PREFACE. 



F"""" OR many years the author of this work endeav- 

 I ored to obtain specific information concerning 

 ^^8. the application of water for the produc5lion 

 of crops on the edge of the Great American 

 Desert, but was unable to secure any practical work 

 bearing on the subjedl. Realizing that there were a 

 million or more other deserving people similarly situ- 

 ated who desired just such instrudlion, the writer 

 assumed the prerogative of inditing this simply com- 

 piled volume in the hopes that it might be acceptably 

 received. From the time of its first appearance, in 

 1895, the author's anticipation has been more than 

 realized, and it is with considerable satisfadlion that 

 this revised edition of the work is offered. 



At this period in the grand enlightenment of the 

 world through the medium of the printing-press all 

 thoughtful readers have come to understand the im- 

 portance of irrigation in the broadest sense of the term. 

 Inasmuch as this science has become such an important 

 factor in modern agricultural pursuits, and is becom- 

 ing more or less essential in all parts of our vast 

 domain, particularly in the western half of the United 

 States, the author has considered it of such general 

 interest as to justify the publication of the work sub- 

 mitted herewith. The necessity of revision has natu- 

 rally arisen with the flight of years, for progress is the 



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