THE IMPERIAL SETTLEMENTS A 

 WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT. 



(From The California Cultivator.} 



Southern California is just developing the most extensive and im- 

 portant irrigation system to be found in arid America. The location 

 of this enterprise is on the Colorado Delta, and the water for the re- 

 clamation of that country is taken from Colorado river, where the 

 supply is more than abundant. 



In extent, the land to be reclaimed under this system includes 

 about 500,000 acres m San Diego County, California, and about 300,000 

 acres across the line in Lower California. 



The California Development Company has charge of this work, 

 which is generally known as the Imperial Canal System. 



In April, 1900, Mr. George Chaffey, founder of Etiwanda and On- 

 tario, in San Bernardino County, and Mildura and Renmark, in Aus- 

 tralia, concluded arrangements with the California Development Co. 

 whereby he was to take absolute control of the enterprise and manage 

 it to a conclusion. Ln this work he has been ably supported by other 

 members of the company. Work was immediately commenced, and 

 the progress made during the past year and a half has been most re- 

 markable, nothing like it being of record in the irrigation history of 

 this country. A few of the advance steps may be noted as follows: 



First. The public domain in that country has been resurveyed, 

 as most of the old stakes and land marks of the government survey 

 had been obliterated. 



Second. The Imperial canal has been constructed so that water 

 has been introduced into the Imperial Settlements from the Colorado 

 river in quantities in excess of the demand made by the men who have 

 taken over 100,000 acres of land from the government. 



Third. The work of constructing the distributing systems of 

 canals and ditches is progressing rapidly and will be completed as 

 rapidly as they may be needed for distributing water to the land own- 

 ers who may need it. 



Fourth. Although water for irrigation purposes did not reach, 

 the Imperial^Settlements until the middle of June of this year, over 

 two sections of land have been planted to crops mostly sorghum and 

 millet for feed, and these crops have grown beyond the most san- 

 guine expectations of all parties interested, some of the sorghum hav- 

 ing been] already harvested and yielding ten tons of cured feed to the 

 acre. 



