1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



515 



these lands during the month of April. 

 That is to say, if the works are com- 

 pleted so as to deliver the water in 

 April, 1905, then payments should be- 

 gin in December, 1905. If, however, 

 through delays, water will not be avail- 

 able until after April, 1905, but is 

 available on or before April, 1906, 

 then payment should begin on Decem- 

 ber i, 1906. 



It is expected that about 250 farms 

 will be open to homestead entry in the 

 near future, under the terms of the 

 Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, and 

 at a later date announcement will be 

 made as to the time when applications 

 for water rights for said lands will be 

 received. 



The Uncompahgre Project. 



HE widespread interest in the 

 various projects of the Rec- 

 lamation Service is manifest by the 

 deluge of letters addressed to both the 

 main office at Washington, D. C., and 

 the local engineers. So many inquiries 

 concerning the public lands available 

 for settlement under the Uncompahgre 

 Valley reclamation project have been 

 received that the District Engineer has 

 prepared a circular calling the atten- 

 tion of persons who anticipate enter- 

 ing upon such lands to the following 

 facts : 



"This project includes parts of 

 Montrose and Delta counties, in West- 

 ern Colorado, these tracts consti- 

 tuting the Uncompahgre Valley, trav- 

 ersed by the Denver and Rio Grande 

 Railway, and including the towns of 

 Montrose, Olathe, and Delta. It is 

 estimated that approximately 185,000 

 acres will be covered by the system, 

 of which about 125,000 acres will 

 eventually be irrigated. Of these lands 

 more than 100,000 acres have passed 

 from the control of the Government, 

 so that a comparatively small amount 

 still remains in public ownership. All 

 of the public lands lie along the bor- 

 ders of the tract to be irrigated, and 

 in general it cannot be definitely 

 known what lands are irrigable until 



the final location of the canal lines has 

 been made and approved. 



"All of the public lands referred to 

 are in an arid condition, incapable of 

 cultivation until water is available for 

 their irrigation, and there is no possi- 

 bility of watering the lands from any 

 other source than from the system pro- 

 posed by the Government. 



"The Secretary of the Interior has 

 directed that as soon as it is practicable 

 all of the public lands shall be divided 

 into homesteads or farm units, but one 

 of which can be entered by a qualified 

 homesteader. In making such sub- 

 divisions the engineers will be guided 

 by the character of the soil and the 

 topography, to the end that there shall 

 be included in each homestead as near- 

 ly as may be the prescribed amount of 

 irrigable land of average quality, and 

 lying suitable for both irrigation and 

 drainage with reference to the ditches 

 for these purposes. 



''The lands have not yet been classi- 

 fied, nor have the exact tracts which 

 will be irrigated been determined, and 

 the charges for water and conditions 

 on which it will be furnished have not 

 yet been definitely fixed. 



"The amount of land which one per- 

 son can take will probably be limited 

 .' to 40 acres of good land. Occasionally 

 where desirable lands are cut by 

 ridges, arroyos, and rock outcrops, the 

 total entry may be made large enough 

 to include 40 acres of good land. The 

 limit of the homestead entry has not 

 yet been definitely fixed, however. 



"The work of construction of the 

 proposed system is at this date but just 

 commenced, and it is not possible that 

 any water can be delivered prior to the 

 crop season of 1908. 



"Those who may prefer to purchase 

 lands rather than make homestead en- 

 tries will find considerable land of 

 good quality under the project owned 

 by private individuals and corpora- 

 tions, which can be purchased at prices 

 varying from $10 to $50 per acre. 

 Parties purchasing such lands should 

 inspect them on the ground, so that 

 they may know what they are buying. 



"While it is true that the construe- 



