THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



23 



year ; very warm in the summer, but tempered by fine 

 breezes and cool nights; seldom excessively cold in the 

 winter, rarely any snow in the winter, except in the moun- 

 tains, where it should be. You saw our fruit at Colorado 

 Springs. Where can you excel it? Our prunes were shipped 

 to Liverpool, where only the most perfect fruit is shipped 

 by the Earl Fruit Company. 



Now, regarding a specific plan for reservoir on the Owy- 

 hee, and other information, quantity of wild land to be re- 

 claimed, I cannot say, as that is the province of the technical 

 gentlemen ; but, in a general way, I desire to say that there 

 are large quantities of land subject to reclamation under the 

 Owyhee, as also under the Malheur rivers, which can un- 

 doubtedly be made to yield enough water to reclaim 100,000 

 acres, provided the water be reserved during torrential 

 floods, and during the time when water is not applied for 

 irrigation. 



I am now engaged in a survey for a reservoir on the 

 Owyhee, not only to make our own supply more certain, but 

 to reclaim more land. When that survey is completed, I can 

 furnish you additional data, but I wish you to take into con- 

 sideration other factors that is, the proper use of water ; 

 for instance, in the orchard the proper cultivation of the land 

 will almost do away with the use of water ; at least, much re- 

 duce its use. Rotations of crops, made obligatory, will mel- 

 low the soil ; alfalfa will enrich it and thereby cause those 

 phenomenal yields, which almost pass comprehension and 

 stagger the uninitiated t. e., the tenderfoot. The water 

 companies and farmers must be enjoined not to waste water ; 

 perfect systems of measurements of flow and distribution 

 adopted ; spraying of orchards should be enforcgd ; intensive 

 farming encouraged. Holdings of an ordinary family should 

 not exceed 40 acres. Sugar factories, drying and canning 

 establishments should be given extra facilities, even if neces- 

 sary by exemption from taxes, until well on their feet, as wit- 

 ness at Ogden, where beet and tomato lands are worth $300 

 per acre and farmers are made independent and rich. Cattle 

 and sheep naturally follow the growing of grain and alfalfa. 



If possible to further save water, it should be piped ; 

 these are observations which occur to me at this time, the 

 rc.ult of my own practical experiences. 



Another problem facing irrigation is the reclamation of 

 alkali lands, which, when reclaimed, are the richest and 

 strongest lands we have ; this requires endurance and energy. 

 The salts, which are the leachings from the uplands, so- 

 called benches, accumulate in excess on the lowlands ; that 

 the land can be made tillable is abundantly demonstrated, es- 

 pecially in Utah, and is done by frequent and deep plowing, 

 heavy manuring, the application of chaff and straw, so as to 

 break ut> the toughness and the stickiness of the soil, making 

 it mellow and powdery, and certain crops which absorb 

 alkali, as white clover and beets. 



The richest part of Oregon, in my humble judgment, is 

 east of the Cascades. Yours truly, 



FRED. J. KIESEL. 



SEATTLE, WASH., September 25, 1902. 

 THE IRRIGATION AGE, Chicago, 111. : 



I think, with the exception of perhaps the last year or 

 two, I have been a constant reader of THE AGE since 

 its first publication. I am in this line of business, and have 

 been for ten years or more. Am now in charge of construc- 

 tion of what is known as the Wenatchee Highline canal, a 

 canal taking its waters from the Wenatchee river, some 

 eighteen miles above its mouth, carrying the same down 

 to the junction of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, and 

 across the river, covering the flat known as the Wenatchee 

 valley. This project, I believe, is without doubt the most 

 expensive and one encountering the greatest obstacles, both 

 in number and difficulty in overcoming, of any canal ever 

 constructed on the coast, the area of land considered. On its 

 route we have two tunnels, one of 850 feet and one of 300 

 feet ; a flume across a canyon, 530 feet in length and 130 feet 

 above the roadway in the canyon ; three or four other flumes 

 crossing canyons, none of which are less than 60 feet in 

 elevation and 160 to 500 feet in length ; great rock cuts and 

 side hill excavations, and in conveying the water across tht 

 Wenatchee river we use a continuous stave-pipe, with steel 

 bands 48 inches in diameter, outside measure, 8,500 feet long, 

 and reaching a point 250 feet below its intake, returning to 

 a point 220 feet, giving it a head of 30 feet from the in- 

 take, after which we have comparatively easy construction. 



As a matter of comparison, I would like to ask you to 



furnish me with a description of the most notable canal in 



jColorado and one in California. Our canal covers only a lit- 



tle over 6,000 acres, at an expense of perhaps of over $150,000 for 

 construction alone. If you can give me the names of the manage- 

 ment of two notable enterprises, would like to secure photo- 

 graphs from them, showing their difficult construction. 



Hoping that I have not asked too much of you, will 

 await your reply. Yours truly, W. T. CLARK. 



Replying to the inquiry of Mr. Clark : The most notable 

 canal in Colorado is the Greeley No. 2, which diverts water 

 from the Cache la Poudre river, a few miles above Greeley. 

 It was among the first canals built in Colorado and was the 

 first to irrigate lands away from the river bottoms. It was 

 built in 1871, but has been enlarged several times since. The 

 success of the Greeley colony largely depended on this canal. 

 It is about forty feet wide and 5 feet deep at the present 

 time. 



The Highline canal, also in Colorado, is a more remark- 

 able channel as far as engineering difficulties are concerned. 

 It was begun in 1880. It diverts water from the South Platte 

 river near the mouth of the canyon some twenty miles south 

 of Denver. The canal begins with a tunnel 800 feet long 

 through a mountain and then runs for three-quarter miles 

 on a shelf of rock where the water is carried in a wooden 

 flume. This canal is 40 feet wide on the bottom and 7 feet 

 deep. It carries nearly 1200 cubic feet per second.. It is over 

 70 miles long and irrigates 90,000 acres of land where the 

 water supply permits. 



The King's river and San Joaquin canal in California is 

 perhaps as celebrated as any in that state. It does not 

 carry as much water as the Turlock and other canals, but 

 like the Greeley No. 2 has done much toward establishing 

 the advantage of irrigated agriculture in California. It is 

 32 feet wide and 4^2 feet deep and has a capacity of 600 

 cubic feet per second. It is 67 miles long and serves for 

 the irrigation of 90,000 acres of land] 



We can give you more detailed information regarding 

 any important canal should you desire it. 



Renew your subscriptions to the IRRIGATION AGE 

 for 1903. Send us in Post Office or Express money 

 order for $1.00. 



FARM IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINERY. 



The following circular letter relative to farm imple- 

 ments and machinery has been sent out to manufacturers 

 recently by the office of Experiment Stations, United 

 States Department of Agriculture. Manufacturers gen- 

 erally are requested to comply with this request, as it will 

 materially assist this branch of the Government in its 

 new line of work : 



DEAR SIR : This Office desires to secure all of the 

 information possible regarding the manufacture of im- 

 plements and machinery used in agriculture in the 

 United States, the data to be used in replying to in- 

 quiries constantly being received, and in the preparation 

 of bulletins descriptive of our progress and of present 

 methods and their influence on our success and future 

 development. 



It is believed that the collection of such data and 

 their arrangement and classification in form for con- 

 venient reference will be of service to both the makers 

 and users of farm machinery, and your cooperation and 

 aid in making the record complete and authentic are 

 solicited. We would like to secure a catalogue and illus- 

 trations of all the farm implements or machines made 

 by your firm and of all publications descriptive of their 

 character and merits. We also wish to prepare a histor- 

 ical record which will show the types of these implements 

 or machines as first manufactured, and the improvements 

 in design which have been made subsequently. To this 

 end, we shall appreciate receiving copies, where you can 

 spare them, of earlier catalogues, circulars, or illustra- 

 tions showing development of your machines. 



As this countrv is the largest producer and user of 

 (Continued on page 28.) 



