232 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



are made for the bonding of townships for 

 the sinking and maintenance of artesian 

 wells. New artesian wells are being put 

 down from season to season and the opera- 

 tions of the wells are satisfactory. 



In all the Western States some persons 

 are found who contend irrigation should 

 make greater strides; the same is true of 

 our state, but there is a constant steady 

 gain, as a rule, throughout the different 

 states which is a sure evidence of future 

 practical advancement and the fullest 

 material benefit. The proper use of water 

 for producing the largest crop and the 

 greatest profits in the cultivation of the 

 soil is destined to constitute, as is now the 

 case in some localities, one of the chief ele- 

 ments of our western civilization, and the 

 trend of events point unerringly to this 

 most desirable end. 



We have in North Dakota 673 flowing arte- 

 sian wells, twenty of which are deep-seated 

 and the balance shallow wells. The shallow 

 wells are from 100 to 200 feet deep, and 

 the cost of construction is small. The deep- 

 seated wells are from 800 to 1,500 feet 

 deep, and the cost is governed much by 

 the nature of the various strata, size of 

 pipe, etc. about $3 to $4 per foot. The 

 flowage varies. I name a few sample 



wells: Gals, per Lbs. per 



minute Sq. Inch 



Jamestown "(City) 460 97 



Oaks 817 125 



Ellendale ? 700 115 



Grafton 600 12 



All water healthful and some of it soft. 

 Artesian wells are located frqm the extreme 

 eastern to the extreme western line, and 



from the southern to the northern border, 

 and in the eastern central part of the state. 

 The one on the extreme western line is 

 located at Madora on the little Missouri 

 river. It is a characteristic well, 800 feet 

 deep with a good flowage of soft water. 

 The one at the northern line is situated at 

 Delorane, Manitoba, close to the northern 

 border of the Turtle Mountains, nearly 

 twenty miles from the international boun- 

 dary line that runs through the wooded 

 mountains. This fine, heavy flowing well 

 gives evidence that the artesian deposit 

 underlies the Turtle Mountain district. 

 We have numerous artesian springs in 

 North Dakota. One at the southern edge 

 of the Turtle Mountains give a flow of 283 

 gallons per minute. There are others hav- 

 ing as large a flowage. 



The Dakota Artesian Basin is the larg- 

 est in the world, and it is located in North 

 and South Dakota, in both of which states 

 its waters are developed. Much interest 

 is taken in South Dakota in artesian irri- 

 gation, and its application there has proved 

 to be most successful and remunerative to 

 the irrigators in the raising of agricultural 

 productions. 



During the last year a strong sentiment 

 has been manifested in our state to make 

 an extended application of the waters of 

 our great artesian basin for agricultural 

 purposes. The State Immigration Con- 

 vention, held at Fargo, North Dakota this 

 season, pronounced in favor of a govern- 

 mental survey of our artesian deposits, and 

 urged their development and use by the 

 people in their agricultural pursuits. 



IRRIGATION PROGRESS IN NEBRASKA. 



BY I. A. FORT. 



IRRIGATION is applicable to all sec- 

 tions of the United States. There are 

 times, even in those sections where the 

 rainfall annually exceeds fifty inches, that 

 if the plants of the farmer could only ob- 

 tain a few refreshing drinks, the yield 

 would be doubled. The plant is like a 

 strong team that has been checked in its 

 progress; that cannot reach the point that 

 would be attained because water is not at 

 hand at the proper time to supply the ani- 

 mals in order that they might go on. The 

 plant has, like the average of the horses, 



cattle and other animals of the farmers, a 

 period of growth, and when that period is 

 reached the growth stops. Irrigation en- 

 ables the plant to travel steadily onward. 

 The coming farmer in America will in a 

 majority of cases irrigate or feed his crops; 

 they will be fed with the same care as 

 the successful cattle or hog raiser feeds 

 his stock. Irrigation will restore the 

 worn out fields of New England and 

 the South, and it will reclaim the lands 

 now abandoned in many portions of Amer- 



