FACTORS OF PRODUCTION 



plish by a right use of its resources has been of 

 slow growth. To the early fur traders and ex- 

 plorers the arid region was a dreary, worthless 

 waste. To neither Bonneville, Fremont, nor any 

 of the multitude who crossed its vast expanse to 

 reach the golden rivers of California was there 

 given any prophetic vision of the magic to be 

 wrought by irrigation. Nor is this surprising. 

 It is difficult to imagine anything less attractive 

 than the stretches of barren sand broken only by 

 the isolated yuccas of the Mojave Desert, or any- 

 thing more dreary than the crucifixion thorn of 

 Arizona. Only in localities where the work of 

 reclamation has been in progress long enough to 

 permit the growth of trees, flowers, and shrubs, 

 can the possibilities of the soil and climate be ap- 

 preciated. No greater contrast can be found 

 anywhere than is afforded by a comparison of the 

 desert above the ditches and the cultivated fields 

 below them. . . . The arid West is the nation's 

 farm. It contains all that is left of the public 

 domain, and is the chief hope of those who dream 

 of enjoying landed independence, but who have 

 little beside industry and self-denial with which 

 to secure it. As it is now, this land has little 

 value. This is not because the land lacks fertil- 

 ity, but because it lacks moisture. Where rivers 

 have been turned from their courses, the products 

 which have resulted equal in excellence and 

 amount those of the most favored district of am- 

 is 



