2 



north of the canal on considerably lower land. As a result of this 

 structure and the considerable irrigation on the upper lands, a large 

 area has here become so damaged by seepage water and alkali that 

 it has been abandoned. 



Both the South and North Jordan canals, which lie between the 

 Utah and Salt Lake canal and the river, are responsible for much 

 similar damage, especially at their outer extremities. Parallel with 

 the Twelfth street road and about one mile south of it is a strip of 

 land extending from the river about ten miles west, varying from 

 one-half to one and one-half miles in width, all of which is more or 

 less damaged by seepage water and alkali. Indeed, the damage has 

 gone so far that a chain of lakes has been formed in this area, pre- 

 senting a water surface of a thousand or more acres. This has all 

 resulted from the seepage and surplus waters from the irrigated dis- 

 tricts above. The total area which has been successfully irrigated is 

 about fifty square miles, of which about ten square miles have been 

 ruined by seepage water and alkali. 



Of the larger, much lower, and level area, mostly north of the 

 Twelfth street road and adjacent to Salt Lake City, extending from 

 the river Jordan to Great Salt Lake and comprising about one hun- 

 dred and twenty-five square miles, none has been successfully farmed, 

 with the exception of a narrow belt along the river, although many 

 attempts have been made and much money expended in this en- 

 deavor. About eleven years ago this area was the seat of an exten- 

 sive boom suburban townsites were laid out, streets graded, canals 

 constructed, and artesian wells sunk ; railroads were built and oper- 

 ated, parks were laid out and trees planted, buildings were erected 

 for homes and stores, and, in the aggregate, hundreds of thousands 

 of dollars were expended, for which no returns have ever been real- 

 ized, excepting, perhaps, by the shrewd speculator. 



The first-year crops that were cultivated gave fair returns ; the 

 second year failure was general, and the third year absolute. At 

 present there are in this area many deserted houses and much unused 

 land, which bears evidence of having once been cultivated. The 

 cause of this failure and of the damage wrought by irrigation have, 

 perhaps, never been fully understood by any one. 



Four months were spent in a thorough and detailed examination 

 of this area, and the large amount of data thus collected has given 

 a far better understanding of the existing conditions than has ever 

 before been realized. It is hoped that this knowledge will suggest 

 the lines to be followed in order to overcome the difficulties that will 

 be encountered in future attempts to farm this land. 



The results of this work are embodied in the following statements, 

 pending the completion of a detailed report : 



