IRRIGATION 



Irrigation projects have been undertaken in Canada as elsewhere 

 to make it practicable to cultivate profitably parts of the country 

 independent of the rainfall. Some districts have a deficient rainfall 

 almost every year. Others, at periods of varying length, seem to 

 be similarly unfortunately situated. Considerable parts of Southern 

 Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia may be regarded as 

 " arid " — having less than 10 inches annual rainfall — semi -arid — 

 having less than 15 inches, or at least sub-humid — having less than 

 20 inches. With a rainfall of less than 15 inches only a very limited 

 variety of crops can be produced, and it is to make it possible to 

 grow fruit, fodder and grain crops any season, however dry, that 

 irrigation has been attempted, and in not a few instances, successfully 

 carried out. 



While it is generally understood that those parts of a country 

 which have a plentiful supply of moisture in the form of rain, are 

 favoured, there may be some advantage on the side of the dry land. 

 Every year the rainfall, especially if it is plentiful, carries off a great 

 amount of the most valuable constituents of the soil and so it is 

 gradually drained of plant food and becomes worn out. By this 

 process, there is no doubt, the benefits of artificial, and even farm- 

 yard manure, where applied, are to a considerable extent lost, and 

 almost certainly the same conditions will apply to the natural 

 elements of the soil. On the other hand, in the " Dry " districts 

 of a country there is practically no " leaching " or " running off " 

 whatever, and consequently there are present in the rich soil of 

 Southern Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, all the con- 

 stituents which have accumulated for centuries. The application 

 of a sufficient and seasonable supply of moisture is all that is needed 

 for the growth and production of useful and profitable crops. 



Finding farming in those districts which fall to be described as 

 arid, or semi-arid, too uncertain and risky, many farmers in the later 

 years of the past century began to make experiments in irrigation, 

 but for the most part the attempts were on a very limited scale. 

 From a report on the subject to the Department of the Interior we 

 gather that the first effort was made on Fish Creek in Alberta about 

 eight miles south of the spot where Calgary now stands. " Here 

 Mr John Glen, who had settled in the district in 1875, constructed 

 a small ditch in 1879, and utilised it to irrigate some 15 acres with 

 satisfactory results." At the date of the report above quoted — 

 1894 — there were seventy-six ditches constructed, but with the 

 exception of two they were small systems designed to supply private 

 needs. Development has been rapid and the efforts of individuals 

 have given place to company undertakings. Reservoirs in some 



