114 THE IRRIGATION AGE 



in the humid regions could not be irrigated by gravity canals, even if 

 the necessity existed, since the streams, while affording an abundant 

 supply, have generally such low gradients that the diversion of their 

 waters through gravity canals could not be successfully accom- 

 plished. 



HOW CANALS AND DITCHES HAVE BEEN BUILT. 



It is not so very long since the settlement of the arid portion of 

 the United States, and especially the carrying on of agricultural 

 operations within its limits, was pretty generally regarded as imprac- 

 ticable if not impossible. Its actual development is already far 

 beyond the dreams of half a century ago, and we do not yet realize 

 its ultimate possibilities. As a consequence the importance of irri- 

 gation and the various problems connected therewith have not been 

 generally realized or understood. In the older irrigated countries 

 the construction and operation of canals, as well as the distribution 

 of water, is under the most strict government supervision and 

 control, if not ownership. The wisdom of the system of operation 

 measures in a large degree the prosperity of the people who live 

 under it. Our system is yet in a primitive condition. The develop- 

 ment thus far reached has been under any comprehensive public 

 policy, but is rather a natural outgrowth of conditions. 



THE SMALL DITCH OF THE PIONEER IRRIGATOR 



During the earlier period of the settlement of the arid region, 

 before the possibilities of irrigation had come to be generally recog- 

 nized, and prior to the advent of a population sufficient to warrant 

 definite efforts toward organization in the development of its 

 resources, irrigation was limited to the individual enterprise of 

 pioneer settlers who formed the advance guard of civilization upon 

 the frontier. These pioneers, have selected suitable locations for 

 farming and ranching operations, constructed each his own ditch for 

 the irrigation of his individual lands, and operated it independently 

 in the manner best suited to his interests. 



The individual ditch appeals to the inherited prejudices and 

 habits which the settler brings with him. Even if it costs more, he 

 often prefers it to the enforced submission to regulations which 

 dependence on partnership ditches or canals involves; hence on each 

 stream the locations for such ditches are early sought out. When 

 those in the main valley are gones, locators look higher up in the 

 mountain valleys and along the rivulets which go to make up the 

 main stream. These opportunities still exist in some parts of the 

 country, but they are rare, and hard to find. Tne pioneer makes use 

 of all such opportunities, and they are now to be found only along 

 water courses remote from the centers of population, where all the 

 drawbacks of the frontier mast b3 encountered. The gain in first 



