THE MAKING OF VAL VERDE COLONY. 



blossom ! How many farms and vineyards, gardens 

 and orchards, each with a red-roofed cottage in its 

 midst, this valley would contain if water could be 

 found for the working of the miracle! " Behind 

 nearly every successful community in Southern Cali- 

 fornia stands the figure of the solitary pioneer, who, 

 with a soul half poetical, half practical, first deter- 

 mined to organize prosperity where nature had 

 spread the raw materials and time had patiently 

 awaited his coming. In the case of Ferris this man 

 of pluck and faith was J. W. Nance. Nine years ago 

 he settled on one of the grain farms in the heart of 

 the valley and began to study the problem of how to 

 conquer the difficulties which lay between the dry 

 plain in its natural state and its immense possibilities 

 under irrigation. The railroad was already there 

 The whole problem lay in getting water for irrigation. 



A UNIQUE IRRIGATION SYSTEM. 



Space is not available to describe the manifold diffi- 

 culties with which Mr. Nance contended and which 

 he at last successfully overcame in solving the ques- 

 tion of water supply. But he solved it. And the sys- 

 tem which he provided is unique in two respects. 

 First, it is owned, controlled and administered by the 

 people of the locality themselves. In this respect it 

 realizes the dream of Edward Bellamy. The recent 

 International Irrigation Congress selected it as the 

 type among all the irrigation districts organized under 

 the Wright law of California, going to the extraordi- 

 nary length of appointing a committee to investigate 



it and incorporating its flattering report as a part of 

 its official records. The second feature in which the 

 Ferris system is unique is in its entire absence of 

 open ditches. The water is carried throughout the 

 district in underground pipes and there is sufficient 

 pressure to throw it high in the air when desired. 

 There is absolutely no waste by evaporation or seep- 

 age. Every drop of the pure mountain water counts. 

 The farmer goes even to the length of planting a 

 strip of alfalfa at the foot of his orchard to absorb the 

 surplus water that escapes through his orchard and 

 garden. The 30-inch main pipes traverse the entire 

 district, which consists of 13,000 acres, and sublaterals 

 are extended across its width. Smaller pipes carry 

 the water to the highest point of each legal sub-di- 

 vision. From these points it is conducted to each 

 ten-acre tract by narrow wooden flumes which cost 

 but a trifle. The system is the most perfect and 

 economical to be found in California, where methods 

 and systems are superior to those in any other portion 

 of the United States. About 1,500 acres were irriga- 

 ted last season and 1,200 acres of new planting are 

 now under way. 



HOME OF THE ORANGE AND LEMON. 



The Ferris valley and the Val Verde tract are 

 clearly in the citrus belt of Southern California. 

 While the altitude is 1,500 feet, there is nothing to 

 prevent the successful culture of oranges and lemons. 

 The present season has been colder than usual, and 

 the writer has examined the orchards of Redlands, 



ORANGE GROVE OF MESSRS. HUNGATE, TWO YEARS OL1 



