THE IRRIGATION AGE. 293 



this line will be to study the engineering and legal problems con" 

 nected with the drainage. of irrigated regions. As a beginning of 

 work in this line plans will be made for a drainage system adapted to 

 the requirements of the region in the vicinity of Fresno, Cal., where 

 the ground water has in some places come so near the surface as to 

 kill valuable vineyards and where it threatens the life of the horti- 

 cultural plantations covering still larger areas. Work along this line 

 is also being being carried on in Colorado by C. G. Elliott, former 

 editor of the Drainage Journal, and one of the foremost drainage en- 

 gineers of this country. The work will be extended to other regions 

 as time and funds permit. 



The series of dry years through which California has recently 

 passed, led to the development of the underground sources of water 

 where it was formerly believed that the only available supply was the 

 surface flow of streams. Many of the wells which at first flowed 

 freely have since had to be pumped, and in many places a pumped 

 supply has proved to be cheaper than the old supply from streams, 

 besides being far more reliable. The experience of California in this 

 respect has led to the establishment of pumping plants in other parts 

 of the arid region, and to hope .that a water supply may eventually 

 be provided for vast areas of the Great Plains, which have been con- 

 sidered as beyond the reach of a water supply from any source. The 

 recent developments of the rice industry in Louisiana and Texas, 

 where the water from the rivers has been raised by pumps and spread 

 over the high level prairies, have also added to the interest which is 

 being taken in pumping water for the irrigation of lands which are 

 beyond the reach of water taken from streams by gravity. In most 

 localities the availability of a water supply by pumping is almost 

 wholly a question of expense for power to run the pumps. The ex- 

 pense which it is profitable to incur for this purpose is limited to the 

 value of the crops which can be produced by the water made available, 

 and in many places the cost of power and the smallness of the crop 

 which can be grown will prevent the use of pumps. It is believed, 

 however, that considerable areas can be reclaimed by pumping. The 

 long distance transmission of electrical power which has only re- 

 cently been in use has made it possible to use the mountain streams 

 to generate power for pumping water for use on lands which are be- 

 yond the reach of any stream, and still to use the water of the stream 

 to irrigate its own valley. There are still great undeveloped water 

 powers in the arid region. Steam power, generated by coal, wood 

 and oil has also a great future, and windmills are capable of a much 

 greater use than is made of them at present. There are some places 

 where pumping can be made to serve the double purpose of irrigation 

 and drainage, removing the water from the lands which it is ruining, 



