232 THE IRRIGA TION A GE. 



that land encumbered with law suits or of uncertain ownership or of unstable owner- 

 ship, had best be freed from any cloud upon its title before an attempt is made to 

 include it in an irrigation system. There has been altogether too much of "buying 

 into lawsuits.'' 



But the status of the water this is another matter. In a general way we know 

 that all unappropriated water is said to be the property of the State, and the right 

 of appropriation is, or should be, simply the right to the measure of beneficial use; 

 but many of us know to our sorrow, that the right to water is as uncertain as the 

 stuff that dreams are made of. It is, however, certain that water rights can be es- 

 tablished and protected and litigation in a great measure prevented. 



Professor Elwood Mead says: On right division of water hangs the welfare of 

 thousands of homes. The laws which define the ownership and control of water are 

 the most important the State is called upon to enact. The law should provide: 



First, an accessible and accurate record of preliminary tilings on streams and 

 water courses. 



Second, a clear definition of water rights and a simple, orderly and inexpensive 

 method of precedure for their determination. 



Third, some means of apportioning water in times of scarcity in order that the 

 holder of prior rights may be protected. 



In this connection it is most satisfactory to know that Prof. Mead, irrigation ex- 

 pert to the Department of Agriculture, than whom no one is better fitted to cope 

 with the problem, is now engaged with a large and able corps of engineers in a 

 careful, systematic study of the water laws of California and the water rights within 

 some of the most important irrigation basins, including the San Diego, Santa Ana 

 and San Gabriel watersheds in Southern California. Until there is a sure, speedy 

 and inexpensive way to determine rights to water, irrigation problems will be 

 severely handcapped and development retarded; but in the assurance that the pres- 

 ent investigation is in good hands, backed by the new State Water and Forest Society 

 and the Federal Government, we may reasonably expect a speedy and satisfactory 

 solution to the legal difficulties and a cessation to the water litigation to a large 

 degree. 



2. Is this particular location suitable for development under irrigation? Ihis 

 may be determined by: 



a. A general survey of the topography of the country, a special survey for 

 areas and levels. 



b. Analysis of the soil, not only of the surface but of the substrata to some 

 depth to ascertain the amount of alkali. 



c. Test wells to determine both the character of substrata and distance to sur- 

 face water. 



d. A year or more's careful weather record. 



Land with a large amount of alkali should never be irrigated, land even with a 

 moderate amount of alkali should not be irrigated, unless amply provided with drain- 

 age, and, in fact, all irrigated land should have ample underground not surface drainage 

 merely. No land should have a canal system of irrigat ; on, when surface water is 

 within twenty-five feet of the top of the ground. Such land should be irrigated 

 from wells, the water pumped if necessary, and in this way the water level can be 

 kept down. Fruit trees with but one or two exceptions (notably the pecan) will be- 

 come unhealthy and will be short lived because the land always becomes sour if the 

 water level comes too near the surface. It is also a well-known fact, that well- 



