24 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



soil, and subject to the sole dominion of 

 the proprietor of the land in which it is 

 found. The appellant does not dispute 

 this proposition of law, but contends that 

 it is inapplicable to the present case, in- 

 asmuch as it appears from the findings of 

 fact herein that, by reason of the seam of 

 clay which separated the strata of sand- 

 stone, and which is impervious to water, 

 the waters which had, up to that point, 

 been in a state of percolation through the 

 sandstone ceased to be in percolation, and 

 thereafter passed along the seam in the 

 direction of the creek; that this consti- 

 tuted a denned stream of water beneath 

 the surface, and is to be governed by the 

 same laws as govern streams upon the 

 surface of the earth. This conclusion, 

 however, necessitates the inference of a 

 fact from the findings which has not been 

 made by the court, and which will have 

 the effect to defeat the judgment which 

 the court has rendered. The inference of 

 one fact from others, unless such fact is a 

 necessary conclusion from those others, 

 must be made by the trial court; and, if 

 the facts that it has found are such as 

 might authorize different inferences there- 

 from, it will be assumed that the inference 

 made by the trial court was one that will 

 uphold, rather than defeat, its judgment. 

 Breeze vs. Brooks, 97 Cal., 72; 31 Pac., 

 742. 



The court has not found that there 

 is any flow or stream of water at the seam 

 of the stratum, nor do the findings which 

 it has made authorize such a conclusion. 

 As it must be assumed that the stratum of 

 sandstone is uniformly porous, and ex- 

 tends close to the seam which limits it, it 

 must follow that the water within that 

 stratum is in a state of percolation until it 

 is arrested by the seam, and is thereafter, 

 by reason of gravitation, diverted toward 

 the channel of the creek. The mere di- 

 version of its direction does not, however, 

 change its character from percolating 

 water to a flowing stream. So long as it 

 is within the sandstone, although the 

 lower part of the stratum may be more 

 highly charged with the water than the 

 upper part, it merely percolates through 

 the sandstone until it is freed at the out- 

 cropping of the stratum where it borders 

 upon the stream. It is frequently the 

 case that the course of percolating waters 

 is in some definite direction, but the owner 

 of the land in which they are found has 

 the exclusive dominion over them, and 

 does not violate the rights of another by 

 appropriating them to his own use, even 

 though the effect be to divert their course 

 from adjacent lands, or to destroy the ad- 

 vantages therefrom previously enjoyed by 

 an adjacent proprietor. The judgment is 

 affirmed." 



BEET SUGAR FACTORY IN NEW MEXICO. 



(From the New York Matt and E-rpress, May 9, 1896.) 



THE beet sugar industry of the United 

 States, though it has made rapid 

 progress during the past few years, is still 

 in its infancy; and this for the reason that 

 the importance of the beet as a source of 

 sugar has not been generally recognized in 

 this country. It is a fact that three-fifths 

 of the world's product of sugar is derived 

 from the beet ; and the very insignificant 

 part which the United States as yet plays 

 in this industry is shown by the further 

 fact that it contributed but 30,000 tons to 

 the world's production of 3, 500,000 tons 

 of beet sugar in 1895. The United States 

 imports over 80 per cent of the sugar it 

 consumes, and this in 1895 amounted to 

 1,587,000 tons, for which it sent abroad 

 upward of $100,000, 000. Since this sugar 



comes from countries which buy very little- 

 from the United States it has to be paid 

 for mostly in gold. If the United States 

 should produce all its own sugar, this 

 annual demand for gold would be relieved 

 by nearly as many dollars as twice our 

 whole production of the yellow metal. 

 That this annual drain will be rapidly 

 reduced when it is learned that the sugar 

 can be produced at home and yield hand- 

 some profits both to the grower of the 

 beets and the manufacturer of the sugar, 

 goes without saying ; and it seems equally 

 certain that one of the very important 

 centers of development for the new in- 

 dustry will be the Pecos valley in South- 

 eastern New Mexico. 



The soil and climate of this valley are 



