THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



253 



Scott's Bluff is called the banner irrigation county 

 of Nebraska. It lias 149 miles of completed canals, 

 and 100,000 acres are now under irrigation. The 

 various cuts are indicated by the following corpora- 

 tions: Castle Rock Irrigation Canal Company, A. 

 J. Baquet, president; Central Ditch Company, 

 Martin Gering, president; Enterprise Ditch Com- 

 pany, M. K. Powers, president; Farmers' Canal 

 Company, W. H. Wright, president; Gering Canal 

 Company, W. S. Peters, president; Gering Irriga- 

 tion District, Ed. W. Sayre, president; Minatare 

 Canal Company, A. W. Mills, president; Mitchell 

 Canal and Irrigation Company, John R. Stilts, 

 president; Kamshorn Ditch Company, Carroll 

 Nichols, president; Winters Creek Irrigation Com- 

 pany, George Sowerwine, president. Gering is 

 the central city in the county. 



The Nebraska State Irrigation Convention holds 

 its session at Sidney on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of 

 this month. A full attendance is assured. 



The Gering papers say the proposition made to 

 the stockholders in the big ditch on the south 

 side is as follows: They are to receive for each 

 paid-up share of stock $200, the sale to be condi- 

 tioned upon the actual building of what is known 

 as the high line canal. Each stockholder is re- 

 quired to subscribe for a forty-acre water-right 

 for each 160 acres he may own, to be paid for at the 

 rate of $10 per acre at the end of ten years, at 7 

 per cent interest. Alljwater-rights are subject to 

 an annual assessment of $1 per acre. 



NEW MEXICO. 



One of the largest deals that has ever taken 

 place in the Pecos valley was concluded a few 

 days since, and Tansill farm passed into the pos- 

 session of John B. Overmeyer, of Chicago, the 

 consideration being $100,000 for the farm, improve- 

 ments, livestock 'and crops thereon. Colonel 

 Tansill was one of the original organizers of the 

 Pecos Valley Irrigation Company. 



The military reservation at Fort Stanton, N. M., 

 is to be abandoned. The Secretary of the Interior 

 has informed the Secretary of War that it is no 

 longer necessary for protection against the In- 

 dians, and its usefulness has become a thing of the 

 past. 



The Pecos Valley exhibition train contains a 

 most attractive exhibit of fruits, Egyptian corn, 

 Milo and Kaffir corn, peanuts, big pumpkins, 

 watermelons, honey, corn in stalk, etc., etc. The 

 train was in charge of the Pecos Irrigation and 

 Improvement Company. Pecos Valley will hold 

 a great fair next season. 



A number of apple trees in James Scott's 

 orchard, two miles below Aztec on the west side 

 of the Animas river, were so heavily laden with 

 fruit this year that the roots gave way and the 

 trees were ruined. 



Improvement work is constantly going on in 

 the Pecos Valley. New irrigation ditches are be- 

 ing excavated, farms are being opened, houses 

 and barns erected, orchards planted, fences built, 

 etc. 



Like Kansas, Missouri, and her own favored 

 Pecos Valley, New Mexico proposes to furnish a 

 special train with suitable specimens of her prod- 

 ucts and to make a traveling exhibit of the 

 same. 



A fair-committee is investigating the subject 

 of holding an annual fair at Eaton. The enter- 

 prise will take in all of northern New Mexico. 



The fair at Springer was a complete success. 



I. S. Osborne, of the Pecos Valley, says that the 

 Russian sunflower is not a profitable crop to grow, 

 although it is a rich food. 



Seldomridge & Pebbles shipped 5,300 sheep 

 from Lamy, New Mexico, to Colorado Springs 

 over the narrow gauge road. They will feed for 

 the mining town markets and expect to put some 

 on the Boston farm near Olney in the Arkansas 

 Valley. 



W. E. Tong, of Nebraska, is at Eddy, looking up 

 a site for an extensive creamery. 



Referring to the new government Climate and 

 Health Bulletin, Director Hersey of the New 

 Mexico service says: " If the medical profession 

 of the Territory will take up this work and co- 

 operate with the weather bureau, it will prove a 

 golden opportunity to demonstrate to the general 

 public that this is the greatest natural sanitar- 

 ium of the world." 



The protracted litigation over the Tiff any ranch 

 near San Marcial resulted in a decision favorable 

 to A. D. Cook, who will make extensive improve- 

 ments there. 



In the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the decision 

 of Judge Bierer was sustained, in which he decided 

 that all counties had a right to contract indebt- 

 edness and issue warrants and bonds from the day 

 of their creation as counties, and not be compelled 

 to wait until an assessment of property was made. 

 This legalizes the contracts issued by the Cher- 

 okee Strip counties and cities in the first year of 

 their existence, as well as those of all other new 

 counties and municipalities in the Territory, past 

 and future. 



Surveys are being made for an irrigation system 

 in Baylor and adjoining counties estimated to cost 

 $500,000 to $750,000. 



The San Antonio Irrigation Company are pur- 

 chasing excavating machinery, water-gates, pipes, 

 etc. 



The Texas Stockman says editorially: "True 

 there has been an abundance of moisture in Texas 

 this year for the production of more than an aver- 

 age crop, but how about next year and the next? 

 The farmer who can turn the water on his land at 

 will is infinitely better off than his neighbor 

 who is wholly dependent upon the whims of the 

 weather clerk. Irrigate." 



The State fair at Dallas, assumed the propor- 

 tions of an exposition. It was visited by hundreds 

 of thousands of people. 



The range districts of Texas are better supplied 

 with grass than at any time for several years past, 

 and cattle will go through the winter in good 

 shape. Especially is this true in south and west 

 Texas, where the grass is said to be better than at 

 any time since 1882. 



Marlin is to have a $50,000 plant of waterworks, 

 electric lights and irrigation system. 



The twelfth annual fair and race-meet of the 

 Guadalupe County Fair Association at Seguin sur- 

 passed all previous exhibitions. Guadalupe county 

 is one of the best agricultural and stock raising 

 counties in the state, and is settled with hard 

 working, progressive people. 



Concho Valley Fair, at San Angelo, had full ex- 

 hibits and a large attendance. 



One of the largest cattle trades ever made in 

 southern Texas was consummated recently. M. K. 

 Kennedy, of Williamson county, bought 6,000 four 



