IRRIGATION REGARDLESS OF RAINFALL r - 



covered that he had been systematically stealing water from the city main and engag- 

 ing in the surreptitious irrigation of his garden. So irrigation performed its miracle 

 in the moist climate of New England quite as effectively as it does in the arid West 

 Indeed, the famous market gardens at Arlington, in the Boston suburbs, have been 

 irrigated for years. Elaborate experiments conducted by the Government in New 

 Jersey have completely demonstrated that irrigation is a paying investment there. 

 Major John W. Powell said years ago: "There is probably not one acre of tillable 

 land in the United States the value of which would not at least be doubled by skillful 

 irrigation." I have no doubt the statement is correct. 



There are many parts of California where irrigation is not employed, but there 

 is no part of California where its employment would not increase land values, raise 

 the standard of living and produce remarkable social gains. But this statement 

 should always be accompanied with the proviso that the work must be done skillfully 

 and that good drainage, either natural or artificial, must supplement irrigation. Of 

 course, there are moist lands where certain crops may be produced with the utmost 

 success without the aid of water from a ditch, but this is merely natural sub-irriga- 

 tion — a matter wholly apart from the annual rainfall. 



Even in those portions of California which receive the largest amount of rain and 

 snow, there is a long dry period during the season adapted to the growth of crops. 

 There cannot be continuous production, and, therefore, the largest production upon a 

 given area, without artificial moisture. Neither can there be the largest diversifica- 

 tion of crops. It consequently follows that there cannot be the densest population, 

 the smallest farm unit, and the highest social conditions. In other words, we simply 

 cannot make the most of the wonderful soil and climate with which God endowed the 

 State of California unless we have the widest application of scientific irrigation. Until 

 this fact secures general recognition, and until we control and utilize the last available 

 inch of water, California cannot begin to approach its highest development, or take 

 its true place in the ranks of civilization. 



This doctrine is unpopular with certain men and in certain localities. Lands are 

 sometimes advertised with the statement that "No irrigation is required." Inquirers 

 are even informed that irrigation is an injury, especially to fruit. The latter theory 

 once prevailed in the Santa Clara Valley, but public sentiment has changed. Un- 

 skillful irrigation may do harm in the dryest places, but skillful irrigation will do 

 good even where rainfall is most abundant. The man who insists that irrigation is not 

 necessary generally has unirrigated real estate for sale. It is when he is particularly 

 hungry for a customer that he goes farther and assures you that it is a very great 

 misfortune to be able to control the moisture and apply it to your trees, your garden 

 or your field at the particular moment when it is needed to produce the best results. 

 But if you cross the road and make your inquiries of the man who is making his 

 living by tilling the soil in the hot and dusty summer, you are pretty certain to hear 

 a different story. 



California has been in the past the land of great estates, but It is destined to be 

 the land of little farms. It has been the place of speculation, but it will be the home 

 of sober industry. It has expended its efforts largely in the production of single 

 crops, but it will be the paradise of diversified farming. Its one thought used to be 

 to get rich, but now its dream is to get a living — a noble, generous and well-rounded 

 living for the masses of men. Over and above every other land the sun shines upon, 

 California was designed to be the land of the common people. 



The greatest single influence in bringing all this about will be the extension of 

 irrigation wherever water can be found to put upon the land. And this will be done 

 regardless of rainfall. The process is well under way and gathers force with every 

 passing year. It pays as a matter of dollars and cents, but It pays even better in the 

 form of social dividends. Men did not know this at first. They have learned it in the 

 school of experience. We are only beginning to understand the laws of the universe 

 and to comprehend that, since laws cannot conveniently be repealed, we had better 

 shape our customs to suit them. Hence, we shall Irrigate from Siskiyou to San Diego— 

 from Truckee to the sea. 



