THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ravine, and double plate, steel, riveted pipe, support- 

 ing its own weight, and forming three spans of 

 about 85 feet each across the stream. 



P.M. Norboe, Visalia, CaL, writes on "Expensive 

 Economy," as so often illustrated in the employment 

 of cheap engineering and its accompanying evils. 



Ed. E. Clark, Greeley, Colo., gives some of his ob- 

 servations and experiences m " The Operation of 

 Irrigation Canals." Among other points, the frequent 

 occurrence that a canal is turned over to the oper- 

 ating department unfinished, making it necessary to 

 charge to operating expenses what should have been 

 included in the construction account. 



" The Necessity in the Engineering Profession for 

 Closer Organization for the Purpose of Mutual Bene- 

 fit and Support," is a well considered article by 

 John C. Ulrich, Denver, Colo. All engineering 

 societies are organized with this, as one object to be 

 attained; and the American Society of Irrigation 

 Engineers with special reference to men particularly 

 engaged or interested in irrigation works. 



Wm. G. Curtis, general offices S. P. R. R., San 

 Francisco, gives a good paper entitled, " Irrigation 

 in California: Its Connection with Material Progress 

 and Transportation Problems." This shows the im- 

 mense strides in the development of the citrus regions 

 of California produced by irrigation, with some statis- 

 tics bearing on the subject. 



"Irrigation Canals in the Caucasus,' 1 translated from 

 the French of Mons. N. Gherceranof, Director of In- 

 stitute of Ways of Communication, etc., gives an ex- 

 tended account of surveys for and construction of 

 canals on the slope of the Caucasus next the Caspian 

 Sea. Mons. Gherceranof is a member of the Ameri- 

 can Society of Irrigation Engineers, as are all the 

 contributors to the Annual. 



"The Development of Water Supplies for Irrigation 

 Purposes" is a paper by F. C. Finkle, San Bernar- 

 dino, Cal. This takes up the questions of (1) storage 

 reservoirs; (2) artesian wells, and (3) by underflow 

 development, and gives some account of works of 

 each class in California. 



Mr. F. H. Newell, U. S. Geological Survey, gives 

 an account of "The Rio Grande,'' hydrology, hydro- 

 graphy, results of gaugings, precipitation, run-off, 

 etc., with graphic illustration of amount of discharge. 

 This is in a line where practical results, giving valu- 

 able information, might be secured, if more general 

 and continued gaugings of the principal streams in 

 the arid regions could be carried on. 



C. O. Smith, Visalia, Cal., in his paper, ''The St. 



John's River Water Association, and the Improve- 

 ment of Rivers to Economize Water and Benefit Irri- 

 gation,' 1 gives an account of a voluntary association 

 of ditch and riparian owners and the Tulare irriga- 

 tion district, on the river named and its tributaries, 

 which has been productive of much good in the con- 

 servation, distribution and use of water. 



"The Forestry Problem of the Arid Region," page 

 127, and "A Bill for the Cession of the Arid Lands," 

 page 157, by Arthur D. Foote, ex-president of the 

 society, Boise City, are both very pertinent to the sub- 

 jects treated, and contain ideas and suggestions worth 

 considering. 



J. Sire Greene, late State Engineer of Colorado, 

 presents a paper, "Concerning Rights in the Water 

 of the Natural Streams of Colorado," in which sug- 

 gestions are made, with a view of having a clearer 

 definition in the statutes of the "right to divert," the 

 "right to appropriate,'' and the "right to use" water 

 from such natural streams. Some such modification 

 would doubtless render the statutes more precise and 

 more concise, a consummation devoutly to be de- 

 sired. 



This paper brought out an address by Hon. Platt 

 Rogers, then mayor of the city of Denver, on "Vested 

 Rights," and other legal aspects of these matters; 

 see page 147. 



The papers above mentioned are followed by "Sand- 

 gates in Canals,' 1 a discussion opened by Secretary 

 Titcomb. This has some illustrations, and brought 

 out the views and practice of a number of members 

 "of how to get rid of sand before it goes too far down 

 the canal." This and the discussion on " Flumes 

 and Fluming" which followed were entirely off-hand, 

 without special preparation. Each speaker illus- 

 trated his remarks on the black-board, and when 

 that particular thing or phase was finished the figure 

 was erased and another drawn, and so on. The most 

 important of these were reproduced and appear as 

 illustrations. The discussion on flumes and fluming 

 was opened by John C. Ulrich, and with that on 

 sand-gates occupied a considerable part of the time 

 of the convention. The original stenographic report 

 was largely cut down and condensed, but still fills 

 about forty-five pages of the Annual. 



The business proceedings of the convention and of 

 the board of directors complete the volume. 



It is proposed to publish such papers as are avail- 

 able periodically, perhaps quarterly. This would be 

 a very desirable method to awaken and retain inter- 

 est in the society. 



AN IMPENDING REVOLUTION 



BY W. C. FITZSIMMONS. 



FOR the past twenty-five years the tendency of 

 population in the United States has been 

 toward the cities, towns and villages. The 

 census of 1890 disclosed afar greater percentage of 

 urban population, when compared with the whole 

 number of people, than any preceding census. 

 While such a movement of population has not thus 

 far proven an unmixed evil, yet it has become evident 

 that unless soon checked, the-tide setting toward the 

 cities must sooner or later effect the gravest economic 

 complications, detrimental alike to the cities gaining 

 an abnormal immigration, and to the country districts 



whence it is so largely derived. To the student of 

 these conditions it has long appeared to be an un- 

 healthy movement destined at no distant day to 

 bring economic disasters of magnitude. That feature 

 of the movement has undoubtedly been reached, in 

 some sections of the country if not in all. But it is a 

 law of nature that the incoming tide of the ocean must 

 soon be followed by the outflow.and doubtless the surg- 

 ing of human masses may be to some extent at least 

 governed by a similar law. In any event, a return 

 movement is already discernible. Most of the larger 

 cities and many of the smaller ones are enlarging 



