102 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1 



ing" earth from those high spots and shifting- 

 it over to the low. Where the land has a 

 slight fall, and is nearly level in its g^eneral 

 contour, it presents the most favorable con- 

 ditions; but even land that is more or less 

 hilly is irrigated very successfully. In 

 fact, I saw farms that, if I did not knoiv 

 they had been watered over every inch of 

 the surface, I should have said they could not 

 be successfully^ irrigated. Yet there is a 

 sort o' trick of the trade by which, in effect, 

 the irrigator makes the water ' ' run up hill " 

 on to the high places,* and from these ridges 

 it flows by little lateral ditches over the en- 

 tire surface. If the land is too hilly, the 

 ditches, instead of running straight down 

 hill, run on a slant, or, as a woman would 

 say, "on the bias." This is to prevent too 

 great erosion. While some lands are irri- 

 gated by means of ditches or furrows, others 

 are watered by means of diking up a plot 

 or square of ground on its four sides, leav- 

 ing its center as level as a floor. The wa- 

 ter is now turned into this general depres- 

 sion until the entire surface is covered like 

 a little lake. It is then cut off, and the wa- 

 ter gradually soaks into the ground. But 

 in some localities this procedure causes the 

 ground to bake too hard, and the ditch or 

 furrow method is preferred. 



AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED BY EACH 

 CROP. 



Mr. Ulrich, the author of the bulletin re- 

 ferred to at the outset, says that no definite 

 estimate can be given of the amount of wa- 

 ter required for each crop, on account of 

 the differences in locality. "Grain," he 

 says, "requires less water than alfalfa; 

 potatoes less than grain, and fruit-trees less 

 than any of them. For ordinary farm prod- 

 ucts of the temperate regions, . . two 

 or three irrigations or applications are usu- 

 ally enough for the production of a satis- 

 factory crop." It would appear, then, that 

 alfalfa, one of the most important crops 

 grown in all the West — if not, indeed, the 

 most important — requires more water than 

 any of them. It is such a rank rapid grow- 

 er that it very soon converts the product of 

 the soil and water into a strong, lusty, suc- 

 culent plant. And it is this plant, as I be- 

 fore stated, that makes such slick fat cattle. 



In the more southern portions of the 

 United States water may be used almost 

 all the year round. In the more northern 

 portions, such as Colorado, Idaho, and 

 Utah, the water is cut off", and little or none 

 of it is used until the following spring or 

 summer. 



THE QUESTION OF PRIORITY. 



This is a matter that has received con- 

 siderable attention in the irrigated lands; 

 and the same problem that confronts the 

 bee-keeper also confronts the irrigator. A 

 great deal of trouble and litigation has 



*This is done by bringing the water from a distance 

 on higher ground; and in order to get it over to the 

 next elevation on a lower level, it is sometimes neces- 

 sary to carry it in wooden troiighs elevated on stan- 

 dards, untilthe proper level of ground is found. 



arisen when, in some localities, water runs 

 short. Then the question comes up, " Who 

 has the right to the water?" I think that, 

 in most cases, the courts have settled it 

 that the man who wasjirsi in the locality, 

 and demonstrated the value of the land, and 

 showed that it could be successfully irrigat- 

 ed, should be favored. It appears that the 

 late comers, unless they have bought some 

 priority' rights, are the cnes who hiive to 

 suffer when the supplj"^ is scant. So long 

 as there is plenty, the question of priority 

 never comes up. 



MAMMOTH RESERVOIRS. 



But there is a move on foot now in many 

 localities to establish mammoth reservoirs 

 so that at certain seasons of the year, when 

 the snow melts faster than the irrigation 

 land can take the water, the overplus can 

 be run into these artificial lakes and kept 

 there if the general supply runs short. 



COST OF LANDS AND WATER-RIGHTS. 



Irrigable land may be had as low as Sl5; 

 but ordinarily I suppose the price would 

 run from $35 to $100 per acre; and soil that 

 would grow citrus fruits in a climate suffi- 

 ciently mild, and free from frost, is worth 

 many times more on account of the time it 

 takes to get the trees to bearing age. The 

 use of the water per acre, or what is called 

 "water-rights," varies in different locali- 

 ties. When it has to come from a distance, 

 or when the supply at the source is limited, 

 rights are correspondingly higher ; but a 

 fair average for all the water one needs per 

 acre for one season, is somewhere about 

 $1.00. If one has 100 acres he pays $100 a 

 year for water; and this payment secures 

 to him absolute control of the moisture in 

 the soil. In some localities the rights are 

 50 cts. ; in others, $1.50. Where water has 

 to be pumped, as in some of the citrus re- 

 gions, the rates are higher still. But or- 

 anges and lemons do not require more than 

 a tenth the amount that alfalfa does; so 

 that the water-rights in the alfalfa regions, 

 on account of the quantity required, would 

 be higher. But where there is plenty of 

 water — oceans of it, so to speak — citrus 

 fruits can not be raised. Nature seems to 

 have designed that, where land is adapted 

 to the growing of alfalfa, there shall be 

 plenty of water. On the other hand, where 

 the climate is such that there are never any 

 frosts, then the stipply is limited. The 

 more I have studied the topography and 

 general conditions in the great West, the 

 more I could not help seeing how wisely 

 the divine mind has planned all these things 

 for his children — yes, us children who live 

 under the Stars and Stripes, and who are 

 made up of nearly every nationality in the 

 world. No matter how diverse our bring- 

 ing up or notions, we are sure to find con- 

 ditions in these States where every one can 

 live and prosper. 



EXPLANATION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. 



From the general description I have al- 

 ready given, I think most of our readers 



