54 THE IRR1 GA 21 ON A GE. 



rapid advancement of the irrigation industry in the State are rendered 

 apparent. 



The first considerable canal was constructed in 1883, in Lincoln 

 county in the vicinity of North Platte, yet little water was used there- 

 from until in 1889 and 1890. Since then, however, the use of water has 

 rapidly increased and the number of canals so multiplied that in 

 October of 1894 there were, according to the report of the State Com- 

 missioner of Labor, 689 miles of canal completed, covering in the 

 neighborhood of 360,000 acres of land, or more than half as much as 

 was under ditch in Utah in 1890, as stated in the National Cencus of 

 that year. If we assume that the cost of reclamation averaged $3.00 

 per acre, then upon the basis of the figures above given, the recent ac 

 tivity in the irrigation industry of the State means an investment of 

 more than $1,000,000 within a period of less than four years. When 

 we consider the expenditure and the amount of land reclaimed, it is 

 doubtful if this record has ever been equaled by any other state of the 

 great West. 



The first laws designed for the encouragement of irrigation devel- 

 opment in Nebraska were enacted by the legislature of 1889, and though 

 meager in detail and narrow in application, yet they were found suffic- 

 ient to meet the demands of the situation. Under this statute the right 

 to the use of water from streams exceeding fifty feet in width was se- 

 cured by posting a notice of appropriation at the point of diversion and 

 filing the same with the County Clerk. Hundreds of these notices are 

 now on record in the various counties of the State, and one of the first 

 duties devolving upon the present Board of Irrigation is the adjudica- 

 tion of the rights and priorities of the numerous claimants represented. 



The inadequacy of the St. Raynor law as this act was called 

 soon became apparent, and the two succeeding legislatures were applied 

 to for relief. It remained, however, foi* the legislature of 1895 to Jully 

 recognize the importance of irrigation, and place it upon that sound 

 foundation that was necessary for the continued development of the 

 industry. As a result of the untiring eflorts of Senator W. R. Akers, 

 of Scotts Bluff county, two bills were passed, and an appropriation se- 

 cured to make them effective. The first, known as the control bill 

 created a State Board of Irrigation consisting of the Governor, At- 

 torney General and Commissioner of Public Lands and State Engineer 

 and Secretary. An assistant secretary and two under-secretaries were 

 also provided, with an additional provision for under-assistants in each 

 of the water districts of the state that may be hereafter created. One 

 of the first duties of this Board, as already stated, is the adjudication 

 of the rights and priorities of the claims now on record. In addition 

 thereto, the State Engineer is required to receive and pass upon ap- 

 plications for the appropriation of water and the construction of new 



