CHAPTER 1. 



THE HISTORY OF IRRIGATION. 



The magic science of irrigation is as old as civiliza- 

 tion itself in fact it was in vogue during the semi-bar- 

 baric days of prehistoric times. The use of irrigation 

 for the production of crops probably antedates Noah's 

 deluge by several thousand years. The earliest writer 

 of agricultural lyrics was Hesiod, a Greek epic author 

 who lived a thousand years before the Christian era. 

 He often refers to irrigation as practiced for ages prior 

 to his time by the Chinese people, of whom he seems to 

 have had considerable knowledge. In Plato's Timaeus 

 is an account of the sunken island of Atlantis. This 

 account Plato obtained from his ancestor Solon, the law- 

 giver, who had visited Egypt, and in the city of Sais ob- 

 tained the information from an Egyptian priest. Solon 

 lived about 2500 years ago, and according to the story 

 told 'him by the priest there existed about 10,000 years 

 before his time a large island in the Atlantic ocean, op- 

 posite the Pillars of Hercules, otherwise the Strait of 

 Gibraltar, which was divided into ten kingdoms and 

 ruled by the descendants of Poseidon. The description 

 of the island is very minute, and among other things 

 also is described a very extensive and elaborate system of 

 irrigating canals, constructed in such manner as to utilize 

 every natural stream and completely surround the island. 

 While the history of Atlantis is by many regarded as a 

 myth, there are too many facts actually in existence to 

 warrant any such conclusion. According to this record, 

 irrigation was in practical use fully 12,500 years ago. 



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