266 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



of the work where men of large brains and grasp was 

 necessary, has all been developed by private individuals, 

 who in all likelihood, will get little or no credit in 

 the final round up. (This, however, is a diversion, and 

 it will be our aim to hold that class of matter sepa- 

 rate from this series of articles.) 



While an irrigation enterprise may be either a 

 success or a failure financially, it is nearly always a 

 source of gain to the commonwealth. The benefit ac- 

 crues to the community rather than to the investor, 



Great Irrigation Syphon one-half mile in length. The wa er falls 100 feet 

 from the mountain side in distance and runs up the mountain side in im- 

 mediate foreground emptying into the flume shown in another il uslration, 

 Near North Yakmia, Wash., on Northern Pacific Railway. 



whatever the investor's profit may be, as increased pop- 

 ulation and some increment to the general wealth is 

 bound to follow every effort of reclamation. The fact 

 is so obvious that irrigation development has been rec- 

 ognized in other countries as the peculiar charge and 

 province of the Government, and it is a sentiment that 

 irrigation works and projects would be committed di- 

 rectly to the trust and responsibility of the benefited 

 communities, that has found expression in many ways 

 in our own country. Much is to be expected in the 

 way of assistance to the development of the West by 

 the management of the different railway lines travers- 

 ing the West, and prospective settlers should communi- 

 cate with the land departments of these different lines 

 where reliable information may be secured. In arrang- 

 ing to prepare this series of articles the writer came 

 in contact with Mr. Thomas Cooper, land commissioner 

 of the Northern Pacific Railway, St. Paul, Minn., from 

 whom many valuable pointers were obtained and a 

 number of illustrations used in these articles were 

 made from photographs of scenes along the line of 

 that railway. 



As an illustration of what can be accomplished 

 by the cultivation of a small tract of land properly irri- 

 gated, we will call the attention of our readers to a 

 crop produced during the season of 1904 by a Mrs. 

 Snively on four acres of land near North Yakima, 

 Wash. On this small tract of land were produced 

 forty boxes of apples, five tons of prunes, one ton of 

 tomatoes, l 1 /^ ton of grapes, four barrels of cider, $15 

 worth of vinegar, $60 worth of cherries, $75 worth of 

 pears, $20 worth of asparagus. 



In harvesting this crop Mrs. Snively employed one 

 man continually and an extra man for two months. 



Without definite knowledge of the value of the dif- 

 ferent items, it would be difficult to give the exact 

 value of the combined crop, but from $1,200 to $1,600 

 would not be far out of the way; thus it will be seen 

 that, deducting wages and water fees, a handsome 

 profit was obtained. It is safe to say that the original 

 investment in land, a home, farming utensils, etc, 

 could not hare exceeded $2,000, possibly not over 

 $1,000, hence it is evident that an income sufficient to 

 support a family of four or more was produced from 

 only four acres. 



Many of the illustrations shown herewith were 

 made from photographs taken especially for IRRIGATION 

 AGE by Mr. Harmer, who is connected with the North- 

 ern Pacific Railway at North Yakima, Wash. 



The Yakima Valley stands pre-eminent in the arid 

 West for the plentitude of its water supply. This val- 

 ley has the reputation and shows by results that it is 

 as well, or better adapted, for the successful culture of 

 deciduous fruits than any other part of the West. It 

 is now the largest producer of such fruits on the Pa- 

 cific Coast and each year Yakima farmers are planting 

 additional trees, it being estimated that fully 100,000 

 new trees have been set out during the past twelve 

 months. 



The next article in this series will tell about other 

 points in Washington and data will be given based on 



The Flume into which the great syphon empties and runs around the 

 mountain 85 feet above the country road. 



the experiences of people operating small irrigated fruit 

 and truck farms. 



With the opening of the Truckee-Carson canal be- 

 low Reno recently the first irrigation system constructed 

 by the Government under the Reclamation Act, a new 

 era was opened for Nevada and the entire West. 



The main canal runs from Donby, fifteen miles 

 east of Reno on the Truckee River, to a point ten 

 miles above Leetville on the Carson River, a distance of 

 thirty-one miles. 



The entire system as projected will not be com- 

 pleted for nine or ten years and will cost about $9,- 

 000,000. 



