THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



149 



SUN RIVER VALLEY. 



The Sun River Valley, which is located a little 

 west of the center of the state on the eastern slope of 

 the Bockj" Mountains, and near the city of Great Falls, 

 was selected several years ago by the Keclamation Ser- 

 vice as a choice area for the construction of a stu- 

 pendous irrigation work. The work has progressed 

 rapidly, and on May 7> two hundred and fifty farms 

 will be thrown open to settlers on very liberal terms. 



These farms will be obtainable under the home- 

 stead law, subject to the charges of actual cost of water 

 upon the number of acres actually supplied with water 

 from the system. This charge has been fixed at $30 

 per acre, divided into not less than five nor more than 

 ten annual payments. The sum of $3.50 will be due 

 and payable at the time of making entry. The second 

 instalment will be payable March 1, 1910, thus allowing 

 early settlers nearly two years before second payment 

 is due. 



An interesting and unique feature in connection 

 with the project is the proposed establishment of model 

 rural villages every six miles. In all, there will be 

 twenty of these, so that no farm will be more than 

 three miles from a postoffice and school. 



All the crops which can be grown in northern 

 countries can be raised here. It is probable that the 

 principal crops raised will be alfalfa, sugar beets and 

 potatoes. Usually three cuttings of alfalfa are made 

 annually. Some have cut only two crops and others 

 have cut four, but the average is three, and the average 

 yield about five tons per acre. The present price varies 

 from $5 to $15 per ton in the stack, according to loca- 

 tion and demand. It is not probable that the average 

 price will drop below $5 for many years. The cost 

 of putting the hay into the stack is about $1.25 per ton. 



The average yield per acre are: Potatoes, 228 

 bushels; wheat, 28 bushels; ots, 69 bushels; sugar 

 beets, 20 tons. 



All garden truck is easy to raise, except tomatoes 

 and some kinds easily affected by frosts, though these 

 with care may be grown sufficiently for family use. 



An ordinary ranch garden about two miles from 

 Simms, in 1905, produced a net profit of $225 per acre 

 from the following kinds of vegetables, viz: Cabbage, 

 potatoes, tomatoes, squash, onions, pumpkins, carrots, 

 turnips, beets and parsnips. 



The sugar beets grown in the vicinity have an- 

 alyzed over 23 per cent sugar. The beet industry 

 promises great things and a sugar factory is assured 

 ,npon the completion of the works necessary to irrigate 

 an area large enough to guarantee five-year contracts 

 on 5,000 acres of beets. Past experiments prove that 

 the farmer should average a net profit of $40 per acre 

 on sugar beets. 



It is probable that the Sun River Valley will 

 prove an excellent dairy country. A creamery was com- 

 Dleted in Augusta, in January. 1907, and the three 

 or four others already in operation in neighboring towns 

 show that the industry is profitable and will be per- 

 manent and growing. 



Full details relating to terms, size of farm units 

 and other information regarding the method of secur- 

 ing lands will be furnished on application to S. B. 

 Bobbins, Engineer, IT. S. Reclamation Service, Fort 

 Shaw, Montana. 



Reclamation Service News 



Mr. Louis C. Hill, supervising engineer in charge of the 

 work of the Reclamation Service in the Southwest, has 

 been in Washington recently in consultation with the di- 

 rector and chief engineer, arranging plans for the work in 

 his division during the ensuing year. He was asked con- 

 cerning the contract which the Reclamation Service has 

 made for developing the power to be utilized in the city of 

 Phoenix. This is the contract which has been made the 

 subject of a memorial from the territorial legislature pro- 

 testing against giving the exclusive right to the Pacific Gas 

 and Electric Company. Mr. Hill said : 



"The Pacific Gas and Electric Company, by its contract 

 with the Arizona Water Company, had exclusive right and 

 privilege for development of all water power obtainable 

 from or by means of canals and water owned or controlled 

 by the water company. This contract ran until March 1, 

 1926. Under it two plants having- an aggregate capacity of 

 about 1,000 horse power had been built and operated. The 

 larger plant, which used part and could use all 1 the water 

 belonging to lands on the south side of the river, was lo- 

 cated some two miles below the Granite Reef dam, and if 

 the old contract continued in force would have made it im- 

 possible for this dam to have served the south side of the 

 river, and consequently it probably would not have been 

 built. The operation of the old contract would have pre- 

 vented building the new cross-cut with its power plant near- 

 ly opposite Tempe, where from 3,000 to 5,000 horse power, 

 depending on the season, will be developed. 



"Articles brought to my attention published recently in 

 a Phoenix paper have conveyed a false impression to in- 

 tending purchasers of power, both as to the terms of the 

 contract and its limitations. 



"The statement that the Pacific Gas and Electric Com- 

 pany can in any way under the terms of its contract with 

 the United States control the sale of power to any company 

 operating outside of the city limits of Phoenix is entirely 

 erroneous and contrary to the express terms of the con- 

 tract. 



"Leaving out of account the new power plants which 

 could be built, and considering only the two now in exist- 

 ence, Power Plant No. 1 and Power Plant No. 2, belonging 

 to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, we find that the 

 building of the Roosevelt dam and the Granite Reef dam, 

 or even the former alone, would have added enough to the 

 water supply to have enabled the Electric Company to de- 

 velop nearly 1,500 kilowatts continuously, for which they 

 would have to pay the United States less than half a cent 

 per kilowatt hour. This power was theirs exclusively, and 

 could not be taken from them until 1926. 



"The new contract gives them the exclusive right for 

 retailing purposes only within the city of Phoenix of a 

 peak load of 1,500 k. w., or the equivalent of a continuous 

 load of about 900 kilowatts. For this power the Electric 

 Company pays 1^4 cents per k. w. hour, or three times as 

 much as under the old contract. This contract runs but ten 

 years from the time the United States is ready to furnish 

 power, or until 1919, or it terminates seven years earlier 

 than the old contract. The terms of the new contract ex- 

 plicitly provide for the needs of the city of Phoenix, by re- 

 serving to the United States the right to sell power to any- 

 one in blocks of 100 k. w. and upwards, to be used for 

 manufacturing purposes, waterworks, or pumping purposes. 



Two shifts of men are now working on the Strawberry 

 tunnel, Strawberry Valley irrigation project, Utah, and 178 

 feet were excavated during January. The material is me- 

 dium lime rock with an occasional streak of mud. Small 

 amounts of water also also being encountered from time 

 to time. A total of 1,791 feet have been excavated to date, 

 leaving 16,709 feet still to be excavated. Ninety-one inches 

 of snow fell in the neighborhood during the month, and 

 the freight road from Diamond Switch to the tunnel was 

 blockaded with snow on January 20. In spite of the heavy 

 snows and sleet, however, the power transmission line has 

 given no trouble, and the power plant is being operated 

 continuously. A small gang of men is being kept on the 

 power canal to complete installing the water system and do 

 such maintenance work as is necessary. 



