER IRRIGATOR. 



In the early days the pioneer, after hav- 

 ing taken a claim near some mountain 

 stream, constructs his own little ditches, 

 irrigates his ranch, and produces good 

 crops. When one "strikes it rich " anoth- 

 er is anxious to do likewise; that is to say, 

 perhnps man No. 2 locates on some stream 

 a mile or so above or below No. 1, and in 

 like manner the whole length of the stream, 

 so far as the land will permit, is peopled 

 with the early settlers. But as emigration 

 pours in, all the lands adjacent to the 

 mountain stream are taken up; then grad- 

 ually some arrangement is made with some 

 farmer, alreadj^ having a ditch at a favor- 

 able location, to enlarg'e his ditch so the 

 lale comer can get water more remote from 

 nature's supply. This process continues 

 until these little ditches that were original- 

 ly designed to take care of one farmer are 

 so enlarged as to supply water enough for 

 ten or twelve. But as time goes on it be- 

 comes apparent that some inain ditches 

 will have to be constructed. A stock com- 

 panjs made up of farmers, is then organ- 

 ized, something after the following plan: 



A COMMUNITY IRRIGATING STOCK COMPANY. 



A certain number of settlers file their 

 claims on governinent land, which is plot- 

 ted out, each man having certain holdings. 

 An engineer is ciilled into requisition to 

 figure on the cost of irrigating the whole 

 by means of large and small ditches. The 

 expense, figured up, is so much. We will 

 say in this case it is SlOO.OOO. If there are 

 100 large ranchers each will take a SlOOO 

 share; if 1000 small ones, the shares will 

 be $100. Some farmers can pay down the 

 money, while others can not; but the last 

 named have to iigree to pay the amount as 

 fast as they earn it, in crops. If they can 

 not redeem it, the land will revert to the 

 stock company, and all rights are forfeited. 



This plan has been carried out very suc- 

 cessfully in a great number of instances — 

 perhaps in a majority of them, I think. 

 Farmers not only paid out of their earn- 

 ings, for their full holdings of shares, but 

 have actually made money. They are then 

 in position to sell their holding's, together 

 with the water-rights, to others, or buy up 



from each other. Each proportion of share 

 brings with it a proportion of water. This 

 is what is called community irrigation on 

 the stock-company phin. 



CORPORATION CANALS. 



There are other cases where it is evident 

 that no aggregation of farmers of limited 

 means can afford to put up sufficient money 

 to run great canals perhaps a hundred 

 miles or so up into the mountains and ex- 

 tend them down with their laterals into the 

 valleys below. Sometimes greiit flumes 

 around the mountain - sides, or tunnels 

 through them, have to be constructed, and 

 nothing short of a gigantic enterprise, in- 

 volving millions of mone}', will convey the 

 water from a distance in sufficient quanti- 

 ties. To undertake enterprises on such a 

 scale, immense corporations have been form- 

 ed for the sole purpose of investment. They 

 buy up government lands, construct enor- 

 mous canals, and employ an army of work- 

 men to divert the water this way and that, 

 and sell hind with water-rights to home- 

 seekers. This is the plan that is in vogue 

 in many localities; but as a rule the ranch- 

 man is at the mercy of the corporation, for 

 it can and does charge more for the water 

 than is paid on the community plan. I 

 heard no little complaint of unjust charges 

 in several localities. 



GOVERNMENT AID. 



In some instances, to construct these large 

 canals State and government aid is needed 

 to help out private enterprise; and it is very 

 evident that, if some of the lands now per- 

 fectly arid are to be reclaimed, something 

 more than private enterprise will have to be 

 called in to construct some of those immense 

 canals of size and length sufficient to carry 

 water to the point where it is needed. There 

 are thousands and thousands of acres in 

 the great West that are 3'et to be reclaimed, 

 or which will remain desert until State £ind 

 government aid can be called in. It is with 

 no little pleasure that I notice that Con- 

 gress is now to give this matter some consid- 

 eration, and it is high time that it should; 

 for the people out west are clamoring for 

 aid, and will have it and should have it, iu 

 my humble opinion. 



METHODS OK DISTRIBUTING THE WATER ON 

 THE LAND. 



One of the first important requisites is to 

 prepare the land in such a way that the 

 wiiter can, by means of little ditches or 

 furrows, be diverted over every portion of 

 it, for it will not do to let one spot get too 

 much and another scarcely any. It must 

 be evenly watered to get the best results. 

 Sometimes an engineer is called iu to level 

 oft' the ground, for it is very difficult for 

 the eye to detect the high and low places; 

 but an experienced ranchinan is generally 

 able to determine these things very well for 

 himself; and after he has once watered the 

 land he knows where the high and low 

 jilaces are; and before he puts out his crop 

 again he makes the proper leveling by mov- 



