156 FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION April 



shall be paid by the said Weyerhaeuser than land in the valley of the Missis- 

 Timber Company. What are " actual sippi dependent upon the rainfall, 

 and necessary expenses ' ' shall be deter- Irrigated lands in California sell for 

 mined by the printed regulations of the from $100 to $1,000 per acre, and have 

 department. Expenses under this para- been sold for $i, 800. In Colorado this 

 graph (V) are estimated, for the prepa- season 710 tons of sugar beets were pro- 

 ration of this working plan, atfivethou- duced upon 29 acres of irrigated land, 

 sand (5,000) dollars. and were sold to a sugar refinery for 



(d) Necessary assistants shall be fur- $3,195. Irrigated lands planted with 



nished by the said Weyerhaeuser Tim- fruittrees, grapes, oranges, almonds, and 



ber Company without cost to the de- small fruits often yield $1,000 per acre, 



partment. It is estimated that A conservative value of 100,000,000 



such assistants will be required for - acres of irrigated land in our trans- Mis- 



to prepare this working plan. sissippi and Pacific States would be 



(<?) The department shall not partici- $10,000,000,000, or $100 per acre. The 



pate in any degree in the receipts and annual value of the products should be 



expenses arising from said land, except not less than $25 per acre, or a total 



as above provided. value of $2,500,000,000. 



5. The Department of Agriculture Ten billions added to the accumulated 

 shall have the right to publish and dis- wealth of the nation in the form of pro- 

 tribute the said plan and its results for ductive land, yielding an income of 

 the information of lumbermen, forest- $2,500,000,000, will give stability to 

 owners, and others whom it may con- our investments in railways, steamships, 

 cern. and manufactories. The reclamation 



6. This agreement may be dissolved of these lands involves no entangling in- 

 by either party upon ten days' notice ternational problems to solve, nor should 

 given to the other. their reclamation be made a question of 



^ party politics. It is a problem for the 



nation to solve, and not the states or 



Eastern View The following commu- private corporations. 



of Irrigation. nication, recently pub- The Empire of Germany and the 



lished in the New York Republic of France have an area of 



Times, is likely to be of interest to 263,000,000 acres and a population of 



readers of FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION : 93,000,000. If we assume that 40 per 



To the Editor of the New York Times : cent of their lands are under tillage, 



From a recent report made by the their crops of food products named 

 Agricultural Department at Washing- above are raised upon 105,200,000 acres 

 ton we learn that our crops of corn, of land. They produced in 1900 400,- 

 wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, 000,000 bushels of wheat, 400,000,000 

 flaxseed, potatoes, and hay for 1903 bushels of rye, and 30,000,000 tons of 

 were raised upon 215,000,000 acres of sugar beets and other crops for the sup- 

 land, or ii per cent of the area of the port of 93,000,000 people, 

 republic, not including Alaska. The The reclamation of our arid lands 

 farm value of these crops is placed at means a vast and permanent enlarge- 

 $3,000,000,000, or at the rate of $13.70 ment of our home market for the pro- 

 per acre. Wheat was valued at 62^2 duct of our industrial establishments, 

 cents per bushel, and other crops in Irrigated lands will repay intensive 

 proportion. cultivation because the returns from 



Engineers who have made a study of such lands are large and constant ; that 



irrigation and of our arid lands west of means increased employment for un- 



the Mississippi claim that 100,000,000 skilled labor. There is no dark or 



acres can be reclaimed by irrigation, and doubtful side in the solution of the 



made highly productive lands, which reclamation of our arid lands. No class 



command at all times and seasons an will be injured. On the contrary, all 



abundant supply of water, and will classes will be benefited, 



yield larger and more uniform crops FRANCIS WAYLAND GLEN. 



