IRRIGATION. 



GREAT IRRIGATION SYSTEM. 

 According to the Texas State Journal 

 the largest irrigation system in the United 

 States, and one of the best in the world, 

 is in Chaves and Eddy counties, in south- 

 east New Mexico. These are, in fact, four 

 combined systems, three of which lie in 

 New Mexico, and the fourth just across 

 the line in Texas. The main canal of the 

 latter will be 42 miles long. The three 

 systems in New Mexico are known as the 

 North canal, the South canal and the 

 Hagerman. The North canal is more than 

 35 miles long, and with its reservoir of 

 2,000,000,000 cubic feet capacity is ex- 

 pected to meet all demands of 100,000 

 acres of land. The South canal, in its 

 two parts, is some sixty miles or more in 

 length, has three reservoirs of 10,300,000,- 

 000 cubic feet capacity, and is considered 

 as more than sufficient for 200,000 acre?. 

 The aggregate for the three systems is 

 1,294 miles of canals and ditches, and 13,- 

 000,000,000 cubic feet of storage capacity, 

 completed and projected, amp^ to reclaim 

 500,000 acres of adjacent land. The sys- 

 tems cost $3,000,000 and have resulted in 

 the building of the Pecos Valley & North- 

 eastern, a standard guage railroad, 372 

 miles long, to ship products irrigation has 

 produced. 



IRRIGATION IN BIG HORN. 



S. L. Wiley, formerly of Omaha, but 

 now at the head of one of the irrigation 

 compmies in the Big Horn basin, in a 

 recent visit to Cheyenne, Wyo , tells of 

 the work being done in the Big Horn 

 country, looking to the reclamation of the 

 arid lands there. 



Four years ago the Big Horn Basin De- 

 velopment Company filed on 14,000 acres 

 under the Carey act and constructed a 

 canal for irrigating purposes. The lands 



are at Germania, near Garland, and the 

 colony is two-thirds settled, about 200 

 thrifty people being there now. 



But this colony is an infant compared 

 with many others doing business in the 

 Big Horn country. To date there have 

 been applications for 250,000 acres in the 

 Big Horn basin, all taken under the Carey 

 act. 



A natural reservoir has been discovered 

 there that is a wonder. It is three miles 

 by four in dimensions and has a water line' 

 of 13 miles. It is 97 feet deep at the 

 deepest point and will contain 400,000 

 acre feet. Nature has carved out this big 

 basin with massive sides of solid stone, 

 and absolutely no masonry will be required 

 except for an outlet. 



The Big Horn river would be the base 

 of supply, and as this stream is navigable 

 and runs an immense volume of water, the 

 huge reservoir could be filled with little 

 difficulty. 



A tunnel 8 feet in diameter by 12,000 

 feet long would carry off the water to the 

 thousands of acres of fertile land below. 



THE ARTESIAN WELL. 

 An Indiana paper says that the artesian 

 wells have been the salvation of the semi- 

 arid portion of South Dakota, the supply 

 of water drawn from them being ample to 

 supplement the deficiency in rainfall. 

 Thus far there is no sign of failure, in 

 spite of the he ivy drafts made upon the 

 subterranean rivers. The same reports 

 come from localities in regions farther 

 west, where there is little rainfall. There 

 is sometimes a tendency to drouth during 

 some seasons of the ? eir in this and ad- 

 joining st?tee, and artesian wells might 

 possibly be made useful in Indiana. It 

 would be a great thing to be able to get a 

 supply of water from the depths of the 

 earth when the clouds deny it. 



