16 IRRIGATION. 



The following table gives the range at the various 

 localities for the period mentioned, viz. : 



Locality. Period. Rain-fall. 



Fort Reading 3 years 15.9 to 37.4 inches. 



Sacramento 17 " 11.2 to 27.5 



MiUerton... 6 " 9.7 to 49.3 



Stockton 3 



Fort Tejou 5 



Monterey 5 



San Diego 12 



Benicia.. ...12 



11.6 to 20.3 



9.8 to 34.2 

 8.2 to 21.6 



6.9 to 13.4 

 11.8 to 20.0 



During these years in which the rain-fall marked the 

 lowest range, the distress amongst farmers was extreme. 

 South of Monterey, in the three years from 1868 to 1871, 

 neither grass nor grain grew. Hundred of farms were 

 abandoned, and stock men drove their cattle, horses, and 

 sheep up into the mountains for food and water. In the 

 Spring of 1870 the great Santa Clara valley was entirely 

 destitute of grass, and the plains of Los Angeles, com- 

 prising over a million acres of land, were barren to the 

 borders of the streams. Elsewhere the same effects 

 were visible, and over the entire State hundreds of thous- 

 ands of horses, cattle, and sheep, starved to death. The 

 estimate of the farmers, in the southern part of the great 

 valley of California is, that but two crops can be secured 

 in five years, without irrigation, but in the extreme south 

 this is to be still further reduced. In 1850 only 7 inches 

 of rain fell at San Francisco. 



Further east, in Nevada, Utah and Colorado, where 

 the soil is rich and arable, no dependence can be placed 

 upon the rain-fall, which does not even serve to start the 

 growth of the crops. A great depth of snow, however, 

 falls upon the mountains, which in melting fills the rivers 

 and can be made to furnish an adequate supply during the 

 growing season. Through the whole of this western ter- 

 ritory the total supply of water is sufficient to ensure 

 good crops yearly, if it can only be secured and utilized. 

 The first difficulty lies in arresting its escape, and the 



