232 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



HOW ONE WOMAN FIGHTS THE 

 DROUGHT. 



One of the farmers of large areas in 

 Kansas is Miss Mary Best, of Medicine 

 Lodge, says the Kansas Farmer. English 

 by birth, she naturally cast her eyes over 

 the Queen's dominions, when the trouble 

 with the dry weather came on, to see if 

 anywhere under the government on whose 

 lands the sun never sets a remedy for 

 drought had been found. Yes, in India 

 irrigation is old and irrigation is new. 

 Millions have recently been invested in its 

 development. The subject was thoroughly 

 studied and the first practical result on 

 Miss Best's farm was the reconstruction 

 of an old dam in the Medicine river. 

 The next was the construction of a num- 

 ber of Jumbo windmills and home-made 

 pumps. Water was turned on during the 

 winter. A large tract was kept flooded 

 about a foot deep for several days. After 

 the spring opened it was a long time be- 

 fore this flooded land got dry enough to 

 list. Sixty acres of it were finally listed 

 to corn. This land was rather too wet to 

 cultivate easily, but the corn prospered. 

 The lashing of the hot winds did not 

 affect it. Those winds did, however, 

 drive the " Jumbos" at a furious rate and 

 lifted great quantities of water. 



Miss Best's farming is considerably di- 

 versified. With her present knowledge 

 of how to fight the drought it will be 

 sure in its results and profitable. 



MINES AND MINING OUTPUT. 



IT is claimed that the mines of Idaho 

 have added $300,000,000 to the wealth of 

 the world. 



IT is estimated that 10,000 people will 

 go into the Yukon country this spring, and 

 steamer loads are going from all the Pa- 

 cific coast ports. 



THE Hematite mining district in North- 

 ern New Mexico is attracting attention, and 

 they are claiming it to be the Cripple 

 Creek of that section. 



THERE is a considerable development of 

 gold mining in the Cache valley, Utah, 

 where good finds are being made and con- 

 siderable work is in progress. 



THERE is a steady cheapening of the 

 cyanide process, and within a brief time it 



is thought it will be possible to treat four 

 and five dollar ore successfully and prof- 

 itably. 



THE Flagler smelter, at Silver City, 

 New Mexico, which has been a long time 

 idle, has been started again under vigor- 

 ous management, and has ore in sight for 

 a long and profitable run. 



IT is reported from Bakersfield, Cal., 

 that a very rich discovery of gold quartz 

 has been found in the desert region south- 

 east from there. Experts pronounce the 

 mines very rich, and a rush of miners has 

 set in. 



THERE is unusual activity in the Eliz- 

 abethtown mining district of Northern 

 New Mexico. It is an old camp and has 

 yielded a large amount of gold in the past. 

 It seems to be improving with develop- 

 ment. 



A TOWN SITE outfit, said to be backed by 

 the Santa Fe road, started from Trinidad 

 recently for the Baldy mining district, and 

 a branch line is said to be talked about to 

 leave the main line near Maxwell City, 

 New Mexico. 



ALL the mining districts of Arizona 

 claim to be sharing in the general pros- 

 perity of the industry. The resumption 

 of work on old properties, the discovery 

 of new ones, and important strikes in 

 every direction, is the rule throughout the 

 Territory. 



THERE is intense activity in all the min- 

 ing districts of Utah, both in the gold and 

 silver districts. It has been possible to 

 operate the silver mines of this State prof- 

 itably despite the heavy decline in the 

 price of that metal. The chief public in- 

 terest centers about the Mercur district 

 where the adoption of the cyanide process 

 is rendering the mining of low grade gold 

 ores exceedingly remunerative and with 

 a comparatively small investment for the 

 necessary plants. The ore bodies are being 

 found over a wide area and in immense 

 deposits. 



IT is fortunate for Cripple Creek that 

 the wholesale business of organizing and 

 floating wild-cat mines has met a check, 

 even though it may throw some measure 

 of discredit upon the legitimate and well- 

 managed properties temporarily. The 

 great number of strikes that are being re- 

 ported from all parts of the district, and 



