118 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



discharge of practically one cubic foot per second would be 

 procured. The buckets for raising water could be placed, as 

 shown in the sketch, 41 inches apart, five feet long and 

 one foot square on the inside. The wheel would dip two 



WATER WHEEL. 



feet in the water and extend four feet above the bottom of the 

 trough, which carries it to the ditch. One cubic foot is ap- 

 proximately equal to 7H gallons, and one cubic foot per second 

 is about 450 gallons per minute. 



I return herewith Mr. Mclntire's letter. Sincerely, 



CLARENCE T. JOHNSTON, 

 Assistant Chief Irrigation Investigations. 



KANSAS CITY, February 4, 1903. 



Gentlemen I think that it was during the latter part of 

 last year that I read in a copy of THE IRRIGATION AGE of issue 

 of that time also, an article regarding rice culture and its 

 profits in either Texas or Louisiana, and previously to that, 

 it may have been in an issue of IRRIGATION AGE of 1901, I 

 notice an amusing method of telling one's age; therefore, if 

 the enclosed 25 cents in stamps is sufficient to send me a 

 copy of both of these issues, postpaid, please forward them 

 to me. 



May I trouble in asking you where to buy land that is 

 intended to be irrigated, abutting the main canal, or away from 

 it? Should it be agreeable to you, I would like to know 

 through the columns of THE IRRIGATION AGE, to be answered 

 by anyone, the average number of acres of apple orchard that 

 one man can irrigate and attend to during a season, with and 

 without small crops between rows of apple trees? 

 Yours truly, C. MYGIND. 



Will some of our readers send answers to us covering 

 questions in last paragraph of this letter? 



VALUE OF IRRIGATION. 



Up to quite recently the general sentiment in the 

 eastern states was antagonistic to the scheme of reclaim- 

 ing the arid lands of the West by irrigation. They 

 seemed to regard the idea as but a manifestation of the 

 overwrought western brain. But with a better under- 

 standing of the subject, irrigation is now more favor- 

 ably viewed by them. As yet the Wesi; has proposed 

 no plan for the future that has anything like the prac- 

 tical value of the reclamation of the desert areas. If 

 results be the criterion, then western railroad building 

 will be dwarfed in comparison. The accomplishment of 

 present designs will contribute incalculably to our na- 

 tional wealth,. strength and prestige. 



Any one who doubts the value of water as an agent 

 of regeneration in the arid section should look upon the 

 Colorado and Arizona communities that have been bene- 

 fited by it and be forever rid of His doubts. JSTot many 

 years ago, Phoenix, ir; Arizona, was the very heart of 

 a superheated region of desolation, almost as barren of 

 life as the coppery sky above it. But, through irriga- 

 tion, Phoenix has indeed risen from the fire. That erst- 

 while baked expanse of sand is now rich with orchards 

 of figs, almonds and citrous fruits and beautiful with 

 long avenues of palms a new Paradise, 



A recent despatch from Washington to the Denver 

 Republican says it may be stated with certainty that the 

 efforts which have been made in the present congress 

 to repeal the various land acts of the country will come 

 to naught. 



Bills for this purpose were introduced in the senate 

 and house and referred to the respective public lands 

 committees. The house committee discussed the repeal 

 measure at some length, and informally decided not to 

 make a report upon the repeal bill which had been 

 introduced by Representative Powers of Massachusetts. 

 The senate public lands committee has not considered 

 the repeal bill pending before it, which was introduced 

 by Senator Quarles, and it is not likely to do so. The 

 bill is not known to have a single friend in the com- 

 mittee. Even Senator Quarles, who introduced it, says 

 that he did so by request, and that he has no interest 

 in the measure. 



In the meantime there has been considerable alarm 

 on the part of Western citizens lest these repeal meas- 

 ures should be seriously considered by congress, and 

 many letters and petitions have come from all parts of 

 the West protesting against the proposed changes in the 

 land laws. 



On the other hand, a large number of stereotyped 

 resolutions and petitions have come to the senate and 

 house from labor organizations in the extreme Eastern 

 and Southern states asking that the land laws be re- 

 pealed, and "the heritage of the people preserved." 

 The similarity of all of these petitions, and the fact 

 that most of them are in printed circular form, indi- 

 cates the workings of an organized bureau or lobby 

 which has for its purpose the repeal of the laws under 

 which the West is being settled and developed. 



Chairman Lacey of the house public lands com- 

 mittee attributes the unwonted activity and desire on 

 the part of Eastern organizations for the repeal of 

 Western land laws to the agency of George H. Maxwell, 

 who is the representative of the land departments of 

 several transcontinental railways. These companies 

 have large areas of land, acquired through grants of 

 congress, and they find it difficult to sell these holdings 

 while the government is a competitor and offering its 

 land practically free of cost. If the remaining public 

 land can be withdrawn from sale to the public, and can 

 only be ac'quirecl through the conditions of the home- 

 stead law, those who are seeking to obtain homes and 

 lands in the West will be forced to buy from the rail- 

 way companies, and the corner thus established in West- 

 ern land will be greatly to the advantage of these com- 

 panies. 



Much of the literature which now reaches the pub- 

 lic, either through the columns of the Eastern press or 

 of the several publications maintained by the railroad 

 lobby, is paid for at much more than space rates by the 



