18 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE HANOVER CANAL. 



One of the Most Important Irrigation Undertakings in the 



State of Wyoming Will Reclaim 35,000 Acres 



of Rich Agricultural Land. 



So much of uncertainty attaches to canal con- 

 struction that an investment in such an undertaking 

 is considered by many conservative financiers as extra 

 hazardous, the financial sea being strewn with the 

 wrecks of such undertakings. 



For success to attend the efforts put forth to pro- 

 mote an irrigation enterprise there must be intrinsic 

 merit in the proposition. The supply of w,ater for irri- 

 gation, lay of land to be irrigated, character of the 

 soil and climatic conditions favorable for successful 

 agriculture must each and all be considered as hav- 

 ing a bearing upon the future success or failure of 

 the undertaking. The land to be irrigated should be 

 owned or controlled by the company building the canal 

 and the ownership of the land and canal should finally 

 pass to the actual settler and water user. All of the set- 

 tlers under the line of the canal should compose one large 

 family, working harmoniously together, for they are in- 

 terdependent one upon the other and all upon the canal, 

 the means by which the life-giving flood is conveyed 

 to the land of each; hence the necesity of the most 

 cordial relationships betwen the canal builders and the 

 settlers thereunder. 



Many irrigation undertakings which are in most 

 respects meritorious temporarily fail of completion 

 from lack of clear-sighted and aggressive business man- 

 agement. The date of income from the sale of water 

 rights is too far removed from the date of the original 

 investment, interest eats up the principal and pros- 

 pective profits, the property is sold to satisfy the mort- 

 gage and the company coming into possession com- 

 pletes the canal system and reaps a rich reward. 



It will be apparent to the reader that a large por- 

 tion of the money, time and energy so far expended in 



MR. P. MAGINNIS. 

 Kimliall. Nebraska. 



promoting irrigation enterprises, like all other pioneer 

 ventures, has been in a measure philanthropic. In the 

 end the law of "the survival of the fittest" enforces its 

 inexorable decrees, and those 'enterprises which are 



worthy become profitable properties, bringing wealth 

 and prosperity to the desert wastes. 



Fortunately for the Hanover Canal, the conditions 

 surrounding it were almost ideal and success has at- 

 tended every effort in its construction since its incep- 

 tion. 



The Hanover Canal Company was incorporated in 



the early part of the year of 1903 under the laws of 

 the State of Wyoming for the purpose of taking over 

 the Hanover Canal water right and to carry forward 

 its construction. 



The water right application was filed by John P. 

 Arnott, the present prosecuting attorney of Big Horn 

 County. He named the canal after his old home town 

 of Hanover, Ind. 



Work of construction was begun April 21, 1903, 

 and has been carried forward without delay until one 

 of the finest canal systems in the State of Wyoming has 

 been developed. 



The fine body of rich agricultural land lying un- 

 der the line of this canal is located on the east side 

 of the Big Horn River in the south part of the Big 

 Horn Basin, its headgate being about eighteen miles 

 north of the town of Thermopolis. 



The soil is a rich alluvial deposit and is capable 

 of producing enormous yields of all kinds of grains 

 and grasses. The climatic conditions are favorable for 

 the growing of fall wheat and rye ; the months of July 

 and August are extremely hot, and as a result corn 

 makes a splendid growth. Vegetables of all kinds grow 

 to an enormous size and the various varieties of fruits 

 wherever tried seem to be perfectly at home. Alfalfa 

 is destined to be one of the -most profitable crops raised, 

 consequently stock raising will be one of the chief in- 

 dustries of this portion of the State. 



The elevation is about 4,000 feet above sea level 

 and the land lies almost perfect for the distribution of 

 water over its surface. The canal draws its supply of 

 water from the . Big Horn River, the largest in the 

 State. At high-water mark this year it was flowing 

 about 19,000 cubic feet per second of time. Mr. A. J. 

 Parshall, of Cheyenne, under the direction of the 

 United States Government, who has in charge th 

 measurement of the stream, estimates that, properly 

 conserved, the water from the Big Horn River would 

 irrigate 1,000,000 acres of land. 



It was found necessary to carry the water across 

 the Big Horn River in a flume. The Maginnis patent 

 steel flume was used. This is the largest one of its 



