THE IRRIGATION AGL. 



303 



Dams have been thrown across the prin- 

 cipal rivers to retard the water, while 

 canals leading from these reservoirs con- 

 duct the water over the country, some- 

 times crossing smaller water courses until 

 it is finally used up in irrigation. 



One of the most notable of the North 

 Indian dams is the Soane dam, thrown 

 across the river Soane at Dehree, in the 

 province of Bervah in upper India. 



The river at this point is 2| miles wide 

 and its naturally steep, well-defined banks 

 rise 25 or 30 feet above the bed of the 

 river. Its banks, like those of the Sacra- 

 mento river, in the great valley of Cali- 

 fornia, and in fact like all rivers flowing 

 through a moderately level county, are 

 higher than the surrounding plain, so that 

 the river flows, as it were, along the crest 

 of a ridge or backbone through the coun- 

 try. 



The bed of this river is of shingle or 

 coarse sand and shale to a great depth, 

 and when emerging from the highlands 

 has a fall of from one and one-third to 

 three feet per mile. 



In flood the raise of water is from 14 to 

 20 feet and the discharge at the junction 

 with the gauges is 1,000,000 cubic feet 

 per second, so that in wet weather there is 

 great probability of this water becoming 

 an injury rather than a blessing. 



In the dry seasons of the year its dis- 

 charge is less than 4,000 cubic feet per 

 second. In March of 1875 the water was 

 at its lowest level and ran in shallow tor- 

 tuous channels through tjbe heavy, white 

 sands of its bed. 



In such years of drought, if there are 

 no artificial means of irrigation, famine is 

 inevitable, and in such a densely popu- 

 lated country the horrors of famine may 

 be readily appreciated. 



In Italy the great irrigation works are 

 likewise owned and controlled by the gov- 

 ernment. The great Cavour canal, taking 

 water from the Po river, was originally un- 

 dertaken by private parties with various 



concessions in their favor, but the actual 

 cost so far exceeded the estimated cost that 

 eventually the project came under the con- 

 trol and successful management of the 

 government. 



In France and Spain there have been 

 irrigation works for centuries, most of 

 which have been in the hands of associa- 

 tions of land owners, but in both of these 

 countries there is a tendency touard strict 

 and more complete governmental control 

 of these works, in recognition of the fact 

 that supply of water for irrigation pur- 

 poses is, where such is the public need, 

 quite as much a public utility as the sup- 

 ply of water for domestic use. 



In the settling of the territory acquired 

 by the United States from France and 

 Mexico, the home-seekers halted at the 

 one hundredth meridian of longitude, be- 

 cause beyond that they found the rainfall 

 insufficient to mature their crops. 



Not until many years later did the set- 

 tlers realize that the rivers flowing from 

 the snowclad peaks of the Rocky Mount- 

 ains contained water, which if diverted, 

 would render a great area capable of agri- 

 culture. 



Beginning where the people one thou- 

 sand years ago left off, they have in a 

 measure reclaimed the desert. 



In this way 7,000,000 acres of land have 

 been irrigated, but this method is fast 

 reaching its limit. 



Drawing a line north and south through 

 the middle of the two Dakotas, Nebraska 

 Kansas and Oklahoma, we may find the 

 land west of it comparatively arid, which 

 aridity increases as the mountains are ap- 

 proached. This region was once called 

 the "Great American Desert." 



The waters which are available for irri- 

 gation, must come from the snows of the 

 mountains. Most of this snow melts be- 

 fore the month of May, leaving a scanty 

 supply for the hot months of June, July 

 and August, when moisture is needed for 

 maturing the crops. The condition of 



