THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



61 



W. L. PA UK, 



of North Platte, President Nebraska Irrigation Fail- 

 Association. 



well as other public documents to the 

 postmasters, but admits that it might be 

 a question whether they would be willing 

 to undertake such a work unless it were 

 made obligatory. Would it not be alto- 

 gether preferable that they should be sent 

 to the trustees of each public school dis- 

 trict, and form the nucleus of a valuable 

 library that might be accumulated in 

 time. It could then be made a part of 

 the teacher's duty to take care of and 

 keep track of them if they should be per- 

 mitted circulation outside the school-room. 

 They are valuable publications and are 

 becoming more so every year as the exper- 

 imental stations in all parts of the country 

 furnish the most reliable data as a basis 

 for public discussion. 



Low Prices The government reports to 

 a Certainty. July lst indicate a very 



high average for the corn, wheat and 

 cotton crops of this country and an aver- 

 age is indicated of European grain crops 

 in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Russia, 

 Germany, and Spain, and above an aver- 

 age in Austria, Bulgaria, France and 

 Roumania. The French wheat crop is 

 likely to meet home requirements for 

 consumption. 



The indicated crop of corn in this coun- 

 try is 2,154,600,000 bushels, as against 

 2, 15 1,138, 580 last year. 



The indicated crop of wheat is 434,- 

 776,000 bushels, as against 467,102,947. 



There is certainly nothing to give en- 

 couragement for better prices extra large 

 crops here with much of the old crop still 

 unsold, and a limited export demand. 

 The farmers are not in position to be over- 

 jubilant with this outlook. 



Water The necessity for water 

 Development, supply in many portions 

 of Southern California is leading to many 

 remarkable developments as to under- 

 ground currents. The Vineland Irriga- 

 tion district, some two years ago tunneled 

 under the river and got a tine supply of 

 water for awhile. But the Azusa and 

 Duarte people had a tunnel above them 

 some 2,000 feet into the mountains and 

 another diverting tunnel below. They 

 built a flume between the two which left 

 the bed of the stream dry, and cut off the 

 developed (?) water of the Vineland dis- 

 trict. The latter went into the courts 

 about it but did not cease to dig for water 

 while the suit was pending. They sunk a 

 shaft from the bottom of their tunnel and 



E. F. SEEBERGER, 



of North Platte, Secretary Nebraska Irrigation Fair 

 Association. 



