128 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE SOUTHERN IRRIGATION CONGRESS. 



Interest in the 

 up in the South. 



subject of irrigation .is looking 

 in the boutn. It is proposed to hold an Irri- 

 jation Congress in Atlanta, Ga., October 7, 8 and 

 9, during the Cotton States and International Expo- 

 sition. The General Assembly of Georgia unani- 

 mously tendered their legislative halls for the use of 

 the Congress and kindred bodies. Major W. G. 

 Whidby, who has the work in hand, has appointed 

 Col. Wilberforce Daniel, of Augusta, Ga., sergeant- 

 at-arms; Capt. F. L. Hudgens, of Clarkston, Ga., 

 door-keeper; Miss Grace Brasington, of Cincinnati, 

 postmistress; and seven pages. Col. Daniel is said to 

 be one of the finest specimens of Southern manhood, 

 and Miss Brasington one of the most attractive, in- 

 telligent and distingue women in Ohio. 



THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION. 



The Cotton States and International Exposition, 

 which opens in Atlanta September 18 and continues 

 until the end of the year, promises to be highly suc- 

 cessful. The National Government has appropri- 

 ated a large sum of money for an exhibit, and several 

 foreign countries have signified their intention to take 

 part. The domestic displays will be on a scale of 

 large magnitude. 



WINDMILL IRRIGATION IN THE LODGE-POLE VALLEY. 



There are at the present time quite a number of 

 farmers who are irrigating tracts of land of various 

 sizes by the use of windmills. In Deuel County, Neb., 

 some of these plants are capable of pumping from 

 100 to 150 barrels per hour, and with a reservoir 

 which will hold several thousand barrels there need be 

 no fear of being unable to raise more than sufficient 

 "to keep the wolf from the door.'' Among enterpris- 

 ing farmers who have adopted this method of irriga- 

 tion might be mentioned Newman Bros., Mr. Ain 

 Treat and Mr. Oberfelder. The land which is thus 

 irrigated is planted with small fruits and vegetables. 

 Mr. Oberfelder expects to set out fully a thousand 

 cherry and plum trees this spring. Windmill irriga- 

 tion is rapidly becoming an important feature in the 

 agricultural problem throughout Nebraska and 

 Kansas. 



SOUTH DAKOTA ARTESIAN SUPPLY. 



Irrigation has received but little attention in Tur- 

 ner County, S. D., for two principal reasons, writes 

 B. W. Humler, of Parker. First, crops have 

 usually been very good (with the exception of 

 the past year, when this and other States suffered 

 from drought) and irrigation was not needed. Second, 

 this county is outside of the main artesian area, 

 and flowing wells are not a success here. The east- 

 ern limit of the main artesian basin crosses the extreme 

 southwest corner of this county on an irregular line, 

 connecting Vermillion and Mitchell. Then, too, in 

 the vicinity of Parker, or, in fact, in the north one- 

 third of the county, there is the archaic formation, 

 and whenever deep wells have been bored the quartz- 

 ite of this period has been struck and no attempt has 

 been made to bore through it in this county. This 

 rock is not met with in the southern part of the coun- 

 ty, and some deep wells have been sunk, but there is 

 no report of any being flowing wells. Since the past 

 season has demonstrated the fact that it is possible 

 for rain to be withheld here, m^re attention will prob- 

 ably be given to irrigation. 



IRRIGATION ENGINEERING. 



The necessity for irrigation throughout nearly all 

 of Western America, which in so many cases requires 

 extensive reservoir and canal systems, creates a de- 

 mand for engineers especially trained for irrigation 

 work. It is in pursuance of this idea that the State 

 Agricultural College of Ft. Collins, Colorado, estab- 

 lished some years ago, a well-equipped department 

 devoted to irrigation engineering and hydraulics, over 

 which Prof. Louis G. Carpenter presides. 



Some of the leading topics on which lectures are 

 delivered are water supply measurements, duty and 

 storage reservoirs, and methods of irrigation. 



MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNORS. 



Governor McConnell, of Idaho, recommends to the 

 legislature of that State that it shall memorialize 

 congress to either aid the State by an appropri- 

 ation to assist in irrigating the arid lands, or re- 

 move the restriction upon the price. It appears that 

 the conditions under which grants of some 622.000 1 

 acres have been made to the State include a mini- 

 mum selling price of $10 an acre, rendering it prac- 

 tically impossible to make sales, especially in com- 

 petition with the government itself, which is selling 

 similar lands at $1.25 per acre. 



The message of Governor Thornton, of New 

 Mexico, to the legislature, and also his report to the 

 Secretary of the Interior, are at hand. Both are very 

 carefully prepared, and represent the thorough, 

 knowledge which Governor Thornton has of the Ter- 

 ritory through his long residence, as well as the 

 recommendations of a practical man. Either of them 

 will be valuable to parties desiring information as to 

 the Territory. 



THE BOISE AND NAMPA IRRIGATION AND POWER 

 COMPANY. 



The canal known as the " Ridenbaugh Ditch, 1 ' tak- 

 ing its water supply from the Boise river, has again 

 changed hands. Under foreclosure it had passed 

 into the ownership of Messrs. Taylor and Satterfield, 

 two Standard Old Company magnates, residents of 

 Buffalo, N. Y. While waiting for the term of re- 

 demption to expire both of these gentlemen died, 

 during the past year. The property passed to their 

 estates. It has recently been purchased by Mr. R. E. 

 Green, a civil engineer, formerly of Buffalo, and Mr. 

 Jas. E. Jennings, of Salt Lake City. The canal covers 

 and can furnish ample water supply for 125,000 acres. 



TRANSPLANTING TO COUNTRY HOMES. 



The work of transplanting unemployed, or poorly- 

 employed individuals and families from congested 

 centers of population into agricultural districts, 

 which was begun last spring under the auspices of 

 the Civic Federation, of Chicago, is now resumed 

 under the same superintendence by the Bureau of La- 

 bor and Transportation, an organization bearing the 

 name by which the work was known then, but duly 

 chartered and incorporated. 



Several things have been demonstrated: That 

 there is a demand in the country for the surplus labor 

 of the city; that a considerable percentage of the un- 

 employed are willing to turn their backs on the allure- 

 ments of city life and accept work on farms; that the 

 railroad corporations are willing to aid in such trans- 

 planting, and that such work can be successfully 

 prosecuted at a small per capita cost. 



