120 THE I BRIG A TION A GE. 



certain rainfall, and so turned their attention to the subject with the re- 

 sult that many systems of irrigation came into use, differing to suit the 

 different needs of the crops and soil. 



Probably few are aware that India has today the most extensive 

 ' irrigation system in the world. A year or two ago the official report 

 showed that in the province of Punjab alone there were 3,770 miles of 

 main canal and 5,675 miles of distributing ditches which irrigated about 

 2,000,000 acres of land. Three of the main canals are over 700 miles 

 long. The crops of one year, from this vast area, almost equaled in 

 value the whole cost of the irrigation system. This wonderful system is 

 under governmental auspices and pays a net profit of 3| per cent. 



It is claimed that the Romans introduced irrigation into Britian 

 about the fifth century, but it was little practiced until modern times. It 

 is in the southern part in Spain and Prance that the system is most 

 used in Europe. The rivers Po, Adige, Tagus and Douro furnish the 

 water that transforms their valleys into fruitful vineyards and valuable 

 farms, which without this aid would be very nearly worthless land. 

 The irrigated land in the valley of the Po is said to be 1,600,000 acres 

 and the increase of rents is estimated at $4,150,000. 



One is amazed, when first interesting himself in this subject, to dis- 

 cover how ancient, how far-reaching and in what general use irrigation 

 is. America, being a country'of such natural resources, such abundant 

 rainfall, and a comparatively small number of inhabitants, was somewhat 

 slow to realize the immense value of "watering". True it might fulfill 

 the prophesy of scripture by causing the desert to blossom as the rose, 

 but America was not particularly interested in deserts a few years ago. 

 The gold craze took many people to the West, just as it now takes them 

 to the Klondike, and as population increased in the East and the cities 

 became more and more crowded, the laborer, growing tired of the con- 

 stant hand to hand fight with poverty, turned with longing eyes to the 

 new "land of promise" the West. There he hoped to rear his family 

 to a more free and independent life. But rain was wanting in some sec- 

 tions and there were many arid places; so irrigation was introduced into 

 the new world, and as one of the many instances of what can be accom 

 plished by it, take the town, of Garden City, Kansas. Eighteen years 

 ago it consisted of a few houses and a "store". In 1880 a ditch was dug 

 for irrigating purposes and then, presto! like the famous beanstalk that 

 grew in a night, the city sprang forward until it justified its name. 

 More ditches were dug and the region around was soon dotted-with little 

 villages. 



The United States has gone into this enterprise with all the vigor 

 and enthusiasm of youth, and while a few years ago she was a novice in 

 the work, her mammoth reservoirs, and long canals have caused the older 

 nations to open their eyes wide. 



Much is still to be learned, both as to construction and laws regard 

 ing the use of the water, before the system will be near perfection. Utah 



